Delivering Blankets and Meals in Mexico

Dec. 28 2009 Mexico Christmas Mission

Today was another early start and a great day. God used us in so many ways. Today's guest bloggers are Jenna and Brent from Saraland, Texas.

Today was our first day doing mission work in Mexico. Before I start with the day, here is a little background for the pre-trip. My sister Becka and I were asked to come with the Bayou Sara group trip three or four days before, and I was reluctant because I did not really know anyone but soon God showed me that I needed to trust him that he was in control and that he knew what he was doing when he pushes people out of their comfort zone. So here I am after our first trip back from Mexico.

The task today was to hand out boxes of food and blankets to the family around the church with Pastor Felipe. One group headed out early this morning and went to the church to start to cook the chicken and then the rest of the group came down later. While we were waiting for all the food to cook I got a chance to play soccer with some of the kids there waiting and I fell in love with a little girl named Rebecca. She was so precious and so happy even though we no where near spoke the same language. She reminded me to have the joy of a child and faith like a child.

Later we handed out the boxes of chicken and other food, along with water and the blankets. Also the children received bags with candy and other things. After we were done with the church, we went around to the surrounding areas and handed out the rest of the boxes and blankets to the families. Throughout the day I had heard stories how in the past God had multiplied food and different things whenever everyone thought they would run out. I had the opportunity to see that today; we still had a ton of food left when we ran out water. Then some men found some more in the back of the trailer. It just reminded me of God’s promise that he would always provide. Throughout the day I was continuously reminded that God provides. Also that only HE can bring the nations together to worship.

The awe struck moment that I had, as well, is that not even five miles across the boarder was poverty while America was right there. I am so excited about tomorrow and to see how God will move. Thank you for your prayers, to Him be the glory.

-Jenna

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What a great day! From start to finish we ministered to over 1000 people. How awesome it is to be used by the Lord to further His kingdom, to be in this place at this time. How easy we have it in the U.S. It’s hard to imagine living in a concrete block building with no water or electricity as a way of life. Our power goes out for an hour and we’re screaming. We waste more water in a week then these people use in a month.

As I surveyed the hundreds of people waiting in line for food and blankets, I asked one of the members on my team, “Why do you think it is that they are the ones living like this and not us?” why do we have it so easy and comfortable while ¾ of the world live in little more than a shack? Why has God placed us in this place at this time? What can we learn and take back and apply to our daily lives?

God has called each of us to be the imitation of Christ—to be salt and light—to be the hands and feet of Jesus, yet so few Christians do anything for Christ outside the four walls of the church—and even then it’s limited to Sunday and Wednesday. We are called to expand the kingdom, not continue to develop a castle. I give all the glory to God and thank him for using Kenny Phillips and Give Me Shelter Ministries to help impact the world in a small way. Get involved in Mexico. Get involved in your community. Bottom line: GET INVOLVED!!!

Brent Allen

2009 Mexico Christmas Mission

Today, we got up to a chilly morning in Laredo, Texas. Our day would include a bilingual church service, loading and unloading blankets, packing gift bags, and many other exciting events in preparation for our trip across the border as a group tomorrow.

Let us introduce our guest bloggers, Meagan from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Rachel from Saraland, Alabama, and Gary from Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

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Wow. What a day! I’ll start off by telling everyone what a blessing it has been to be a part of Give Me Shelter Ministries and the mission to Mexico. Today I saw first hand how God uses everything and every part of your life to reach others for him. I also saw three separate churches today merge together and become one body for Christ.

We began our day by attending the service that our host church has. It’s a bilingual service and even though I don’t speak a lick of Spanish it’s just great to be in there listening to God being praised in both Spanish and English.

After the service the real work began. We took blankets over the border to Mexico and a group stayed behind to prepare Christmas and hygienic bags to pass out. We tried to take the trailer full of blankets over the previous night and were turned away at the border. But we had a thousand blankets that needed to get to Mexico so we tried again this morning. We took all the blankets out of the boxes and stuffed (and I mean really stuffed) them in the back of two vans. Many trips were needed to get them all over. I got to go on the second trip across. We were blessed that we breezed through the border with absolutely no trouble.

We unpacked all the blankets that we had taken in that load to Felipe’s church to store until we pass them out tomorrow.

After that we went to three of the previous homes that Kenny and his teams have built. On our way back we hit some traffic. But I love this group because of our key word is “flexibility” and we are definitely flexible when we were stuck at the border for two hours. When we got back we spent the rest of the evening bagging cookies and bread to pass out when we feed the masses tomorrow in Nuevo Laredo. We begin bright and early and prayers are needed.

Meagan

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Finally, after a 17 hour drive in 15-person capacity church vans from Saraland, Alabama, our crew of 16 unique individuals reached our destination of the Primera Iglesias Bautista Church in Laredo, Texas. Coming here, I had no idea of what to expect and of what would be expected of me. But as soon as we arrived after receiving the key to actually get into the Church, I could explicitly see what God was about to bring over the next 4 days.

First thing when we arrived at the Church around 6:30 pm, we began by unloading our trailer of luggage and moving our bags into the Church building that we would be sleeping in. Surprisingly, as soon as we put our stuff down I was energetically greeted by my two newest Fort Walton Beach, Florida friends, Emily and Rachel, and then moved onto meeting the others that would be joining us on the Mexico mission.

Taco Palenque would be the lucky destination that would be graced by our presence for dinner, so after receiving a full meal of one-of-a-kind grilled chicken, rice, and mashed potatoes, we trucked on back to the Church, showered, and went to sleep.

Next morning we woke up at exactly 7:25, got ready for the day, and went to the main Church building for a breakfast of banana bread and chocolate milk… yum. For the next few hours as some of the group went ahead across the border to deliver blankets, I got the task of making gift bags for the children and adults that we will hand out tomorrow. With our professionally organized assembly lines rolling along, we were able to put together hundreds of bags filled with coloring books, toothbrushes and toothpaste, candy, stuffed animals, soap, etc. When the second group returned from Mexico, now it was my turn to cross the border into a world completely different from what I know as my day to day life.

After loading the green van with about 60 blankets, we quickly and easily crossed the border and reached the church in the community of the people that we will be serving. Next we unloaded the blankets, visited for a few minutes, and then began our way to the hour and a half long wait to get back into the US (which provided a good nap time for me).

As soon as we arrived back after enjoying a quick game of Catch Phrase with our new crew, we shoved some Dominoes pizza down our throats and continued onto the next task of filling plastic baggies with cookies and bread that we will hand out tomorrow. After finishing what we thought could never be done, we rested for a while, and now here I am. Looking back on the day now, although I am exhausted and ready for a hot shower, I consider this day extremely successful. We prepared all of the food, supplies, and blankets that we’ll be handing out tomorrow, and now I have a much better idea of what the next couple of days will hold.

I think we can all agree that God’s about to really impact some lives. One of my new acquaintances from Florida told me today how their old youth pastor used to say, its not about what we do and what we bring, but its about the care, love, and kindness we show that’s going to make the biggest impact on the people we will be helping. And this experience not only affects the people that we will be helping, but it equally impacts each of us as we see how fortunate we really are. I don’t know about everyone else, but I know that even in this small amount of days that this is truly an eye-opening experience.

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, or what may happen, but I know that all of these loving people here that are so willing to do whatever it takes to help others are going to make a huge impact on everyone around. And that’s really the goal, isn’t it? So, tomorrow as we stroll across the border and do what we can for others, all we can do is hope that what we are here for, will help spread God’s influence and kindness to the people who are most in need.

Rachel

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Well, what would be a Mexico mission trip without transportation issues? God did provide, as he always does, safe passage all the way here for the FBC bus and four other vehicles, mostly all pulling trailers full of blankets, cooking supplies and some Christmas and goody bags from a number of different sources.

Long story short around our favorite Texas stop, Bucee’s, we noticed a noisy belt, but did not notice any other apparent issue and then after arriving in Laredo and going to dinner a major serpentine belt had come off and the alternator was no longer functioning because of the lack of the belt. This morning we began the process, thanks mainly to one of our good friends from Saraland, AL, of trying to figure out the possibility of repair and after much “soul-searching” and a couple of visits to our favorite 24-hour Autozone we figured out that a bracket holding the belt and many extraneous crucial engine components had four bolts and three of them were broken.

We were able to replace only one, but were able to crank and move the bus and then proceed to contacting folks to find a permanent repair situation in the days to come.

We were able to meet throughout the process many interesting individuals, minister to some and some ministered to us, including the Laredo Baptist mission ministerial Association Director who offered his assistance. Thanks for your continued prayers and support throughout this mission and our God is very faithful!

Gary

Food delivery for Los Fresnos and Nuevo Laredo

Update... the actual number of meals delivered was over 32,000! Praise the Lord!

Dec. 3, 2009 :
God has been so good to GMSM through the involvement that He has allowed us to be in with Feed My Starving Children. This is the 2nd time that they have delivered food for us to be distributed in Mexico. Same as last time the food was dropped off in Los Fresnos, Texas at United in Christ Worldwide Ministry Worldwide, Inc. I flew into the Laredo airport via Ft. Walton Bch. My cool bro Jose Martinez was there to pick me up. On the flight down I sat by a trucker who was headed to Laredo to pick up some trucks to deliver somewhere in the states. I was able to share with him about GMSM and the work across the border. Although he had a different agenda in life he was receptive to what God is allowing us to do.

Once in Laredo and cowboy dude preacher (Jose) lassoed me and my baggage up, we headed out the airport door, once outside I could see why Jose was bundled up. It was freezing cold. He had spent the night out in the colonias at Felipe’s house and said it was very cold. Felipe is blessed to have a roof over his head but there is no insulation or heat whatsoever. The forecast is to get colder and maybe even snow 1 or 2 inches. I know it has to be just miserable out there. With all the new blankets we will be bringing down at Christmas they sure could use them now. We left Laredo and headed east for the 4 hour drive to Los Fresnos to meet up with the food. We stopped on the way for some elote asado “roasted corn”. Good call on a frigid day. I felt like Nacho Libre.

We arrived at the church where the food was dropped off. We are staying at Brother Richards’s house an elder of the church. We went to church for worship and then ate a killer meal that was prepared for us. Tomorrow we will start working the food across the border weather permitting and we are not snowed in (hahaha). My heart is heavy at the thought of how cold the people are. Tomorrows temps in Laredo are a high of mid to upper thirties. Praise God for His sufficient love for us.

Dec. 4, 2009 :
After a fairly good night’s sleep we got up early and loaded the church van and Jose’s truck up with the food boxes from FMSC. The weather was rainy and very cold. We chowed on some breakfast at the church and headed out across the border. The first place we stopped was the men’s drug rehab center in Matamoras. We dropped off 10 boxes of food which will be split with the women’s drug rehab center. That is roughly 1080 meals. The need is so much in this center. It is clean but it is very cold. The next stop was Chihuahua Soup Kitchen which also doubles as a fellowship of believers. We left 7 boxes for their use and we left 7 boxes for the Zacatecus ministry that is interior Mexico. Christ United will take those down soon. We headed a little further deeper into Matamoras where we dropped off 14 boxes for two soup kitchen ministries.

Once we were finished with the food distribution in the city we left south to the island of Mano Deleon where the village of Mesqutal is located. We visited the pastor and his family and left 12 boxes of food to be portioned out to the villagers as needed. It was so brutal cold out there and I know the food will only last a short while. I pray that God will keep the door opened for us to continue a good working relationship with FMSC and more food will be available for us to continue this ministry down here. We will leave about 17 boxes at United in Christ Church for other ministries. A total of 67 seven boxes were distributed in this area of Mexico, which is a possible 14,472 meals, PTL! Tomorrow we will load up the other two and a half pallets of food and head up the border to Nuevo Laredo for our next food delivery adventure.

Dec 5, 2009 :
Once again the weather is very cold. Most people do not associate cold weather with Mexico but along the border they receive the same types of weather that we do. So we loaded up Jose’s truck with the remainder of the food boxes (68 total) and headed towards Nuevo Laredo.

We always anticipate the potential hassle that the border guys can give us. Sometimes they make us pay duty on what we bring across and sometimes they don’t. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the way things are done along the border going into Mexico. I only know that God seems to always work it out for His glory. This crossing was no exception; we made it across without incident and did not have to pay duty on the food, PTL. Most of the food will be distributed out through the Mission Bautista Comino Nuevo Church under the guidance of Pastor Felipe Hernandez. This food will be dispersed through out the colonias. We also took 15 boxes to the boy’s dorm at Casa Hogar Elim orphanage where they operate a feeding house to the local people around the facility. Jose and I spent the night in the colonia where Felipe lives and I preached at his church on Sunday morning. God truly blessed this trip and many families will be touched by the ministry that Feed My Starving Children has and what they are doing throughout the world. I praise God that he has yoked us together.

New Opportunity and Urgent Mission

Give Me Shelter Ministries delivered over 6500 meals from Feed My Starving Children in June 2009. You can see the results here

Now, in our continued effort to become one of the few non-profit organizations to serve as a distribution partner to Feed My Starving Children, we have an opportunity to deliver almost 10,000 meals to Mexico! But this opportunity arose quickly, and we must deliver these meals December 4-6! Praise God we have reserves to make this happen, but we will need your prayerful consideration to donate to this mission. We must buy a plane ticket, so frequent flyer miles are greatly appreciated as well! Please see the website for Feed My Starving Children at www.FMSC.org to see what a wonderful organization this is and how great it would be for Give Me Shelter Ministries to become a full time distribution partner and extend their reach into Mexico.

If you have frequent flyer miles, please email us at info@GiveMeShelterMinistries.org. If you would like to donate to this mission, please do so by clicking the Donate button in the column to the right. Thank you and God bless!

Mission Accomplished, Praise God!

This is the day that always seems to be the best for me, the day of the house dedication ceremony. I will admit it is very difficult for me emotionally. Knowing the appreciation of something so simple that we as such a fortunate country take for granted. I will always wonder why God chose me of all people to taste the true sweetness of His grace and mercy through what He allows us to do through GMSM.

As we arrived to the new home of the Quientero’s Pastor Felipe was already waiting. We kind of just hung out for a few minutes as we waited for all the players to show (Felipe’s family and the Quientero family). Even Juan the neighbor showed up for the gig. This is the guy I shared with a few days prior. As Felipe read from God's word to dedicate this house as a light to Colonia Artista I could not help but reflect on why some people refuse to understand or accept what we do. The pure joy to serve God and to see the stoke on the faces of this family, I wish all believers could experience what God has allowed us to be a part of this week.

After the dedication we presented house warming gifts along with a cool toy for the little dude. With many handshakes and hugs everyone started to disperse. Once again at the nudging of the Holy Spirit I felt called to share a little more with Juan. In the presence of Felipe and Jose I told Juan all I could and then just turned it over to the Lord and my two compadres. They spoke a few words and he indicated that he was ready for a true change in his life. We prayed with him and he prayed for Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

The harvest is many but the laborers are few. Praise God for His harvest. Felipe and Jose will continue to disciple Juan and train him in the ways of God. Great trip with many blessings! The Kingdom was expanded which is the true essence of what we do.

Kenny

GMSM

On the 3rd day, God allowed us to complete a house.

It never ceases to amaze me how God can use a few kooks like us to accomplish beautiful things. We completed the house in two and a half days. Not that we were trying to break any records or going to fast, it is just that God assembled a very good team. It also allowed us to take time and reflect on the Goodness of the Lord. The Quintero family has so much excitement and anticipation in their eyes. He has been busy today doing little extra things in his new home. He even built a clothes hanging area. I am not sure but I think he is a laborer of sorts and his wife works in a Sony factory.

As always will buy a house warming gift for the house dedication tomorrow. So after we cleaned up the job site we headed back to the orphanage got cleaned up and did what any good gringo would do, go to the chicken place. After eating we experienced worship with the kids and went house warming gift shopping at the Soreana.

I am so excited for this family and at what God has allowed us to be a part of. It is such a blessing and even for me it is hard to put into words. All I can say is praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

Mission to Mexico, November 11, 2009

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. What a great day the Lord gave us. The house work is going so smooth and good. The guys are working together with such unity. We as the body of Christ should take a hard look at these kinds of things and model our relationship with Christ’s church in a way that has one common goal, kingdom expansion. It has been so cool so far how God has orchestrated this team. We all have certain levels of talent, yet each one compliments the other. Kind of like when Paul tells us we need the whole body not just pieces and parts of it. It takes the whole thing to work proper. This has really given me the opportunity to soak in all the goodness of the Lords plan through this project. I am usually the one that has to spearhead the whole process of the house building. Although everyone seems to look to me for direction, I can let go and distribute the work out and the guys just pick up and go with it. These men could probably do this on their own without me but for some crazy reason God has put me in the leadership role of His ministry, GMSM. We have in the past had some teams that just did not mesh together. Some with their own agendas and some teams that flat out had too many chiefs and not enough Indians. I wonder sometimes what truly motivates man. I guess that is one thing I really do not have to worry about. My focus is on trying to be the example that God wants me to be. So with all that said, praise God for this wonderful team God has assembled. After only two days we are 90% complete.

Today a neighbor named Johnny came over to see what all we were doing. He is a super kind dude. This cat kept an eye on me and soon enough we were joking around and he began to really help us out. Johnny and I just seemed to mesh. As the afternoon wore on I felt the Lord leading me to talk with this dude about spiritual things. We worked till almost dark today and after all was cleaned up I just had to share Christ with him. He was very receptive and said he was Catholic but know one had ever said things to him like that before. I asked if we could talk more tomorrow and he said that would be cool. I thanked him for his help and told him that I thought God brought him over today for a different reason other than to help on the house. All I did was share about God’s grace and mercy through his son Jesus. I did not ask him to make a “decision”. God will take care of the rest. Praise the Lord for this team working together well that allowed me to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. After all are we here to build houses or the kingdom.

Kenny

GMSM

Mission to Mexico, November 10, 2009

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. After a not so good night sleep we headed off to the house site. We were met by the Quietero family and Pastor Felipe and his family. As we greeted each other Felipe told me how they had seen the web site and picture of the family. They printed the picture off and gave it to the family and they were so excited. I asked Nathaniel (the pastor’s son) where they saw the web site and he said at a cyber café. As we started work you could see the joy in the eyes of this couple. Words can never describe the joy God has allowed us to receive by doing something so simple. The day went so well and it is a joy to work with a group of talented men. It truly gives me a time of renewal not having to oversee everything. We accomplished so much today. We did not even start work till 10:00 a.m. and by 4:00 we had all the walls up and ready for siding.

The house this family lives in now is twice as small as the house we are building. They sleep on the ground and as you can see by the picture that it is not a very pleasant place to live. But as of now it is all they have and there are so many families just like this one that live in incredible conditions. Right now God is allowing us to provide for one family at a time. Our hope and prayer is that the redemptive plan through Jesus might be shared by the things that God allows us to do and that He continues to open the door for us to share the gift of salvation. After the day we went to the ever famous Pollo Buenavista for a meal of grilled pollo. After that a quick trip to the Soreana for ice cream and then back to the orphanage to hear the kids going crazy and having fun till the wee hours of the morning Thank you God for another blessed day.

Kenny

GMSM

Mission to Mexico, November 9, 2009

Greetings, love, peace and praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Parting from the family can at times be kinda bittersweet. I love the opportunity that God gives me to serve through GMSM, at the same time it is hard to leave the family again, especially since we just got back from Haiti. I suppose it is a part of suffering that pales in comparison to the martyrs of past, present and future. God has given me a wonderful woman to support me from the home front.

I am so excited that we are going to build a house for a family in the colonias. A family in much need of shelter; physical and spiritual. God is so cool beyond belief. He provided the cash for this house in only a way He can. As of Wednesday we only had $950.00 to build this house. As most know it takes about $2500.00 for this to happen. By Friday God allowed several people to step up and crank out some cash. By the end of the day we had all we needed and more. If that’s not conformation I do not know what is.

We left Sunday night about 9.00 p.m. to head to P’Cola, FL to hook up with Ray White, grab a trailer and hit the white lined asphalt for the long haul west and then south to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. With tools and supplies in tow and no expectations, we are on route to follow the main dude, God. I am traveling with Shaun Ellis (pastor of Beachside Community Church), Scott Capps and Chuck Heiges. Traveling with Ray is Rickey Anderson. We met Shaun’s dad Bill and Shaun’s Uncle Charles who are from Alabama, in Sealy, Texas along the interstate. Now that all the players are visible and accounted for we are headed on down the road to Buc-ee’s. From there to San Antonio, a hard left south and on to Mexico. Once we hit Laredo, TX we will pick up one more truck and trailer and head over to Lowes and start to gather our lumber to take across the border. That will and always will be an adventure in itself.

Praise god the Lowes adventure went off like a hitch. We gathered our chum, got tax exempt, loaded and got out of there. We all headed back to Jaunie’s where Louise her husband had prepared a killer meal of tacos and tamales. WOW! After completely pigging out we once again assembled and headed towards the border. We got through without incident and without having to pay duty on the house supplies. We got to Casa Hogar Elim and bedded down to make ready for a good tomorrow.

Kenny

GMSM

Haiti, November 1, 2009

T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Sunday). Praise god from Whom all blessings flow. What a glorious last day in Haiti God has giving me. Usually we arrive in Z’orange on Sunday and leave on Saturday. My schedule is so different this time with me leaving Haiti early to get ready for the Mexico mission trip that my last day will be spent in worship with my Haitian brothers and sisters.

We went just a little north of Z’Orange to visit the Jerusalem IIII church. Right now this congregation is meeting under a thatched roof with crude post and beam construction. Our prayer is that God will build His church on this spot and let us have a part in it by whatever means He chooses love church here in Haiti, especially out in the country. God is so cool to let us see real worship at it’s finest. People coming together for the common purpose of church, the body of Christ joining together as one, not a bunch of spastic committees working against each other for the common purpose of a power struggle.

We can learn so much from things in which most people want to distance themselves from. I myself have to be careful not to fall prey to the things of this world. Brother Carl preached the truth and the locals sang as if they were angels from heaven. After church we went back to Z,Orange and had a great Haitian lunch with Pastor Dorleon, his wife and Jean Renel the associate pastor. Killer food, goat, rice and beans, fried plantains and greens.

I saw John Wesley’s wife today and talked with her for a little while. As of now they are not together again which seems to be an off and on thing happening between the two. I did not see him but I am very stoked at her commitment to God and the church. I never got to see Pastor Fani either. That saddens me greatly because I have grown to love him and his wife so much. He never came down off the mountain and may not for quiet some time. Next time down I plan to spend some time up with him, God willing. I feel as though I am cheating sometimes with all the blessings I receive serving God. Weather it is Haiti, Mexico or home the blessings I get I do not deserve, but God is so gracious to us and allows us to be a part of His plan if we are obedient and available. God’s plan will go on without us so we ought to take advantage and taste the sweetness of His grace and mercy. Please pray for Haiti.

Kenny

GMSM

Haiti, October 31, 2009

Yeah I finally got my Haitian phone to replace the one I lost in August. GMSM also bought a new phone for George Truelove. The least we could do for such a wonderful servant to God and Haiti. George has become a true friend and brother. Today was a day of rest for the most part. After all it is the true Sabbath according to the Jews. We did visit the church job site to let Chuck make sure all the ducks are in a row and we also ran a few errands.

After all that we took off up the mountain above port to the Baptist Haiti Mission in Fermathe. This mission was started in the early 1940’s and has been an incredible asset to the people of Haiti. Beautiful drive up and down the mountain. I think everyone is burned out tonight including me. We go to the village in the morning for church, lunch and fellowship. I hope that I get a chance to see Pastor Fani. We will have to see. All in all another blessed cool day serving the Lord in Haiti. An old Haitian proverb to end the day with “When the Panther and Goat come together all are safe”. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

October 30, 2009, Haiti Mission Trip

I am so glad that I have learned to have no expectations on any mission trip that God allows GMSM to be a part of. What is so unique about this trip is much of it is being done behind the scenes. Most of what we are doing is making everything cool for the coming team. I can only imagine how this worked if you had to deal with it by yourself like Chuck did for so many years.

We started out this morning picking up some meds from a pharmacy in town. From there we went back to Harry’s church site to get the truck to fill with more supplies to take to Z’Orange. We had two more stops to make on the way to the village before we headed up the mountain. The first stop was to C.A.M. (Christian Aid Ministry) to pick up more meds for the medical clinic that will take place in a week or so. C.A.M. is a Mennonite ministry that helps medical clinics and supports schools along with some church planting.

From there we went to Global Outreach to pick up a donated four wheeler to take up to the mountain to help with some transportation. Global Outreach drills water wells in Haiti and maintains the wells that are dug. After all the gathering of supplies we headed on up the mountain to drop of and pick up some things that needed to come back down. I am getting some great drive time here in all conditions. Mountain driving can be a little scary at times but city driving is down right crazy.

God is so gracious to continue to bless and stretch me in so many ways. I feel so unworthy and undeserving to do what God allows me to do and hope I always continue to feel that way. Thank you Jesus for another great day in Haiti. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

Oct. 29, 09 Haiti Mission Trip

How can we not praise God the creator of all and from whom all blessings flow? Each day in Haiti is such a blessing and a struggle. God has brought so many together through the church of Jesus to sharpen each other and to work side by side. It never ceases to amaze me how cool God is to use a bunch of kooks like us to further His plan of Kingdom expansion. As we stumble through each day God just seems to continue to lay a clear path to travel. I need to say no more about how Dottie takes care of us except PTL. We got to the church site first thing this morning to talk to the bosses (Haitian dudes in charge) about a material for the foundation. Today was a very important day for all involved. The men are just about finished with the digging and are almost ready for rebar and concrete. Once Chuck pinned boss down for a list we took off for another eventful trip to town with Gabriel. Steve and I along with a couple of Haitians took the truck to the lumber store to meet the rest of the crew. The lumber guys got all the rebar together for us and loaded it on the truck. From that point we split back up. We took the material back to the work site while Chuck and Jerry went in search of sand and rock, which in the big scheme of things is not hard to find especially on this island. Although this stuff really is everywhere the building sand and rock has to be bought through the proper venders. Chuck and Jerry had four truck loads of sand and two truck loads of rock delivered to the church site. Even though today was very productive there will be many more trips to town to gather material before the work is completed.

Kenny

GMSM

First 2 Days Back in Haiti

Kenny is back in Haiti with Brother Chuck of Truth Evangelistic Ministry, working on the foundation for a new church in Port Au Prince, delivering food to children in the village of Z'Orange, and making preparations for the team coming in November. Please pray for all these Christians in Haiti who deliver the truth about Jesus Christ to people who are less fortunate than us in the U.S.A.

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Oct 28, 2009 Haiti mission trip

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, what a day. After another killer meal (breakfast) we headed out to Harry’s church site to survey the progress on the foundation. Chuck spoke to Boss T. Crabs to discuss what was needed as far as materials for the next phase of the project. It was cool to sit and listen as Gods plan unfolds. When the discussion was over we headed out to Love a Child to get the truck and pick up some Feed My Starving Children food to take up to Z’Orange. I drove the truck through town, up the mountain, back down the mountain and back through town. It was so good to see Pastor Doleon and the people of the village. It is also cool to help out with driving duties to give Chuck a break. Once we got back down the mountain the sun was gone and the real fun got started. Trust me; it is a trip driving at night in PAP, Haiti. CRAZY! We found our way back to Harry’s church where Chuck and George was waiting. We left the truck there and trucked back to Dottie’s. What a great day. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Kenny

GMSM

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Oct 27, 09 Haiti Mission Trip

Nothing out of the norm, Gods business as usual. Lots of air time, flight legs and all the stuff it takes to get down to Haiti. It is always good to spend some quality time with Chuck. It may seem selfish but I do like it sometimes when we travel alone. It is nice to just bounce things around. Seems like when we are home both our ministries keep us moving and it is hard to pin each other down. We need to work on that. Anyway we hooked up with our group in PAP (Port Au Prince), had a great meal as always at Dottie’s and just chilled waiting on the Lord to give us direction. Many things need to be done. Materials need to be bought for Harry’s church in PAP, food needs to be picked up and taken out to the village of Z’Orange and preparations need to take place for the team coming in November. It will be a busy week and I am excited to see what God has in store for us. I do hope and pray to see Pastor Fani.

Kenny

GMSM

Thanks All for a great "Raise the Roof" Concert

Thank you Sonia Gann for the awesome photography!

WOW! What a beautiful day God provided for us to have His concert on. The bands were great and the music was fantastic. All I can say is that whoever decided there were other things to do, well, bummer for you. All the volunteers served with a joyful heart and everything went off as planned. The crowd was sparse but I have come to the point that God knows who needed to be there and they were. Kevin Derryberry, Shawn and Katie Sandlin drove all the way down from Birmingham, Al. and did a great job. Without Silence and the Jeremy Gibson Band rocked. Jamey Shannon did a wonderful job at revealing who he really is. Although I think he does a great job of music minister at FBCFWB, I do believe I like him much better on stage truly using the gifts God has given him. Matt Brown, Josh and the FBCFWB house band all held their own. Drew and Keith did the killer barbeque and kept everyone full. The city of Ft. Walton tried to pull a fast one on us the day before the concert but God was much faster, “Get thee behind me satan”. We raised a few dollars, people heard the truth in the gospel and more people in town know more about Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc. Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow. WOW!

Kenny Phillips founder/director

GMSM

Thank you to the following supporters!

H2O Associates and Surftech

Premier Media Technologies of Destin - Mr. Will Tiller

Los Panchos of ft. Walton - Britt and Nikki Webb

Longhorn's Seakhouse of Destin - Steve Coley

Longhorns's Steakhouse of Ft. Walton - Christi

Olive Garden of Ft. Walton - Mr. Jeff Phillips

Fudpucker's of Destin - Mr. David Smith

Floyd's Fish House of Ft. Walton - J. J.

Coach and Four Gifts of Ft. Walton - Doug and Michelle Murphy

The Crab Trap of Destin - Patrick O'Roard

Slick Mick's Deli & Grille, FWB

Coach N four Steak House of FWB - John & Sharon Moon

Winn Dixie of FWB

Food World - John Seabo

Publix of FWB - Philllip Smith

La Paz Restaurant of Destin - Mr. Jere Bortz

Red Lobster of FWB

InnerLight surf & Skate of Penscola

Ponchatoula Fundraiser for GMSM

Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow. The family and I had fantastic opportunity to participate in a fund raising event in Ponchatoula, La. on the weekend of Oct. the 11th. We visited our wonderful friends the Guillot’s and the Felder’s. The weekend was spent in fellowship and planning for our Christmas mission trip to Mexico on December the 26th thru the 30th. On Sunday the 11th Wormy and the boys grilled chicken at the church which was put in to go boxes along with several side dishes and sold for 7.00 dollars a box. Susan and Sharon coordinated the fund raiser as well as the preparation of the boxes along with a great group of servants. Kim, the girls and I helped pick up the slack where needed.

All in all over 1200.00 dollars was raised that will help offset the cost of the meals we will be preparing and serving in the colonias in Mexico. The event took place at Westside Baptist Church. This same group has also raised over 2000.00 dollars so far for the blankets that will be given out at Christmas. GMSM is so blessed to have such beautiful partners as these in Ponchatoula. Praise God!

Kenny Phillips founder /director

GMSM

Listen to WPSM 91.1 Today

Kenny will be sharing the news about Give Me Shelter Ministries today at 11AM on Ft. Walton Beach radio station WPSM 91.1. You can also tune in online at http://www.wpsm.com/.

Dear Friends and Family,

Most of you know that we have had the opportunity to visit Nuevo Laredo, Mexico several times over the last seven years. Our work there has been focused on Casa Hogar Elim Orphanage and the colonia’s outside of Nuevo Laredo. The colonia’s are very poor “neighborhoods”. The houses are built of anything a family can find such as discarded pallets, tin or wood. The colonia’s have no running water, electricity or plumbing and as you can imagine, they are not very secure from the elements.

On our visit last Christmas, the weather turned quite cold. We saw first hand how inadequate the houses in the colonia’s are to keep these families warm. We soon realized that not only was their shelter inadequate but many did not even own a blanket. It broke our hearts to think of these families, from babies to senior adults, having no way to keep warm.

As a group, we decided that our goal for 2009 would be to provide blankets to these colonia’s. It is our prayer that we can distribute 1000 blankets this Christmas. We are working with The Emerald Coast Fellowship of Baptist Churches to get the word out in the local area about this need. Additionally, we are working with two out of town churches, one in Ponchatoula, La and the other in Saraland, Al on this mission project. We believe that with God’s help we can reach or surpass this goal. However, we cannot do it alone. We are asking for help from our friends and family. The cost of a heavyweight blanket is approximately $11. We are working with a vendor who will ship them directly to Laredo, Tx and we will bring them across the border for distribution.

If you would like to help us meet our goal of purchasing 1000 blankets you can do so by donating $11 or any dollar amount you would like to give. 100% of what you give will be used to purchase blankets. Click the big blanket here on our blog or on our website.

If you prefer to pay via check, all checks should be made payable to Give Me Shelter Ministries (GMSM) and mailed to GMSM P.O. Box 864, Shalimar, Fl 32579. Please notate “blankets for Mexico” on the memo line of your check.

We need to place our order for the blankets by early November so if you would like to help us, please send your donations no later than October 31, 2009. All donations are tax deductible.

Please check out Give Me Shelter Ministries website at www.givemeshelterministries.org for more information and details about our planned end of the year mission trips to Mexico and Haiti. As always, we thank you for your continued support of our mission work in Mexico.

Kenny Phillips founder/director

Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc.

850-496-7398

Building a New Home in Mexico November 8 - 14

The Quintero Family

Give Me Shelter Ministries and Beachside Community Church are headed back to Nuevo Laredo in early November. We have raised $600 so far, and only need $1900 more dollars to build this home for a family in need.

Pray that our mission is accomplished, and please consider helping us raise the funds by sharing our blog and mission with your friends and family.

It's hard to imagine, but for the cost of a nice HD TV setup at Best Buy, we can house the Quintero family in Mexico. Praise the Lord!

Haiti, July 30, 2009

Today we did a small repair on the front gable to the entrance to the medical clinic. This was a small project but an important one. There is a lot of work to do up here at George and Carol Ann's and I am sure that we will start planning return trips this way to help out.

After we finished this odd job, we took off to visit and spend the night at Bombordopolis where missionaries Steve and Faith Leach live. They have a very well run medical clinic, doctors office complete with x-ray, examination rooms and surgery center. Very clean and nice compound. This is also where the Widows' home is that was built about three years ago. Missionaries Rich and Marge Byers also live on the compound. Really nice area, with lots of needs.

At night we all went to Rich and Marge’s house and had homemade pizza and soda. Awesome! We had a great night sleep at the Leach’s and all is good. Bombord is about an hour and a half ride from Sentrain where we have been for the last three days.

Haiti, July 29, 2009

It is amazing what God can do when you trust and depend on him. Today was a tough day even by my standards. With the help of three Haitian brothers we were able to finish the roof and complete the task at hand. It is so cool how when people work together you can accomplish so much. That is why it is so important for God's church to work with each other to expand the kingdom and to bring glory to the true King.

There was another baby born today at the clinic. Both the child (boy) and the mother are fine. Tomorrow we finish up some stuff here and leave to go visit another set of missionaries. So far all has gone very well. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Haiti, July 28, 2009

A very hard day today. Of course every day is hard in Haiti. Had a killer breakfast that would help jump start the day that God had in store for us.

We started tearing the old metal roof to prepare for the new metal. This is so cool. This is something God laid on my heart about a year ago. George has helped Truth Ministries out so much and he has always been so kind to me. He told me a need and God just said “Hey dude do it”. He needed a new roof over his depot. I spoke with Chuck about this and we were in agreement so here we are.

As we began to tear the roof off, a prayer need came out of the clinic that Carol Ann runs in this tiny village of Sentrain. There was a breech birth about to happen. About a half hour later word came that not only was it a breech birth but also it was twins. Siamese twins at that. They were joined at the stomach. Can you imagine this going on in a place where specialized help is very far away? Carol Ann has delivered 100’s of babies but this was a first. The babies did not make it and it was a bummer of a scene.

Will's daughter Brittany wanted to work in the clinic today with the baby deliveries. Fifteen years old and this was her first time ever to be exposed to this type of stuff, never the less what she just witnessed. Trust me when you volunteer for clinic work you are right in the middle of it all. It really upset her. This is Tuff stuff! The life that these babies were going to live would have been extremely hard. It is hard when you’re healthy.

Well, these little children are in the arms of Jesus and they never saw sin. God new what he was doing. At least the mother is OK. A short time later another birth took place and all went well. Brittany got to hold the new born little boy. God gives and He takes away. Hard to understand that sometimes but He does know what is going on and how to deal with it.

We got the first half of the roof pulled off and the new metal put on. We could not have done it without the help of a young Haitian man named Ilsonet. Will met this dude a while back and he wanted to help us. Praise God he did. This roof is sketchy at best. I am beat. Noche, noche.

Haiti, July 27, 2009

We left Dottie’s guest house this morning and headed to the airport to MAF, Mission Aviation Fellowship to catch a bush plane up to Mole St. Nichol. It is about a forty five minute flight from Port Au Prince. From there we will travel to Sentrain where George and Carol Ann Truelove live and serve.

Once up in the air the view was incredible. I have always wanted to head up this way and it is so cool that God gave me a chance. Bush planes are always so sketchy feeling, in a good way though. Kind of like dropping into a big wave over a shallow reef.

Once we approached the air strip at Mole St. Nichol -- or "landing dirt road" I should say -- we were greeted by George Truelove. Mole is a coastal town with beautiful clear water. Not really sure what goes on there but I am sure fishing is a big part of it.

After driving through Mole we headed to Marerouge and then on to Sentrain. Once we arrived in Sentrain we got settled in at the guest house, had lunch and chilled. I walked around a bit and talked to a few locals and snapped off a few shots. It is much different up here. I can feel I am close to the coast.

We scoped out the work for the roof and continued to relax for the rest of the afternoon. George and Carol Ann run a medical clinic that encompasses so much more than I know about. I will find out more tomorrow. Wow! When it gets dark up here it gets dark. God is so awesome!

Haiti, July 26, 2009

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We did get a good night sleep even though it was very hot. We got up early and headed up the mountain to the village of Z’Orange. This is an exciting day for me because we will see Pastor Fanilus (the pastor that was in a very bad accident) and hopefully John Wesley the voodoo priest that I have made an incredible friendship with. When we arrived in the village the first thing we did was go to church. I love worship in Haiti. It always seems so pure and lets face it God wants a pure and holy people. In the first chapter of Isaiah God tells us that he is tired of the empty sacrifices that we offer. Wow! During the church service I saw Pastor and Sister Fani in the service. After church I had a chance to spend some time with this couple that I have grown to love so much. They are staying in the village and have not got back up to the mountain. I can tell that he is still struggling a lot and is no where near himself. They are so ready to get back to their village where they are needed but it is such a long and hard walk up the mountain and he is just not up to it. We must continue to pray that God will continue to heal him. I just know that God has got beautiful plans for this family. I also saw Yolene, John Wesley’s wife in church. I also spent some time with her. She and John are back together living with her mother way up on a mountain. Their baby is sick so we helped her with some money to get the child to the doctor. At this time John was no where to be seen. Praise God his wife has found the truth. After lunch we went around the village and looked at a few projects that are under way through TRUTH Ministries. I thank God daily that he has allowed GMSM to yoke up with this ministry. This was only a day trip to the village and as we were leaving John Wesley walked up. It was good to see him but it will be better to see him when he seeks out the truth and surrenders his life to Christ. Tomorrow we leave for Mole St. Nicholi and a new journey.

Back to Haiti, July 25, 2009

Always an adventure when flying with Spirit. "Who?" you say, yep that says it all… el cheapo.

We meet at the Truth office at 3:00 and drove to Pensacola. This is the first time we have flown out of P’Cola and it saved us about $400.00 so that is very cool with me. The savings can go towards another effort in Haiti or Mexico. It is always a drawn out day and we arrived in PAP (Port Au Prince) around 5:00 pm. We made it but the luggage and supplies did not, another first. Can you say flexibility? I sure can, we have no other choice.

All we have is what we got off the plane with. Hope the stuff comes in tomorrow because we fly north on Monday morning. You know what though, what we have with us now is a lot more than most people in Haiti. We are still so blessed even in times when we may think we have it bad. GMSM is here in Haiti with Chuck Martindale, Will Tiller and his daughter Brittany. So cool that a 15 year old would choose to spend some of her summer vacation serving the Lord in a hot, desolate area of the world where most people have forgotten. Is that not what it is all about? Serve and not self serve.

We head to Z’Orange to spend the day in the village and visit pastor Fani before we take off up North. Look forward to seeing our friends in the village; I hope I see John Wesley.

Return to Haiti, July 25, 2009

Leave in the morning for Haiti at 6:00 am from Pcola. A new journey for the Lord. I talked to a very good bud of mine today and we talked about the journey. We always tend to look for the destination. The way we get there is really the most important part. In the beginning of the Bible God shows us his redemptive plan and at the end he helps us see the destination. How we get there, the journey is the real stuff.

Letter from Kenny to the Church

Dear Church,

I have recently returned from three weeks in Mexico where God continues to do beautiful things. GMSM was down in Mexico from the 12th of June through the 4th of July. The first week Give Me Shelter Ministries partnered up with FBC of Gulf Breeze FL, their youth group, youth pastor and adult leaders. This is an awesome group of really grounded students and adults; we were able to introduce them to the Colonias and the orphanage.

This group was an answer to a prayer that had been on my heart for a long time, they pioneered the first VBS out in the Colonias where we build the houses. That was so way cool and God was so all over it! They also did VBS at Casa Hogar Elim Orphanage. So many seeds were planted that allowed for a plentiful harvest.

The second week was spent realizing that another prayer had been answered. We had been praying and trying to get food down to several areas in Mexico. GMSM had been working with an organization called Feed My Starving Children. This organization ships food all over the entire globe. The food is free of charge; you just have to pay for the shipping. God is so gracious in that he allowed us to work with these guys. The food was shipped to Los Fresnos, Texas. I drove up from Nuevo Laredo with missionary Ray White to meet the truck. Before we even got to the church where the food was being delivered God had provided someone to pay the $640.00 shipping fee. How totally awesome was that! We really did not have all the funds to pay for the shipping we just knew that this was something God was putting together, so he provided, Amen! We worked half the food over to Matamoras and the rest we took back to Nuevo Laredo. After getting the food in the proper hands the rest of the week was spent preparing for the arrival of another church group.

FBC of Ft. Walton Bch. Fl also partnered up with GMSM to work in the Colonias and at the orphanage. We built one house in the Colonias, continued VBS at Pastor Felipes church, loved on kids in the orphanage and had a food distribution in Blanco Navidad, one of the poorest Colonias. Though it was tough at times God met all our concerns and needs. Please continue to pray for me and my family. I will be leaving for Haiti on the 25th of this month for a week. We will be pulling maintenance on a missionary’s house up in the North West part of the island.

Please pray that God will continue to provide for GMSM as we strive to seek Gods will in this ministry.

Hebrews 6:10

Kenny Phillips founder/director
Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc.
www.givemeshelterministries.org
850-496-7398
PO Box 864
Shalimar. FL 32579

Mexico, July 1st and 2nd, 2009 - the last days of a long journey

I make no apologies but the last two days were difficult and crucial. I am just now tying up the loose ends. Sometimes I can be my worse obstacle. Wednesday the 1st proved to be a critical day for the new home that we were building. It has been so very hot that we had to take many breaks to cool off. We worked very late on this day and I new that Thursday the final day, we would be cutting it very close time wise.

Most times getting a task done may not be as important as building relationships but this was a situation that meant having a roof over ones head or not. I know what we all were going home, so this was and always will be a no-brainer for me. We will complete the job.

Wednesday night we lost two of our crew. They felt that they needed to leave early, so come Thursday morning they were gone. You could say that may have put us in a desperate situation but God did what He always does when we walk in his will. I prayed that God would stop the sun for a while and I am almost sure He did. It seemed as though time had stopped for a while.

This day went smoother than the rest, the work seemed light, the weather was cooler and with help from Jose who helped with the roof and many of the youths helping hands we actually got done early. This day is always the celebration day for this particular mission trip. We delivered about 250 food boxes to the colonia Blanco Navidad, finished up VBS, cooked lunch at Felipe’s church, finished the house and had the house dedication ceremony. It is always such a joy to see the keys handed over to the new owners. Raul and Tomasa were very stoked and so were we. After the house dedication we ate the fellowship meal with Felipe’s family at the sacred Polo Buenavista. Tomorrow we pack up and clean the host church and head towards Houston and then on to FWB, FL. It will be good to get home. It was good being with the family the last week down hear. What a great three weeks it has been. What an adventure. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Mexico, June 30, 2009

GUEST BLOGGERS: Emily, Mary and Mike!

Just a quick note to let everyone know what a true blessing it has been to be involved with Give Me Shelter Ministries and Kenny Phillips. But you know it's not about Kenny Phillips it is about the mission that has been set on his life. We are working on a home for one family in the Columbian Colonials where people mostly are without power or running water. What little bit that we are doing for them and how appreciative they are for it, to see what and how the they live we are so blessed. But through all of the famish and despair there is Great Hope. This trip has touched my heart and through all the hard work and major heat I'm truly grateful God has put me here at this place at this time.
Mike

Well, this morning at breakfast I was sitting with about 6 kids shouting “hambre” about what seemed like 1000 times. I knew that meant hungry, so I couldn’t understand why they weren’t starting to eat. I tried in my best Spanish to communicate, but of course that didn’t work out. They just sat there for probably 10 minutes talking to each other until one stood up to say the blessing for the food. After that, I realized that as hungry as they were they waited to pray before they even touched their plates. That really spoke a lot to me and I was definitely blessed watching that happen.

It was a great start to an awesome day followed by a crazy water fight with everyone. It was just a water balloon toss, and then it turned into a water balloon fight. Since the craft today was water bottles, every little hand held a bottle filled up with water. It completely went downhill from there, but it was all worth it. I was soaked from my head down to my shoes. I could have very well been the wettest one today and also the one that took the longest to dry.

We got past the border easier today than yesterday, thank God for that! Today was for sure an experience, and I hope and pray we go back to the orphanage this week. I’m excited for the colonials tomorrow and Thursday especially the chicken place! Lights are out in 30 minutes and I am super overtired. Goodnight!
<3, Mary (G-Baby)

Hellllloooooooooo bloggers. Today was an incredible day at the orphanage. We had to stop at the border and get off again, but God was watching out FOR SURE because it didn't take long at all. thanks for all your prayers :) we arrived at the orphanage, played with the kids, and started VBS after they had finished breakfast.

My biggest blessing of the day came at breakfast. Gladys is a girl who is probably 15 years old and extremely disabled. before breakfast started, i helped mi amiga Juanita set the tables for the kids. then all the kids rushed in at the sound of the breakfast bell, and Brenda wheeled Gladys in on her wheelchair and put it in front of one of the air conditioning units. All the kids were scarfing down breakfast when i saw the look on Gladys's face- she loves to eat and noone had brought her anything! She can't really talk either, which makes it difficult. but i went to the kitchen and got a plate for Gladys and went over and just fed her breakfast....I'm not saying this for my own benefit at all- Gladys continued to show me true joy. She's sitting in front of me, just two years younger, and spends every day of her life in the heat, sitting in a wheelchair, but she has more joy than anyone i know. She may not express it verbally, but the look on her face speaks louder than words ever could. And when she reached over and grabbed my hand (which is difficult because of her condition), my heart absolutely melted. We are so blessed....im speechless beyond that point.

The rest of the day was awesome as well- we did a puppet show for the kids, they were muchhh more focused during the Bible story, and they loved making water bottles during arts & crafts. But perhaps the highlight of the day was what started as a water balloon toss. It ended up a full-fledged water war. and the kids definitely won. that occurred around 11 and my pants are still wet as I'm writing this right now. Combining water bottle crafts and water balloons on the same idea was a bad idea.

A bunch of the kids left for school at once. we took some of the food boxes over to Felipe's church, went back to the orphanage to pick up the rest of our gear & gang, and headed across the border. now im here, typing my note, while the others are showering because i stole the first shower yesterday :) Mrs. Deindi is fixing Thai food for us tonight! and Leah is joining the fellowship and sleepover :) lots of PTLs! But i better go get cleaned up for dinner and then worship. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon we'll get to go feed the homeless with Randy!
Emily

Mexico, June 29, 2009

Today was brutally hot once again but praise God He allowed us to carry on and get some things accomplished. It is always so cool to see these little projects come together. It is also really neat to have the gentleman who will own the home hanging out and getting all excited at every board nailed.

The compressor really gave us a hard time and slowed us down quiet a bit. We had to hand drive a lot, kind of like the old Amish way. Everyone is working according to their abilities and all is falling into place. We got most of the walls together and stood up even with the setbacks. It will be hot for the entire time and fluids are a must. We will have to really stay on task if we are to complete the house by Thursday afternoon.

I love this. Besides being in the water I am in my elements and am grateful God has allowed me to be a part of what he is doing around the world.

Kenny
GMSM

GUEST BLOGGER: Sarah!

Finally back at the orphanage, it had been one longgggg day. haha, I don't know what I'm going to do without seeing the kids almost everyday when I get back home. But hopefully I'll be back in a month or so. Kenny's planning something, and since Em and I are his new secretaries, we have to stick around and show him on track and updated. and of course teach him some more Lady GaGa. ;)

First thing this morning, we ate and then loaded all the VBS supplies and about 60 food boxes onto the bus. Group effffort. We headed to the border and made it through the US entrance, but stopped by the border guards of Mexico. Deja Vu? Anyway, they said we came down the wrong lane or something like that; the same lane we have been using every year, butttt with Philippians 2:14 in the back of our head, we followed the guard patiently into the "right" lane.

Once we were in the right lane, the bus was stopped, and alll of us had to get off with our bags to get them x-rayed. Of course, they were wondering why the heck we had 60 Styrofoam boxes all over the bus, so we had to explain the food that we would be delivering later this week. Thirty something minutes later, we arrived at Casa Hogar Elim. Seeing there smiles never gets old. We did VBS, where we played a hilarious game of pass the hula hoop, made cross necklaces, and put on a puppet show. One of the puppets was a dog from the orphanage. I guess Raul and Hector wanted to join in, so they got behind the stage and moved him around. Those boys are trouble :)

I have to say though, my favorite part of VBS was girl time. We painted the girls nails, and gave them manicures/pedicures. I got my nails painted about 9 different times, with about 25 different colors. Right now, I have my nails painted, four orange, and three green... only six done. I think that style might just catch on, eventually. We ran out of nail polish remover, so there is no possible way for me to take it off.

At about 4, we headed over to the Colombia bridge again to avoid waiting in bumper to bumper traffffic. PTL, there wasn't a line. At all. But we got stopped, again. Philippians 2:14!!! This time we had to get off the bus and wait for it to get x-rayed. Yes, the bus. We were told it could take "between 5 minutes to a couple of hours." So we waited in the familiar lounge, sprawled out over the floor, playing the name game, and reading old magazines for about an hour and a half. Good times.

After getting back on the bus, we headed straight to the church for showers and dinnnner. I'm amazed about how no one complained today, either times, about getting stopped. I mean, on the way back we were all hott, tired, and hungry, but not a single person complained or fussed. PTL.

At the church we ate dinner and then went into worship. We watched the infamous Looossss Sientoooo Tori video, and then Matt sang a few songs. After worship was desert, which then led me straight here. I'm past curfew already, once again. Anyway, we came up with a new game today... WAY better than the dart game. And if you know what the dart game is, trust me, this is so much better...

Much <3,
Gates

Mexico, June 28, 2009

The heat is brutal. Today we started the house out in the colonia for Tomasa and Raul Benitto. They are members of pastor Felipe’s church. We spent about 2 hours at Home depot gathering lumber and Chucks plumbing supplies before we headed off across the border. We did not get to the new home site till 11:00. We were making sure that the temp was at least 106 degrees before we got started. Real mission work ya know. It has been crazy hot. We got a fairly good start on the floor system with just a couple of small stretches, like trying to keep it square. As long as it’s in the bubble…..right. All is good though. God will take care of the details. Tomorrow we will stand up some walls and see some good progress. God has put together a great group for the house. A bud from home and some buds from Ponchatoula,La. The rest of the team stayed at the church today and will hit the orphanage hard in the morning. Gary and Chuck are heading up the plumbing duties at Casa Hogar Elim. Praise God, good day. Can not wait till tomorrow. Gonna be HOT!

Kenny
GMSM

GUEST BLOGGERS: Sarah and Emily!

Happy Sunday!
Today was awesome. I got a GREAT night's sleep, even if it was on a flat air matress. i was with my gates so what difference does it make? :) I woke up early and got ready and had a nice long quiet time before breakfast. Then i ate some cereal (special k! I'm so glad brandon let me pick out the cereal...) and a banana. you really wanted to know that. After breakfast I read philipians 2 to the group. each morning we have a different person lead a devotion for the day, and today was my day. after that we played hearts, speed and brushed our teeth. I was on the construction crew today, so we hung out awhile until Kenny and his helpers finished buying the lumber supplies. The rest of the group went to church in the sanctuary here at PIB and i honestly have no idea what they did all day after that. But as for the constuction crew, we went and got to work laying the floor at the house. In the meantime, Mr. Chuck and Mr. Gary started working on the plumbing. funn...hm. We got a lot of work done and headed back across the border around 5. Showered up for dinner while the rest of the group was at church; we got here too late to enter the service. Brisket for dinner....with a large salad :) and then had some amazing worship time. Kenny talked about Jonah and Matthew Brown played my favorite worship songs ever. Our Lord is so amazing. this group is full of so many different individuals, but we share the one common thread that matters, and this unites us as one body. Can't wait to see what God has in store for the rest of this week!
Night!
Emily


Oh Happy Day, I'll never be the sameeeeeee, forever I am changed.

Feliz Domingo! Today was amazing, as usual. But I have a lot to do tonight with helping Kenny with the GMSM website. (Em did it last night, so it's my turn!) Anyway, I'll give you a run through of the day: woke up. got ready. breakfast. played card games. taught Lydia card tricks. church. more card games. lunchhhhhhhhh. worked on planning for tomorrow. changed. shot basketball. called kyle. siesta, on accident. saw abel! church again. dinner. hungout with abel. played drums, piano, and sang with em :). went exploring with the girls. played catch phrase. worship. hungout a little. now writing this noteeee, and listening to matt brown be amazing on the keyboard, again.

Tomorrrow we areeee going to the orphanage/ colonials again. I'll probably be at the construction site later this week.

Mcuh<3,
Gates

Mexico, June 27, 2009

June 27, 2009

Praise God from whom all blessing flow, the new team from FBCFWB and Westside Baptist Church, Ponchatoula, La has arrived. Answered prayers for a safe travel. God is going to do some cool stuff this week as he stretches this team to glorify Him.

Major answered prayer and blessing is that my family is here due to the fact that the passports showed up on the door steps about 4 hours for departure. God has a tendency to know what He is doing. Another adventure in the Lord. After unloading the food boxes, luggage etc. I took Chuck, Kim, Jay and Mike across the border to check out the projects at the orphanage. We have lots to do!
Kenny
GMSM

GUEST BLOGGERS: Sarah and Emily!

HeLLo Americans! Today was another GREAT day. The Lord continues to amaze me....
We woke up early this morning, intending to set out early from the orphanage so we could come back across the border and buy the lumber & construction supplies and then deliver it and get lunch when the group from Fort Walton came in. Well, that was the plan at least.

Our bags were packed and we thought we were ready to go by 830. but there is so much activity at the orphanage that it didn't happen. We had to talk to Mama Lupita again and pray with her, go through the orphanage and analyze the construction and plumbing needs, move the cars and vans around, etc. all with children screaming "amiga!!!", hanging on you and trying to sneak into the truck. Don't get me wrong: I LOVE THEM!, it was precious, and I'll love on them any day even if it means getting a little off schedule.

Then hermano Ray showed up, so we had to go over everything and walk around with him to finalize plans for next week. After that, we finally headed our from the orphanage at about 1130. Maria gave me una carta (a letter) that she wrote for me and gave me a picture of herself with it. I still haven't been able to read the whole thing, i just start crying every time because it's so sweet! When we left the orphanage, we went straight to the boys dorm to pick up the trailer again. juan got us all hooked up, and we made a pit stop at the oxxo gas station to get something to drink and the most amazing mexican caramel cookie things ever. then we drove over to the colombia bridge, which is a different border crossing station that always has less traffic than the other bridge. Its about 30 minutes down the road but the short line makes up for the drive.

Crossing the border still took a little while because a car in front of us in line broke down. butttt we had fun with Kenny singing lady gaga the whole time. We drove to the traditional lunch place, jack-in-the-box/cicis/quiznos/mcdonalds all in one area and met up with the group with fort walton! PTL! they brought a little bit of home to us!

I thank God for my friends and brothers and sisters in Christ...every single one of them. They were done eating by the time we got there, so we got some quiznos to go and headed to the church. we unloaded the luggage and many many food boxes and i went with Brandon to buy food for the week. we had dinner around 8 and then an amazing time of worship together followed by ice cream and brownies! I have more stories but i need to go help Kenny on the GMSM website! check back later :)
Emily Bennett

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."




Whaddup Gringos!? Hhaha, Woke up early early, with the intentions of leaving as soon as we had our bags in the truck. We needed to set out asap where we could get the lumber and supplies for the house we will be building this week and then meet up with First Baptist, FWB for lunch. But there was quite a bit of activity going on this morning. We had to talk with Mama Lupita and pray with her, analyze all the construction and plumbing needs, rearrange the parking of the vans etc, and meet up with Ray. This was all going on as each of us had about six kids hanging from us. But I'm not complaining.

Casa Hogar Elim is where my heart is, with Mama and of course these kids. I can't even begin to explain how it is. How much I love these kids, and Mexico. It's unbelievable. I've been at a loss of words a lot since I have been here. I'm honestly just amazed at everything. God is amazing. I took some photos with the film camera, and then had a dance party inside the truck with Enrique and some other beautiful children.

We finally left the orphanage at about 11:30. We then went back over to the boys dorm and got the trailer,and Juan got us hooked up again. We were all starving and thirsty, so we went to OXXO, a gas station, and got a drink and some amazing mexican cookies. No lie, they were SO GOOD. Traffic was backed up at the border bridge we have been going across everyday, so we drove to the Colombia border bridge, which is about 35 minutes away from the orphanage. When we got to the bridge, the line we were in, just happened to have a car that had broken down. But PTL, we got to listen to Kenny sing Lady Gaga.Pokerrrrrrrr Faceeeeeeee. Then we headed to Quiznos to meet up with FWB! I FINALLY SAW MY SISTERRR. I have missed her sooo much, not joking.

They were finished eating by the time we got there, so we got subs to go and went to Primera and unloaded the luggage. We alsooo unpacked about seventy million food boxes! I'm exxxaggeratting, but it was a lott. We had some downtime to relax, then played card, cleaned th e kitchen some, showered, ate lasagna, and then worship. Em and I talked to the group about the past two weeks, and Matt Brown sang and played guitar. He's crazy good. Like really, really, good. Love himmmm. Anyway, then we ate some icreammm, and now im writing my notes. Lydia, Kenny's youngest daughterr, is playing with my hair, and Matt is singing for us. Beautifullll. Lights were out 33 minutes ago. Oh welllllll, i still have to go help update the GMSM website.
Much <3,
Sarah Gates

"I want to set the world on fire, until it's burning bright for you."

Mexico, June 26, 2009

GUEST BLOGGERS: Sarah and Emily!

Hola. its late, but im helping Kenny with some website stuff for GMSM and talking to T-roy and Leah on the balcony...again. Today was great. after staying up so late, we slept in somehow until past 930! that was crazy since it was sooo hot, but PTL! We got up, got dressed, packed our backpacks, and headed with Kenny to the boys dorm. There the boys got the trailer turned around for us and hooked up to the truck. We headed across the border, and the line was long but it only took about an hour. PTL! First thing, we got some lunch at a Mexican place called Danny's...yummy!

Then we went to Primera and met Ruben and got some nice, warm SHOWERS!! PTL. it was good to be fresh and clean again! The Reddy Ice man came and dropped off the cooler with loads upon loads upon loads of ice. We got online at the church and helped Kenny with the GMSM site and his new facebook! (if you know Kenny, friend him ASAP!) We called the closest local plumbing supply store and gave them a list of supplies we needed.

After finishing up at the church, we slowly made our way over to the plumbing store (got a little lost along the way...) and purchased the supplies. PTL, they had already pulled the list and helped us load it quickly! then, major PTL, we heard the ice cream truck. or so we thought! after chasing it down, we discovered that this "ice cream truck" was really more of a "chili, frijoles, and coke" truck. bummer! butttt they had snow cones so we all got one and we were satisfied :)

We headed back across the border and, being friday afternoon, there was a line. But PTL again, it didn't take long at all. AND our saxophone buddy was back and he played La Cucaracha for us. We came to the orphanage, unloaded, and played with the kids for a couple hours. around 8, Kenny, Sarah, T-roy, Keith, Candy, Cynthia, Leah and I went to....yep. none other than Pollo Buenavista for dinner. yummy as always!

We came back to the orphanage and now my stomach is regretting eating so much today. but a breeze has finally started blowing and we're almost done with the website...there's talk about sleeping on the porch tonight because the bugs aren't around! PTL! ha. there are just so many things to praise Him for each and every day; I am learning to appreciate all of God's daily blessings- both great and small!


Tomorrow, the group from Fort Walton comes in. I'm so excited! Can't wait to see all my buds and start phase 4 of the adventure! Pray for safe travels as they drive through the night tonight and during the day tomorrow.
Sweet dreams,
Emily Bennett


Once again, this is lateeeeeeeee. But I was so exhausted from staying up until about 4am I crashed last night early. We were helping Kenny with facebook, updating the GMSM website, and talking to T-ROY and Leah. Mama came in about 3, she had been in Victoria working with the government. She is planning on opening another orphanage for disabled children. PTL.

Anyway, it was so hard trying to sleep due to the heattt, but i wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. After waking up pretty late (9:30) we headed to the boys dorm to pick up the trailor. Juan, one of the oldest boys, rounded up the others to turn it around, and hook it up. They are so resourcefulllll. We then headed across the border, which took about an hour, and then ate at Danny's Mexican. Pretty gooood. We went to Primera to meet up with Ruben, take showers, and get the ice machine set up. My favorite part was the niceeeee longggggg shower. Way different from the water bottle shower ;) Then we helped Kenny with the GMSM site and his new facebook. ADD HIM! ASAP.

We then texted google trying to find the closest plumbing warehouse. We needed to get supplies for the orphanage, so we headed straight over after leaving the church. After loading the supplies onto the trailor, we heard the icecream man, or what we thought was the icecream man, and basically chased it down. When he rolled up to us, we realized that he was more like the "fritos, hotsauce, and frijoles" man. We were a little bummed, but once we saw he had snowcones, we were right back to being, as Kenny would say it, STOKED. :)

We then headed back over the border, and for the first time, in alllll my times of going into Mexico, there was a line. I was a little surprised. But it didn't take long, since the guards didn't check us, even with the trailor! PTL. AND our saxophone friend played La Cucaracha again for us! I gave him a few dollars. When we got to the orphanage, we unloaded the supplies and Kenny took the trailor back to the boys dorm.

After hanging out with the kids for a couple h ours, Kenny, Em, T-roy, Keith, Candy, Cynthia, Leah, and I went to Pollo Buenavista, again. I swear, I could live off of that place. We rode in the bed of the pickup truck on the way there and back. On the way back we dropped off some food we got for Mama and then went to the boys dorm. We ended up picking up Raul who needed to come back to Casa Hogar Elim. He has such an attitude, but is one of the sweetest kids. Today was beautiful, God blesses me everyday.

Much<3,
Sarah Gates

Mexico, June 25, 2009

We arrived at the orphanage after 3 a.m. After about 3 hours of sleep we unloaded some of the Feed My Starving Children food at the orphanage. The kids were so stoked to know that at least for a short time there will be plenty of food to eat. We reloaded up the truck with FMSC food and headed to Mission Bautista Camino Nuevo.

We met Pastor Felipe at the feeding house by the church and explained the food preparation. After scripture and prayer we talked about how God will use this food to help reach the lost and continue to encourage the believers that God will provide. Staying at the orphanage is hot and there has been no water. So Emily, Sarah and I went across the border to get cleaned up and wash some clothes. What a blessed day.
Kenny GMSM

GUEST BLOGGER: EMILY!

WOW. So many feelings and no adequate words to describe them!
This morning we got up around 8 and had to move very quickly, shooting for leaving the house around 8:30. Well, we didn't leave until 9:30, but that's okay. We watched 7th heaven while I had raisin bran crunch and Sarah had Rice Krispies with chocolate soy milk. sounds gross but its yummy.

We left the house about 9:30 and headed across the border to meet hermano Kenny! PTL, coming across the border was easy. There was some morning traffic but not too bad. We made it to the orphanage and Enrique came up and ran to the van and opened my door...precious! The kids swarmed us! We loved on them for a while and talked to Hermano Ray. We met some people from Pensacola and talked to them too. Then all of us together unloaded Ray's trailer and headed over to the boy's dorm/tilapia farm.

This was really neat- all these years and I had never made it over to that site before. We met a teen boy named Samuel who had an awesome story. He's been at the orphanage a few years and in the past has stuggled with alcohol at times. But PTL, his mom is on his way to get him and take him home again! She lives in Victoria, about 8 hours away, and they have both turned their lives to the Lord and are excited to be back together and grow in their faith and attend church together! Awesome.

We left the boys dorm and came back to the orphanage. Ray left for Dallas, he's going to see his sister for a few days. We waited for a vehicle and then took food to Felipe at his church for him to distribute. We also took the tools for building the house next week. Ruben and the girls came with us over there, and we talked to Felipe awhile and talked and prayed with him about the food. Then...drumroll please....POLLOS BUENAVISTA! Sarah took me, Sarah, and our new friend Leah there. Leah is staying at the orphanage through the end of July and teaching English to the kids here.

After the chicken place, we dropped Leah off at Casa Hogar and headed back across the border. PTL, the line was short! it only took 20 minutes once we got to the line! We went to Ruben's house and had a nice talk thanking him and the family for everything. We shared with him some of the things God is doing in our lives as a result of the trip and our passions, and he shared with us some of his passions and why he does what he does. It was great!

Then we packed our bags, said goodbyes and headed out with Kenny. Destination: Walmart. We bought a cooler, water, ice, snacks, laundry detergent, and gum...the essentials. Then we had an intense scavenger hunt and eventually found the laundromat. So much fun! Who knew. We did our laundry, got gas, grabbed dinner at Wendy's and headed back across the border around 8:45.

We made it back to the orphanage soon and played with the kids and unloaded luggage. We took interesting "showers"....I got in, all ready, and went to turn the water on and all that came out was this weird hissing noise. No water at all. So we resorted to bathing ourselves with water bottles and bath wash. When in Mexico, do as best you can!

It's so hot here, a shower only keeps you clean for so long anyway...it's gross sounding but hey who cares? You wouldn't if you were here and could see these kids.

I headed over to see what the kids were doing and found a broken window pane in the little girls dorm...so I found a broom, swept the floor and had to pick out a piece of glass out of Jasmin's toe. Yikes! Had to tell all the girls to be careful, that we may not have got all the glass up, etc....all the things Mom always told me when i dropped a dish in the kitchen!

After the glass episode I waent to the little boys room and saw the cutest thing...all ten of the ones in the room were lying on the floor, cuddled up with each other, next to the only air conditioning unit in the room. there were plenty of beds, but it was hot and they love each other way too much to stay apart! This just...idk...brought so much joy to my heart I guess you could say. I plopped down on the couch behind them and just prayed...pray that these boys grow up to be the Godly men He created them to be!

I came dowstairs and found cuatro amigas writing a letter to Sarah in the kitchen. They told me about a boy named Max with funny hair that they have a crush on. Then Leah came and got me to come dance with some of the teenage girls. It was soooo much fun :) Yolanda (16) and Jaunita (15) taught me how to dance their way to Hillsong United's song "Take it All" in espanol. way cool. Then I got my ipod player and taught them the stanky legg in return! Ha. we had a great time laughing and dancing and playing together.....then i talked to Troy and Keith, the guys down here from Olive Baptist doing construction and electrical work.

Now, I'm sitting on the balcony at the orphanage with Kenny, Troy, Leah, and Sarah, writing this note, helping Kenny make a facebook, looking at the stars, and praising God every second for this amazing opportunity. There is no other place on Earth I would rather be than right here at this very moment, and I wouldn't trade anything for this experience.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

<3 Emily Bennett. on top of the world, filled with joy.

GUEST BLOGGER: SARAH!

As I'm writing this, I have about four girls around me, on me, and underneath my chair. This might take awhile. Em and I are spending the night at the orphanage and are completely loving life. This is exactly where I feel I should be. I don't know if God is calling me into full time missions or not, but I know he has given me a heart for this place and Mexico. It's unbelievable.

Okay. So we went to the orphanage early in the am, to meet up with Kenny and Ray White. Ray is the US director of Casa Hogar Elim and he lived in Pensacola. We hungout with the kids and met a new friend. :) Her name is Leah and she is a student at Texas A&M. She is staying her for five weeks, and got here monday. She's pretty cool.

We unloaded the food boxes from Feed My Starving Children, and kept 12 to bring to Felipe's church. Kenny wanted us to see the Tilapia farm at the boys dorm down the street. So we headed over there with Rose and Tom. They're a couple here that are helping out with the farm and the orphanage. I don't remember if I have mentioned them before but they are amazing people to just sit down and talk with. Emily almost got thrown in to the algae water by Felipe. Different Felipe, not the pastor. He's a boy that lives at the dorm. They have goats there too. They are a little paranoid. They freak out over everything.

Anyway, hungout there for a little bit, and then went back to the church, loaded tools to the truck, picked up Leah, and went to Felipe's, the pastor this time, church. Unloaded the food boxes and tools, and put them in the shed. We prayed for the food and how it will be distributed. Felipe and Kenny talked as Ruben translated about how it should be handed out, etc. The church recently got pews. PTL. It was as usual, hottt hottt hottt. And by this time, we were all starving. So guess what? Kenny, Em, Leah, and I allll went to POLLLLO BUENAVISTA. Again. I could live off of that place. Awesome. Another PTL. hah.

We dropped Leah off back at the orphanage and Kenny got some clothes that needed to be washed. So then there was three. We needed to get our luggage since we were staying in mehicooo tonight, so we headed over the border. It only took about 20 minutes. PTL. Didn't get searched, so alll the more PTL. Went to Ruben's, chatted for a little bit, said thanks to them for taking us in for the week, and then packkked up. We hit up walmart for water bottles, ice, and a fan for Leah. The rooms are really stuffy at night. BTW, Yurelis says "Whaddup World." She stays by my side nearly every second when I'm here. I'll have to type up the note she wrote me for everyone to see.

We then had the bright idea to go to a coin laundry to do some much needed washing. It took about an hour and a half. We had to entertain ourselves. Emily set an alarm off on the coin machine, the same alarm that goes off when someone tries to break into it. Then she ran off into the bathroom, which left me standing five feet away, looking like the guilty one. I was laughing so hard, I was crying. Thennnnnnnn, Kenny got red bulls, which i'm drinking right now cause it willl be a long long night. We have to update the ministry site tonight. Actually in about five minutes.

After the adventure at the laundry place we went through wendys to get a frosty for dinner because we were still stuffed from chicken. :) Border check was, once again, a breeze. Once we got to the orphanage tonight we hungout with the kids and then unloaded our suitcases etc. Shower time. What an experience. Sometimes the water works, sometimes it doesn't. Well, tonight, it didn't. I washed my hair and brushed my teeth with water bottles, and put hand sanitizer all over me. It was pretty hilarious since it was both Emily and I, crammed in a bathroom, that doesn't smell the best, in our clothes washing our hair with water bottles. We shared the bathroom with two HUGE spiders. I mean like the size of my fist huge. Creeeeeeeepy. Hah, but honestly, it wasn't bad. It just makes you realize that, people do live like this, and how truly blessed I am. Changed. And that leads up to right now. Leah is reading next to me and I am typing away at this. Today was great, and It isn't even over with yet.

PTL PTL PTL. off to help Kenny make a facebook, teach him T9, and update the site.

Much<3,
Sarah Gates