Give Me Shelter Ministries

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2010-04-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

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Returning Home from Haiti

2010-03-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Rode hard and put up wet. I have logged many hours of drive time in the big truck. I always have mixed feelings on the last day here in Haiti. I do look forward to seeing my beautiful wife Kim and our wonderful girls, but part of me would like to stay on and on and on. The friends I have here have a tough life as do most Haitians. I guess the best thing at this point is to get home regroup and start listening to God's call to get back.

I have learned so much on this trip, especially the traveling in the city part. I believe I could get anywhere that we have been serving without a problem. Even the short cuts have been embedded in my brain. GMSM and Dale Winslette were a huge part of the mission trip that TEM members are fixing to embark on. We pass the torch to you and I am sure most will not have a clue of what we helped prepare for them. That is cool though; behind the scenes is where it’s at.

Today we went out to Love a Child Mission to get some food from Feed My Starving Children also known as FMSC, to take out to the provinces. We also bought more rice. beans etc. Some of the CEO’s form FMSC were out at Love a Child and I was able to introduce our ministry and meet them personally. That was a treat since we are trying to begin a partnership with them for our Mexico work.

We drove all the way back up to Z’Orange and back, went to Harry’s church and then back to Dottie’s. It was an all day affair and a grueling task. I am starting to see some needs that GMSM can start helping. I must pray hard that God will allow us to be a part in reaching these needs. All in all another great time in Haiti and feel blessed to be a part of this great country and its beautiful people. Needs are great and the workers are few for this hard country. Only God can change this place. I hope and pray that the Haitian Christians will continue to stand tall and be bold to face this country head on. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

2010-03-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

You would not think that bagging up food could be so tiresome. Well that is what Dale and I did for about half the day. Chuck and Seth the solar guru helped until poppy said, "it is time to go son." If it were not for some of the men from Pastor Harry’s church Savon Blonde Baptist Church in Croix de Bouquets we would not have succeeded.

We made 202 bags of food. Each bag should last about four days. Rice, beans, fish, oil, pasta, sauce and bullion were in each bag. After all the bags were filled we loaded them on the van and headed out to deliver the food. We brought Ivans and Blanco with us to help. We visited two tent cities.

The first was one of the larger ones of which I have placed many pictures on the website. This proved to be one very explosive time bomb. We always canvas the areas first to let the people know what we are doing. We also let them know that under no circumstances will the process be disorderly; if it is then we split. Well this was one of those times that just did not seem right. We did not have an escape route and were kind of hemmed in. Well things went from sketchy to total craziness. A fight broke out and we started scrambling to get in the van to book it out of there. We had a hard time maneuvering out and people started to crowd the van. We did not even get ½ the food out. Sucks when one or two people mess it up for the whole group.

We had no choice but to leave for our own safety. We hit a smaller tent area and it worked like clock work. I am always so bummed when we just do not have enough food for all. I pray that someone will come in behind us and continue. So many people are in need and the need is great. I am thankful to God for allowing us to do what we can through His power and love. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.

Kenny
GMSM

Go Tell it on the Mountain

2010-03-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Today was a day that was way overdue. I was able to finally get up to the mountain to see one of my favorite families. This was especially good because I was able to take Dale and Seth for their first trip up. It might have also been their last. It is a trip that is not for the faint of heart and is a difficult one even for one in the best of condition.

We drove the beast and van up to Z’Orange where our first stop was Daniel's house, the voodoo priest. Chuck wanted to say hello and give Dale and Seth some voodoo time. We hung there for only a short time and then went on in to the village. We gathered a few things, prayed and then the five of us Pastor Harry, Dale, Seth, Ramon, a young boy who Harry is mentoring, and I took off to Utopia. Colnmbeea is a place that I feel very comfortable and a place that God allows me to feel at home.

As we ascended to the mountain you can see that there is not much traffic up that way. You can only get there by walking and it is a hard climb. This area is still very pure and not yet touched much by the outside world. I wish it could stay that way but there are many needs and most those needs will not be met without gringoism. At least that is what gringo land thinks.

As we approached the top you could see God's perfect portrait painted by His fingertips. I have been blessed beyond measure to have spent so much time up here with the people and the family that I have grown to love as my own. God has been so cool to me for reasons I am not sure of. I know that I do not deserve his grace and mercy but He freely gives it to me. God requires me to be obedient and I do try though I fail many times. He never gives up on me. God has placed two families in my life Pastor Felipe and his family in Mexico and Pastor Fani and his family up on the mountain. It was so good to see Madam Fani and her son Cado.

As usual once we arrived I was expected to greet the church with a word from my heart and a word from God. I met with the Pastor and his assistant and talked about the church and a few problems that needed to be addressed. I do have some comfort in the fact that Baptists did not invent church problems, man did and even way up here they experience some of the same issues we do.

I also met with Madam Fani and talked about her situation now that Pastor Fani has passed and is living the hope and promise that God gives us through his son Christ Jesus. We also spoke about the house that we will be building for her and the details of the process. Dale and Seth got to play with the kids which is a total blessing in itself. I only wish I could have stayed up there longer but that will happen. I know God will allow me to venture back soon and without an agenda. We headed back down which is no cake walk in itself and took the surreal drive back through Port au Prince in the dark.

Kenny
GMSM

Sunny Day in Haiti

2010-03-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessing flow today was a wonderful day in Haiti. We spent all day buying food supplies for relief and building supplies for up on the mountain. We first went to Baitimet Building Supply to get paint supplies for the Jerusalem II church up on the mountain. What a joy it is for GMSM to be able to help at the church where I have spent a lot of time in fellowship with Pastor and Sister Fani. From there we hit the depots to buy rice, beans, oil, fish, pasta and tomato sauce. We will begin bagging up the food bags and start hitting the tent areas on Monday and Tuesday. We have been running and gunning for days and have been very busy. It will be a sweet thing to minister to the tent cities.

We will go up the mountain tomorrow and I will visit Sister Fani and her son Cado. What a blessing it will be to see one of my favorite families in Haiti. I am in desperate need for some mountain time. I will come to Haiti one day soon and spend the whole time up in Columbeea, the mountain. For now the bulk of the work will be in Port as we do what we can to help get food to people who are desperate beyond measure. It did not rain today and that alone is a major blessing although I know the provinces need rain for their crops. The city surly does not need it.

God knows what he is doing and He knows what His creation needs better than any man. As we were slowed by the rain yesterday He allowed us to make up time by giving us a beautiful day to gather up supplies. Thank you God for allowing me to be a small part in Your huge plan.
Kenny
GMSM

The Rain is Here.

2010-03-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

The rain started last night and rained for most of the night. I could only think of all the people in the tents and how they most be dealing with all the water.

As we prepared for the day we had to kind of revamp our plan due to weather. The weather did not affect the Haitians they just did what they had to do. They stood in line, long lines in the rain just waiting for the chance to get some food and water. I am not sure where the food is coming from but at least some is getting to the people.

We went around today and picked up more supplies today for Chucks group coming in next weekend. We also went to Bautima, the lumber store we use, to pick up some paint for the church up on the mountain. GMSM was blessed to be able to help with the paint supplies and I consider it an honor to be a part of Jerusalem II.

We went up towards Petionville to try and find a Digicel (phone store) store and the damage was incredible. All the damage is still just sitting there. I have seen very little effort except for the yellow shirt dudes from USAID. I was told this was a UNICEF effort but talked to someone today that confirmed this was USAID. I stand corrected. They are hiring the Haitians to help with work and they are paying them. Praise God. We will start buying food for distribution to the tent cities tomorrow. Pray that the rain will stop so we can get more food out.

Working Up the Mountain

2010-03-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

The days seem to zip by with lightening speed when you "go-cat-go" all day long. It never lets me forget who is really in control.

We started out pulling normal mountain travel maintenance on the big truck - such as check the ever important brake fluid, change out a troubled battery, water in the radiator and other general things. Today was a day that was spent taking supplies up to Z’Orange. That in itself is an all day affair, let alone having to gather up all the supplies from Marantha Food Depot. The streets were crazy crowded and that always makes things real interesting.

We also went to the market to buy some new carpet to cut up so the pastors for the pastors' conference will have a place to bed down. One thing I have noticed is there are a lot of men in yellow shirts busting up concrete and doing the best they can to clean up small areas of the roadways. A large task that will not be remedied anytime soon. I heard this was a UNICEF gig, not really sure.

Anyway we gathered all our stuff and headed up the mountain. It is always good to get in the village and see Pastor Dorleon and all our friends. They are always so happy to see us. Dale and I had fun with the school kids just hanging and joking with them. I talked to Pastor Dorleon with Pastor Harry and Chuck to make arrangements to get Sister Fani’s house started. She and Cado, her son, need a place to call their own and GMSM is so stoked to be able to help. We will post progress reports as they become available.

We dodged traffic back to Dottie’s Guest House, and by nothing short of a miracle, we made it there safely. Even the guest house can be stressful at times. Sometimes there is just a bad vibe. Haiti can be hard; I can only imagine how it must be living here full time. When the joy is taken it is time to step back and reevaluate your mission, even if it means taking a long furlough. It does get hard when you continue to pour your life into what you feel God is calling you to do. God never tells us it will be easy (John 16:33). I must remember these words I just wrote because I am sure there will be times when I may grow weary also. Praise God for whom all blessings flow, Amen.

Kenny
GMSM

We All Have a Temporary Home Here

2010-03-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today was like all other days with little to no exceptions. Praise God for His consistency in this place of confusion. Also praise God for all the beautiful people He has placed around us.

We started out Dale, Chuck and I taking Chuck's van down to Kirk Goldman’s repair shop out towards the airport. A huge compound with all sorts of stuff going on inside. This is one of the places where coffins have been churned out in masses. Dudes making a killing, no joke intended. As it turns out this company has been working on a house plan to make massive temporary houses for Haiti. We sat down and talked to this guy and had a great conversation and looked at all his plans. Not a bad product and it will meet a need no doubt. The key word I keep hearing from him was temporary. The structures seem to be strong and the design is good. It is all prefab and he says they can be put together in about 4 hours per house. The cost is $1250.00 for a 10x10 with pressure treated framing, OSB siding, metal roof, wood shutter windows and a wood plank door. They are designed to be installed by adding 10x10’s together for bigger structures. Please check out the pictures that I sent.

This is a wealthy entreprenuer who has plenty of capital and they are looking at mass production of these temporary homes and making some cash too. It does give some jobs to the Haitians which in turn stimulates the economy some what. It actually resembles the structure that Craig has designed for GMSM to build in Mexico or where ever God will allow us to build them. I do believe Craig’s design is better. You can upgrade these homes here for another $350.00 and use pressure treated plywood for the siding versus the OSB. Hey at least they are doing something. The name of the Company is Fon Max or Fondation Maxima, fonmax.org.

From there we headed out to Love a Child to pick up old Gabriel the ever reliable beast that is the work horse for this operation. This truck is vital to everything that goes on. Truth would not be true without it. As always it is a nice ride out there and back. I drove Gabriel back as usual and brought it to Dottie’s guest house. Tomorrow we will start gathering supplies to take up to the mountain to drop off in Z’Orange and then we will start gathering food for distribution.

We also sat down with Brother Harry and talked about his land and a house for his family. GMSM was financially able to help secure his property. We are also going to start raising money to build him a home. This is something that God has laid so heavy on my heart. Harry is such a precious man who loves the Lord and shepherds his church in a mighty way. He totally works on faith and he is a warrior for the Lord. I will say now, please pray and ask how you can be a part in getting Harry and his family in a descent home. We will be posting a spot on our web site for raising money to build this home once I get a cost and material list for him. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Tomorrow will be a good day. Bless all and keep praying.

Kenny
GMSM

Safely Back Into the Chaos

2010-03-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

As we approached Port au Prince from the air it was evident that there was little change. The only change I could see was that the tent cities were more numerous and larger than a few weeks back.

We got off the plane and they are obviously trying to upgrade the airport somewhat. The main terminal is still shut down but they have built a new air conditioned off ramp from the plane. Pre-quake they just dropped you off out on the tarmac and you had to walk the runway to get to the main building.

As I walked down this cool a/c off ramp I thought to myself, “Ya know this is almost too good to be true and when it seems things are too good to be true they aren’t." True to form. When we reached the end of the ramp at least we were met by some live Haitian music greeting us into the country.

All good things must end and we had come to that end. We had a choice either ride this funky crowded bus or walk the runway over to the temporary main terminal, so Chuck and I walked. I never asked Dale what he did because he was one of the first on the plane and the last to get off. Hence, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Once we all hooked up we went into the building to retrieve our luggage and that’s where all went south quick. They just took all the luggage from all the planes and basically dumped it in a pile. It was absolute unorganized chaos which turned into mayhem which turned into mass confusion. After an hour or so we located all our bags, met our dear friends Harry and JoeJoe and headed to Dottie's for supper and a shower and a nice peaceful night of listening to the generator run all night. All is well though and look forward to seeing what God has in store for us this time. Thank you Lord Jesus,
Kenny
GMSM

Thank You from Kenny Phillips

2010-03-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. God has been so good to His ministry, Give Me Shelter. He has grown this ministry so much over the last few years. He has allowed this to happen because of people being obedient to his call on our life. He has blessed us with people who contribute monthly, people who contribute as the needs come up and people who contribute large gifts every so often.

As I sit in Haiti right now I can't help but think about all who have helped this ministry in so many ways. The thing is, it takes everyone to make it happen. I know in my heart God will allow us to go full time when I will be able to devote all my time to the ministry. I just want to say thank you all and God knows who you are. He does not forget.

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10

Kenny Phillips
GMSM

Article in La Costa Latina Newspaper

2010-03-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to GMSM supporter David Triana for including us in his article about Haiti.

Here is a copy of the article that was printed in the March edition of their paper:

Local Groups Active in Haiti Relief Efforts

By David Triana

Even before January 12, 2010, Haiti was a hard place to live for the majority of its citizens. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, it has had a traumatic history filled with corruption and dictators abusing its populace.

On the evening of 12 January, its capital of Port Au Prince was struck by one of the modern world’s worst natural disasters in the form of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. It is estimated that the earthquake destroyed 70% of the buildings in the capital and 90% of the buildings in towns close to the epicenter!

More than 200,000 people are believed to have been killed with more than 194,000 injured and over 1 million were left homeless.
Some of the first responders to the earthquake were Air Force personnel from Hurlburt Field. Additionally, dozens of Christian organizations that have been operating in Haiti for many years were also critical to the initial response.

“The devastation is incredible and hard to describe, Haiti was a hard place to live before, now it is even worse!” said Kenny Phillips, Founder/Director of Give Me Shelter Ministries (GMSM). GMSM’s mission is to “provide help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ, sharing the Word of God and promise of Eternal Shelter, to those most in need anywhere in the world.”

Kenny had been to Haiti several times before. After the earthquake, he accompanied members of Truth Evangelistic Ministries (TEM), another local organization, to deliver aid and monetary donations to Christian churches.

“GMSM is in need of funds to help with the expenses of our upcoming trip in March. We are proud to say that all monies raised go towards our relief efforts. We totally depend on God’s grace and mercy to meet our needs” added Kenny.

GMSM has also been serving orphanages and the poor of Nuevo Laredo, México for eight years delivering food, medical supplies and building homes.
Some unofficial estimates fear the number of new orphans may be upwards of 700,000 as a direct result of the earthquake! Christian ministries also serve many orphanages in Haiti. Another agency doing great work there is the American Red Cross.

It will be many years before Haiti recovers from the aftermath of this latest tragedy! Long after news of the earthquake has disappeared from the front pages of newspapers, thousands of people will still be living in tents or temporary housing. Even more tragic, the children left homeless and orphaned will still need the support of caring human beings to provide food, education and shelter for them.

Want to help Haiti? Do so by attending the upcoming NAACP4HAITI concert scheduled for 14 March, 12pm – 6pm at Fort Walton Beach’s Landing Park (downtown FWB). La Costa Latina is one of the sponsors of the concert and several Latino performers were invited to participate. For more info, see ad in this edition.

For more information on how to donate towards Haiti relief, please go to:
      http://www.givemeshelterministries.org/    (contact #: 850-496-7398)

            http://truthem.org/                                       (contact #: 850-582-1458)

  http://www.redcross.org/haiti                     (1-800-842-2200)

Returning to Haiti Monday

2010-03-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks to you all who have contributed to this next trip to Haiti. Kenny leaves Monday and will be reporting here on the blog daily. Please keep Kenny, his family and all other missionaries in your prayers for this trip.

Leaving Haiti

2010-02-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

Travel day is always a day of reflection especially when it is the return home part of the mission trip. We had to be at the PAP Int’l Airport at 6.00 a.m. in hopes that we had a seat on the hopper from Port to Santo Domingo D.R. As we sat on the tarmac of the make shift air terminal I could not help but notice how under control this airstrip was. The U.S. Air Force was really doing a great job and running a smooth operation. We ran across so many dysfunctional organizations it made feel good knowing that without our guys being there the airport would be total chaos. Thanks dudes and ladies.

God was so good during the last two weeks. He allowed us to minister and meet many needs. He truly continues to grow and show me direction in Haiti. I feel He is leading GMSM in directions that can multiply the cause and expand His kingdom. The need is great and will continue to be great. Pray that God will continue to use us for His glory and will. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

Haitian Orphanage

2010-02-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

I make no excuse for my time lapse for reporting on the last day. I was extremely tired which seems to not even mean anything considering all that the beautiful people of Haiti are having to deal with. I really feel that God will allow me to make a turn around trip back in a couple of weeks or so. I am needed there and your support through Give Me Shelter Ministries is needed there.

Our last day was spent driving all over Port trying to find food supplies for an orphanage that someone from back home asked Chuck to check on. In all the chaos of the streets, vendors and traffic we were able to get the supplies. We were not able to make the connection we were hoping for though we did reach a friend of Pastor Harry who is a pastor and also helps with an orphanage. Harry went to seminary with this dude and they are very tight.

His name is Pastor Alexander and has a church near Harry’s church. He also helps out at Coats Little Angels Orphanage. Coats is apparently the name of someone state side who started this place. I do not know the story or circumstances behind this particular orphanage but it almost seems like it has been forgotten. Not a pretty sight but I have not seen an orphanage in Haiti that was a pretty sight to see. Seems like children are used as pawns to serve as a means of bettering one's self. I am not saying that this is the case but it does make me wonder. It would not take a lot to make a difference here and we did what we could do on a temporary basis. We were able to supply them with food that would sustain them for a couple of weeks. There are thirty children in all, fifteen boys and fifteen girls. I do trust this pastor especially with the backing of Harry. Harry would never lead us astray. The rest of the day was spent out at Harry’s church kind of just chillin. We had to get back to the guest house to start preparation for the return trip back to our families. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Finding Food, Delivering.

2010-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

We were on the go all day today. Chuck went one way and Dale and I took off in the other direction. I know it takes pressure off Chuck with me being able to deal with a lot of the daily grind. It allows us to get so much accomplished when we can split up and meet back in the middle.

We went in search of rice, beans and oil while Chuck and our new friend Dr. Meriwether went in search of pasta, fish and sauce. We were gathering more supplies for Z,Orange. There is such a need up there and it’s just best at this time to get them about 3 to 4 weeks worth of food supplies.

We bought 30 bags of rice but for some reason there must be a run on beans. We searched in three different towns and could not find any. We also had a difficult time finding the oil but we finally found some in this out of the way market. Harry was taking us all over the place. Sometimes you really have to keep your head on a swivel because things can go south quickly especially when you are purchasing the high volume of stuff that we are. There is a lot of money changing hands even though we try to be as discreet as possible, the eyes are always watching. God has sure put a hedge of protection around us so far. We need it.

It is desperate here. I hope people will start buying more food stuff in country versus shipping it in. That way the local economy can maybe reap some benefit from this tragedy. I feel like I will be coming back soon. There is so much we can do and need to continue to do. Not sure what the world is seeing now that the newness of the earthquake has worn off. I have been too busy with day to day work and then at night being a slave to the website to check on any news. Anyway, we got all the food supplies on up the mountain and as usual all were very stoked. God is so good. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Micah 6:8 tells us how we are to treat Gods people. Tomorrow will be a good day.
Kenny
GMSM

A Great Day in Haiti!

2010-02-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

From Haiti, February 1, 2010

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Today was one of those days that do not come along very often in Haiti. God allowed us to accomplish so much. Chuck went in search for documents that could not be obtained and ended up with new tires on the van. While all that was going down Dale and I met up with Harry and his friend Martinez.

We took a tap tap out to Harry’s church in Croix-des-Bouquets. Along the way we stopped at a rice place and purchased 24 bags of rice and 6 cases of oil. Today was a food distribution day for the church and community. This was all done at the church property with Harry and the elders of the church overseeing the distribution duties. Harry does such a good job and the people really respect him. He truly loves his people.

We made enough bags of food with rice, beans and oil to feed over 850 people. It is so cool to watch and be a part of all this. People are so grateful and it really does humble you. Smiles all over the place and the children are so beautiful. We wrapped all that up and it was time to head back in town and hook up with Chuck. We are stating to get larger amounts of food into the hands of more pastors. This allows them to distribute it without the chaos and to get it to the communities around their church. Tomorrow we will take a load up to Z’Orange.

Chuck got all kinds of things done to the van today. He even got the A/C fixed in the van. He’s a stylin missionary now. What a great day with lots of stuff accomplished. Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s birthday. The night before I left I told Lydia I would not be home on her birthday. She told me that she would rather me be here in Haiti helping the little children on her birthday. It really made me pause and just say thank you God for her heart. Jesus tells us a lot about children in the scripture. They grow up fast. Tomorrow should be another good day.

A Day of Praise and Rest

2010-02-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Today is church day. We took off to Z’Orange to go to church at Jerusalem I and to visit with our friends. The church was completely packed today. Probably at least 800 people were in Gods house today. I was told that they had folks from all four Jerusalem churches. It was a beautiful site. As always I love the worship and love the passion the Haitian people have for their Lord and Savior.

I had a chance to visit with Pastor Fani’s wife and talked with her for a little while. I did leave her some money to help with bills, food, water etc. I also talked to his 10 year old son Cado. I told him that he is the man of the house now and he had to take care of his mother. I also told him that his father was very proud of him.

After church Pastor Dorleon’s family made us a great Haitian meal that consisted of goat, rice and beans, onion gravy, fried plantains and pickle.

Came back down to Dottie’s and chilled for the rest of the evening. Three female P.A.’s showed up tonight. They are from Montana and on one of the ladies had great interesting stories. She and her husband own a big ranch. It sounded like they were cowboys and cowgirls. She does medical stuff all over the place. Good stuff. We really enjoyed talking to her. Tomorrow will be a very busy day. Praise God that we had a much needed break today.

Kenny
GMSM

While Many Supplies Are Stuck, We're Delivering Meals Thanks to Your Help

2010-01-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

Praise god from whom all blessings flow. I would be singing more praise if I could get some sleep. For some odd reason, one that has not been explained to me yet, the generator comes on at 9:00 p.m. and does not go off till 2:00 a.m. It ain’t music to my ears. WOW! I just heard some gun shots. That’s a first. Anyway, we were able to hand out about 2000 meals today in some of the tent areas. This would not have been possible with out the help of the 24-7 intern dudes from Bayside Community Church out of Bradenton, Fl. These guys bagged up hundreds of baggies of rice and beans.

Along with some FMSC Manna Packs, this made up a nice bag of food. Each bag had about 12 meals. Dale and I went down to Dottie’s school to check out the clinic while Chuck chased rabbits with the NGO’s. You know these guys have a plan that works in theory but it is not going to be helpful at this time. The need is now and to sit around trying to circle wagons, cross T’s dot I’s and fill out paper work is not going to help it at all. It may work in the long run but sometimes you need to check the ego at the door and just look around and jump in feet first.

Anyway we are just trying to do what we can. It is such a joy to be able to know that a few folks are eating for the next few days. It is only a bandage on a severe wound. I know God remains in control and that when it comes down to it the heart of man will do all the post quake damage. We must continue to give all Glory and plead for mercy.

Kenny
GMSM

The Sweetness of God's Creation

2010-01-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

From Haiti, January 29, 2010

The day started way too early. I went with Chuck to the airport to take a group of doctors to hop on a MAF (mission aviation fellowship) flight. That seems to be the only thing flying out right now. It is a first-come, first- served type of a gig and you just have to fly to wherever they are going. From there you are on your own.

I heard that they ended up in Chicago. That would suck if you live in FWB, FL. Oh well they are at least back in the states. Anyway 4:30 is a little early.

When we got back we started preparing for a day of buying food supplies and going up to the village of Z’Orange. I have many friends there and was looking forward to seeing them. I drove the beast while Chuck drove the van. We split up and Harry, Dale and I and a friend of Harry’s took off to Tetayen to buy the goods for the village.

Chuck’s chauffer service went to pick up another group from Dallas at a mission and delivered them to the airport. The market did not have all the stuff so we took off to a little town called Cabaret. I have never been there so I was up for the adventure. We gathered all our chum and headed up the mountain. I was glad Dale was able to check out the country side of life. I love it up there. It is a different feeling altogether.

I spoke with pastor Dorleon and we talked about the passing of Pastor Fani. I did not see Madam Fani, but understand she is struggling. Chuck made it up and saw all the work we had done. We found out that there is a lot of need up there. More than usual which can be expected with all the stuff that has happened. The thing that is hurting the provinces is that all the city folks are headed to the country. That puts a strain on an already hurting area. We will return on Sunday to catch church and a good grind. Cannot wait.

After we left the country we came back to the craziness of the city. I dig it when I just stay out in the bush with my bros. There will be plenty of time for that as time comes. God has been so good to allow me to taste the sweetness of his creation and let me serve in ways that he can only accomplish through an ordinary surfer like me. Praise God, I am so grateful for His grace and mercy as he continues to grow me and His ministry.

Kenny
GMSM

From the guest blogger Dale “Surfer D” Winslette – Friday

“The DEAFENING EFFECT – Living in Whoville”

If You’ve seen “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” you’ve seen the part where the Grinch says about Whoville : “ It’s the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE!!!!!”

NOISE…In Port-Au-Prince it overloads the senses and permeates the air…like the smog which chokes the city. That’s the way it’s been for the last week. The critical mass of 3 Million people with their associated dump trucks, cars, taxis, motorcycles, ambulances, the all white colored vehicle United Nations brigade –who drive like they are running with their hair on fire, and horns of every kind and of every sound imaginable on every kind of vehicle coupled with ZERO traffic control is just DEAFENING!!!

The good news is we got to see the flipside of that today with a trip to the mountain area of Z’Orange which lies NE of the Port where Kenny and Chuck have been working for several years. Unfortunately the bad news is the lack of natural resources, the deforestation of the country, along with the extensive erosion of the hillsides has taken it’s toll….Such is the plight of Haiti…it just takes a toll on you. The good news was the QUIET of the mountain region, which was completely foreign in our city environment for the last week. That along with the hospitality of the people, the genuine laughter of children at play. Something absent in the city but sorely needed … even in a small way by a land and people wrought with destruction.

Repairing the Generator

2010-01-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

The generator went out again and this time the mechanic was to busy to come over. So Chuck and I took on the task of playing super mechanics. Well, I was just the boy wonder and anyone who knows me knows I know very little about most things concerned with engines. So Chuck was the cape crusader. We did find a small pin whole in one of the water lines to the radiator and figured that was the reason for the over heating and causing the generator to go into automatic shut-off mode. So we wrestled the radiator out of the housing, pulled the hoses off and went in search of new hoses. We bought new hoses at the tune of $175.00, ouch!

We also took the radiator over to pressure washer dude that was set up by one of the tarp cities to have it cleaned. We returned back to the guest house and reinstalled all parts and pieces. One good thing was we did not have any parts left over so I guess we got back to the way it was. We cranked that baby up and so far all is well. I guess I was like when Paul said “I became all things to all people”, ha-ha, do not ever let me touch your engine.

That took most of our day and I know Dottie is truly grateful as well as the other guests. Harry came by tonight with another guy and we made a plan for tomorrow. We also had the opportunity to help a guy named Eddy who lost his home and all belongings. This guy has helped Chuck with a lot of in-country legal stuff. Good to give back. Praise God for whom all blessings flow, he provided another great day in a land of mass confusion.

A Very Busy Day in Haiti

2010-01-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days that you can only get in Haiti. Last night Dottie’s generator started acting up and when and if that happens it really does affect a whole lot. So this morning started with Curt Golden (a mechanic missionary from West Virginia) coming over to pull some maintenance on it. This dude is really a killer mechanic and really knows his stuff. He was able to get it going again and all was well for a short time until it started to act up again.

In the mean time Chuck, Dale and I went to Kings Hospital in hopes of making a contact with a man named Franchesca. He is the guy that kinda heads up the distribution of food with different NGO’s. We thought that this may be an in road to getting some good help to the tarp people. As we sat in this office talking to another guy we realized that this may be one of those things that could be a long shot. Seems that there is a lot of dot connecting that has to take place and even then the hoops become more numerous. We just said hey we got a truck and we are willing to help you move some food around. They said they would get back to us but we never heard anything.

So in the mean time we got the truck and headed out to Love a Child and got 150 boxes of food from Feed My Starving Children for distribution. That is 32,400 meals. We plan to add some beans with it and get in the hands of the people.

Maybe I just do not see the whole picture on how the man works but it just seems that in situations like this you can throw the whole relief manual out the window and start doing what God will allow you to do. I know you have to be careful and good stewards with Gods resources, but to drag it out with road blocks is just plain wrong.

We do not have a perfect plan. What we do have is a guy with 10 years experience in Haiti and a guy with 4 years experience in Haiti and local friends with valuable information on how best to reach the people. So tomorrow we will hit the ground running with supplies in hand and Gods wisdom and guidance. The generator is still acting up, but hey, it’s Haiti.

Kenny

GMSM

2010-01-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Today was one of the first days that we really got out in to the thick of things. We are so blessed to have the relations here to help with things that we are doing. We bagged up about 100 food bags with rice, beans, tomato paste, fish and bullion to take out for food distribution.

Ivan, who teaches at Dottie’s school, went out to survey the area to see where some of the more needy folks were. The main concern was drawing attention to what was about to take place and causing utter chaos and danger. We soon found out that there are so many needs so close by. If you did not have a local person with knowledge of the area we would never have known about these incredible hurting places that are right before us. That is what is so scary about this whole thing down here. The big boys will not be getting to the areas that are not in the public eye. So many people are going to be overlooked.

We visited some of the areas around Dottie’s house and were quiet amazed at what we were experiencing. There are over 200,000 homeless and displaced people living in makeshift shelters made of tarps and whatever can be found for tent posts. We have only scratched the surface and no matter how long we stay we will still only be scratching the surface. It seems like help is so slow getting to where it needs to be.

We had to meet some doctors at the airport this afternoon and take them out to Tetayen. As I was sitting outside the airport I decided to look over the brick wall that separates the outside world. I stood up on the van and peeked over and was completely shocked. There on the tarmac where the U.N. tents are set up was a massive amount of food and supplies just sitting there. It really makes me angry that we have been moving around for 3 days now and have not really seen too much action by way of meeting needs. Less than a five minute walk from these tents are tarp cities where no help is arriving. I am desperately trying to understand why this is happening. Can anyone please tell me? I hate red tape and the beauracratic way of thinking. It is just wrong and people suffer because of it and there is no excuse, I do not care how you try to paint it. We got the doctor crew and got them up to Tetayen and dropped them off . We headed back to Port for the night. Tomorrow will be a new day. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

2010-01-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Seems like the days go by so fast. I guess when you run from here to there all day time does move. We have accomplished a bunch so far in such a short time. The days are busy trying to meet the immediate needs of the areas that we have ties to. This will certainly have a trickle down effect on the people that are close to them.

We started out today to take some food supplies to Simon’s and Jimmie’s families. We bought food from Hyppolile at Maranatha food store to give to these guys. Our intent was to go to Carrefour, a small town in P.A.P. to deliver some relief supplies to our friends there. To get there we had to go through City Soliel, one of the hardest hit places and probably one of the more dangerous places to go. Most Haitians do not even care to enter in this area. The traffic was so bad and moving so slow we decided to just pull over and have our friends take a tap tap (taxi) and come to us. As we sat on the side of the road relaxing I heard this screech and loud bang. As I looked up I saw this truck hit a motorcycle and two people go sliding across the asphalt as the bike went out from underneath them. Harry was standing next to me and as we looked on we realize the passenger was a white lady on a tap tap. We all went running towards the accident. As we got there the girl was on the ground in obvious pain. We could not see any major injuries but she was hurt. Dale and I helped her to her feet and took her to the van. Turns out this young lady is a photographer from Brazil. She was very shaken up and trust me she was very fortunate that God placed us there at that time instead of having us continue on the road through a very dangerous area. I do not believe in luck or coincidence I just believe that God will take care of us when we are in his will. This girls name is Ana Bianca Merin and she is from San Palo, Brazil. She was down on a journaling trip. She had no business being in that area alone on a tap tap. Anyway she wanted us to take her to the Brazilian medical field hospital. Dale administered first aid and tried to comfort her the best he could. She had documents to get into the compound and as far as we know all is well with her. She was scheduled to go home in two days anyway.

We went on our way and met Jimmie’s dad, gave him some food supplies and headed back to Dottie’s. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. How He will allow us to be part of His plan will be a mystery until we wake up in the morning. I pray for continued wisdom and discernment on all things.
Kenny
GMSM
From the guest blogger… Dale Winslette

It’s day 4 In Country and the lasting impressions so far are a country reeling in ..one word… DESPERATION…

Desperate for a semblance of normalcy…

Desperate for the comfort of a lost loved one(s)….

Desperate for shelter, running water and a bed under a stable roof….

The massive devastation is mind numbing at first in its scope and breadth…hard to assimilate at second, then finally it dawns on me something I already knew but just forget sometimes …Quite simply put... recognition that life in a third world country is just plain HARD !!!!!.

There are so many people living on the street, just trying to make whatever money they can, doing anything they can for simple necessities. Some are scavenging, others are selling whatever goods they can scrounge on the street, others digging thru the rubble to gather and strip bldgs of copper, tin and other materials for money from recycling operators. Tent cities are everywhere. Many just keep moving because the recognition of not moving forward means no charcoal for a fire, no rice for supper, or worse yet no safe place to rest for the long night ahead. Compound this with a natural disaster such as this massive quake and life becomes near impossible without perseverance and hope. Hope for a better tomorrow…..if you just keep pressing forward.
To Amy, my lovely wife and the boyz Wy and Jess.. I love you all… Keep the faith.

Love, Dale

Destruction and Beauty in One Place

2010-01-25T05:54:00.000-08:00

So good to get a shower and a good nights sleep. The day started with Harry and some bros coming over and unloading the six 55 gallon drums of gas and diesel. From there it was just putting ducks in a row and getting ready to head out for the day. Simon comes by to help and to get helped. He lost several family members and him and his family are on the street. Simon is a dear friend of ours and is always so helpful we are down. We gave him a financial gift which is only a temporary fix. People are going to be without homes for a long time.

We left Dottie’s with some food and headed towards Harry’s church where people were in dire need of something eat. When we arrived they were having service. There were about 300 people at the church. Chuck addressed the congregation and Dale and I helped some of the church members make food bags. Each food bag had one large coffee can of rice, one small soup can of beans and one can of sardines. Each person also received a bottle of water and some oil. All in all God provided for 270 people, a very small contribution to an unbelievable need. This does not even register on the scale of meeting the masses.

We knew coming in that we were only going to be able to do so much. And that so much is trying to help the folks we know and the areas they live in. From there God will direct us where he wants us to be. Harry did such a great job with his church and keeping his people in orderly control during the food distribution. Most places would have been total chaos given these circumstances.

We left the church and headed back towards Port Au Prince. We stopped across from the airport so Chuck could meet someone. Harry and I walked through a tent city right by the airport. As I walked around I spoke with several of the tent people. There were at least 1500 homeless people there and no one is helping them. People hurting in ways that we can never understand. It puts a whole new perspective on the term homeless.

The thing that really confuses us is this place is right by the airport where all the relief is coming in. Food, water, medical supplies, you name it. Nothing is getting one block away to help these folks, no food distribution or medical tents. For all these people there are only four porta-potties and a hose to wash off with. Makes you wonder why something like this takes place with all these big dollars going to these organizations that have to make payroll first then try and figure out where to start as people are starving and physically hurting right in front of their eyes. I really have to check myself and trust and know that God has a plan and will be glorified by all this.

With all the help that appears to be given to Haiti, I get this feeling that it is still being overlooked and the world is hoping that this problem will just go away. I have been working down here long enough to know that this earthquake intensified a problem... it didn't start one. Pray for mercy as God allows us a glimpse of things to come. Christians must take action and proclaim the truth of Jesus as Lord and Savior, in every situation, including disaster zones.
Kenny
GMSM

Safe Arrival in Port Au Prince

2010-01-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

It was freezing last night. Yes -- cold in the Dominican Republic. Polo is in the mountains and it was so nice for Darren to allow us to stay at the mission. Seems like God always supplies when we are obedient. I woke up early walked out and saw what a beautiful place it is up in Polo, D.R. We were met by Moiesses and Antonio. Antonio is a local pastor who speaks Spanish, Creole and English. I am glad these plans are not ours. It is so cool how God just orchestrates all things in ways that I can never understand.

There was so much to do today from getting cash exchanged to pesos, purchasing food supplies, getting truck parts, fuel and getting to the border. None of us have ever been to the D.R. and for all this to happen so smoothly truly took an act of God. All this took place in a small coastal town of Barahoma. We were able to buy 20 100lb bags of rice, 10 100lb bags of beans, spaghetti, sauce, oil and canned fish. Once all the supplies were bought we headed across the D.R. to the Haitian border at Jamani.

After about 3 or 4 hours in the back of the truck we finally made to the border. The only resistance we had was with the fuel. We have 6 55gallon drums of gas and diesel. With a prayer and an official looking letter from the states we got through. We were met by Pastor Harry and JoJo to help us get through immigration. Mexico is much harder to cross and to get across. There are a lot of similarities in the chaotic mess though.

Once we arrived at Love a Child where the truck is all our new Dominican brothers helped us unload and reload. What a blessing it was to have them. It was getting dark and a decision had to be made. Do we go in to Port or not. So we asked Harry what we should do and Harry says it is safe and we must go and go now. Chuck and I drove the truck and Dale drove with JoJo. Harry and one of his church members rode on the back of the truck for security. It was dark and I new it was the right thing to do. Harry was willing to risk his life for us so I new that it was safe as possible.

As we approached Port it seemed like business as usual. Lots of cars, vendors and people walking around. As we approached Dottie’s you could see some of the devastation to areas that we are familiar with. WOW! We pulled up to Dottie’s and got through the gate and so far all is well… as I expected. When you know that you know that you know… you know. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Safe Arrival to the Dominican Republic

2010-01-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

What would any good mission trip be without showing up at 4:30 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m. flight only to be told that the flight was scratched and you have about ten minutes to get on the one about to leave. Praise God for whom all blessings flow, he provided a path.

Once we arrived in the Dominican Republic we were met by a Christian local named Moisses David Cuevas Espinosa who is involved with a ministry all the way on the other side of the country in a town called Polo. The ministry is called Caribbean Ministry directed by a man named Darren Turel. God provided this connection through someone Chuck new.

Once we were picked up, Chuck, Dale Winslette and I took off with Mousses for a 6 hour trip across the country. D. R. is a beautiful place and pales in comparison to our real destination. Crazy how two countries worlds apart share the same island, while one is affected by a massive earthquake and the other is not. I had a great time with our driver because he speaks Spanish and I was able to communicate with him well. Felipe would have been proud. Tomorrow will be a whole new thing.

We will start moving supplies into Haiti by the afternoon. We all know the potential danger in this hot bed situation and do not question God's call on our lives. Chuck and I have so many friends who are hurting and need help. I thank God for Dale’s heart. I would be lying if I did not continue to think about Kim and the girls. I will be praying that God will give me focus and that He will take care of them no matter what happens. I have no idea what is waiting for us. I just know God will be glorified.

Kenny
GMSM
January 23, 2010

Leaving For Haiti Today

2010-01-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

We are very thankful for the nearly $23,000 provided by supporters of Give Me Shelter Ministries for this trip to Haiti.

Kenny and Brother Chuck of Truth Evangelistic Ministry will fly into the Dominican Republic today, January 22, 2010. With the help of two other organizations, Love A Child and Caribbean Missions, Kenny and Chuck will cross the border into Haiti to deliver drums of fuel for generators, and as many rice and beans as we can load in.

We are visiting all our usual spots -- Dottie's Guest House in Port Au Prince (we won't be staying, but praise the Lord she and most of the children of the orphanage survived), and up to Z'Orange and Jerusalem churches. We will provide as much water as we can purchase to all our Brothers and Sisters. We will fuel the generators to pump the wells too. These churches you've helped build can be an area of relief for many who are fleeing the city for the country.

Needless to say, we need your prayers more than ever on this mission. It is important for us to return to the people and their churches with whom we've become so close and successful in spreading the Gospel in this already impoverished country. Pray that our supplies and missionaries make it to the Christians who bring so much hope to people in a country where there was little to begin with, and basically none now.

We know that there is hope in any situation through Christ, and it is important to help spread the Word of God to a society who generally does not know Him. Thank you again for helping us reach out to fellow humans who have nothing like the blessings we have here at home.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Dental Clinic in Mexico a Big Success

2010-01-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. GMSM teamed up with Ft. Walton Beach dentist Dr. Tony Clark, his assistant Scott Shepard, Tony's sons Logan and Luke and Shaun Ellis and headed down to Mexico for a dental clinic. Scott wrote a great report posted below. It was his first mission, and he was fired up to serve.

We did our first ever clinic in the colonias at Pastor Felipe's church and a clinic over in Casa Hogar Elim orphanage. What a blessing it was to be able to supply some physical help to some hurting people. Between the colonia and Casa Hogar Elim, Tony and Scott saw more than 60 adults and children with at least 40 tooth extractions, fillings and cleanings.

We hardly scratched the surface on meeting dental needs down here, but praise God we were able to help many in the name of Christ.

With so much happening in Haiti and as our preparation begins to start for our relief effort there, I thank God he allowed us the time to continue the ministry down here. As we were preparing to leave, Felipe told me not to worry about them, that we are fine, Haiti needs us more now than we do, that we should spend this year down there.

It is wonderful to see a guy like Pastor Felipe, who the world sees as insignificant, truly gets it. We should all take a close look at ourselves and have the same wonderful, selfless attitude as Pastor Felipe.

Kenny
GMSM
Jan. 15-18 Mexico dental clinic

---- Report from Scott Shepard ----

Mission teams are departing for the devastation in Haiti as our mission team leaves Mexico this morning; body and soul refreshed by the Holy Spirit. We were blessed with a mission that brought the love of Jesus to both Casa Hogar orphanage and the church of “Mision Bautista Nuevo Camina” in a nearby colonia.

The colonias are Nuevo Laredo neighborhoods of makeshift shelters inhabited by the most impoverished families. Dr. Tony Clark and his family have been supporting the Casa Hogar mission since 1999. Last summer Tony felt a calling to share his blessings as a dentist in Ft Walton Beach, Florida with Mrs. Lupita's children in the orphanage. The dental ministry has been such a tremendous blessing to Casa Hogar that an outreach mission into the colonias was planned for 2010. With a crew of four and the assistance of many in Nuevo Laredo, Kenny Phillips acted as the liaison for this first trip outside the walls of Casa Hogar. Saturday the mission set up our dental clinic in the sanctuary of Camina Nueva, using pews to seat our patients and a desk chair elevated on cinder blocks to evaluate and treat our patients.

During the day and into the evening, residents of the colonias walked dirt roads to visit “los dentistas” in the church of Nueva Camina. We were blessed to take care of 23 patients, in all removing 28 teeth from people in real pain. Five patients required extensive surgery. In cases like Paulina, who was so badly disabled by tooth decay, ten teeth were removed to ease her pain and prevent a life threatening infection.

Sunday morning our makeshift dental clinic returned to Casa Hogar; where a previous mission team had prepared a much more permanent facility. Medical examination tables, a dental chair and good lighting were only part of our blessings this Sunday. Doctor Tony soon trained several of the children to assist in delivering bottled water and suction from an air compressor and shop-vac during the exams with simple request for "aqua y suctionnes."

During the morning, we provided very simple dental cleaning, fluoride treatments and cavity evaluation to 48 of the orphanage children. After lunch, we returned to treat those at risk of permanent damage with fillings and in three more cases, teeth that needed to be pulled. While it was heart wrenching for us to remove four teeth from five year old Lupita, she was resting comfortably just a few hours later. A new smile will return in the next few days, a happy sight for the older girls that have seen the sad, sad face of a baby sister crying from the pain of four toothaches. As the children helped break down the backpack dentistry equipment, each one with a toothbrush and toothpaste in their pocket...they repeated our advice frequently. Brush your teeth and pray every night, "todos las noches!”

Father God, thank you so much for Logan and Luke, Doctor Tony's sons and Mr Shaun Ellis. Their assistance in setting up and putting away the equipment was only surpassed in testimony by their interaction with the children and staff of Casa Hogar. Doctor Tony, your healing gift and discernment to invite me on this trip are living testimony to the power of faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God be with Kenny as he prepares for a relief ministry to our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

In His Name,
Scott Shepard

Pastor Fani Has Returned Home to the Lord

2010-01-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

Pastor Fanilus ("Fani"), the pastor of Jerusalem II Church in Haiti, has completed his work on Earth. He went home to be with the Lord yesterday, January 15, 2010.

Pastor Fani was a great man of God who led many Haitians to Christ through the years. He lived in what most consider a shack, in a world that was full of pain and need. He taught his fellow man that Christ's redeeming blood was all that is needed by any person throughout the world, regardless of what lot had been cast his or her way.

Pastor Fani has now left the hardships of Haiti and this world, and is rejoicing in Glory today with Christ.

Please keep his wife and child in your prayers, as well as the members of his church.

Please Help Us in Haiti

2010-01-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Give Me Shelter Ministries is scheduled to arrive in Haiti next Thursday, January 21st.

Please pray that the airport will be open for our mission.

We ask that you pray for all our friends, brothers and sisters in Haiti whom you have helped serve through Give Me Shelter Ministries.

We ask that you prayerfully consider helping us with a financial donation of any size to help us get aid to Pastors Fani, Harry, Dorleon, Winsy and their churches.

ALL money donated to our Haiti missions goes directly to these Christian pastors and their churches. Please search this blog for "Haiti" to see the many trips we've made and the Churches we've helped build.

We have heard one message from Pastor Harry, that his family is alive, Praise be to God, but his home is destroyed. We do not know the condition of the other pastors. We will report updates here at our blog.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Thank you for supporting Give Me Shelter Ministries.

Return from Christmas Mission to Mexico

2010-01-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

To wrap up the trip we visited Casa Hogar Elim and the children that we have formed relationships with. It was a pleasant surprise to see the work that has been done there. The dental clinic is really starting to take shape. Some of the kids were home with their families but we spent some time with the ones who were there. We dropped off a few Christmas gifts and left to start the trip home.

We traveled for several hours and stopped in Houston for the night. After some much needed rest we made the rest of the trek home, saying goodbye to our friends from Louisiana and Alabama. The trip was a great success as we were able to deliver the blankets and food. We also ended up leaving some of the blankets for Felipe to take on a mission trip that he is conducting himself into the mountains of Mexico.

We made some great new relationships with the people from Saraland, Alabama and got the chance to see our friends from Ponchatoula, Louisiana. We truly were able to work as the body of Christ even though we are not all from the same place or background. Continue to be in prayer for the people in Mexico and for Pastor Felipe as he continues his mission.

Delivering Blankets and Meals in Mexico

2009-12-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-28T16:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

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/.

2009-09-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T18:09:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. I had a great 5 hours of sleep after a cool evening at the church last night. Pretty cool how God seems to know how much we need of things. I guess by most standards about 8 hours would have been more sufficient for what we had been through, but today was a great day.

The blessings God pours out on us seems so unfair at times. It is so beautiful how He uses and allows us to be a part of His perfect plan. We loaded up some of the FMSC food on the truck to take out to the soup kitchen and to the fishing village. Both south of the border around Matamoros.

We had great help loading the food from some of the student missionaries at Christ United Church. Our first stop was the soup kitchen that also doubles as a church that ministers to an incredibly poor community, not only meeting the physical needs but also the spiritual needs of the people in this colonia. This ministry is sponsored by Christ United Church. The churches name is Comedor Unidos en Christo ( soup kitchen United in Christ ). The pastor is a young guy named Jesus. He is about 25 years old. His wifes name is Sol. What cool names, Jesus and Sun. They pastor the church and when food is avalible they cook at the church to provide meals for the needy. There is so much need. They were so stoked to get this food from FMSC. We dropped off 12 boxes. Seven will stay there and 5 boxes will be moved to a work down in Veracruz. We shared scripture and prayed with them. As always we were ministered to more than we deserved. Crazy how that works. Very awesome work these guys are doing.

After leaving our brother and sister we headed about an hour and a half further south and east towards the Gulf to an area called Mezquital. This is a small fishing village that I visited last January with Derel Hatt ,Shaun Ellis, Ray White and Chacho. At that time I knew God would lead us back to this place. I was like O.K. right on Lord tell me when and why. The when was his timing with the food and the why was… the need is obvious.

Although they fish there is many times that the water just does not cooperate. So the needs are huge. There is a small church called Sendero de la Cruz or in gringo Way of the Cross. The pastors name is Abigael and his wifes name is Guadalupe. They migrated from way down south and are more Indian than Mexican. Humble people with a hard life. This little village is called la Mano de Leon or the paw of the lion. They too were excited about getting the food. As we prayed and shared the word with them they thanked us for not forgetting them. Once again we walked away encouraged beyond belief.

We headed back to the border but stopped and chowed down on some killer road side taco stand food. This stuff was great. After eating a sinful amount we proceded to make our way to Christ United Chursh in Los Fresnos. Once back we we packed up and started the 4 hour trek back to Nuevo Laredo. We did not leave till about 10:00 P.M.

I am not sure why we continue to persecute ourselves with sleep deprivation. So we rolled in about 3 A.M. After a shower and some time on the computer I hit the sack. Very cool day. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Kenny
GMSM

2009-06-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

After returning home from a beautiful time with First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze in Nuevo Laredo, I had a short stay with the family and made the dreaded turn around trip back down. I met Ray White from Mission Builders in Pensacola at 5:00 a.m. and with trailer in tow headed back down I10 interstate. We stopped in Ponchatoula LA and picking up a much-needed generator that was donated to the ministry by Wormie Felder the owner of Ever Green Tractor Co. To God be the Glory!

We had two other things that we were setting out to accomplish. One was to pick up a college student from Texas A&M in College Station Texas and the other was to meet the truck from Feed My Starving Children. I cannot even begin to tell you how long we were on the road. Any way we dropped Leah off in Laredo at Jaunies house. Jaunie is Mama Lupita’s oldest daughter. Leah is a 21 year old college student who is going to spend 6 weeks in the orphanage to teach English to the kids. She has been down several times before and knows the drill. We pulled back out of Laredo and headed for Los Fresno’s.

We are to meet the truck at United in Christ Ministries where we will use this church as a starting point for distribution across the border. United in Christ was started from two men out of Ray Whites home church in Pensacola. This ministry has grown so much over the last 3 to 4 years. They have a mission in Los Fresnos, TX and all kinds of things going on in the Matamoros area.

As we were getting closer to our second destination we were informed that the food was delivered a day early. That was cool but we could have crashed somewhere for some rest if we would have known. So when we got to United in Christ the food was already unloaded and put up. We hung out with Chacho and Mark for a while to kind of see whats been going on. By this time I was starting to feel so exhausted that the only thing I know what to do is keep on going.

Mark is the pastor and Chacho is the director and missions coordinator. The four of us got together to pray for direction on how God would have us use and distribute the food. This is a first for me. God has put Give Me Shelter Ministries in the position to get the food down here. As always we want to work through the church that is in place. God knows what to do and Chacho and Mark know the needs. Through God's guidance I have all confidence that the food will get to the right people and God will be glorified and the message of Christ Jesus will be proclaimed.

As tired as I was I will never miss a chance to minister. Chacho is preaching about an hour across the border at a small church called Jehova Jireh . While we were down we took some of the food to a drug rehab center in Matamoros named Centro de Rehailitacion Unidos en Christos -- or in gringo translation: Rehabilitation Center of United in Christ.

It is so beautiful to see God work. What a blessing it is to be a part of Kingdom work. It always helps me to see how unworthy I really am. If not for God's grace and mercy I could have easily been in the same situation in Mexico as these men are. Sometimes I just stand drawing blanks in my head, trying to understand why God choose me to do what he has called me to do. I praise God and give him all the credit. He is so good and excellent.

We arrived at the little church Jehova Jireh. What a wonderful time of worship we had. By this time I was so tired and God was doing a major stretch on me. I was ready to head back across and see if sleep was in the picture for me or not. I was beginning to think that that sleep was something that did not really exist. But God said one more blessing. The pastor’s family wanted to prepare food for us. The flesh wanted to say no but the spirit of true Christian love said stay and enjoy. What a hassle that must have been to prepare food so late at night. This was something they wanted to do. She made fresh hand mixed, hand rolled flour tortillas with beans and egg with this crazy hot sauce that only rivaled the chicken place in Nuevo Laredo. How many blessings can God allow us to have each day and how far can he stretch us? Be obedient and available and find out. I finally got to sleep when God was done with me for this day. Thank you God for your patience with me.

Kenny
GMSM

June 18, 2009 Mexico Mission trip with Gulf Breeze

2009-06-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Que Pasa mi amigos. Today is the last day of the mission trip but the beginning for many changed lives who have served on this mission trip. I have made so many good friends from a 12 year girl who has been called to missions to a 60 or so year old pastor who is much like Jonah. Called to serve in a place that he despised.

God had 50 children show up in the colonias today for VBS. I guess if we were going to be there tomorrow there would be 65 or 70. God continued to increase daily. There were 10-12 children that were led in the prayer of salvation today. Praise God for the harvest that God allowed this team to be a part of.

I know Pastor Felipe will continue to minister to these children. I learn more and more about Felipe and am beginning to understand that I must be around more if this ministry is going to help impact the colonias for Kingdom expansion. The Gulf Breeze group has done an incredible job and have been such a blessing to me. I look forward to hanging with them more. We ate at the pollo place and then took the team to the market to shop. Tonight we have bless and stretch, one of my favorite times.

Kenny
GMSM

June 17, 2009 Mexico report with Gulf Breeze Baptist Church

2009-06-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

Praise God for how He is working in Mexico. After killer coffee and a cool breakfast provided by Cheryl the chef we headed to the church for VBS. As always so far, Derel and crew did an amazing job with the Bible teaching, crafts, snacks and recreation.

While some of the stuff was wrapping up, I went to visit the couple that we are going to build the house for when FBCFWB comes. Raul and Tomasa Badillo are their names. Rachel, Felipe, Rueban and Gabriel went with me. It was awesome to pray and share with them. Today is the last day at the orphanage and I know from experience that it will be hard for some of the youth and adults. Many tears will be shed and many hearts will be changed. To me this is the bittersweet part of these trips. To watch God stretch and mold hearts.

It was good to spend some time with mama Lupita and Deana today just to catch up on some things. Each night we have a time of reflection and tonight was a tough night for some of these kids. We will continue VBS at Filepe’s church in the morning and then it is off to the chicken place for lunch and then will take everyone shopping at the market. I love this group and look forward to spending more time with them. I really thank Rachel Conte for helping me with pictures, captions and other website email related stuff. Her help was most cool. Praise God that he yoked me up with these folks.
Kenny
GMSM

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER! :c)

Hola Amigos!
My name is Kyle Mckissack and I have the wonderful opportunity to serve on the trip to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. I am 16.6 years old and attend Gulf Breeze High School and First Baptist Church in Gulf Breeze. I am currently the Twister® masta in our group. Today we visited the colonias and helped again with the VBS program. It is amazing to see the children each day and see how they are becoming more comfortable around us. The twinkles in their eyes and smiles make my day.

We got to make colorful sippy cups with them today which were amazing. Sarah Gates is one cool girl. After this we headed to the Casa Hogar Elim orphanage. The children here are so energetic and hug all over you all day. We also got to color cups with them which was especially cool seeing as they had no cups. It was an especially important day because it was our last time to get to see them. Until the next time I come back that is.

The children at this orphanage have all been a blessing to me. They constantly display the largest smiles and can’t get enough of us “Americanos”. They are so positive and have so little it is very humbling. I can’t wait until tomorrow to see what is in store.

June 16, 2009 with Gulf Breeze Baptist Church

2009-06-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

This morning started out with a text message from Kelly Stanford about perseverance from the book of James. This couldn’t have come at a better time as my day was greeted with a snag about getting the food down to Matamoras. I received an email saying that we had to fill out a financial application before we could move forward with the transportation and pick up of the food. This was never discussed over the last two weeks of conversation with the trucking company and Feed My Starving Children. There was nothing wrong with having to fill out the application except that I was down in here in Mexico and had no financial information with me. So I forwarded the email to Billy Gann (our board of director’s secretary) and asked him to fill out the application and fax it to the trucking company. He texted me back and said he need the address for the food to be delivered… Which I did not have. At this moment I knew that the evil one was trying to trip me up for the day. I had to step back and not wig out. I asked God to take this problem and deal with it the only way that He knows how. Praise God before the day was out all paper work has been taken care of and prayerfully this problem is complete and the food will be on its way.

Today was another beautiful day out in the Colonias at Pastor Felipe’s Church. There were at least 12 more children today than yesterday. As always, word gets out and the crowd may be bigger tomorrow. Gabriel did another wonderful job with the lesson and Gulf Breeze youth group did another wonderful job with singing, snacks, crafts, and recreation. It is such a blessing to see all this pulled together. After this we headed for the orphanage to do VBS and play with the kids. All in all it was a great day and a joy to be part of it.
Kenny
GMSM

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER! :c)

Hey! I’m Tori Payton. I go to First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze. I’m 14 years old and going into the 9th grade at Aletheia Christian Academy.

This mission trip is my second out of the country mission trip but first to Nuevo Laredo! Today was my second day to visit Pastor Felipe’s church in the Colonias and the orphanage. God has really been showing and teaching me a lot!

Today I had two major realizations/blessings. First I love kids, so to be able to work with them is super cool! I learned so much from them. One of them being that we take a lot for granted. Those children have nothing compared to what we are blessed with in America and yet their attitudes reflect Christ so much more than ours sometimes. They are always smiling and laughing and it is so great to see that!

Another thing that was a huge blessing to me was that I got to do everything that I love and have a passion for but I got to do for the honor and glory of God! I had the opportunity to sing, play soccer, and play with kids! It really made me realize that serving God doesn’t have to be boring and repetitive. You can serve God doing the things you love the most! It’s amazing how we come here to serve and bless others but end up being blessed more than you can imagine! I have been having so much fun here and grown closer to God as well as the rest of my youth group!
Friends in Christ,
Tori <3

June 15, 2009 Mexico Mission Trip with Gulf Breeze Baptist Church

2009-06-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Today is a day that I have been praying and waiting for a long time. I have prayed for so long that we would be able to hold a vacation bible school out in the Colonias. We’ve always held vacation bible school at the orphanage which is good, but I’ve always been in the Colonias building houses. There has always been a desire to have a VBS out of these areas. Today God answered that prayer through Gulf Breeze Baptist Church youth group. I cannot tell you how stoked I am to be a part of this mission trip with this group. God is always so gracious and loving. It is very true that when we call on his name and we seek his desires that he will answer our prayers.

Kenny
GMSM

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER! :c)

Hello! I am Rachel Conte, currently a student at Southeastern University, and a member of First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze. This is my first mission trip to Nuevo Laredo and I have seen more of God’s beautiful people.

We began our day with a delicious breakfast and a successful trip across the border to the Colonias. We walked in to the Mission Bautista Camino Nuevo and our interpreter began telling the children stories of the goodness of God. I don’t know Spanish, but the grins on the faces of the children showed me that they were filled with joy with what they heard.

There were songs, snacks, crafts, and laughs shared by everyone. I was taken out of my comfort zone and spoke to four lovely ladies who didn’t know one word of English. Having taken Spanish, I began with our names and simply talked. I was blessed by this small beginning of a friendship that I know I will have with these people.

Next we went to the orphanage. I have always heard of mission trips where children come running to the missionaries arms and they don’t even have to know their name. Today was my first experience of this. We hadn’t even pulled into the parking lot when children were running to and in our vans to give love and be loved. We played games and ate with the children. God once again has shown me how little you need to be happy.

These kids don’t have air conditioning, or ice, or parents, or iphones, or chick-fil-a, and they continually have smiles on their faces. I am always learning that love is most important and that joy can be found in any circumstance.

Today I have been stretched and blessed and I look forward to what God has for tomorrow!

Rachel Conte
FBCGB

Sunday Worship in Texas and Mexico

2009-06-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Derel and I drove up to Johnson’s Ins. to get insurance for the vans to cross the border. When that task was finished we headed back to the church for the worship service. I love worshiping in new fellowships, it is always so refreshing. God is so cool. He allows us to enjoy our brothers and sisters in Christ. The common thread for all believers is Christ Jesus. I cannot understand prejudice. After church we had a deliciouslunch made by our awesome cook.

Later in the day, we discovered that the refrigerator in the church kitchen died. So Derel, Gabriel and I went to Home Depot and bought a new one for the church. On our way to get this thing we realized that we had no way to carry this thing back. What's a missionary to do? So I called Reuben and he said that he would make a few phone calls but could make no promises.

We decided to do the only thing we could do and that was put it in Gods hand. As Gabriel prayed and asked for guidance my phone began to ring before the prayer was over. A deacon from Ruebans church, Benito would come and rescue us and take the new fridge to the church. How cool is that? Score one for the Big Dude. God provided for our need because we asked in his name and He new that this was an important part of His mission plan.

With the fridge all hooked up, I took Jesse, Tracy and Gabriel across the border to Felipe’s church so they could see the lay out for VBS. After talking strategy with Ana, the pastor’s wife, and visiting with Felipe, we headed back to the states and the persecution of the dreaded border line.

Neither of these guys had been across before and it was so cool introducing them to this mission effort God has been so gracious to allow me to be a part of. I took them on a tour of some of the houses that we have built in the past. We also stopped by Gloria and Marcos house. We built this house about two and a half years ago. I always stop in and see this couple when I am in Nuevo Laredo. We made it back across, Emily and Sara made it in, we ate and went to a praise and worship service at the church. I am beat. Tomorrow we all go across to do VBS at Felipe’s church and then at Casa Hagar Elam orphanage. I am looking forward to seeing how God is going to stretch this team.

Kenny

Mexico Mission trip with Gulf Breeze Baptist Church

2009-06-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed at what God continues to allow us to do with GMSM. This mission trip is really special, as one of our main goals is to help people get involved in mission work in Mexico and Haiti.

This trip is Gulf Breeze Baptist Church's first mission with us to Nuevo Laredo. We brought Deryl Hatt, the youth pastor, down this past January in hopes of getting his church involved. Well, praise the Lord they are fired up and we are all serving in Mexico less than six months later.

After a long journey to Laredo we arrived at the host church Iglesia Bautista Emanuel. This will be our home for the next 5 days.

We will cross the border each day and do Vacation Bible School in the morning at the colonias and VBS in the afternoon at Casa Hogar Elim orphanage. I will say, this church is in a very rough part of town. Tomorrow I will take a small group over the border and let them see what God has gotten them into.

Praise God for the safe journey. Thank you to all supporters for keeping us in your prayers this week.

Kenny

GMSM

Returning to Mexico this Month

2009-06-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Give Me Shelter Ministries is returning to Nuevo Laredo twice this summer, once with Gulf Breeze Baptist Church on June 12 and again with First Baptist Church Ft. Walton Beach on our annual mission June 27.

We will be working on building one shelter during our trip. We have more than one needy family down in Nuevo Laredo, but each trip makes a difference.

We ask for your prayers as these volunteers help our neighbors who have very little. If you can make any contribution to helping us build homes for the members of Pastor Felipe's church, please do so. God bless you and we thank you for your support.

Returning to the Land of Plenty

2009-06-03T05:18:00.000-07:00

May 29, 2009

Today is the day that is always met with mixed emotions. This is break down day when part of says “I wish we had another week and the other part of me says its time to go back to the land of human chaos. In any event there is much work that needs to be done where ever the Lord will allow us to work. As with every morning, it is cool to watch the village come alive. People start to scurry around doing their daily chores, children start showing up for school and life starts a new day in Z’Orange. Just like home there is always something to do. What they do down here is survival. We do not have to worry about survival unless you consider survival being worried that that guy’s boat is bigger than yours. As we say our goodbyes and get things packed, we start the trek back towards Port and then on to Love a Child to drop the truck off. I drove the whole time and that was a nice break for Chuck. Once we dropped the truck off we headed for CSI guest house to stay the night. Tomorrow we head to the land of plenty

Twenty Pews will Seat a Lot of People to Worship the Lord

2009-05-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

May 28, 3009

We finally started assembling the pews. Work began about 6:30 and ended over 12 hours later. There was plenty of local help, and once we got our system down we were beginning to look like that we knew what we were doing.

Twenty pews were built and I know Pastor Fanilus will be stoked. He was supposed to have his surgery today. I will not know anything until we come back to Port Au Prince.

All in all it was a great day of hammering and banging with my brothers in Christ. This may very well have been one of the hardest days of work that I have put in here in Haiti. Chuck worked us hard today and I know we all felt it. God protected us and gave us strength.

Pastor Fani Gets Blood from Red Cross | Preparing Pews for Jerusalem II Church

2009-05-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

May 26, 2009

After leaving the guest house we had e few more errands to run before we headed up the mountain. Chuck and I drove in the big truck and George and Joe drove together, we all met at the lumber store to get the supplies for the pews for the Jerusalem II. After the lumber run we had some lunch and picked up food supplies. From that point we split up. Joe, myself, Ginette and Simon took Gabriel up the mountain while Chuck and George stayed in Port to take care of some business. I drove all through town and up the mountain to Z’Orange. Praise God for a new path. The new road makes things a whole lot easier. I am glad that Chuck feels comfortable with me to help with the ministry. Once we arrived in Z’Orange we unloaded the truck and set up camp. It was neat to see the kids helping us to unload the lumber and set things up. It started raining and stopped us from working so we ate supper and chilled.

May 27, 2009

Praise god from whom all blessings flow. What a night it was. After the rain it got so cool that I even got a little chilly a couple of times. Trust me, that is a good thing when the days are blistering. Ginette gave us a nice breakfast and we began the wait for gas to put in the generator. Chuck, George and Simon went back to Port to take care of a few things. Once the gas arrived we started pre-fabricating the lumber to be be used to make the new pews for Pastor Fanilus and Jerusalem II. It was so cool to have some of the young men help us out. Even Ginette was a tremendous help. Although there was a language barrier of sorts they caught on quick to Joe’s and my plan. Before long we had a cool assembly line going, the work went so smooth and it was great fun fellowshipping with my brother and sisters.

There is a lot that goes on during the day around the church. One of the main things is the school. It is so neat to see the children in dress uniforms and learning. School costs money so there are a lot of children that do not attend school. We spent many hours ripping and cutting lumber to get it ready and I think without the help the Lord provided for us, we would not have gotten as much done as we did.

You know something I was thinking about today was that I have not even seen John Wesley (the voodoo priest). I am not even sure if he ever rented the house that Chuck and I gave him the money for so he and his family could be together.

When the guys returned from Port Au Prince I learned that Pastor Fani had gotten some much needed blood from the Red Cross so he could have his surgery. I am still not sure when this surgery is going to take place but I do know that if he was in the U.S. this would have been taken care of long ago. We will all continue to pray and lift him up .Tomorrow we will start mass-producing the pews.

Visit to Pastor Fanilus in the Hospital

2009-05-30T05:20:00.000-07:00

May 25, 09 Haiti

After a great night sleep we prepared to see what the Lord had in store for us on this day. This place is a very nice place. It is like a kitchenette where you can cook your own food.

It is only $10.00 per day. Once we set out for the day, George and Joe dropped Chuck and I off in town where we waited for Harry and Joe Joe the driver to pick us up. There were several things that we wanted to accomplish today before we headed up the mountain. We went to the hospital to see Pastor Fani and his wife. I can promise you one thing; you do not want to be stuck in a Haitian hospital. Everything is open and patients are piled into a big room with no privacy what so ever. When we walked in and he saw us he started crying. As we visited he would look up at me and tears would fill his eyes. From the flesh part of me I am bummed that he is this way. But the spiritual part of me knows that God is in complete control and He knows what is best for His children. We were informed that if he would not have come to the hospital he surely would have died.

After a short visit we spoke to Sister Fani and I gave her some money that Vance Baptist Church, Al had provided. We prayed and then we left. After running several more errands, which at times can be an adventure in itself we grabbed some lunch and headed off to Love A Child to pick up the truck. I logged some good drive time driving back to the guest house. I think tomorrow I will drive up the mountain to Z’Orange.

2009-05-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

May 24, 2009

Once again we head off to Haiti to see what the Lord will allow us to do. Things we have planned on are seeing Pastor Fanilus in the hospital and to build pews for the new church on the mountain, Jerusalem II.

We are experimenting with a new airline called Spirit and hit our first glitch of the trip when we arrived in Atlanta. At the ticket counter they informed us that we can only have one check in bag due to an embargo they have with Port Au Prince. Well Chuck and I had two trunks apiece that had tools that would be needed to perform the task for the pews. Wow, what a curve ball. We looked at each other and said what we do. The only thing we could do was just pray for wisdom on what to do. God is so gracious and guided us through this mess. So we decide to pack all our stuff in one trunk each and deal with the over weight charges. We ended up with only one trunk being over the weight limit.

I am traveling with Chuck Martindale and Joe Hutchinson. We will meet fellow brother in Christ and missionary George Truelove in Port. We will be staying at a new guest house in Port named Blue Ridge/ Keys for Life Ministries. Once we arrived and George picked us up and we headed off to Blue Ridge guest house. Chuck will be preaching tonight at Pastor Harry’s church in Port. I am looking so forward seeing Harry. He is such a warrior in Haiti. I love church in Haiti it is always so refreshing. As always Chuck did a wonderful job in the pulpit and Harry did a great job translating. I am beat and it will be good to rest.

Kenny Phillips

GMSM

Back in Haiti

2009-05-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

Kenny joined Truth Evangelistic Ministry in a return trip to Haiti this week. Originally intended to be a mission to complete pews in Jerusalem II Church, it is now also a mission to visit Pastor Fani (pronounced "Fan-ay" and short for "Fanilus") in the hospital and deliver over $1200.00 for his hospital expenses. Praise the Lord for all your help in this effort. Special thanks to Vance Baptist Church for their help in Pastor Fani's medical expenses. Please pray for Kenny, his family and all the members of the mission team, as well as Pastor Fani. We will update his condition and the success of building pews as soon as we get a message from Haiti. God bless you all.

Pastor Fani Update

2009-05-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

We have raised nearly $1000 dollars to help fund Pastor Fani's medical expenses. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Please donate today through PayPal and indicate "Pastor Fani" with your donation.

Urgent Prayer and Funding Request

2009-05-13T20:06:00.001-07:00

Hello all,
I received this today and talked to Chuck this morning about Pastor Fani's situation. It does not look very good at this time.You know what this man and his family means to me. I ask you that we help in some way to ease the burden of lack of money.I know that if God is ready to take this Godly man home then so be it. I know that he to will be living the promise of our Lord and Savior. If not I know that the medical facilities can be less than desirable and he is suffering. Please pray now for him and his family and that Divine healing would occur if it is Gods will. Please pray how we may help. Search yourselves and lets together do what we can.
Please pass this on and let me know as soon as you can. Thank you,
Kenny

Pastor Fanilus as you know had a very bad motorcycle accident at the beginning of the year. He took a hard blow to the head. He hasn't been himself since but two days ago he could not answer questions and Pastor Harry called me and asked me what they should do. I said take him to the hospital but he said they had no money . I told him to take him and we would take care of it. We need to first pray that the Lord will heal him. I sent $ 100.00 today for the doctors to look at him and they suggest that he go into the hospital they think he has bleeding in the brain. That is all I know. it cost $ 187.50 to admit him and $ 30.00 a day. Also we have medicines and doctors to pay so if the Lord puts it on your heart to help with Pastor Fanilus. Please let me know. I believe we need to do all we can do for this man of God. Please let everyone know that knows Pastor Fanilus so they can be praying God bless you all

Bro. Chuck

Report and Photos from Haiti Mission April, 2009

2009-04-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! God is so awesome and gracious beyond all comprehension. It is so beautiful how He allows us to be part of His perfect plan and continues to stretch us past all of our boundaries. I pray that I will never feel worthy of all His grace and mercy. I thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts as we continue the great work in Haiti. It never ceases to amaze me how I feel the sweet spirit of Jesus when I am serving in a place where hope is totally dependent on the promises of God. It is easy to get distracted by things that we have no control over and find ourselves depending on man for all the answers.

Once again GMSM worked along side Truth Evangelistic Ministries (TEM) under the guidance of their lead servant Chuck Martindale. After arriving in Port Au Prince and having a good night sleep at Dottie’s we headed off to the real world, the village of Z’Orange. This is an area where we continue to build relationships with local people, pastors and voodoo priests. One of the primary goals of this particular mission trip was to lead a conference with some of the islands pastors. These men need so much prayer and encouragement. Most of these men preach without a salary and they work very hard at what they do. We had three pastors from our area lead the conference, Sean McMahon, Chuck Poplin and Ken Loubriel along with several lay ministers. The pastors received a certificate at the conclusion of the conference and had pictures taken. Also, they preached a revival that went on for four nights. The worship in a Haitian church can be so pure at times, it was truly special.

In Addition, we were involved with food distribution and I took several teams out to do hut to hut evangelism. Along with the hut to hut evangelism, we visited some of the voodoo villages. The hope is that by keeping these doors open one day many will step out of the darkness and into the light. I went to John Wesley’s house on several different occasions to talk and share the truth and hope of Christ Jesus. As most know, John is a voodoo priest that I have been ministering to for about two and a half years now... I never grow tired of sharing with him, although I do grieve for his salvation. I know I have done all I can do and that I am not responsible for his soul, but just knowing that he has been exposed to the truth and is still so confused by the empty lies of satan , it just makes me want to continue to try that much harder. I must always understand that God does know “the plan” and all he wants from me is obedience.

We also went up to Jerusalem II to see the new church and visit Pastor Fani and his wife. The church is progressing nicely. They are almost finished with the building. This church is being built by unpaid local people who have limited tools and the work is so fantastic! I think the “boss” might draw a very small salary. These people love the Lord so much and make many sacrifices to serve Him. No budget committee, no building committee, no building/ grounds committee and -- praise God -- no finance committee! Their only desire is to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Most of the team went back down the mountain except for Jimmy (the interpreter) and I who stayed behind to visit a while and ate a late lunch with Pastor Fani and his wife. This family is one of the most loving families that I have ever met. They hold a special place in my heart and I love them so much. During this visit I was able to give Pastor Fani the bullhorn that we bought for him. It was worth a million dollars to see the joy in his eyes when we gave it to him! It will be of great use to him and his ministry.

In closing, I would like to thank TEM for allowing GMSM to work side by side with them as we continue to live out God’s call on our lives. We must always remember that kingdom expansion (mission work) is not an option for a Christian but a mandate from God. Please continue to pray for me and my family as God grows His ministry through Give Me Shelter Ministries. May God’s grace, mercy, love and peace continue to be with you.

Kenny Phillips
Lead Servant
Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc.
www.GiveMeShelterMinistries.org
Hebrews 6:10

Letter from Kenny in Haiti

2009-04-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Only God knows what is in store for me on this trip back to Z’Orange and Columbeea. This is the first time coming down that I have not had some clue as to what is going to happen. I only know for sure that God teaches me so much while I am up on the mountain with pastor Fan and his wife.

It will be quite different than D’World. Though it was good to spend quality time with the family. I met pastor Ken Loubriel and his wife at the airport along with Pastor Shaun of Cinco Baptist Church.

We will meet the team at the airport in Port Au Prince and stay at Dotties guest house tonight. This is cool having the lap top. Sitting on the plane and starting my journal. Tonight I plan to log onto the net and watch the Final Four.

I cannot wait to give Pastor Fani his bull horn. The bull horn will be used to communicate with folks on the other side of valleys. That may make things a little easier for him. I also brought some GMSM t- shirts to give to him and his family.

I am here with a group of pastors for a continuing pastor’s conference with the local Haitian pastors. They need so much encouraging. In the morning we will be traveling to the valley and then up the mountain. It will be a good week. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Kenny

Give Me Shelter Ministries "Loves Loud"

2009-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Last week, Kenny worked with Cinco Baptist Church and their recent "Love Loud" mission in Northwest Florida. The construction team and other volunteers helped renovate a shelter home for battered women and their children.

Thanks to all of your continued prayers and support, Give Me Shelter Ministries has been blessed with the ability to do work home as well as abroad.

2nd Annual Softball Tournament - April 18, 2009

2009-02-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

Give Me Shelter Ministries is hosting our 2nd Annual Softball Tournament at Ft. Walton Beach Fairgrounds.

Read all about it and signup here.

See photos from last year's tournament here.

Letter From Kenny to the Church

2009-02-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Church:

I would like to thank everyone for the incredible donations and gifts that were provided for the Christmas Mexico Mission trip.

If you sponsored one of the children who live at Casa Hogar Elim Oprphange you will be receiving two pictures of your sponsored child, one on a Christmas ornament and the other a regular photo.

Additionally, if you supported the trip in any capacity you will be receiving a 5X7 glossy picture card with several pictures on it. Below are some of the "highlights" of the trip that you might find interesting:

1- Dr.Tony Clark and his wife Cara did some amazing dental work. I'm not sure how many were treated, but everything from cleanings, to extractions, to oral surgery took place at the orphanage.

2- We (I use the word "we" very loosely) cut up and cooked about 600 lbs of chicken (156 chickens), made gallons of slaw, mac and cheese, and pinto beans, I think we ultimately fed over 700 people in the 2 colonias. And, not just any meal. It's not everyday they get to eat grilled chicken like that!

3- We fed a Christmas meal to the orphanage kids- they ate A LOT.

4- We gave out numerous coats and gifts in the colonias.

5- We delivered 2 wrapped gifts for every kid at the orphanage to be opened up at Christmas

6- We bought 86 school uniforms

7- We (just our mission team) consumed enough salsa, guacamole, and chicken, to feed the entire city- maybe twice!

So, overall, I think it was an AMAZING trip. Thanks for making it special. I look forward to having the opportunity to visit your church and share with you about the Christmas Mission to Mexico.

God Bless You,
Kenny Phillips
Founder/Director
Give Me Shelter Ministries

Kenny Shares Recent Mission to Mexico with FBCFWB

2009-01-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

Kenny thanked his home church recently with a presentation from the recent GMSM Christmas Mexico Mission. We thank all the churches and volunteers who participated.

New GMSM Mexico Christmas Mission Video

2009-01-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

See a great video from the recent mission trip to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Thank you!

2008-12-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your prayers and contributions. We have been able to give meals and gifts to many children who learned about the Love of Christ.

Live Report from Lunch!

2008-12-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

December 21, 2008 - here is today's Christmas dinner at Mision Bautista Camino Nuevo. The temp is dropping rapidly and it is freezing, but they're in line for grilled chicken, pinto beans, and slaw! We are having a wonderful time of fellowship with our friends in Mexico!

Uniforms and Gifts for the Children

2008-12-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Part of our mission included buying school uniforms for 86 students.

Here you see members of the mission trip shopping for uniforms at the local retailer "El Globo."

The gifts have arrived at Casa Hogar Elin orphange. The presents are being sorted by Sharon and Tera from Hammond Louisana.

Trailer Full of Gifts

2008-12-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

We're loading up the "sleigh" and heading to Mexico. The children at Casa Hogar Elim Orphanage will be delighted to receive these gifts. We thank you all so much for your contributions to this mission for Christ. Tune in daily for updates, and thank you for keeping us in your prayers as we travel.

GMSM Mexico Christmas Mission

2008-11-28T11:38:00.001-08:00

Give Me Shelter Ministries is joining up with Beachside Community Church , First Baptist Church, Chapel of the Cross, all of Ft. Walton Beach; Beulah Baptist in Pensacola, Westside Baptist in Hammond, LA, and Convergience Church in Crestview, FL on a mission to visit families in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

We will provide Christmas gifts to the children at Casa Hogar Elim orphanage and spread the story of Jesus Christ to these precious people who have very tough living conditions.

There are several ways you can support this Christmas mission project.

1. Donate $20 to help provide a Christmas party for the children at Casa Hogar Elim orphanage

2. Donate $20 to help provide a Christmas meal to the people of an impoverished area of Nuevo Laredo

3. Donate $20 to help provide school uniforms for the children of Casa Hogar Elim

You can email shaun.ellis@beachsidecc.org to sponsor one of the remaining kids, or you can donate online through our website and mark your donation "GMSM Mexico Christmas Mission".

God Bless you all this Christmas season.

Report From Haiti

2008-11-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

I thank all of you who continue to pray and faithfully provide to GMSM so that we can continue to expand God’s Kingdom.

GMSM teamed up with TEM of FWB to once again minister to the people of Haiti. Chuck Martindale, George Truelove, a missionary serving in Haiti for over 20 years, and I spent a week in Port Au Prince preparing for the team that would arrive a week after us .

The preparations consisted of purchasing food, building supplies and doing maintenance on Gabriel (the truck). George and I also spent a morning welding the front and back ends of the shade house.

We stayed the week at Dotty’s guest house, a place where we rested in the evenings and spiritually renewed ourselves. Dotty is a wonderful Christian lady who has a heart for the children of Haiti.

We picked up the arriving team on Saturday November 1st at the air port. The group consisted of people from Missouri, South Carolina, Florida and Haiti.

Once we arrived in Z’Orange we met to discuss the week’s schedule of activities, which included a medical clinic in the village, VBS and hut to hut evangelism. Will Tiller, Clint Downing and I (all from FWB) traveled up the mountain to the village of Columbeeya, to the home of pastor and sister Fani (where I spent time last March ’08) Once again they treated us with so much love and hospitality.

We spent a lot of time in fellowship with the pastor, his wife and local people. Additionally, we built a shade house (for growing crops), did hut to hut evangelizing and preached in the village church. The faith that these people have is so amazing! God works in many different ways when you don’t have the distractions that we have.

Life is simple and lived to the fullest with Christ Jesus the focus for these village people. It is quite refreshing to witness the belief and faith that comes from the Christians out in the bush.

I thank God for the opportunity that he has given me to serve in Haiti and Mexico. Please continue to pray about how you can be a part of what God is doing through GMSM.

God bless you,
Matt. 25:31
Kenny Phillips Founder/Director
Give Me Shelter Ministries

Reports from Haiti - Truth Evangelistic Ministry Blog

2008-11-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Please see more updates on Brother Chuck's Blog at Truth Evangelistic Ministry's website.

Live from Haiti - the New GMSM Blog

2008-10-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Oct. 29, 2008 Haiti

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. After a wonderful night sleep and great breakfast George Truelove and I headed out to missionary Curt Goldens garage to weld the front and back support walls of the shade house that will be constructed up at Jerusalem II. Once we were finished with the welding we purchased water and propane gas. All this is part of the preparation for the team coning in on Nov. 1st

Kenny

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Purchasing food from the Maranatha (the Lord cometh) food market to take to Z’Orange village.

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Loading the food from the market to make ready for the trip up the mountain to Z’Orange

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After the trip up the mountain we unloaded the food in the Z’Orange village.

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Missionaries Curt Golden and George Truelove discuss the finer art of welding.

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Laying out and welding the front and back support walls of the shade house that will be built up at Jerusalem II.

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Finished welded support walls
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