Dear Friends, Family and Partners in Christ,
This month has gone so quickly, and part of this may be because there has been so much going on. We know that summer break, VBS’s, church camps and much more is happening your way too, and you continue to be in our prayers. Each day is a new opportunity to live and be used of our Father for His work. Our desire is to always be available to Him, and to be faithful to follow Him as we engage in what He has given us to do here.
DEDICATION OF A NEW CHAPEL
This month we have seen progress on many areas in the work of building chapels and other ministry facilities. On June 6 the Mae Jah Church had a dedication service and many of our family team attended. I was asked to give the main message and there were over 400 attending. Read full newsletter click here.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 23:41
Rebecca's Haiti Mission trip
Written by Rebecca Helwig
Sunday, 29 August 2010 02:47
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field". Matthew 9:37-38 NIV
Greetings!!! As many of you know, I was given the opportunity to serve in Haiti with a medical mission team in July. Through all of your prayers, giving, and medical supplies the trip was a huge blessing to the Haitians as well as the Haitians being a huge blessing to us. I served on a medical mission team through Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin, MO. The 14 person team was comprised of doctors, nurses, nurse anesthetist, as well as others who went for construction and to assist the medical team. This team was truly picked by God. A few of us knew each other, but most of us had never met. It was so neat to see how God meshed our team and used us for His glory. I have made lifetime friends.
We arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and traveled 18 miles to the town of Fond Parisien. We stayed at the Haitian Christian Mission. Haitian Christian Mission is run by Mr. and Mrs. Prophete. The Mission has several purposes. Mr. Prophete started the mission initially as a school for Haitians to learn to translate. Currently the Mission has a school for K-High School, a church, medical clinic, hospital, tent city, and guest housing for the mission teams.
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After the earthquake, there has been little change. Even though aide has been sent to the Haitians, very little of the money arrives to the needy. Buildings still stand with huge cracks, rubble is everywhere, and people are living in tents (hundreds of tent cities are scattered throughout Port-au-Prince and the outer lying areas). Many people are without jobs due to the destruction of their work place. Many don't eat for days because of the lack of funds to buy food.
The Mission supplied us with housing, food, transportation, etc. The guest housing is set up like a dorm. The ladies at the mission fed us well. We had a variety of food provided. We ate anything from cereal and pancakes to goat, rice, and beans. Several of us slept on the concrete roof because it was so much cooler on the roof at night. The worst part about sleeping on the roof was the roosters that started crowing at 3:30 in the morning. There must have been hundreds of roosters in Fond Parisien. The only place we had air conditioning was in the O.R. at the hospital and it was more of a cool breeze than cold air.
While we were there, two other teams from California and Florida were there. The Florida team came to translate. They were young adults that were either raised in Haiti and moved to the U.S., or were adopted out of Haiti. They come back every year to see family and serve on the mission field. The California group came to serve the people of Haiti through different activities with the children and adults. They passed out rice, beans, and oil to the tent cities, did crafts with the kids, and encouraged us through their singing. They participated in a soccer tournament (U.S. girls against the Haitian girl’s soccer team). They had a teen night where they gave their testimony and performed skits.
Our team met the medical/physical needs of the Haitians. The Mission's Hospital has many supplies to perform varies services, but has no surgeons or nurses to use them. Our team was able to arrive and start using the medical supplies there as well as the supplies we brought, immediately. During our week we performed 32 major surgeries, around 50 minor surgeries, and saw over 500 people in the clinic. The construction team was able to travel into Port-au-Prince three days and complete a painting project at one of the schools. It took every single person on our team to accomplish this. Despite everything that we were able to accomplish, the list of needed surgeries grows daily.
We saw many people who had absolutely nothing and still praised the Lord and thanked Him for what they had. Unfortunately, many of the patients we saw had terminal cancers. We would try to provide these people with medications to help with the pain, and knew their life on this earth was at the end. As tears filled our eyes, when we told these people they would soon die and be with their Savior, they would thank us and ask if they could pray for us. How humbling of an experience, to have someone that had absolutely nothing and knew they were dying want to pray for me. I still get teary thinking about what an impact this trip has had on my life. I thank God daily for everything that I have. Not a day has passed that I don't think of the people at the Haitian Christian Mission and the work they are doing there.
I would also like to thank all of those who provided prayer, funding, and supplies for this trip. Lives were changed in Haiti as well as those of the team members. Please continue to pray for our team as we prepare to go again in February. I would encourage all of you to participate in missions in some way. So many lives are blessed, including yours. I would encourage you to view the attached video from our mission trip.
Thank you and God Bless,
Rebecca Helwig
Last Updated on Sunday, 29 August 2010 03:05
Puente Update July 2010
Written by Bill Cochran
Thursday, 05 August 2010 00:06
August 4, 2010
Dear Friends,
July has been a month of visitors , as well as visiting. We visited the Embassy here in order to renew Austin’s passport. Has it been five years since we took him to the Embassy for the last one?!! Yes, and he was glad to get his photo updated! Visitors included Scott & Christina Carnegie from Greeley, CO. They were able to visit the work here, get some dental work done, and see Costa Rica all in the same trip! We also enjoyed hosting our family, as Chrissy’s sister Amy, our brother-in-law Jeremy, and 1-year old Christian came to visit! This was our first opportunity to be with our new nephew Christian, and you can imagine how the poor little guy suffered from a lack of attention, especially from cousin Chloe! Click here for newsletter
“My girlfriend lives in Bangalore. Our parents won’t allow us to marry because I became a Christian two years ago. She won’t become a ‘Christian’ because she thinks it means she has to convert to European culture and leave behind her Indian identity.” Ravi* sat across the table at the company cafeteria telling Jason his problems. He is one of Jason’s coworkers, training recruits at a major outsourcing company here. Jason felt a thrill when he heard Ravi’s story, and knew he had to tell him about our friends, the Yeshu Bhaktas, Indian followers of Jesus whose worship and lifestyle are culturally Indian rather than Western. That conversation happened just a few days ago. Ravi is now in Bangalore meeting with our Yeshu Bhakta contacts there, finding out that there is a way to follow Jesus and the Bible while still identifying with Indian culture. His girlfriend, her parents, and his parents can all follow Jesus without having to renounce their culture. That is “good news” indeed!
Hello Friends, we hope that this July 5th edition of the Puente News finds you well and enjoying the blessings of peace, especially in Christ. We always appreciate your reading the bit of news we try to pass along, especially since it's getting harder to remember things from month to month! And we appreciate it as well when you stop to intercede on behalf of our families and this ministry, simply giving thanks and asking for help. It really does matter! Full Newsletter Click Here
Darrin for Chrissy & Kids, the Guerras, and the Twitchells
Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 July 2010 15:36
Ron and Pat........ End of May 2010
Written by Bill Cochran
Monday, 07 June 2010 03:09
Ron and Pat........ End of May 2010
TESTIMONY OF GOD’S DELIVERANCE Back in January, a formerly very anti-Christian village shaman was brought to us in Chiang Mai in a state of total nervous breakdown. The family had done all the village rituals and had even been to the mental hospital in town. None of this helped the man. All of us at the church witnessed his delusional state. The family asked if God could help him because they felt it was demonic. He had a stroke, then went crazy after he “recovered.” We all gathered around, prayed for him. He calmed down and asked for help. He said yes, he wanted Jesus to save him. After some teaching, he asked to be immersed. We all hesitated, as he had very little foundational teaching yet, and we wanted to instruct them more. Yet with his state of mind, he needed divine help first, and both he and his wife were insistent and in great anguish. So after some time of teaching, they confessed their faith yet again, so we proceeded with a baptismal service. It has been 3 months since that happened. Joel Bee, one of our coworkers was up there a few days ago and visited this man as seen below. He still has speech issues, but his mind has cleared. God truly intervened in this man’s life and Jesus set him free of the unseen forces which had somehow latched on to him. Read More
EARTHQUAKE/SANTIAGO UPDATE #2
Written by Bill Cochran
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 01:56
On Luis´ first trip to Southern Chile he went to a place near the beach looking for a place to return to in hopes to continue helping. His group was told of a Little town up in the hills which at that point had a lot of damage but had not received much help from any source of government or prívate aid. That little town is called Quilicura. Luis, I and Niah went two weeks ago to take some plastic tarp to cover up parts of damaged houses. We were also able to take some medicines that were difficult to come by since the earthquake. In Quilicura they are still waiting on the promised prefabricated houses from the government so we weren´t able to do much besides share with the family we stayed with. Read Full Newsletter here
Last Updated on Monday, 14 June 2010 19:59
What If I Stumble Lyrics....
Written by Bill Cochran
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 17:05
What If I Stumble Lyrics....Artist: DC Talk
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Is this one for the people? Is this one for the Lord? Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford? You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains Holiness is calling, in the midst of courting fame Cause I see the trust in their eyes Though the sky is falling They need Your love in their lives Compromise is calling
Dear Friends, Family and Partners in Christ,