~H.O.M.E. International Orphanage - More Photos

~Construction continues on the Delissa Cox Administration Building...

~2013 Guatemala - H.O.M.E. International Orphanage

A picture depiction of the work being done at H.O.M.E. International Orphanage in Supango, Guatemala over the past week. This work was being done on the Delissa Cox Administration Building. ENJOY!

More photos coming soon...you don't want to miss seeing these pictures!

~Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas everyone! May God continue to bless and enrich your life as you serve Him!

Western District Global Missions Division

Mike Hanks, Director

John Thomas, Secretary

Jerry Powell, Promotion Director

Don Demyan, Director - Region 1

Clayton Brown, Director - Region 2

John Thomas, Director - Region 3

Morgan Underwood, Honorary

~The Tweet Before Christmas! - 2012

- by Raymond Woodward

 ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all across Twitter, Nimble digits did type, iPhone screens were a-glitter.

      The tweets they were flying with speed and delight, As each one made plans for a great winter's night.

 "I'm traveling," "I'm eating," “Winding up odds and ends,” "I just wrapped the presents,” “I'm visiting friends."

     When all of a sudden, to collective dismay, Every screen froze like ice. Twitter wouldn’t display!

One horrible moment silenced all of the chatter; I rebooted three times, then saw what was the matter.

     Away to their website I flew like a geek, Punched the URL in, then I started to shriek.

The dreaded “Fail Whale” that appeared on my laptop, Made my blood pressure soar and my heart do a flip-flop.

     I felt my pulse quicken, my complexion turned grey; If I can’t read some tweets, it will ruin Christmas Day!

I can’t live with my source of quotations in shambles, Can’t survive without jokes or those cynical rambles.

     But that’s not the worst! Now this tech-savvy pastor, Can’t find sermon thoughts – a colossal disaster!

No @TFTenney! No @JerryLDean! No @joelurshan! No @LukeLevine! No @clloydmitchell! No @jimmytoney! 

     No terryshock! No @pauldmooney!

Their tweets had all vanished and that made me nervous; In just a short while we’d start Christmas Eve service!

     I was counting on wisdom in tweets that inspire, But when Twitter goes down I profusely perspire.

And then in a twinkling it all became clear, And I felt holy boldness instead of my fear.

     With a swift revelation I knew what to do: I would simply preach Jesus, from Luke chapter two.

How He took upon flesh and was born in a stable, To redeem and invite us to mercy’s grand table.

     A burden of sin was placed on his back, The earth it did quake, and the Heavens turned black.

When at Calvary, this baby who now was a man, Cried out, “It is finished!” and sin’s gulf did span.

     Then just three days later some empty grave clothes, And a rolled-away stone made it clear - He arose!

As God’s Word became new, this confessed Apostolic, Realized with a jolt, “I’m a Twitter-aholic!”

     I can let it distract me from something far better – Spending quality time with my Savior’s Love Letter.

No more will God’s Book sit unused on a shelf, While I tweet one more quote from my ingenious self.

     Just then Twitter came up, what a beautiful sight! But my fingers held back, and the silence felt right.

For our hope’s not in websites, or Twitter, or things, But in Jesus, Emmanuel, King of all Kings.

     By the glow of my phone, like a dim winter moon, I just tweeted one time to say, “I’ll be back soon.”

Then I gathered my family and we started to leave, To be on time for church on this quiet Christmas Eve.

     But I turned my phone off, ‘ere we drove out of sight – Merry Christmas to all! I’ll skip Twitter tonight. :-)


- Courtesy of Raymond Woodward (used by permission)

~Philippines/One Year Later 2012 - Another Major Typhoon ...

1:07AM EST December 8. 2012 - NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Search and rescue operations following a typhoon that killed nearly 600 people in the southern Philippines have been hampered in part because many residents of this ravaged farming community are too stunned to assist recovery efforts, an official said Saturday.

With nearly 600 other people missing after Typhoon Bopha struck on Tuesday, soldiers, police and volunteers from outside New Bataan have formed the bulk of the teams searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders that were swept down from steep hills surrounding the town, said municipal spokesman Marlon Esperanza.

"We are having a hard time finding guides," he told The Associated Press. "Entire families were killed and the survivors are still in shock. They appear dazed. They can't move."

He said the rocks, mud, tree trunks and other rubble that litter the town have destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood.

On Friday, bodies found jammed under fallen trees that could not be retrieved were marked with makeshift flags made of torn cloth so they can be easily spotted by properly equipped retrieval teams.

Government authorities have decided to bury unidentified bodies in a common grave after police forensic officers process them for future identification by relatives, Esperanza said.

He said heavy equipment, search dogs and chain saws had been brought in by volunteers from as far away as the capital, Manila, about 590 miles to the north.

Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental provinces, have lost their homes since Typhoon Bopha struck and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives, relying on food and emergency supplies being rushed in by government agencies and aid groups.

The typhoon plowed through the main southern island of Mindanao, crossed the central Philippines and headed to Vietnam, but it has lingered over the South China Sea for the past two days.

On Saturday, the weather bureau raised storm warnings over the western part of the main northern island of Luzon after the storm veered northeast. It said weather systems to the east and west had sandwiched Bopha, slowing it down and forcing it to make a U-turn and head toward the western part of the northern Philippines. Forecasters warned that the waters off Luzon would be "rough to very rough."

"I want to know how this tragedy happened and how to prevent a repeat," President Benigno Aquino III said during a visit Friday to New Bataan, ground zero of the disaster, with ferocious winds and rains lashing the area.

Officials say 276 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 155 in New Bataan, and 277 in Davao Oriental. About 40 people died elsewhere and nearly 600 are still missing, 411 from New Bataan alone.

Davao Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon told the AP that clean water and shelter were the biggest problem in three of the worst-hit towns in his province facing the Pacific Ocean, where the typhoon blew in from.

The economic losses began to emerge Friday after export banana growers reported that 34,600 acres of export banana plantations, equal to 18% of the total in Mindanao, were destroyed. The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying well-known brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte mainly to Japan and also to South Korea, China, New Zealand and the Middle East.

Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said losses had been conservatively estimated at $300 million, including $200 million in damaged fruits that had been ready for harvest, and the rest for the cost of rehabilitating farms, which will take about a year.

Please PRAY for those who have been affected and impacted by this 'Super Storm' (Bopha) which is one of the most powerful to have ever hit the Philippine Islands.

It has been confirmed that a UPCI pastor, Bonie Antiga and his 2 children are still missing. We received confirmation that his wife died. We have also been told that 15 other church members perished in the storm. There are 3  UPCI churches that were greatly damaged and in need of assistance. Make a CONTRIBUTION today too Compassion Services International to assist with the needs of those that have been severely affected by this storm.

~Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

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Thank you everyone for your faithfulness and support in every area of giving...working together with God we can and will accomplish the work He has given us to do.

God bless all of you today as you celebrate 'Thanksgiving' with your family and friends...may God's continued blessing be upon you and your household as you serve Him.

"In all things give thanks..." - it doesn't mean that every thing that happens in our lives is good but that no matter what happens we will continue to praise and worship God and give Him thanks for His goodness, mercy and truth. "For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endureth to all generations."

Western District Foreign Missions Department

Michael Hanks, Director

John Thomas, Secretary

Jerry Powell, Promotion Director

Don Demyan, Director - Region One

Clayton Brown - Director - Region Two

John Thomas - Director - Region Three

Morgan Underwood, Honorary Director

~Be A Real Mentor!

Say Goodbye to the 'Armor Bearer' Mentality

To train a new generation for ministry we must get rid of pride and pretension

My friend Charles wanted a mentor. He was eager to learn the ropes of ministry, so he asked an older pastor for training. The pastor agreed—but Charles soon realized the man wanted a valet, not an apprentice. Charles became the man’s “armor bearer.”

The man never took Charles on hospital visits, involved him in ministry assignments or prayed with him. Instead, Charles was expected to carry the pastor’s briefcase, fetch coffee and take suits to the cleaners—with no salary offered. In this case, “armor bearer” was a spiritualized term for “slave.”

This bizarre trend became popular in churches 20 years ago, but it still thrives. It appeals to insecure leaders who need an entourage to make them feel important. Some pastors have even assigned trainees to serve as bodyguards—complete with dark glasses and concealed weapons. These young men are instructed to keep people away from the pastor so he doesn’t have to talk to anyone after a church service (because, after all, the poor preacher might be “drained of his anointing” if he fraternizes with common folks).

Excuse me while I barf!

I’m not sure what is more nauseating: That some pastors think they are discipling young leaders by exploiting them, or that church members tolerate such pompous behavior from a so-called man of God. And we wonder why many young people have stopped going to church?

When I turned 50, I decided to spend most of my energy investing in the next generation. This became my passionate priority because I met so many gifted men and women in their 20s and 30s who craved mentors. Many of them, like Charles, were looking for authentic role models but could only find self-absorbed narcissists who were building their own kingdoms.

If you want to make a genuine impact on the next generation, please make sure you are not infected with the armor bearer virus. Take these steps to adjust your attitude:

1. Get over yourself. As soon as Jesus began his earthly ministry the devil tried to strike a deal with Him. Satan offered the celebrity spotlight by showing Jesus the world’s glory and saying, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4:9). But Jesus didn’t buy it. He chose the path of servanthood even though He knew it would lead to the cross.

Today’s insecure leaders don’t realize it’s the devil tempting them to become rock-star preachers. Fame is too alluring. Before they realize it, their heads have swelled and ministry becomes a means to prove their imagined greatness. A leader with an inflated ego will have zero interest in investing in others. You must tell yourself daily: “It’s not about me!”

2. Stay accessible. Earlier this year I led a retreat for young Ugandans who are training for ministry. We prayed together, shared meals and swam at a local pool in the afternoons. When we finished three days of teaching sessions I asked them what they enjoyed the most about the retreat. One guy summarized everyone’s sentiment: “We loved that you were with us.”

Young people today don’t just want our sermons. They want to sit down for coffee after the sermon. They want to ask questions. They can listen to a hundred preachers on You Tube, but when you invite them to dinner, offer to pray with them or take them on a mission trip, you mark them forever.

3. Keep it real. Older Christian leaders have picked up some bad habits that turn off young people. Some ministers preach with affected voices, wear weird hairstyles and insist on dressing like funeral parlor directors—even on their days off. Please talk in a normal voice when you preach so young people won’t dismiss you as a fake. Be transparent, admit your faults and let everyone know you’ve had struggles. Young people don’t want to follow someone who pretends to be perfect.

4. Pour on the encouragement. Many young people today struggle to stay disciplined. Some have addictions. And many of them have attitudes! But you will never reach them if all you do is point out their faults. You have to win their hearts before you address problems. If you saturate them with the love of a caring father or mother, their spiritual growth will amaze you.

5. Don’t cling to power. Jesus was the Son of God, yet He willingly handed His authority over to His disciples and told them to finish the job. Likewise, Paul invested his life in Timothy, Titus, Silvanus, Phoebe and others—and he expected them to go farther than He did. Every good leader is already thinking of his succession plan. If you have a tendency to control, dominate or manipulate people, you must wrestle with God until your pride is crushed.

Young leaders today don’t want to be your butler or your valet. And they won’t follow people who strut and swagger. They are looking for mentors who walk with the limp of humility.

~J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project. http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/15662-say-goodbye-to-the-armor-bearer-mentality

~This will ruffle a few feathers but it is an absolute must read…. We must do this! - Jimmy Toney (from a tweet earlier today).