From mail at berkshiremission.org Sun Feb 8 19:07:59 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 19:07:59 -0500 Subject: [News] trip update Message-ID: Hello Mission Friends Feb 8, 2009 God continues to amaze me as we prepare for this trip. Thank you all for your prayers now and during our trip and even after our trip that those we touched will remember our efforts and love for them. That the building we work on will be a blessing for thousands for many years. Thank you all for your donations. We still need money for Med, Bibles and some misc. items. I have paid for lots for things already in faith. Continue to give and God will remember as He did so many times in the Bible. Just a few notes to mention. One is that the Bible workers we hired, working since the first week in Jan, have been blessed, 40 that's right 40 Bible studies already going and the Pastor thinks that His goal is 60 before the meetings. What a blessing, only one problem they need transportation to and from the meetings because of the distance to the meeting hall. I did not figure this into the budget, but I bet God did and someone is willing to help to help me with that. The weather forecast has ranged from the low 70s to mid 80s during the day and high 50s to low 60s at night. There has been some rain on and off so if you want to pack a light poncho please do so. If some of you have room for some extra books- vbs- stuff, meds etc please let me know. We will check all bags for weight at the church Tuesday night. PLEASE BE ON TIME. I will start at 5pm sharp. We have much to do. The Bus will leave at 7pm. There will be no down time. Remember we will have food at the church so come early if possible. Those of you meeting us at JFK please make sure you weigh your bags, please get 2 copies of your passport before you arrive at the airport. You will have to meet the group at the TACA terminal at gate 4 to pick up your piece of group luggage and check back in with that case. I will need all your help loading totes on and off the truck, in the airport and our arrival at our hotel. Please do not stand around and watch only several people do all the work. We have 75 totes, more than we have ever taken before. Ladies I've seen you get 2 together and help with those totes. They are 50lbs each now not 70lbs. Remember the things you can take on your carry on and that should weigh 22lbs. Your check in will be at 50lbs. anything over, you will be responsible for. There is a lot more to tell but I will share it when you arrive at our living quarters. If you have any questions before Tue, please call my cell 413-446-2214 or my home 413-743-4921. God Bless you all, Sincerely Bob p.s. come early if you can. I am worried about the time. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Thu Feb 12 17:59:36 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:59:36 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission Feb. 11 Message-ID: Wed. Feb. 11, 2009 Greetings from very sunny, hot, humid Guatemala! We have arrived safely with no problems. With the exception of the confiscation at customs of one battery powered drill and a bottle of vitamin C all is well. The folks that flew United Airlines to meet up with us in N.Y.C. are missing their luggage but it was promised to come in tonight and one of our folks will drive back to Flores to bring it here. Driving in this area is follows the same rules of the road as other Central American countries. The fastest guy wins and passing on curves is the highlight of the journey. On our landing flight into Flores we were treated to some very interesting mountain ranges such as we haven't seen in past journeys. Very tall and then drastic drops but not in a ragged fashion such as in Honduras. Next we came upon mountains that are shaped like hundreds of mounds of green. Almost perfectly round and as high as round and all inter connecting with one another. Most remarkable to ponder on how it became like this. It must of happened during the deluge but so curious as to why so evenly round and almost in a manicured look with no jagged edges. >From what we have seen so far Guatemala is a clean well kept land. Where we are staying is tropical jungle with magnificent unusual flowers T he sounds of the jungle rings in a great sense of excitement and adventure. Some were able to see the Toucan bird today and most others at least heard it even if they did not know for sure what it was. Our little living quarters are on the order of a slightly civilized hut, complete with a roof made of palm fauns. But there are electric lights and a bathroom in each little bungalow/hut. Many of us are excited about our rustic and charming quarters but I guess it is not for the faint of heart. Our beds have nets around them, some of which were here when we arrived and others of which we put up upon arrival. The bugs at night will be somewhat of a problem but with the nets we should be able to retain most of our blood. Everyone is on the tired side from our long trip but is anxious to start our work in the morning. How wonderful it is to have some very strong energetic youth from Union Springs Academy with us this year. They will make a wonderful addition to the rest of our joyful hard working young people. Just watching the vitality of these teens bolsters ones spirit and adds joy to our mission work. Several Guatemalan people have stopped us and thanked us for the work we have come to do for them. At the time I write this we are being serenaded by beautiful night sounds of this tropical jungle and also with a very loud singing from some sort of dance or bar from across the river. Meetings and planning are going on amongst our teams tonight as they prepare and organize for the privilege of being able to touch Jesus through touching the lives of those He loves and gave His life for. The work starts early and with great diligence tomorrow morning. What an honor to have even the smallest part of this labor of love that we have come to blanket the people with. May Jesus be glorified in every word, every action and every touch as we work. Our plans are to leave our sweat, tears, and love sealed in these wonderful people and look for them around the throne of God on that great day. May their burdens be lightened and great health come to their body and soul. When you pray for our work you are touching these people as much as we are and making a difference in their life. We also want to thank all of you who have taken part in making sure our departure from the States went as smooth and easy as it did. May the Lord bless you and give you great peace and water you with the dew from Heaven. May you be so thoroughly drenched that everyone that comes near you becomes refreshed from that Heavenly water. Because He lives, we all smile on, Jennifer Young Mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Fri Feb 13 20:50:40 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:50:40 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Feb.12, 2009 Message-ID: <2E86F339FEB945E6A4345C01BE2CBB82@eric> Greetings beloved of the Lord, Jesus is alive and working in Guatemala! The work is on and what a great feeling that is, it brings such hope to know there will be stories to tell that will reverberate throughout eternity. The medical clinic started off today with about 200 people coming. It will be exciting to see how many more people will come tomorrow. Stuart thought there were about 75 pairs of glasses given out today. He said there were so many children coming looking for sun glasses. Of course these little ones are wanting them more for fashion than actual need so the 30 or so that we have are being given only to the adults. A sweet little man of 83 years of age came to the pharmacy for medicine. His name was Felipe and after his script was filled he then went on to recite a special blessing upon the lives of Gladys, Tresa, Sue and Lynn for their kindness and work. One thing is for certain, when you set out to be a blessing for God he makes sure it comes right back upon you. Who can out give God? One little 7 year old girl came in to the dental clinic with a very serious tooth situation. Her teeth were badly decayed and Dr. Turner worked on her and was scraping out some pretty "funky festering unknown things". Carol and Stephanie said some parts of the matter looked like pieces of old chicken bones that got shoved into the tooth and gum the rest was not identifiable. One thing is known for sure, that little girl left the dental clinic in a much healthier condition. A little boy also came in to the medical clinic with a cut over his eye that needed to be stitched at the hospital. A woman who lives close to the clinic was bitten very badly yesterday by a monkey. She also required stitches and was taken to the hospital. Today the evangelistic team had a multitude of blessings poured upon them as they went from home to home talking and praying with folks. They were praying in the homes of about 40 families and also were received very kindly by people walking on the streets who stopped to hear about the love of Jesus. Pastor's Dwight, Jon, and Mark spent the day finding out about the physical and spiritual needs of the folks and interceding with prayer on their behalf. One particular woman and her child were in such desperate poverty that it might be we will need to step in and help her some. She has a job but her monthly wage is only half of what her rent alone is. It is so hard to decide what and who to help like this when the vast majority has almost nothing. May the Lord help us to make the right decision and be good stewards of our limited resources. Berkshire Mission has sent 2 Bible workers ahead of us to canvas the area and study with these folks. Rubin and Jose are the 2 young men who have faithfully been working in this area for a month and a half now. Pastor Mark said it was incredible to witness the discipleship of these men as they set out to make disciples of others for Jesus. They are using the "Faith of Jesus" bible studies and most of the 40 families are finished with them and the remainder is close to the end. One couple who are not married but living together has decided to wed as her desire is to be baptized into the fold. You know the Holy Spirit has been raining on this town and great things are about to happen in His name. Jose and Rubin were with our Pastors today as they went from place to place. Tomorrow the 2 men will go home to see their family of whom they have missed so dearly for the last month and a half. But they will be back on Sunday to go through the evangelistic meetings for the week. On Friday the youth with us will be going to local stores and restaurants to put up the flyers we have made to announce the meetings starting Sunday night. This morning the tropical rains came down like a flood gate was opened. It only lasted a short while and even though the rain was hard most did not get soaked as the leaves on all the trees here are so large that they act as an umbrella. The heat and humidity is very hard on some of our folks and others don't seem to mind it at all. Towards early morning the temperature drops into the 60's but regardless of the temperature everything stays damp to the touch. The bird spotting is fabulous and everyone seems to be spotting something with little effort. We eat our meals in an open gazebo or sorts. Very tropical and fits right in with the jungle theme. You only have to glance over to a flower to eventually spot a hummingbird. There is a rock pathway leading to each of the rooms and out buildings and on your walk to where ever you are going your senses are overwhelmed with sweet smells and sights of flowers that look like they are made of wax. There is also a round large gazebo with hammocks strung all around. You can usually find the youth in them. Although tonight after work many of them went in to the cold river for a refreshing dip along with a few other folks. I think I was wrong about a bar being across the river. The loud music lasted all day today but did stop before night fall and we were allowed to be serenaded solely by the sounds of the jungle. Pray for us that we will make great use of the time and talents the Lord has given to work for Him and relieve the suffering of His children. "The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:7, 8 Still smiling, Jennifer Young, Mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Sat Feb 14 22:41:46 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:41:46 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Feb.13 2009 Message-ID: Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 Hola Berkshire Mission friends, By the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, lives are being touched and changed in Machquila, Guatemala. May each one of these lovely people reach out and touch the hem of His garment! Today has been incredibly busy in all departments. It started out with a rain shower that lasted for some time, causing the people who were lined up outside to all try to fit under our small registration tent. No one turned back though; they just waited as best they could. There were 281 patients registered for treatment today before we shut the gate at 3 p.m. asking the rest to come back tomorrow. One young woman who has Down's syndrome had come yesterday and the line was shut down before she was able to make it in to see the dentist. So today she came and sat in the dental van was not moving until she was seen! She did leave a very happy young lady though as her teeth were taken care of at her turn. One very heart warming story is of a young boy, 14 years old who came to the dental clinic by himself. His front teeth were very rotted and needed extreme intervention if he were to grow up with a sense of pride in his smile. Dr. Mark's heart was touched so much by the condition of this young man that he did a root canal on one tooth and a pulpotomy on another to save them. He then went on to make a compound resin tooth and bond it by making a bridge across the 4 teeth. What a glorious smile the boy has now and will be able to face life with much more sense of dignity when he speaks to people. Glory be to God for giving Berkshire Mission such selfless kind hearted workers! Oh, and just for those of you who were waiting to hear this little tidbit, Dr. Mark said he was sure the bridge came out better than what Judy at home would of done:-) I am sure that is a inside joke. The dental clinic also had its first sedation dentistry done in the mission field today. A little 5 year old screaming boy who was to terrified to be touched. It turned out so well and the little guy later couldn't figure out why his mouth was numb Between the medical and dental clinic is a large storage garage that our team is painting. It is part of permanent clinic grounds. I aw Anna, Amy and Alexandra busy rolling pink paint on the outside walls and it was looking very nice. I know they were working very hard but poor sweet girls that they are must have had some trouble with the sun in their eyes, or something of the sort as each of them had pink painted backs. Also there was a green lizard with pink dots sneaking around, I am sure feeling a little embarrassed about his pink dots. But oddly enough no one seems to know anything about that either. Some times strange things happen on these mission trips that just can't be explained, ya know what I mean? Anthony was busy painting with Paul M. on the same area, when I asked Anthony if he saw a pink dotted lizard he just smiled and said nope. Bev and Renita were busy painting the high peaks of that building so the younger folks didn't have to get up so high. We had another crew working on laying tiles in the new clinic. Ross, Caroline, Zack, Emily, Marcie and Vicky were preparing tiles by scraping the floors and putting mortar on the 2 ft by 2 ft tiles. This job is being done very professionally and with the utmost of experience. They are using a laser gun to make certain all tile are level and the grid work is perfect. Roger is in charge of construction and has years of experience. Working with him is Kevin, John B. Pastor Jon, Doug, and Steve. There were 73 tiles put down today and it is looking great. Pastor Dwight I call our "floater" as he was at many places today doing what ever needed doing. Miles and Courtney are working in the pharmacy and are being kept busy. There is a local lady who has volunteered her electricity for us to run a cord across the street to where we will have V.B.S. Well her electrical outlets amount to a bunch of hanging wires of such as would be shut down by the city in the USA. The great part of this story is because of her generousness she will end up being blessed in a much greater way. Pastor Rigo went tonight to rewire her electric and give her a safe way to run her lights. Once again we are shown that you just can't out give God. I am sure she never thought we would have a licensed electrician with our group who would bless her in this way. We need you to join us in prayer for Maribell, a girl of 12 years who was brought to the medical clinic today to see Dr. Tim. She has been to the town hospital and they refused to even see her as they knew right away they could not help the girl. It was the most pathetic and also frightening scene to watch this poor little girl as she twitched and jerked, moaning and trying to hide under her moms arm. The mother has reported that the girl has passed worms many times from every possible way. Dr. Tim has said that the girl obviously has some serious neurological symptoms, but from what cause? Have the worms infested even her brain? And what kind would they be? He said he has seen more strange unheard of diseases in this area than in any other 3rd world country. He has put her on an anti psychotic medicine to relieve her symptoms but it will not cure her. Dr. Tim also ordered a stool specimen and he will try to find out which type of worms she has. The girls' neighbors feel that the problem is demon possession and that the worms are just another symptom. After watching her continuous agony myself I have to say as have others in our group, that it is a strong possibility, it can not be ruled out. It certainly is scary and reminds one just how close we should walk in the shadow of Jesus. But there is victory in Jesus and none need be kept prisoner of a war that has already been won. The owner of our "hut hotel" is a well known herbologist and has a wealth of knowledge of how to use the local leaves for healing. He has graciously showed us the many different leaves and herbs and told us what they are used for. Karen twisted her ankle today and he treated it with a leaf concoction and she said it is not hurting her at all now. He is also a man of great humor. He asked me if I knew how to grow pineapples. Here is the way it is done. You first need to plant a pine tree and then right next to it you plant an apple tree! Voila, you now have a "pine, apple", tree. Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6, 7 Smiles as always, Jennifer Young, mission reporter Don't forget to P.U.S.H. (pray until something happens) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Sat Feb 14 22:43:22 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:43:22 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission Feb. 14. Message-ID: <2A198F88DC384EFE8FDC1AF6A9F85EAC@eric> Sat. Feb. 14, 2009 Happy Sabbath! A day of peace and gladness and ultimate rest in the works of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful day to have "sweetheart day" on. Who can know Jesus with out feeling like you are His sweetheart of who He loves so dearly? Sabbath services were held at the Poptun church. Pastor Jon preached a tremendous sermon liking the literal tilling of the ground to the spiritual tilling of the ground that we are doing also. Pastor Rigo translated the sermon into Spanish for him. There was also a baptism service going on right here in the river and the large crowd was so joyous in their singing that it was contagious. They sang for at least 2 hours straight. I am not sure just how many were baptized but it was many. I could see with my binoculars that the Pathfinder boys, dressed in uniform were ushering the candidates into the river where the Pastor continued the ceremony with the help of the elders All of our medical clinics worked today. There were just so many that had to be turned away on Friday that the merciful thing would be to be there for them today. They were able to treat 221 people today. The clinics will be leaving this area on Monday and going to the Mayan villages. We have enjoyed most all of our meals here; they have been a variety of beans and vegetables prepared by the owners of the place. Plentiful and tasty for the most part. Although today's dinner sent our own mission crew running for the peanut butter we brought with us from the states less there be an uprising of the saints! I am sure our host could not figure out why these crazy Americans would want to eat peanut butter on a tortilla rather than eat all the boiled yucca and baked vegetable-pears that were prepared. Eric decided to ask if any one would like to order pizza from town for a special treat tonight. Seems like it was perfect timing and now the natives (Americans) are no longer restless. It was delivered via motor scooter express, nice and hot. Today many of our group went door to door passing out flyers for tomorrow's program. Pastor Jon and a few other of our group sat in on a bible study that was given entirely in Spanish for 45 min by one of the sisters in the church. Pastor Jon had decided to try to ask the woman of the house (in Spanish) if her feet were tired. A very kind thing for him to think of. Unfortunately he didn't get the words exactly right and he ended up asking her if her ducks were tired! She didn't laugh and was very polite about it. BUT.I am sure that tonight she is going to have a hard time falling asleep through all the giggling. Vicky tells a similar funny story suggesting Pastor Mark study his Spanish a little more. Seems one family were asking about all of their marital status and when they got to Mark he mistakenly replied he was not married. The man obviously thought Mark was a great match for his daughter and was proceeding in that direction before the mistake was caught and corrected. Our youth put on a fabulous skit for us tonight. It was based on a "modern day story of the good Samaritan" It was very well done, humorous and spiritual all wrapped in one with the point being very well made. Tomorrow night starts our Evangelistic thrust. Please pray without ceasing for this and for all the different ways we are ministering here. We need you holding up our arms in prayer to God. "And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness. And in judgment, and in living kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness and thou shall know the Lord" Hosea 2:19, 20 Have a wonderful peaceful night you greatly beloved sweethearts of the Lord. You are tenderly loved. Smiles across the miles, Jennifer Young, mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Mon Feb 16 18:18:42 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:18:42 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Feb.15,2009 Message-ID: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009 Hello mission friends, This morning our group loaded on to the buses we use and off to town they went. Shopping in the open markets and then on to the only souvenir place near here. We felt it our duty to enhance the local economy and suffer through having to bring home these unusual hand carved items. Poor us, someone has to do it I guess.:-) Bob and I, along with Pastors' Jon, Mark and Rigo, Went in to see the Mayor of Poptun. Bob and Eric had talked with him on the pre trip and we needed to make sure all details of our interactions were ironed out. The areas of which are in the most need were once again discussed and hopefully set in stone for the timing of our arrival tomorrow and onward. The Mayor is a very intelligent and dedicated man. It is easy to see that his heart is for the people and that he wants what is best for them. His name is Angel Elkan and his surname means "the force of the fire" in the Mayan bible. He also said the area people have inherited their love of work from the Mayans. Poptun means "city of pines" and "top of a rock or mound "which comes from all the mounds of mountains in this area. They are not volcanic matter and are fertile. The city of Tekal where we will go right before we come back to the states means "city of voices". Mayor Elkan has a very modern and beautiful home and yet he brought us into the back yard to show us the kind of house he lived in when younger. It is a huge hut made out of the Guano palm fronds. He said they are much cooler than what he is living in now. He wants this large hut to "help rescue his culture and living style." He is an organic agriculturist by education and he held a prestigious job in a bank before becoming Mayor. He said his heart is with the people and he would rather work to help his people than make more money. Although it is obvious that he is doing well as Mayor too. His little son is sick with a bad cough and he asked if we had a Pediatrician with us and we said yes and invited him to bring the boy to us tonight. Dr. Price will be able to examine the boy before we start our evangelistic meetings. Before leaving his home we wanted to add a blessing on him and his home. He said oh yes.but let me put a shirt on first. He had talked to us for the entire time with a bare chest but when it came to talking to the Lord he had to be properly dressed. We really can learn so many things from these wonderful people. How many people today think nothing of walking in to the house of God wearing jeans and this respectful man would not even bow his head in front of his Maker with out being properly clothed. After leaving his place we went on to the community center that we will be using for our meetings tonight. It is a huge hall and will be perfect for what we need. There were about 6 or so people there from very old to very young. They had hosed down the floor and were sweeping all the dirty water out the doors. It really was a hard task and they seemed to be enjoying doing it. When Bob thanked one older woman for doing such a good job she smiled and said she wanted to do a good job for God. What a wonderful response, oh if we could all have that attitude and remember that what we do is never unto ourselves but unto God, so make sure to do it well I just now saw the Keel-Billed Toucan near my hut and I am so excited I am almost hyperventilating! I had to write this down quickly just in case I should croak before the gang gets back from swimming and I don't get to tell them. Now I have a permanent record of it.:-) Yahoo. As I write this our team has gone down to a waterfall at a beautiful river. There are also some very high rocks there that many of our group had the nerve to jump off of and into the deep water below. Others used the hand made diving board that was still fairly high off the water. They had a great time but there was a near tragedy involving Rigo and Bob. The local taxi are nothing more than 3 wheelers with canvas on them., and they are everywhere. Well one driver was very involved in watching the Americans and then flipped his taxi over and skidded a considerable way, aiming right towards Bob and Rigo and missed hitting them by about 2 feet. The fellow was knocked out for a few minutes. He awoke with a bloody face, nose and gashes on his head. The first thing he tried to do was to hide the bottle of liquor he had with him as he was obviously drunk. Bob wanted to call the police and an ambulance as he was concerned to move a head injured person. The other local taxi drivers came right in to pick up the 3 wheel scooter and get the guy out of there. We think it was to protect him from the police as he was drinking. Well thank the Lord it wasn't worse and Rigo and Bob were fast enough to jump out of his way as he skidded sideways after flipping. It is a good thing they went as it rained here all afternoon but didn't shed a drop where they were swimming. Last night Pastor Mark was walking past one of the huts just in time to hear screaming and then ladies running out of the hut. He was able to come to the rescue of Gladys, Bev, Carol and Stephanie. He chased down the scorpion that was in their room and killed it. Hmmmm.just when you think it is safe to go back in the bed!:-) The Mayor and his family joined us for dinner this evening and told the whole group just how grateful he is for our work. And also how happy he is that the Americans can join hands with the Guatemalan people which are a very proud people. The evangelistic meeting is going on but the rain is coming down so hard that many people are having a hard time getting there as most have to walk. The children's program is packed though. At least 54 children at last count and they were still coming. The bus picked up 27 of the people that were already involved with the Bible studies. Bob said he is just so impressed with our Bible workers. They are just young men and they present themselves in such a Godly manner. They make sure they are all clean shaven with shirts and tie on, extremely humble respectful men that love the Lord with all their heart. It is no wonder with their dedication that they have had such pre event success. The Lord certainly lead Berkshire Mission to the right men at the right time. How beautiful it is to watch the brethren dwell in unity here. Every one is watching out with love for each other and relationships are being strengthened and prepared to last for eternity. How fortunate we are to have this opportunity to serve Jesus with each other. We are a blessed bunch that is for certain. Please make sure you drop us an email, we are so encouraged when we get personal or group letters from home. (Just no forwards please.) It is very important for us and keeps our spirits up during this hard labor that starts double time as of tonight. Just send it to mail at berkshiremission.org Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. 1 Cor.16:13, 14 We know He lives; we see His hand everywhere, Smiles to you as always, Jennifer Young, mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Tue Feb 17 19:49:21 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:49:21 -0500 Subject: [News] Monday Feb.16, 2009 Message-ID: <14FA59369DFD470EB2EB73EA946F9E0E@eric> Monday Feb. 16, 2009 Dear Mission friends, Today I fell off a rock step and landed full force onto some jagged rocks with my face taking the full force. My nose is broke and I have cuts on my face and serious bruising on my leg/hip also. So no news from me today. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get up. Please pray for me and for Bob as this has really upset him. Praise the Lord that our doctors were still here to come to my aid as they were just leaving for the villages when it happened. If I have any plastic surgeon friends reading this, now would be a good time to let me know as I am sure Medicare is not going to pay for my nose to look nice again. On the bright side, the Toucan that I was watching when I fell was absolutely magnificent! Praise the Lord for making such beauty in this world. Still smiling (even though my nose is facing west,) Jennifer Young Mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Wed Feb 18 18:14:41 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:14:41 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Feb.17, 2009 Message-ID: <7884A3E4FF9945C9943BFFDC0B2454E9@eric> Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 Greetings to the beloved of God! We pray that you are being blessed as much as we are. Our God is so merciful and just longs to walk hand in hand with us. All we need do is put out our hand and He takes it from there. With Him holding our hand we can go through the darkest of nights and be assured that we will be lead into the light. Last night our evangelistic meeting went incredibly well. There was standing room only. We had 185 souls longing to hear about the good news of the 2nd coming of Christ and what it will be like. Doesn't that thought of His return just thrill your soul and make you long for home? It won't be long now, hold tight. The children's ministry was equally a success with over 150 little ones learning about Jesus and His love for them. This is such a thrill for these children and so hopeful for what it will do for their future. Once you have reached out and touched Jesus nothing will ever be the same. Tonight the adult meeting had even more attending; it was so full that it was almost impossible to get a correct count. Dr. Roy did a health nugget section before the sermon. HE talked about diabetes which is a very serious and common ailment amongst the town folks, but not in the Mayan villages where they have kept to a more traditional diet. He opened the floor for a question time and there were many asking question and wanting to change their health status. Pastor Rigo was passing out various books to those who are new tonight and then for those that bring 3 to 5 guest receive a special beautiful Bible as a gift. The children's ministry had 175 little ones tonight and oh my how they love the puppet ministry and all the singing. They are learning the "B-I-B-L-E song in English for the theme song and are really enjoying that. The medical clinic saw 160 patients yesterday. The village they were in was extremely poor but the people were very respectful and thankful. The need was great in that area. The clinic moved to a new area today and they saw 272 people and pre-registered another 110 for tomorrow. Our Doctors had exam rooms made with love if little else to work in. Sheets were strung up around rope to make privacy for each patient. But believe me, no one there was complaining, they were all just so happy to have their troubles addressed and receive medicine to help them. Stuart and Nancy said there was a Mayan Indian who also spoke Spanish and he volunteered to stay all day and help keep the lines in order and to translate. He said he will be there tomorrow to help out too. The official medical building is coming along fine with more tiles being put down today. Today they put on the second coat of paint at the storage building. There certainly is a lot of work being accomplished. Paul M. got a great picture of a coral snake today. It was at the worksite under a piece of wood. Such a beautifully colored snake, so attractive to look at, but at the end the result is death. Just like sin, it might look like it is nice and innocent at first, even very attractive and then when it gets you in its grip it is definite death unless you have the anti venom waiting to save you. Working in these countries we have seen the results of viper snake bites on people. Those that live are still badly mangled from the scars and they fight the results of that bite for years and years. Some times they have to have a limb amputated. At the very least, things are never the same as before they were bit. Good spiritual lessons here. Art and Dave were busy plumbing in the showers and installing electric fixtures. There will be about 13 showers and 6 toilets in one of the buildings so that in the future when mission groups come here to help they can stay right there. Thank you to all you at home who are praying for me. I should be well enough to resume my regular day tomorrow. I am still in pain and certainly don't look so great but my fellow missionaries still seem to love me. No one ran the other way when they saw my face. I am so grateful for the tender way in which our doctors and others cared for me and for the wife of the herbologist who covered me with a honey mixture that would take down some of the swelling. She has put this on 2 others who have twisted their ankles this week and it really has helped. Our hosts are wonderful Christian people, very caring. Mary M stayed with me at all times that Bob had to leave, even when I said it was alright she insisted she was not leaving me alone. Love heals faster than anything. "Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come, life everlasting." Luke 18:29, 30 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Thu Feb 19 22:31:26 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:31:26 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission,Thurs.Feb.19th 2009 Message-ID: Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 Hola dear loved ones, You are sorely missed and we have enjoyed so much the e mails that you have sent us with such beautiful encouragement. It keeps us connected to home even though we are so far away. The work is going well and there have been showers of blessings all around. We are on the final stretch and the work is intense, we have some fairly tired out missionaries here. But only in body, not in spirit in the least. Miles had registered 192 folks before lunch and the grand total for the clinic today was 400 people. A record for this trip, especially since we are down one doctor as Dr. Tim had to head back home. Dr. Price is like the energizer bunny and just keeps going and going. She is our pediatrician and reports that the main problem in the children is the ever present worms. There are lots of headaches also, probably from the hot sun. But they are fairly healthy, now if we can get the diet back to the original on these little ones before diabetes sets in as with their parents we can really make a difference. Karen reported that a very deformed man came to clinic today. He used wooden blocks on his hands to scoot across the floor. His legs were completely drawn up and deformed. When he came in the other people in line had no problem with letting him go before them and be seen first. These are a very gentle, kind people. Very laid back and we have had no problems as we have in some places. They must be a fairly honest population too as when the shop owners decide to leave and take a siesta they just leave! Shop is open but no one is there. Of course some shops such as the food market and bank have armed guards standing and watching very closely, I would guess food would be more coveted than hardware store items. Nancy spent over 20 minutes on one woman in the eye clinic today trying to fit her to her liking. She finally thought it was all set and the woman left, only to come back an hour later complaining they were too strong. She could have sent her to see Barb but, like any smart wife she said, oh, you need to see that man over there, pointing to Stuart. The only real problem with people we have faced is with the municipal workers. This is the same where ever we have worked. They want to be taken care of first no matter what the situation. Well when they aren't carrying guns, they just have to wait in line:-) The dental clinic saw 45 people today. After lunch time Dr. Mark decided that the rest of the day had to be dedicated to only extractions as to fit in as many hurting people as possible. He has been doing some very fancy and extensive dental work this week. His heart hurts to see a young person have to go through life with front teeth missing so he has done as much as humanly possible. Dr Mark was given a fabulous gift by the host of where we are staying. This man Placidio has many Mayan artifacts that date back 1,000 years. He has many Mayan teeth displayed in his office that are this old. They all have precious stones implanted in them which were a sign of beauty to them. Well he honored Dr. Mark with one to display at his office as a thank you for what he has done for his people. Delores was also honored with a beautiful heart felt gift today. One of her diabetes patients who came in yesterday came back today for another blood check. She was so grateful to Delores that she took the silver ring off her finger and offered it to her. Well Delores tried to tell her that she was thankful for the gift but she did not wear jewelry. The woman insisted she take the gift and now Delores has it attached to her watch which will be a wonderful remembrance of a time of love and service in Guatemala. The evangelistic meeting is still going well with about the same amount coming. So far we have 10 confirmed baptisms and are expecting at least 20. Pastor Jon talked about the need for proper baptism last night Pastor Rigo translated . I must say that Pastor Rigo has been a right hand man in all things to Bob and is by his side at almost all times. Of course at dinner time we allow him to sit with younger folks and have a break from us oldies:-) Kim said the children are a blessing but can be a handful in their youthful exuberance during VBS. Almost all of our teens of which we are so proud of are in there helping out. The puppet ministry is always a huge hit where ever they go. Very professionally done I must say. Tomorrow the clinics are headed 15 miles east of Poptun to another village. Many of these folks will only be able to speak Quechi and will have to be translated for us by bilingual Quechi/Spanish speaking folks and then into English. This was how it was done in the other Mayan villages also. Tonight we can hear the sound of the cicada bug singing, sometimes at an incredible decibel. Machaquilla which is the town we are staying in means land of the bug. I can testify to that and thank who ever invented the bug nets that we sleep under. But in reality we have been in areas that are so filled with those little no seeums that we come home a quart low. That really hasn't been a serious problem here. And all the bugs that have climbed in bed with me this week have just been colorful and didn't bother to bite me. There were several of us admiring a grasshopper/locust type bug that was bright green and at least 4 inches in length. Very beautiful and impressive. When they come that big you almost feel like you have to get a casket and say a few words over it when they die. Renita said that when she was a kid and living in Peru that they always put a string around their neck and kept them as a pet! Keep sending those notes from home, Love bolsters the soul and makes the spirit soar. "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 2:6 Lord help us all to walk in your shadow. May you taste of His love and grace and may your soul overflow with gratitude. Sleep well tonight beloved, angels have been sent to cover you in safety and peace. Smiles as always, Jennifer Young, Mission Reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Thu Feb 19 22:31:26 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:31:26 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Feb.18, 2009 Message-ID: <6F2494F301C145608902FF4005EEB430@eric> Wed. Feb. 18, 2009 Greetings to the followers of the most high God! Is it well with your soul? We pray that the answer is a most definite ?yes we have been well watered.? Glory to God, for we are saying the same thing. The unity of our people is so pleasing to see that I am sure there are angels walking around with smiles on their faces too. The owners here have a huge caged in hut filled with little parakeets, at least 20 or so. They are always so happy and kissing, talking and preening each other. Even the occasional squabble sounds like they are still having fun and would never choose being any where else. It is a great reminder of how we should be with each other everyday. We are the family of God. There is a local man that comes to our construction site to sell pineapples to our folks. He peels them, leaves the stem on as a handle and it ends up looking just like an ice cream cone. What a great healthy novelty on a hot day. Anna got to feel the wind in her hair today as a local man let her ride his horse down the street, she was thrilled. I am sure she would have liked to spend the rest of the day riding that horse but she responsibly got back to her painting job. Marcie and Sue were having fun as they worked in harmony. Painting away and doing a beautiful job. They invited me to look at the opposite side of the building where they had not finished yet so I could compare. There was a huge difference and by tomorrow that one will have a coat of paint on it too. When I saw Amy she was hanging over the roof of one building to paint the top portion. She stopped long enough to show me where she had painted her name on her arm. This way when the paint is washed off she will have her name on her arm. She worked in the sun so her plan will work well. Alexandria and Karolline were also busy painting the building to house missionary doctors and others in the future. Emily, Ross, and Christina were the supply people today, bringing cement and tiles to be put down. Anthony, Paul and Steve were right next to them scraping mortar for the tiles. I have not heard a single complaint from anyone and even after this many days our folks are still in unity. Pastor Dwight was used in translating today as well as over seeing the painting. Eric and Dave worked on the septic drains that are blocking up. We need to get a back hoe in but as of this afternoon they want to charge us $90 an hour. And that is American money, so we?re talking big bucks here and are trying to work out a solution that will please all. Isabel who works where we are staying had to be taken to the hospital today as she was having an anxiety attack. Poor little thing, she has 3 young children and a husband that beats her. None of her family will step in to help; she is trapped in a sad situation. The TV station and the Mayor came to our medical clinic today and filmed the eye clinic. They interviewed Gladys from the pharmacy; she was nervous but did a great job. Glasses given out today amounted to 100 and the dozen chairs they had in the waiting room were filled in an orderly fashion to wait their turn. Dr. Roy told me that he has seen at least 500 people with diabetes so far. And many of those have numbers running up to 500. They are giving them injections of insulin at the clinic to bring the levels down quickly and then setting them up with pills as an ongoing ritual. The doctors will set up blood checking stations at 3 different churches with the elder of that church in charge of the procedure and equipment. And then that elder will be in charge of handing out the pills that will be needed. This way there is someone that will be responsible as many of these people just have no real idea about what is going on with blood sugar levels. This is a new epidemic for these people and it will be the undoing of them if not understood and changed, quickly. Dr. Tim remarked to me that he would like to have a team sent down here to study the situation. Within a 20 mile radius we are met with two complete opposites. The people that are near civilization are diabetic to epidemic proportions and 20 miles away at the Mayan village there was only 1 person who had diabetes and only 1 had hypertension. Besides gastroenteritis the only problems seen in the villages were worm and parasite infestation. All in the villages were about 30 pounds lighter in weight than those in Poptun. The stool test results came back on the girl with the neurological condition. She is infested with 4 different kinds of worms. Regular tape worm, dwarf tapeworm, giardiasis and whip worm which is just never heard of in humans. She also has other amoebas. The rest of the family will need to be tested as they most likely all have them. They were given medicine but keeping the worms away will be the hard part. These folks use a slop bucket for their sewer and then dump it in the back yard, hence reinvesting them continually. A 42 year old woman came in with 8 children today to see Dr. Tim. The children ranged in ages from 1 year to 19 years old. She did tell the doctor that it was her plan to only have a couple of kids but her husband and family put pressure on her to keep having babies. At one point the mom had to ask the 5 year old what the names of her children were. The poor mom wasn?t even mentally capable of doing that, there would be no way she could follow through on medicine dosing schedules for her family. She was sweet but her behavior was inappropriate and it was only a few minutes to access her mental abilities. All of the family had bloody diarrhea with round worm infestation and other amoebas. Dr. Tim paid for the long term medication for the family and gave orders for a neighbor from the church to be in charge of seeing they all get it 3 times a day for 7 days. This would be something that would have been impossible for the mom to follow through herself. Oh how much suffering in this world and it all started with one decision not to trust the Maker in the Garden of Eden. This is not the way it was ever meant to be and Jesus cries along with us. We wait until that great day when all sorrow will be gone along with the crying and dying. A truck filled with about 8 policemen, complete with faces blackened, camouflage fatigues and carrying machine guns stopped at the clinic. Now that was a little more than an alarming sight. They came in and wanted to be treated in the dental clinic. Of course they had no intentions of sitting down and waiting there turn, and I doubt it would have been a good idea to tell them to do so. So they were treated before the waiting people. Dr. Mark, Renita, Carol, Stephanie, and Bev stayed long after the clinics were closed to make sure that each of the people in line had been treated. The project we are working on here is called ?God?s helping hands.? The land was bought 8 years ago by Dr. Lopez and 2 ? years ago Dr. Tim Bainum became involved with the project through Dr. Lopez? son David who is one of the staff members at Maranatha and a friend. The plan is to have the clinic open full time with the use of a sliding scale fee for patients supplementing the clinic. Loma Linda Hospital will be sending residents down here for rotation on a regular basis. There will also be doctors and other workers from Borleson Adventist Hospital coming for rotation. There should be room to house 25 workers to stay at a time. And of course any medical people are invited to join the blessing of serving and come to Guatemala. The clinic is expected to be fully operational in 3 months. Dr. Tim had to fly back to the states this afternoon but will be back here again to work in June. May the Lord bless his selfless ministry for others. ?Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones.? Prov. 16:24 Have a peaceful night my friends. May angels sing you love songs of Jesus and may your heart be filled to overflowing with the goodness of His grace. Remember, Jesus has always loved you best! Smiles from the heart, Jennifer Young, Mission Reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Sat Feb 21 08:32:55 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:32:55 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 Message-ID: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 Happy Sabbath! Blessed peace and heavenly minded themes await us for the next 24 hours with our special date of love. Has there ever been anyone else that has made you feel so special, so loved, so desired? Eric came in with the construction team today feeling well accomplished. Things are going along on schedule. They have finished the majority of tile that our group was to put down. Now they just need the edges and the grouting for the completion of 3 rooms. They installed the leach field for the fourplex and the new shower house. Wiring is all done in the bathroom/shower house and almost all the plumbing is finished. All is on schedule and there will be no problem finishing the rest of our part on Monday morning when our work is officially over in this town. Unfortunately one of the local men ran over the freshly put in sewer lines with the back hoe and broke them but he made good on the mistake and fixed it. You know your stomach just drops down to your toes when something like that happens. But we have all made our share of mistakes in this life and that this one is fixable is a relief. Many of our folks were thanked by a sighting of the 2 toucans that flew over the work site before they left today. I talked with Evan today; he is from Union Springs Academy. He told me he has really enjoyed working here and is glad he came. It has put a new perspective on life for him. He will go home seeing the blessings of modern tools and ways that we have in America. He is appreciating his dad's business much more now that he sees how it would be done in other countries. How fortunate for these teens to be able to participate in a mission trip. It changes your life for ever. Thank you Mrs. Walter for bringing them and for the hard work you have added to the group also. Each person here is a valuable part of the master plan and we have all fit together so well to the Glory of God. Bob and Rigo, Kim and Betty went to the orphanage and then on to the Adventist Academy today to make arrangements for Sabbath afternoon programs. The Academy had spiritual music on the loud speakers to create the start of the Sabbath atmosphere. The medical team went on to another Village today and treated 325 people. Dr. Roy said that 90% of them complained of headaches in this village. On the way they past a military platoon coming out of the jungle after training maneuvers. There faces were blackened and of course they wore camouflage clothing and carried rifles. This kind of thing always puts the chill bumps on your arms at the ugly reality of war. There is a jungle training facility here that trains different troops from around the world for jungle warfare. The Commander was asked if pictures could be taken and he said yes. But there were some men who while lined up for pictures turned their backs as not to be recognized. They must have been part of special operation teams and can't be known. War is ugly, ugly,ugly! Tonight will be the last evangelistic meeting and the special Bibles, signed by our entire team will be handed out to the 4 people who have brought 12 or more guest with them to the meetings. They will be invited to hear the last sermon from our group at church tomorrow and then we will walk down to the river and baptize those who are ready. It will be a high day indeed. At V.B.S. tonight you could see the real spiritual war that is going on. The majority of the children there are so sincere and they want to bow their head and listen as Kim prays for them. And then at the other end of the spectrum you find the ones that want to disrupt it and are being used to keep truth away. Pastor Dwight and the local Pastor went around doing crowd control as Bob took some of the ones that would not settle down out of the building. This river seems to be a heavy duty, multipurpose river. Each day I have seen people bathing, or washing their hair, or doing their laundry. And then right next to them some one is washing a car in the river, while a few more feet away folks are swimming. Well you know the old saying "boys will be boys," it was proven again tonight to be true. Seems that Dr. Mark got a rather life like large snake and put a string around it. It was night fall and he waited in the bushes until his mom Bev walked down the path to have the snake slither out in front of her feet! Yes, that strange muffled noise you heard earlier would be her screaming! Our famous puppet ministry will be bringing joy, laughter and the truth of Jesus' love to the orphanage children tomorrow. Oh they all will be so excited and will never forget this experience. How humbling to touch Jesus by touching one of these little ones with a bit of brightness and son shine. "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever." Amen. Jude 24, 25 Because He lives, we continue on until He calls us home. Smiles across the miles, Jennifer Young, Mission Reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Sun Feb 22 16:31:03 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:31:03 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Sat. Feb.21, 2009 Message-ID: <88F6825153A24854ACB44FDF5F58CCD9@eric> Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 Greetings to the apple of His eye, Oh what a glorious Sabbath experience we have had. Pastor Jon spoke about heaven at church this morning and it just wrapped us up in glory. To be able to watch the faces and expressions of the parishioners just puts an added spark to a love ignited long ago. There were people who came forward and took their position in front of us all, ready to announce to the world that they have chosen who they will serve in this life and for eternity. Then a young boy runs to the front and pleads to be among the candidates for baptism. His parents are not part of the church but his grandma is and she came forward saying she would take responsibility for this boy growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Praise God for Grandma's. I wonder how many souls have been rescued from a path of certain destruction because of a praying grandma. Then when you think you your heart is ready to burst with the emotion of what you are witnessing, comes the last candidate. He is being held up on both sides by the 2 young Bible workers who have studied with him. This man slowly shuffles his almost useless legs to make it to the front where he is placed in a chair. He then raises his hands in agreement with each of the statements to follow Jesus and be part of his church. After this we all headed down to the river where the crippled man was carried down in a plastic chair and into the water. With the men on each side of him he was put in and under the water of baptism. Oh my, what a touching sight it was. That little crippled man had put his total trust in men he had not known that long, to make sure that he went in and would come out safely from a watery grave. If they were not with him he would not be able to have saved himself. It reminded me so much of the paralyzed man whose friends hoisted him up and cut through the roof to be healed by Jesus. The faith and dedication that it all involved is just overwhelming. After this, all of the Pastor's went into the water and they baptized each one who had made the commitment to follow Jesus. The local Pastor told Bob that he expected another 20 baptisms from this effort. And in front of the congregation he told Bob he was going to e-mail him about it. There are 3 couples who have decided to follow Jesus but who were living in open sin, so they will be married this week and baptized next week along with some others. All the Pastor's came forward and laid hands on the crippled man at the end of the worship service, praying for his healing. Each of the new members was given a new Bible and a church hymnal. Many Bibles were given out this week, a donation from the Deltona Eng. Adventist Church in Florida. It is the Sabbath school class of Anita Whitney. This class is very missionary minded and send donations for something each year. Ross had to wear his flip flops to church today as his socks never made it back from the laundry lady. I am sure this was already arranged by Jesus though as Pastor Rigo borrowed those flip flops to walk into the river with. Well once again we have proved that ole saying "boys will be boys." It must be something that is just encoded genetically with boys. There is a little room next to where we held VBS. There is a bed in there and lots of dust and spider webs, but no electricity. Kim had stored the supplies in there and even though it would give her the creeps to go in for them she dutifully did it each night. Well all the teens have been having lots of fun teasing her this week but this one takes the cake. Ross had gone in that room after dark and crawled under that old dusty, spider web bed and just waited. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Kim would be going in to get her supplies. You probably guessed it by now. At the perfect moment when all was quiet, a strong hand came out from under the bed and grabbed Kim's ankle as she past by. So if you have heard more than one strange muffled noise seeming as if it is coming from very far away.well that one would be Kim's scream this time. This afternoon our team went to the orphanage as planned. All the gifts were given out at this time. There were 15 various types of balls donated. Soccer, foot ball, kick balls, and basket balls. Many people had brought clothes, shoes and toys to hand out at this time. Also donated were pencils, and pens along with spiritual literature. Each child received their own copy of Steps to Christ. Each child sat spell bound as they watched our wonderful puppet ministry tell their stories from the Bible. The stories were fun and light hearted and yet hit the nail on the head when getting the spiritual lesson across. This is probably the biggest thing that has happened to these little ones this year if ever. Kim also showed a slide show she made for them. She showed on a map where they were now in Guatemala and where the United States are and then where Massachusetts is and her home. Pictures of snow and apples and of her family. She talked about the 4 seasons and what they are like. These shows usually leave the children spell bound as they have never seen snow or even an apple tree. Next it was on to the Adventist Academy where they had dinner and shown the school. When it came time to present the money that was sent by the Canaan, Ct. Church for sports equipment the students started cheering, clapping and then chanting "America, America. America." Next Art presented the various the various balls his school donated and the chanting and cheering started again. Eric came next to present to the mechanical class a brand new tool box completely filled. This was donated by Jeff Walter. The boys roared with cheers and once again, America, America, America! Eric also presented them with a multi meter for that class. Bob was the last presenter and that was of the Bibles. More chanting and cheers. To you Americans, can you hear and see in your mind the chanting America, America, and stand a little taller? To all you Christians of what ever country, can you also hear and see in your soul Jesus standing at the finish line cheering you on? You are almost there, hold on and give it that final push now. He is waving you on. Waiting with arms opened wide for you, and with every breath He chants your name. The Lord has blessed us with peace and has renewed our body and spirit with a rest that only He can give. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" Matt. 28:19, 20 Love and smiles across the miles, Jennifer Young, Mission Reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mail at berkshiremission.org Mon Feb 23 20:34:50 2009 From: mail at berkshiremission.org (Berkshire Mission) Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:34:50 -0500 Subject: [News] Guatemala mission, Sun. Feb.22, 2009 Message-ID: <1AEE4800DAE74C0485942E3C66672F46@eric> Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 Greetings friends, WE have had a wonderfully, enjoyable, playful day. It started out for some at 5:30 am on a guided bird watch. A professional came to take the folks that were interested through the area for 4 hours. They spotted 51 different species and Pastor Dwight, added 2 new ones to his life time list. I will put the list of what was spotted on this trip at the end of one of my emails when we are finished. The rest of our group had a later breakfast and then went in to Poptun to walk around the markets and do a little shopping. Seems as if everyone found a little something to bring home for a reminder of our stay. This afternoon the dental clinic workers went back to the dental van with some empty totes. They wanted to clean and sort it all out so that the next team to come will find an orderly and ready to use clinic. This was not something that we had found when we arrived. They put all things in the red medical totes and labeled it. Then threw away any medicines that were out dated or old. They are going to go back again tomorrow and work some more in the organization of it. Dr. Roy and his staff used the afternoon to sort through all our medicines and equipment for our next trip. Our construction team will work half a day tomorrow and then we will all come back to pack up our totes, equipment and personal belongings. We will need to be ready to leave very early Tuesday morning for Tekal. I am hoping that I will have internet access while there so you can still get some updates of what we are doing. We have all been very blessed in many ways on this trip. Today Evan came up to me and said "I just want you to know how much I have enjoyed this trip." I asked him if it changed him and he said yes it has, and when I asked what touched him he said Sabbath's sermon. I agree, it was a fantastic sermon on heaven and I am hoping our Pastor Jon will give this sermon again at home. Of course he did use my poor little Siamese cat as an example of things that won't be happening in heaven. The cat is named Doc Holliday because he if fast on the draw and shoots from the hip! So, maybe Doc will have to change his ways a bit or no heaven for him. But, oh will it be glorious for us who long for the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and the home He has prepared for us. Last night Courtney and Karolline came to our hut wanting to go to town to get some food. It was already very late and things were closed but when we questioned them about just what kind of food they were looking for Courtney she just needed anything that was processed and bad for you:-) Emily also told me today that there is a lot of rumblings going on in her room about the desperation of needing some kind of junk food and how red dye #5 and # 19 were looking pretty good and they would even settle for something with yellow dye # 4 or #15. This would be Karolline, Christina, and Alexandra who are in with her. They are just too funny; it has really made this trip so fun to have so many teens with us. Eric set up a screen made from a sheet for them all to watch a DVD tonight, so they are all bonding over a movie in the big gazebo. He had also set up the same type screen to project some of the 700 picture slide show of this trip for us to watch as we ate dinner tonight. It was great and we thank him for his work in all these little niceties for us. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal. 3:28 Sleep tight my friend. Jesus holds all the pieces of our life in His hand. We are safe with Him. Listen for the angels singing those love songs to you. I just found out that we will not have internet access nor cell phone service while in Tikal. So do not worry when you do not hear from us, we will be fine. I will finish up the remainder of my letters when I get home . Before or after my nose job:-) Smiles in Jesus, Jennifer Young, Mission reporter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: