Children's Education
 | ission | Advancing Care Together (ACT) Africa Mission | |||
| oment | Posted September 12, 2019 | |||
The following thank-you letter comes from dental student Riley Payne on behalf of the entire ACT Africa Team. It is written in appreciation of the support White Bluff Chapel provides them through the Christian Dental Society. Jody Yarbro is the Chapel liaison for this ministry.
Thank you so much for your generous donation to our mission trip! It helped contribute greatly to our group’s service for the people of Kenya. The mission trip was led by four working dentists and their wives, as well as seven elected students from Texas A&M College of Dentistry. Our group embraced the concept of serving as God’s hands and feet by seeing as many patients as possible. We served the people of Kisumu, Kenya for five days. Kisumu is the hometown of the lead dentist on our trip, Dr. Juma. It was amazing to see his dedication and servant heart as he worked in the clinic treating his family, friends, and people of his hometown.
We were able to treat over 300 patients during the week. Our patients were beyond appreciative of our services. They constantly thanked us, and even requested for us to return next year. Unfortunately, dental treatment in the area is very rare and not accessible for many of the citizens. In the United States, we are used to patients who may have been experiencing pain for a few days, or several weeks at most. But in Kenya, people can be experiencing this same pain for months or even years. It was wonderful to see the joy and relief people felt as we treated them.
The trip was truly life changing, not only for my career in dentistry, but as a Christian. The doctors on our trip taught our group one really important lesson: ‘treat the person, not just the patient.’ We focused on treating and diagnosing the person’s overall well-being, not just their teeth. We learned to appreciate, sympathize, and care for the person’s thoughts and feelings, rather than seeing them as just another dental case.
Four of the six students on the trip had the privilege of attending the dental mission trip in Jamaica last year with Dr. Jody and Nancie, so we had a great foundation for the concept of treating patients with kindness and expressing Jesus’s love for everyone we encounter.
After our clinic days, we were lucky enough to get to go on a Safari in the Amboseli National Park. The entire trip was an unforgettable experience and we are so thankful for your generosity.
Thank you,
Riley Payne and the entire ACT Africa Team
| ission | Guatemalan Casa Bernabe Details School Year | |||
| oment | Posted September 12, 2019 | |||
The August update from Casa Bernabe contains a lot of information concerning their current and future planning. Casa Bernabe continues to deal with a government that is trying to close all orphanages in the country. In order to maintain their efforts it takes a lot of planning, guessing where the government is headed, and of course money. The report is lengthy but worth the time to read, to understand and realize how the Chapel's support is helping these children. Pat Griffin, the Chapel's liaison for this mission, is available to answer questions.
Dear White Bluff Chapel Members:
Our report contains details about our school expansion project, as well as our school supply list, The Casa Bernabe Collective, a new way to multiply your giving, and a look at where we are headed. Plus, a peek at our 2019 "graduating" class.
This season is dominated by Back-To-School everything for most of us here in the States. But, did you know that our Casa Bernabe students are actually just about finished with their school year? The Guatemalan school year runs January - October. That means that graduation for our 9th grade students is only about 7 weeks away. The Casa Bernabe School has approximately 290 students who attend pre-K through 9th grade, 190 from the surrounding community and 100 from Casa Bernabe itself. For more than 10 years, the school has generously opened its doors to families in the surrounding community. Due to many economic and social limitations, in most cases, the children from these families would otherwise not have the chance to receive any kind of formal education.We have some really big news to share. We are so excited to announce that we will be breaking ground on a school expansion as soon as school is out in October!
As part of our 7-year strategic plan, the school expansion project will provide additional classroom space and educational resources to build a strong early elementary foundation and more specialized instruction and technological resources for our students with smaller class sizes through our higher grades. (Read all about the project here.) We have raised 84% of the necessary funding for our new school, and need just $40,000 to reach our goal of $250,000.We believe that we can begin to disrupt the poverty cycle in the neighborhood surrounding Casa Bernabe through prioritizing education. In Guatemala the average child attends school for just 4 years, many leaving school in order to work and help support their families. Guatemala also has the lowest literacy rate in Central America, with 1 in every 4 people over the age of 15 unable to read. The reality is, children who grow up without education are less likely to send their own children to school.
WAIT! DON'T PASS UP THOSE CLEARANCE SCHOOL SUPPLIES!
Now is a great time to help us stock up for next year. Check out our Back-To-School list for all of our needs and instructions on how to get them to us!
Download the listMEET THE CLASS OF 2019
This year's "graduating" class has 20 students in it, 4 from Casa Bernabe and 16 from the surrounding community. May I present to you, the 2019 Casa Bernabe graduates and their fearless teacher...
Where are we headed?
As we look to the future we see an expanded ministry that shines an ever increasing light into the surrounding community. Through continuing to develop the medical clinic, enlarging the school, and enriching our Families United and community programs we hope to provide some economic initiatives and training opportunities for children and their families.
We are seeking long-term partners who will commit to joining us in seeing the work completed and supported.
If you have made it all the way to the bottom of this email, thank you! I know we shared a lot of information this month, which means quite a bit of words dropped into your inbox. We are so grateful for you, our Casa Bernabe community of supporters!
As always, I would love to hear from you! Let's connect!
For His Sake,
Ashley Cunningham
Development Director
Friends of Children Everywhere
| ission |
Isaiah's Place Welcomes New Director of Operations and Pastor | |||
| oment | Posted September 12, 2019 | |||
by Vicki Thompson and
Diane Frederickson
Eighty-six people traveled in from all parts of the country to Isaiah’s Place in Hill County to participate over last weekend in the welcoming of the facility’s new directors, the husband-and-wife team, Mistie and Raymond Ballengee. What blessings abound! Isaiah’s Place, the only educational retreat facility in Texas that is focused on enriching the lives of the deaf community, has appointed Mistie Ballengee as their new Director of Operations and Raymond Ballengee as their fulltime Pastor.
While the Ballengee family arrived on site at IP on June 15 and has been serving well in their new roles at Isaiah’s Place throughout the summer, it was the first week-end of September that was selected for the celebratory events associated with their joining IP.
ASL Class: Mistie Ballengee on FB
Registration Link: https://form.jotform.com/91445499829172
White Bluff Chapel members, Dale and Vickie Thompson, hosted a welcome dinner at their lake home last Thursday evening and learned about Pastor Raymond’s ministry and the needs of the deaf population. On Saturday, Raymond’s Ordination was held at IP, followed by two people who were baptized by the newly-ordained pastor. Raymond plans to minister to the deaf from our state and nation while at Isaiah’s Place. During the Thompson dinner party, the Ballengees discussed the needs to cultivate more deaf ministers and to provide better and more accessible deaf education. Additionally, Raymond and a deaf pastor from Alabama hope to develop a seminary training program for the deaf and to designate IP as the destination for it.
The September 4 edition of the Lakelander introduced Mistie Ballengee as the new Director of Operations for Isaiah’s Place and featured a very detailed write-up regarding the facility’s new additions. Those who did not have the opportunity to read it would find it worthwhile to recover a copy of the edition to discover the new and positive changes happening at Isaiah's Place.
For additional information, contact:
Diane Frederickson
www.isaiahsplace.org
231 HCR 1207
Whitney TX 76692
254-694-7771 254-205-7880 cell/txt
| ission |
Sandy Creek Bible Camp Continues to Impact Kids' Lives | |||
| oment | Posted September 12, 2019 | |||
by Bob Buckner
Sandy Creek Bible Camp is a Christ-focused camp located just outside of Navasota, Texas, which is approximately 20 miles south of Bryan/College Station, Texas. The stated purpose of Sandy Creek Bible Camp is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in a relaxed, rural setting. The children enjoy horseback riding, swimming, archery, rock climbing and other activities and camp games. They also attend chapel twice each day.
Each year, several of the children White Bluff Chapel sponsors make commitments to Christ while at camp. This summer, one little eight-year-old told her mother she “accepted Jesus into her heart” while at Sandy Creek. Another young man was baptized while at camp. Some campers have reached the age where they can serve on the counseling staff as well. This year, White Bluff Chapel sponsored 31 campers, ages 8-18.
Since the parents/friends/guardians transport the children to and from camp, they are able to see firsthand the powerful impact Sandy Creek and the Gospel message have on these children. By driving their children, they are able to see the camp, meet the counselors, and experience much more closely the excitement their children experience. Hopefully, it will have a lasting effect on the parents as well as the campers.
These campers are typically from broken homes, living with one parent, grandparent or other caregiver. Many of them do not attend church with their families, and some have experienced problems with the juvenile authorities. They would not have this type of opportunity to learn about Christ if it were not for the generosity of White Bluff Chapel members. Thank you for your generous giving that allows us to give these children the opportunity to hear and feel so vividly the message of Jesus.
We want to continue to add new campers to our list of attendees, so please think of children you know from this area who would benefit from this wonderful Christian camp experience next summer. They may be children you are mentoring or their siblings. Or children of families you know through the Food Bank or other activities in the community. There is no cost to the children or their families, except for a small amount of spending money. We provide financial assistance for the transportation as well.
Please tell new prospects to contact Bob Buckner at 254-694-8527. If you want to learn more about the camp, please visit sandycreek.org.
| ission | Interesting Conversations on the Road to AIA | |||
| oment | Posted September 12, 2019 | |||
Once again Brian reports about the progress of his ministry with Athletes in Action (AIA). They continue to expand into other disciplines of the Pro-Cycling arena. Brian also puts together some very interesting blogs that can be read at brianfirle.com. To discover more about this ministry, contact Bill Burris and/or their website at aiaprocycling.com. Bill is the Chapel liaison for this ministry.
THAT was a big couple months...
Shortly after being in Tennessee for the US road national championships, we had a long couple months of ministry in July and August. July was the month that seemed like nearly all the athletes racing the Tour of Utah and Colorado Classic were in town training at altitude. We hosted a handful of athletes throughout the month, including one at our home for two weeks prior to his travel to Utah. We had athletes over to our home for rides, meals, and time relaxing on our back porch. Our home was a revolving door of athletes that needed help with equipment, meals, rest, and practical needs that helped them prepare for their events. I also got plenty of one-on-one discipleship time with a handful of guys. It was awesome.
In a month of hosting and relational work with athletes in July, we also spent a long weekend in Winter Park for the national championships of mountain biking, at a lung-busting altitude of 9,500 feet! We had one of the largest fellowship gatherings we've ever had at a dirt event! Athletes from different disciplines, family members, team directors, and high school racers were all in attendance. One of the best connections we have made this year is with the director of the CLIF Bar pro team, Waldek. Waldek has run the CLIF bar pro team and both cyclocross and mountain bike teams for 19 years, loves Jesus, and has pressed into our community this year at events. His influence in the sport is massive and he will be a great advocate for our community; the guy is a legend!
Stories from Todd
Todd and Tabitha Henriksen pioneered our ministry in professional cycling in 2012. After the Tour of Utah a few weeks ago, Todd had a few stories that I thought were so good I made sure he wrote them down for us to share:
Religion to relationship
A rider whom I've built a relationship with on the U-23 US National Team last year came to the AIA chapel for the first time ever at US Pro Nationals in June. As I followed up a week later, he mentioned to me, "Todd, I grew up in Catholic Church but nothing ever stuck or made much sense. Chapel was awesome and was the first time in my life I ever left remembering and pondering the message."I've been meeting with him over the past 3 weeks 1-on-1 through FaceTime and he's been jumping on our weekly virtual bible study. We've been walking through what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with him in-person the day before the race started at the Tour of Utah and it was powerful. At the end, I asked him, "Do you want this?" He said, "Todd, pray for me to fully surrender my life to Jesus!" I'm confident that he is on the cusp of coming to faith. Please be praying for the enemy to be far away and for him to surrender His life into the safest hands in the universe, Jesus Christ's.
"You're an atheist?"
As the Tour of Utah is the last major men's road event on the US calendar, I went all in sharing the gospel, holding nothing back. Afterwards, I walked back to the team hotel with a rider who attended. I knew him personally, but not super well. I asked him, "Hey man, what did you think of chapel?" He said, "Todd, it's always good. I enjoy hearing from you guys and applying the message to my life." I mentioned, "Do you have any faith background by any chance or is a lot of what I shared new to you?" He said, "My mom was Catholic, I went to Catholic school, my dad is Buddhist, and I'm an atheist." Surprised, I said, "Really, an atheist? Why do you come to chapel each race then?" He said, "It's because of you guys, really. I love what you are trying to do in the sport. You probably don't hear this often, but you all are making a massive impact in the sport. I appreciate the depth of conversation, topics and I want to hear from other people's perspectives even if I don't believe the same thing..."I was absolutely floored by his humility. Over the next hour in the hotel lobby I encouraged him to truly look into the person of Jesus, shared my testimony of why I believe God is 100% real, and connected on a unique, major challenge both of us were currently facing. We left the conversation both encouraged and challenged. I was reminded why we exist, why God put this calling on our lives and the importance of why we show up. We create a safe space, with the foundation built on relationship where a rider who is even an atheist will sit and hear that Jesus Christ has made a way for Him to be forgiven, restored and free.
Photo at left: Todd (far left), Brad, and I at the prologue of the Tour of Utah at Snowbird
New Blog Post Up!
What is the difference in Finding self and Finding faith? This was my attempt to nuance this experience for myself and for you!
Feel free to read it here. Please comment and share!
