Hello everyone from beautiful Guatemala!! Robin and I have the privilege of leading the fall 2011 Crossroads on Outreach here. We are going to be in various places here over the next 8 weeks, ministering and sharing God's incredible love.
If you would like to follow the team blog, the address is: http://www.cdtsoutreach2011.blogspot.com/
We will be posting some things here as well from time to time, but there will be more stuff from different members of our team posted there.
Thanks for praying for us!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Hello dear family and friends,
We hope that this November finds you eagerly anticipating the Thanksgiving season while remembering that Christmas is just around the corner. The past few months have flown by for us since we stepped into the new responsibilities of staffing a Crossroads DTS. We've had our share of joys and challenges and have enjoyed getting to know the students very well through the weeks. The older couple in the picture with the matching shirts are the school leaders, the other 6 adults are our students and crouching down are two teen-aged children of one of the couples.
We will be leading the outreach to Guatemala for almost 8 weeks. We leave on Saturday, November 19 and will return on Wednesday, January 11. Most of our time will be spent at the YWAM base in Antigua, Guatemala assisting them in various local ministries. We'll also spend 2 weeks in Guatemala city living with host families and one week staying at a camp in San Juan Sacatepeque. Over the course of the outreach we'll do a variety of things possibly including: children's ministry, street ministry, dramas, music, speaking in church, reaching the homeless, reaching out to those living in the garbage dump, working in an orphanage, light construction and whatever else our contacts dream up for us! Everyone in the picture is going except for the school leaders.
They are a mature, talented bunch and we are very excited to bring the team to Guatemala and see what God has in store for all of us. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish preparations to go, as we travel and throughout the outreach. Caleb will have an added challenge on outreach since he broke his hand this past week on the playground. He'll have cast for most of the time that will need to be removed in Guatemala. We are in need of roughly $3,000-$4,000 to cover airfare, expenses and base fees while we're gone. If you'd like to support us financially please send a check to: YWAM Chico 15850 Richardson Springs Rd, Chico, CA 95973. (Please enclose a separate note with our name on it and leave the memo line blank.) Thank you for your prayers and finances, we couldn't do the ministry we are called to here without your help!
God bless,
Dan, Robin, Caleb, Josh and Nathaniel
We hope that this November finds you eagerly anticipating the Thanksgiving season while remembering that Christmas is just around the corner. The past few months have flown by for us since we stepped into the new responsibilities of staffing a Crossroads DTS. We've had our share of joys and challenges and have enjoyed getting to know the students very well through the weeks. The older couple in the picture with the matching shirts are the school leaders, the other 6 adults are our students and crouching down are two teen-aged children of one of the couples.
We will be leading the outreach to Guatemala for almost 8 weeks. We leave on Saturday, November 19 and will return on Wednesday, January 11. Most of our time will be spent at the YWAM base in Antigua, Guatemala assisting them in various local ministries. We'll also spend 2 weeks in Guatemala city living with host families and one week staying at a camp in San Juan Sacatepeque. Over the course of the outreach we'll do a variety of things possibly including: children's ministry, street ministry, dramas, music, speaking in church, reaching the homeless, reaching out to those living in the garbage dump, working in an orphanage, light construction and whatever else our contacts dream up for us! Everyone in the picture is going except for the school leaders.
They are a mature, talented bunch and we are very excited to bring the team to Guatemala and see what God has in store for all of us. Please keep us in your prayers as we finish preparations to go, as we travel and throughout the outreach. Caleb will have an added challenge on outreach since he broke his hand this past week on the playground. He'll have cast for most of the time that will need to be removed in Guatemala. We are in need of roughly $3,000-$4,000 to cover airfare, expenses and base fees while we're gone. If you'd like to support us financially please send a check to: YWAM Chico 15850 Richardson Springs Rd, Chico, CA 95973. (Please enclose a separate note with our name on it and leave the memo line blank.) Thank you for your prayers and finances, we couldn't do the ministry we are called to here without your help!
God bless,
Dan, Robin, Caleb, Josh and Nathaniel
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Blessing and Blessed
This past week we were privileged to have a team come from our church in Michigan, Friendship Chapel. Four youth leaders, Mike and Tammy Heyboer and Shaun and Tracy Vander Lugt, along with six of the members of their senior high group, Jake Heyboer, Eddie Gust, Steven Diekema, Victoria Geurink, Kayla Schut, and Melissa Wilkins.
They arrived very late on March 31st (11:45 pm) and snoozed for the 1 1/2 hour drive from Sacramento to the base in Chico. After a few hours of sleep the team ate a quick breakfast in the house they were staying in and joined the rest of the base for a time of intercession on Friday morning. The focus of the intercession was on the youth of England. At one point during the this time all the youth were asked to stand in the middle of the group to represent the youth we were praying for. Wonderful words were spoken over both groups.
The team then started right in on the work project that had been assigned to them for the week. painting the Sweetwater cabins. Sweetwater is where we house some of our guests during large conferences. The cabins were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. As we got started it was evident that the railing on the front of two of the cabins was in bad shape and needed to be replaced. The team was able to bless the base by purchasing some treated lumber to fully replace these as well. Friday night was a time of relaxing and recouping after a hard days work. The power went out for a couple of hours and we sat and watched a movie on Mike's laptop.
Saturday the team got back to work and did a lot of power washing and painting and building the new railings. The power went out again on Saturday night, and the team spent the evening talking on the front porch and worshiping God.
Sunday the team went with us to church at New Beginnings Fellowship. After church we all spent some relaxing time at Bidwell Park in Chico. Some of us played some soccer while others played in the playground area or just sat and relaxed on some blankets. The power actually stayed on that night and we enjoyed another time of worshiping.
To be continued.....
They arrived very late on March 31st (11:45 pm) and snoozed for the 1 1/2 hour drive from Sacramento to the base in Chico. After a few hours of sleep the team ate a quick breakfast in the house they were staying in and joined the rest of the base for a time of intercession on Friday morning. The focus of the intercession was on the youth of England. At one point during the this time all the youth were asked to stand in the middle of the group to represent the youth we were praying for. Wonderful words were spoken over both groups.
The team then started right in on the work project that had been assigned to them for the week. painting the Sweetwater cabins. Sweetwater is where we house some of our guests during large conferences. The cabins were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. As we got started it was evident that the railing on the front of two of the cabins was in bad shape and needed to be replaced. The team was able to bless the base by purchasing some treated lumber to fully replace these as well. Friday night was a time of relaxing and recouping after a hard days work. The power went out for a couple of hours and we sat and watched a movie on Mike's laptop.
Saturday the team got back to work and did a lot of power washing and painting and building the new railings. The power went out again on Saturday night, and the team spent the evening talking on the front porch and worshiping God.
Sunday the team went with us to church at New Beginnings Fellowship. After church we all spent some relaxing time at Bidwell Park in Chico. Some of us played some soccer while others played in the playground area or just sat and relaxed on some blankets. The power actually stayed on that night and we enjoyed another time of worshiping.
To be continued.....
Friday, August 20, 2010
Settling in
We're doing great! We still don't feel completely settled/organized in our cute, little house but we're getting there. Dan has spent a week working in Grounds and a week in Maintenance, next week he'll be in the Kitchen. I'll start my rotation on Aug 30 when the kids start school. The boys are LOVING having playmates within walking distance, we have almost daily play dates and have had a couple of sleepovers. Thankfully it's been a relatively "cool" summer here, it's been in the mid 90's but might hit triple digits next week. (They predict upper 80's for the weekend and are calling it 'fall-like temps').
It feels really good to be back here, we are happy and know we are where we belong right now! This morning we celebrated the opening of a prayer room on base, the fulfillment of a long time dream of a number of the staff. We look forward to the various schools beginning in the next week or so. We anticipate lives changing during DTS and then they can share their God Stories on outreach and touch more lives. God is alive and moving in this canyon, visitors can feel it. We recently chatted with a visiting woman who was almost speechless and in awe by God's presence here. It's an exciting, though busy, place to be and we are thrilled to be part of God's work in this little part of California!
Thanks for all the prayers for safe travels and during this time of transition, we still need them. Thanks, too, for financial support since everything in CA costs more.
God bless,
Dan and Robin
Dan and Robin
Monday, April 5, 2010
What next God?
We have returned to our "home" in Michigan. I put it in quotes because we do not plan to be here long. We will probably be here at least until summer, to finish up the school year. After that we plan on leaving for a language school, probably in Guatemala, and then on to Creel, Mexico to join the staff at the YWAM base there.
After our DTS and outreach were done we left California and traveled to the base in Creel to see first hand what they were doing and to talk to the staff face to face. We really enjoyed our time there, and meeting the people. There are many opportunities for ministry there and we can't wait to see what God has planned for us. The current staff there are involved in a number of things in the area. Some of them are focussed on the indigenous Tarahumaran Indians that live in the area, while others are working in the town of Creel to evangelize the city itself, and to unify the pastors that work there. They also have a desire to start a kids program to work with the youth of the city, and they have some other projects that they would like to get started doing as well. We would be able to fit in a number of different areas there. Robin would spend most of her time in the role of teacher to homeschool the boys while Dan would be doing the bulk of the ministry at first. It was strongly suggested that we attend a total immersion language school so that we can be effective in ministry right off the bat instead of struggling to learn the language while involved with the day to day work.
Robin is back working at St. Marys part time second (and a sometimes third) shift. Dan is working part time at Duwayne's Greenhouse driving delivery truck, mostly to the Chicago area.
Robin has been feeling that we aren't finished at Chico, and that maybe God is calling us to go there for a year before going on to language school and Creel. We are seeking God's direction in this and will follow where ever He leads us.
Our house will be up for sale very soon. We are finishing a few projects, getting it cleaned up for showing and getting rid of a lot of extra stuff.
We ask for prayers that the house will sell quickly and to the right person, and that God will direct our next steps according to His will.
After our DTS and outreach were done we left California and traveled to the base in Creel to see first hand what they were doing and to talk to the staff face to face. We really enjoyed our time there, and meeting the people. There are many opportunities for ministry there and we can't wait to see what God has planned for us. The current staff there are involved in a number of things in the area. Some of them are focussed on the indigenous Tarahumaran Indians that live in the area, while others are working in the town of Creel to evangelize the city itself, and to unify the pastors that work there. They also have a desire to start a kids program to work with the youth of the city, and they have some other projects that they would like to get started doing as well. We would be able to fit in a number of different areas there. Robin would spend most of her time in the role of teacher to homeschool the boys while Dan would be doing the bulk of the ministry at first. It was strongly suggested that we attend a total immersion language school so that we can be effective in ministry right off the bat instead of struggling to learn the language while involved with the day to day work.
Robin is back working at St. Marys part time second (and a sometimes third) shift. Dan is working part time at Duwayne's Greenhouse driving delivery truck, mostly to the Chicago area.
Robin has been feeling that we aren't finished at Chico, and that maybe God is calling us to go there for a year before going on to language school and Creel. We are seeking God's direction in this and will follow where ever He leads us.
Our house will be up for sale very soon. We are finishing a few projects, getting it cleaned up for showing and getting rid of a lot of extra stuff.
We ask for prayers that the house will sell quickly and to the right person, and that God will direct our next steps according to His will.
Originally posted Friday, January 15, 2010 on Outreach Blog
This will be the final blog entry ( at least in Fiji). We are currently preparing to head back to the U.S.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we did some house to house around the PTC neighborhood to tell them about the kid's program that we were going to have in Simla housing on Thursday, and to visit and pray with them if they were available. During this time Chick and Lynda met up with a girl that had been cutting herself. It's too bad that problems that have been plaguing U.S. teens for years have spread to other countries. One of the days Dan and Robin had an interesting conversation with a Buddhist lady who's son-in-law is from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area just like they are. What a small world. In the afternoons we did kid's programs for the kids of the staff of a local prison. They live in housing right outside the prison. In the evenings we got a chance to hang out with Tony, Laisa, and Bui the staff of the PTC that stayed during the break to work with us and show us great hospitality.
Thursday we did the kid's program In Simla housing, which looks like a low income apartment style housing. We had the regular clowns and games. This was our last scheduled day of ministry.
Robin and Lynda were both sick on Wednesday and Thursday. Both were running fevers and had other intestinal problems. Three of the Derusha kids had strep throat.
Friday the staff of the PTC were preparing a love feast for us, so we had to vacate the house for a while in the afternoon. We went and visited a place called The Garden of the Sleeping Giant. It was a beautiful place full of orchids and other exotic foliage. We all had a good time.
Saturday was moving day. We moved back to Nadi for a few days before we left. It was hard to say goodbye to the staff even though we had only been there for two weeks. We spent the morning packing and cleaning up. We returned in the afternoon, and had a relaxing time for the rest of the day.
Sunday was our last day of worshiping with EWC. We had an amazing time with them. We love them all so much. Frank gave a message on God writing His story on our hearts, we are living epistles. Afterwards we went to Pastor Paula's house for a special dinner that members of the church prepared. As we were leaving, the “wetting”, a Fijian New Years tradition, was beginning. Mostly Robin and Lynda got wet.
Monday was a fun day that Bill had planned for us just before we left Fiji. It was a short sailboat ride to another small island that we could snorkel and swim or just relax at. Some of our team felt that it was good to see the other side of Fiji. This was definitely the tourist side, and what people associate with Fiji. They did a kava ceremony right in the boat, and invited all the people to join in. Of course most of the tourists that went on the boat joined in since they knew nothing of the spiritual side of the kava drinking. Unfortunately Dan and Caleb had to stay back at the hotel because Caleb was sick.
Tuesday was packing day and our final day in beautiful Fiji. We were sent off by some of the people from EWC. It was very sad to say goodbye to all of our new friends that we me there. Our flight left at 10:50 PM on Tuesday and we landed in Sacramento, after a 4 hour layover in L.A., at 6:50 PM on Tuesday, 4 hours before we left. We were very tired, and ready for a good nights sleep.
Well I started this post in Fiji, but I finally finished it here in Chico. We are completely amazed at how awesome God is. We had an incredible outreach. God did amazing things and we were glad that we got to tag along for the ride. I will try and and do one more post about what each of the team members future plans are, but some might not know yet. Thank you to all who have shared this journey with us. We certainly couldn't have done this without your support in many areas. All of us continue to covet your prayers as we finish up here in Chico and move out into what God is calling us to do. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts, and may God bless each and every one of you.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we did some house to house around the PTC neighborhood to tell them about the kid's program that we were going to have in Simla housing on Thursday, and to visit and pray with them if they were available. During this time Chick and Lynda met up with a girl that had been cutting herself. It's too bad that problems that have been plaguing U.S. teens for years have spread to other countries. One of the days Dan and Robin had an interesting conversation with a Buddhist lady who's son-in-law is from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area just like they are. What a small world. In the afternoons we did kid's programs for the kids of the staff of a local prison. They live in housing right outside the prison. In the evenings we got a chance to hang out with Tony, Laisa, and Bui the staff of the PTC that stayed during the break to work with us and show us great hospitality.
Thursday we did the kid's program In Simla housing, which looks like a low income apartment style housing. We had the regular clowns and games. This was our last scheduled day of ministry.
Robin and Lynda were both sick on Wednesday and Thursday. Both were running fevers and had other intestinal problems. Three of the Derusha kids had strep throat.
Friday the staff of the PTC were preparing a love feast for us, so we had to vacate the house for a while in the afternoon. We went and visited a place called The Garden of the Sleeping Giant. It was a beautiful place full of orchids and other exotic foliage. We all had a good time.
Saturday was moving day. We moved back to Nadi for a few days before we left. It was hard to say goodbye to the staff even though we had only been there for two weeks. We spent the morning packing and cleaning up. We returned in the afternoon, and had a relaxing time for the rest of the day.
Sunday was our last day of worshiping with EWC. We had an amazing time with them. We love them all so much. Frank gave a message on God writing His story on our hearts, we are living epistles. Afterwards we went to Pastor Paula's house for a special dinner that members of the church prepared. As we were leaving, the “wetting”, a Fijian New Years tradition, was beginning. Mostly Robin and Lynda got wet.
Monday was a fun day that Bill had planned for us just before we left Fiji. It was a short sailboat ride to another small island that we could snorkel and swim or just relax at. Some of our team felt that it was good to see the other side of Fiji. This was definitely the tourist side, and what people associate with Fiji. They did a kava ceremony right in the boat, and invited all the people to join in. Of course most of the tourists that went on the boat joined in since they knew nothing of the spiritual side of the kava drinking. Unfortunately Dan and Caleb had to stay back at the hotel because Caleb was sick.
Tuesday was packing day and our final day in beautiful Fiji. We were sent off by some of the people from EWC. It was very sad to say goodbye to all of our new friends that we me there. Our flight left at 10:50 PM on Tuesday and we landed in Sacramento, after a 4 hour layover in L.A., at 6:50 PM on Tuesday, 4 hours before we left. We were very tired, and ready for a good nights sleep.
Well I started this post in Fiji, but I finally finished it here in Chico. We are completely amazed at how awesome God is. We had an incredible outreach. God did amazing things and we were glad that we got to tag along for the ride. I will try and and do one more post about what each of the team members future plans are, but some might not know yet. Thank you to all who have shared this journey with us. We certainly couldn't have done this without your support in many areas. All of us continue to covet your prayers as we finish up here in Chico and move out into what God is calling us to do. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts, and may God bless each and every one of you.
Originally posted Monday, January 4, 2010 on Outreach Blog
Monday we started off with worship and were joined by a DTS team from Kona, Hawaii. We spent some time praising God with songs and then breaking into groups to introduce ourselves to intercede for the leadership of Fiji, all the way down to the leaders of our classes. Later in the morning we met up with them at a low income housing area outside of Lautoka called Koroipita. Our team went house to house to pray with the people that lived there, while the Kona team did a kid's program. Dan and Robin visited four families there who were all Christians. Chick and one of the locals named Laisa visited a five families as well, and lead a Hindi lady to Christ. Laisa gave the lady her personal bible. They were both so excited. Lynda spent some time watching the Kona team do their kid's program to get some more ideas about what to do for our kid's program. Frank, Caleb D., and another local girl named Bui visited some homes as well. Denise and the rest of the Derusha kids watched the program as well.
Tuesday we returned to Koroipita and reversed roles. We did the kid's program and the Kona team went house to house.
Wednesday just our team returned there again and did some follow-up visits with some of the families that we visited before.
Thursday, New Years Eve, in the morning we met up with the DTS from Chico and did some clean up at a local old people's home. The guys did some yard work, while the ladies worked inside. Later in the evening we went back and joined them for an end of year service. What a blessing to spend time with the staff and residents. We threatened to leave Bill there, but we decided to give him some grace.
Friday was New Years Day. We joined together with the DTS from Chico and from Kona and went to a popular beach for the day. It was wonderful! The beach was crowded, but we had an enjoyable time throwing each other in the ocean. That is the Fijian custom on New Years. Everyone gets wet, most of the time involuntarily. We all went home very tired and lightly toasted.
Saturday our schedule got mixed up, and we ended up having another free day. Dan spent most of the day preparing for the message he was going to speak on Sunday.
Sunday we worshiped at Christian Renewal Fellowship. We spent some time in praise and a had a couple of testimonies from some of the church members. We were introduced and then Dan spoke a message from 1 Corinthian 3:5-9, speaking on the power of God. He was anointed by God and was able to get past his fear of public speaking and give a clear message. He incorporated testimonies from all of our team members as well.
We continue to be amazed at how God works through our infirmities and accomplishes things despite us. He is doing great things here, and we have the privilege of being a part of it.
Tuesday we returned to Koroipita and reversed roles. We did the kid's program and the Kona team went house to house.
Wednesday just our team returned there again and did some follow-up visits with some of the families that we visited before.
Thursday, New Years Eve, in the morning we met up with the DTS from Chico and did some clean up at a local old people's home. The guys did some yard work, while the ladies worked inside. Later in the evening we went back and joined them for an end of year service. What a blessing to spend time with the staff and residents. We threatened to leave Bill there, but we decided to give him some grace.
Friday was New Years Day. We joined together with the DTS from Chico and from Kona and went to a popular beach for the day. It was wonderful! The beach was crowded, but we had an enjoyable time throwing each other in the ocean. That is the Fijian custom on New Years. Everyone gets wet, most of the time involuntarily. We all went home very tired and lightly toasted.
Saturday our schedule got mixed up, and we ended up having another free day. Dan spent most of the day preparing for the message he was going to speak on Sunday.
Sunday we worshiped at Christian Renewal Fellowship. We spent some time in praise and a had a couple of testimonies from some of the church members. We were introduced and then Dan spoke a message from 1 Corinthian 3:5-9, speaking on the power of God. He was anointed by God and was able to get past his fear of public speaking and give a clear message. He incorporated testimonies from all of our team members as well.
We continue to be amazed at how God works through our infirmities and accomplishes things despite us. He is doing great things here, and we have the privilege of being a part of it.
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