Child Sponsorship: Grown Up and Following Christ
May 17th, 2012

Jim & Drew Everett’s time in Uganda is now coming to a close.  Please pray for them as they travel back and process their months ministering to the beautiful people of Uganda. 

We just received a quick update from Drew after they traveled with some of the older AMG Sponsored children on a mission trip to a secular university in Uganda. 

“Have you ever wondered what happens to those children who were sponsored in the AMG Uganda program, when they became older?  Spending 12 hours on a bus (and that’s only one way) and three days with these first alumni who are now in university  is enough to make anyone proud, smile with joy, and need a good set of earplugs.  Their caring Christian love towards each other never wavered even after late nights and early morning wake-ups at 4:00.  Each one worked hard at being part of a team and yet giving the glory to the others and the Lord.  The infectious laughter nearly blew the windows out of the bus, but didn’t quite reach the crescendo of their singing which was accompanied by the rhythmical drumming of their empty water bottles.  And they freely shared the roasted corn bought road-side, fried grasshoppers, and roasted matoki (type of bananas).  Shouts of “There’s some more!” accompanied the many zebras we saw, Uganda cobs (a smallish deer with long antlers), and a big crocodile…and we weren’t even in a game park. 

Dr. Reuben, our national director decided that it was time for these first graduates from our program to be taken on a mission’s trip to test their wings.  They were to give a three-day conference at a secular college on “Do not defile yourselves” taken from Daniel 1:8.  To see the spiritual maturity of these young people as they held workshops, preached, lead worship, and just hung out with around 300 other college kids was amazing!  The depth of their Bible knowledge is a true testimony to the excellent training they received from AMG when they were kids.  Jimmy and I wished that we were as articulate and poised as they gave the heart rending stories of their lives and why they were orphans and yet through AMG were given a hope for the future.  One of our favorite boys, Willbano lost both parents, had to build his own house and was imprisoned by his uncles (at the age of 14) who wanted to steal his family land.

Many of the young adults Jimmy and I were together with we have known since they were in primary school and have watched with wonder as they have grown into beautiful, bright, Christians.  I only wish I knew all their US sponsors so I could tell them personally how their giving has made a change in these lives that is beyond measure.”

We praise the Lord that we have been able to be part of these young adults coming to know Christ and growing in Him with the help of our sponsors and our co-workers in Uganda.  Please continue to pray for the Children’s Ministry in Uganda and all over the world, that those children in our sponsorship program will come to know Christ and follow hard after Him.  

Posted by Karen Farney in Child Sponsorships, Uganda   |  0 Comment(s)  |  Leave a Comment

Mission Trips: What Three Teams Have in Common
May 15th, 2012

If I mentioned, Easton Baptist Church in Massachusetts and Riverside Christian Church & Fellowship Bible Church in New Hampshire, could you tell me what they all have in common?  Yes, they are all churches, they all have 3 word names, they are all located in the North East, and hold church services weekly; but what connects these three churches at a much deeper level? 

Easton Bible Church - February 2011

In February 2011, Easton Baptist Church, located just south of Boston, sent a group from their congregation to a small school in Guatemala – Las Vistas.  It is a school of 210 students ages 5 – 18 that was started by AMG International over 10 years ago.  The facility needed painting, so this crew began working on a “makeover” for the facility.  

Riverside Christian Church - February 2012

Fast forward to February of 2012, and a team from Riverside Christian Church in Manchester, New Hampshire, joined the work and helped continue the development by building a retaining wall to help protect the children and make the facility look more like a school.  In April of 2011 and 2012, two different teams from Fellowship Bible Church in Derry, New Hampshire continued the work that had been started and helped with the painting of the classrooms and the new wall built just a few months earlier.

Fellowship Bible Church - April 2012

If you were to go to Las Vistas, located in Guatemala City, today, you would find a beautifully painted (yellow and blue) facility with a very nice looking retaining wall that is decorated by plants and rocks.  The effort of total strangers who live miles apart has been united together in one facility for the glory of God.

Las Vistas - April 2012

None of these teams could have completed the project alone!  All of them needed the others to complete the task assigned.  And thanks to the prayers and support of so many others, the task has been completed, and the children of Las Vistas get to experience the fruits of the labor of these teams.  Three very different groups from different churches at different times came to a single place that God might be glorified in their effort.  He has been, and will continue to be glorified as the ministry there continues on.  Thank you all for your sacrifice and for your service.  The children and workers at Las Vistas thank you as well.

Written by: Ken Ivins - Mission Adventure Team Leader

Posted by Karen Farney in Guatemala, Mission Adventures   |  0 Comment(s)  |  Leave a Comment

Mission Trips: 10 Trips and Counting
May 14th, 2012

Pete Johnston has traveled to minister alongside AMG Guatemala 10 times in the last 12 years.   Over the years Pete has been involved in construction and painting, teaching kids at Camp Canaan, encouraging AMG Missionaries, and loving on the Guatemalan children.  Pete has shared with us some of his most memorable experiences while serving in Guatemala with AMG:

My first trip, in 2001, several men from Fellowship Bible Church built a typing classroom at the Oratorio Childcare Center; I met for the first time a little 5-year-old boy named Osman, whom we had begun sponsoring; Osman has since graduated from the program. We are now sponsoring Osman’s little sister, Rosita.

In 2002, a group of 6 men went down to do some odd jobs, but mainly to be an encouragement to the missionaries.  The most memorable part of that trip was the privilege of attending the dedication of La Iglesia de Luz y Verdad at Las Vistas.  I remember like it was yesterday that a little girl who was sitting on my lap, whose name is Helen, went forward with her friend Jamie at the invitation – we were heartbroken when we learned that Helen and Jamie already had sponsors, but I started praying for them that day. 

In 2003, a large group of teens and adults from FBC (including my wife, Inger, who was on her first trip) worked at Camp Canaan, and had the opportunity to minister to the sponsored kids who were there that week.

In 2005, Inger and I were part of a team that painted the Fourth of February project, one of the neat things that year was to reconnect with some of the kids who had been at Camp Canaan (in 2003).  The most memorable part of that trip for me was our visit to Verbena when we learned that Helen (who I met in 2002) was without a sponsor – we immediately grabbed her bio and began sponsoring her, and still do!

In 2006, Inger & I joined a team from Grand Rapids MI, and worked with them to construct a building at the Villa Laura project; it was nice to be able to spend time with other believers, and to work together for a common cause, and share our lives with one another. It was one of the Grand Rapids team members who helped me to realize that my mission field is wherever I am at any given moment.

In 2007, Inger and I were part of a team that painted the structure built by the Grand Rapids team the year before at Villa Laura; it was great to see the beginning and end of a project, and to see the AMG staff and kids there two years in a row; this team included our son, Liam, who was 14 at the time, and it opened his eyes to the body of believers outside his home and local surroundings.

In 2010, I was part of a team that painted at Verbena; our son, Ethan, had his first mission adventure that year; the most memorable part of that trip was working closely with the AMG Guatemala maintenance crew, culminating with a USA versus Guatemala soccer game that provided for a lot of trash-talking, from both sides.  That was my first exposure to Mission Adventure Team Leader, Ken Ivins, and my life will never be the same again; we also had the privileged to stay with Brian & Mary Dennett and their family for a day, and the friendship that began on that trip has only deepened since then.

In 2011, Inger and I were able to work again with Ken, and we were part of a team that painted at Las Vistas – we were mobbed by the children there every day, and several FBC members, some of whom were part of the team, sponsored kids there; hearing their voices shouting “Padrino, padrino!” while we were working was a sound I will never tire of; it was also pretty cool to work with the Wilsons, who had just moved to Guatemala 4 months before from New Hampshire (their home church is FBC).

This year, the team, which included our 13-year-old daughter Emily, worked at Verbena painting the English Department in the beginning of the week, and painted the wall and did landscaping at Las Vistas for the last three days of the week, finishing the project begun by Riverside Christian Church in February, and continued by the AMG Guatemala maintenance crew; it was another great example of God’s people coming together for a common purpose, to bring Him glory.

We have so much for which to be thankful, and we have been privileged to be a part of God’s work in Guatemala through AMG International.  It’s funny how, when you seek to be a blessing to others, you always end up being much more blessed yourself than you ever thought possible.

Serving overseas on a Mission Adventure can change your life.  You never know what God has in store for you when you follow His leading.  God wants to stretch and grow you to help grow His Kingdom and bring Him glory…don’t you want to be part of that?

Posted by Karen Farney in Mission Adventures   |  0 Comment(s)  |  Leave a Comment

Child Sponsorship: Home of Hope
May 11th, 2012

The first child my husband and I chose to sponsor is living at the Home of Hope Orphanage in the Philippines putting a special place in my heart for this orphanage 1000s of miles away.  For many children, including our child Bobby, HOH offers a refuge and a family for abandoned or orphaned children.  The hope of the Gospel is preached, children are helped with their studies, they receive love and care from the Christian staff, and enjoy much laughter with the other children.

Home of Hope

Lucia Buenavides is one child whose life was turned around when she stepped foot into the Home of Hope Orphanage. 

I am very thankful to God for bringing me here at Home of Hope where I came to know the Lord and His saving grace.  Even if I don’t have my real biological parents with me I have felt the real love of family at Home of Hope from the staff, the other children and all those who worked here.  I experienced what real family love was even though I know it was difficult for them to take care of children who were not their own and yet expecting nothing in return.  I felt I was special.  I thank Home of Hope for sending me to school, for taking good care of me, and for providing my school needs.  It was here that I developed my talent in singing, playing the guitar and cooking.  I also learned to do household chores for I know that I would really need them in the future.  I know that I was a naughty girl but the staff had great patience with me.

While Home of Hope provides a loving family environment for the children the social workers actively seek out family members of the children because they understand the importance of having that connection.  Lucia met her biological family for the first time last year.

Last August, I was shocked to see and meet my true family whom I did not expect to see nor had any knowledge whether they were still alive or not.  I was glad to meet my biological family yet Home of Hope is where I felt real family love, was sent to school, and through which I came to know the Lord.  I learned to be content with what God has given me.  For 17 years, I did not know my family but at the Home I found my Life.  If not I would be like a plant that withered because no one cared for it.  Without God and Home of Hope, I would not have been able to meet my biological family. 

Now, I know the importance of knowing and being with God.  I continue to pray to God to know His plan for my life.  The best message I learned here at Home of Hope is “Your Life is God’s Gift to You; Make it Your Gift to God.”  I thank God for all the assistance that Home of Hope has given me.  I cannot pay back all what they had done for me and I know that what I went through in my life was all God’s plan for me.  Again, I would like to thank God, Home of Hope and my sponsors for the unending help to me.  My best dream is to be prosperous in the future and be the best child of God. 

At AMG we are honored, thankful, and blessed to be part of changing children’s lives for the better through Home of Hope Orphanage and many other childcare centers around the world.  We praise God that through the generous gifts of Lucia’s sponsor her life was eternally impacted and changed.  Pray for each of our children currently living at Home of Hope and attending childcare centers all over the world that they would come to know and understand the abundant life given freely through Jesus Christ. 

Posted by Karen Farney in Child Sponsorship, Philippines   |  0 Comment(s)  |  Leave a Comment

General Ministries: Greece Update
May 10th, 2012

Read the latest update from Fotis Romeos on AMG ministry in Greece during these tough times.  Please remember to pray for the country of Greece and specifically our brothers and sisters serving there. 

The weather is beautiful and the work of the Lord so fulfilling in spite of the dark clouds of Greek economy.  We just finished the hosting of our first full semester of an educational program at CVC, a long term vision which the Lord allowed us to experience by hosting a precious class of people along with their professors from Spring Arbor University in Michigan. What a wonderful three months have been.

We are living in some of the most critical times of our history as we will be having elections in Greece this coming weekend. There will also be elections in France, Italy (local ones) Serbia, Kosovo and Armenia, This is a crucial time of the economy in our entire region and all decisions made will affect the life of millions of people for the years to come. We feel that the Lord has placed us here for time such as this.

This Saturday we will be hosting, at the CVC, the Greek National Missions Conference.  We are anticipating hundreds of people to pray learn and finally participate in what the Lord is doing all over the world.  Pray for the National Missions Conference taking place at CVC on May 12 and at Thessaloniki Evangelical Church on May 19. We do not believe that our responsibility in the Great Commission should be diminished because of the Greek financial crisis... It is a matter of our heart and our love for what the Lord is doing around the world as this is fired by His spirit and not dictated by circumstances...

I am listening right now the Filipino youth group which  are having a weekend retreat next door singing at CVC cafeteria “How Great Thou Art” I cannot explain the feelings to “sit” on a miracle that the Lord has done for allowing us to see the development of Cosmovision Center in the recent years.  Another church planting program is going on in different part of the CVC tonight...We never get bored following what the Lord is doing in our midst....

Let me share about one of the highlights of this summer which will be a special camp for Polish children.  We will be hosting this camp on the second week of July at the CVC. This is a huge step of faith as there is a great need and we feel we should serve. These are precious children, about 40 to 50 of them, coming from immigrant families, several of whom have lost their jobs. We would like to provide a few days out of the streets of Athens embracing them with the love of the Gospel. Children’s program at CVC is always a special blessing for many young lives. 

We look forward to a very challenging summer as we will be having an overwhelming program of events, outreaches, educational trips, short term teams and summer camps.

Prayer and Praises

• Pray for the elections in Greece and the outcome.
• Praise the Lord for this blessed winter at CVC
• Pray for the Polish Children’s Camp at the CVC this summer.
• Pray for our many evangelistic programs this summer.
• Pray for the preaching and teaching ministry of Fotis.    
• Pray for physical strength for all the team members of our ministry

We are all grateful for your participation in our lives and ministry. Your love, prayers and support have been a constant reminder of His love.  We feel that we are not alone in this blessed spiritual race.  We are all having a vital part in advancing His kingdom looking forward to the glorious day of His coming!

-Fotis Romeos

Posted by Karen Farney in Greece   |  0 Comment(s)  |  Leave a Comment