Trinity One Mission

Heart of Grace School COMPLETED in Liberia!

2011-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

My dearest friends and partners,

Praise God, the Heart of Grace School in Liberia reopened on Monday, September 12, 2011. We have finally been able to complete the entire physical structure of the school including painting, except for the ten rest room facilities that we will still have to work on during the weekends when the students are not in school.

I can assure you that the children will returned to school with total astonishment at the wonders of God who changed their entire school from a little school building in the middle of nowhere to a magnificent and elegant building.

We are very excited about the way everything was fulfilled in bringing us to this milestone. Thanks a million for all of your love and support of this worthy cause—especially to my church, Trinity Bible Church of Lafayette, Louisiana, that stepped in just in time to enable us successfully complete this little project to the glory of God. As you have helped to put a smile on the faces of these poor children and their families, so God will do the same for you.

However, we encourage you to kindly keep praying for the rest room facilities to be completed as well. Truly, we cannot afford to have about a thousand people here on a daily basis without proper rest rooms.

Honestly, I couldn’t have been able to do any of these things on my own without your constant valuable help, support, encouragement, and of course prayers.

I am very grateful for being part of a bigger story!

I am very excited about your trip to Liberia. I can't wait to see you guys again face to face!

Eric Wowoh

Pastor Calixte is back in Haiti

2011-06-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet all the members of Trinity Bible Church. I was very happy for my time spent with you at Lafayette. It was a profitable time for me. Thank you for your hospitality.

I had a great trip back to Haiti. I arrived home last Tuesday night. Now it is raining a lot all over the country. God planned that to begin after my arrival, because I get scared when there is rain while on the plane.

I will be at Picot during the Weekend. I stay at Cite Lumiere in order to take courses during this week. My wife has visited me, and she and I greet everyone at Trinity Bible Church.

I Greet Pastor Tim and His wife, Pastor Dennis and his wife, Brother Mark Thomas and his wife, Brother Bob and his wife and Brother Bill and his wife. I also greet Brother Blake and Brother Picot Pete and everyone else. My wife is so happy for the new baby who was born into Pastor Tim’s Family. May God's blessings be on every one of you.

I will always pray for your ministry and I do love you all.

Translated By Stephenson.

Pastor Calixte's Son

Haiti Team has Returned - from Mark Thomas

2011-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

It was a good team and I miss them already. I wish our normal work / leisure / ministry lives could create the esprit d'corps produced by a band of brothers and sisters who must depend on each other in an uncomfortable environment while working for a transcendent cause. If we could bottle that, we could sell it in foyers of churches and the world would be the better for it.

The weather in Haiti was unseasonably cool and dry. The transportation and other logistics went flawlessly. The team's health, energy levels and contributions were top notch. The work for the Kingdom seemed to go better than planned.

Mission accomplished.

Haiti Team is Debriefing in Zanglais, from Mark Thomas

2011-05-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

TBC team is in Zanglais at RMI Retreat Center. Those who've been here know where I'm sitting; others will have to come see.

We visited all 5 churches in Picot District. Les Rois school that TBC members have funded is 15% complete. They are happy with the progress and look forward to more financial gifts to finish it. The area desperately needs it.

St. Matherine parsonage is looking good. It is 50% complete with Pastor Samsung Louis living in 2 rooms with a wife and 5 kids.

Bufforde needs a new parsonage. Termites have had a Golden Coral buffet on pastor Delow's house. It probably won't survive the next hurricane. Same with la Roche au Pont parsonage.

Picot parsonage is 80% complete with 2 new American bathrooms and showers. AAA will upgrading accommodations to 3 stars soon. Y'all come on down!

We were privileged to visit a family in the village where the patriarch just died. They grieve well and vocally. We heard their cries all night. The funeral is Wednesday afternoon and pastor Calixte described what would happen. More later on that later.

We saw lots of Hope for Kids and heard super stories of the impact that is having. Please celebrate Christmas in July by sponsoring a child to go to school. Haiti's problem is a long term fix and education has to be a vital part of that.

Our project this year is a mural on a parsonage outer wall. All team members contributed, the more talented ones did more of course. It attracted quite a crowd and many willing hands, black and white, produced a colorful legacy of this trip.

Haiti Report, from Mark Thomas

2011-05-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Few things lift the spirits as singing. Especially when sung by Haitians in Creole. It will be the language of our singing in heaven.

We heard much of it today. First in church in Picot then again for a special time in La Roche au Pont. A district wide choir competition. The blancs sat on stage as ensemble after choir after quartet performed. It was like being judges for the Haitian Idol TV show. They were talented and passionate. They are in the worst of circumstances, but they also know music soothes the soul like nothing else.

Please pray with us: "Thank you God for the gift of music. When we sing we transcend Earth and her problems. Spread your love through gifted musicians around the world. Amen"

Report from our Team in Haiti, by Mark Thomas

2011-05-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

The TBC team spent Friday night in Les Cayes at the Reciprocal Ministries International Guest House. We were up with the chickens this morning. No one cares about early hours because it means we can drink delicious Haitian coffee sooner. Yum!

Today is Inauguration Day in Port au Prince and the Haitians are happy to have a new leader. We all hope this one is the first in a long line with a public servant attitude that can improve infrastructure and encourage education. Yet the hope of the world will never be governments.

We will drive from Cayes to Picot soon to meet old friends as well as make new ones. They are encouraged when Americans come to their village to share their sorrows. Just to know others care lifts their burdens. Solutions to their problems are complex and will take at least a generation of education (especially the children) in a Biblical worldview.

If you believe in prayer, join with us in spirit wherever you are: "Oh Lord, the church is the only hope of the world and this country needs a lot of it...and a little help. The only ability we have is our availability to love these people by serving them and reminding them You love them as much as you love us. Amen."

We have only four women left to sponsor!

2011-05-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank so many of you for sponsoring a woman in Burundi through “A New Beginning.” Because of your response, we have only four women left to sponsor!

While in Burundi, we saw the desperate plight of so many women, but we also saw how the love and innovation on one African woman was making a difference. Peace Nihorimbere runs the sewing program designed to give women a place in God’s family and a skill that will allow them to provide for themselves and their families. Peace is no stranger to difficulty. She went through three different rounds of genocide. Members of her family were killed before she escaped to Canada. Peace remained in Canada for many years, safe from the past, when one day God called her back to Burundi to help her people.

Women in Burundi live in challenging circumstances. Civil war and genocide have taken parents, husbands and children away from them. They live in the second poorest country in the world. Without dignity or value, poverty, hunger, disease, and homelessness have become their inheritance.

When the woman you sponsor enters the program, nineteen others join her. Twenty women work together in the morning, another twenty in the afternoon. Each day she is taught how to sew, first simple skills, and then gradually how to make clothes. She also learns what it feels like to be loved again—by her teacher, her fellow students, and by her Heavenly Father.

By the time she graduates, she will have gone through many changes. With her new skills and her new sewing machine, she can make the clothing that will supply her own needs and provide an ongoing livelihood. But she will now see herself as a worthy part of the community and a loved child of God. We have reports of some of these women re-marrying, something never heard of before.

Thank you for caring enough to give. Here are the answers to a few common questions. If you have other questions, please let us know.

Q: Do I keep sponsoring a woman year after year?

A: No. Your sponsorship will take a woman though the entire 10-month program and provide her with a new sewing machine upon graduation.

Q: What kind of sewing machine does she get?

A: The sewing machines look like the old peddle powered things your grandmother used. But they are new and work quite will in a country where most people don’t even have electricity.

Q: Why is a meal included in the sponsorship?

A: For many of these women, this will be their only meal. We have discovered that without adequate nutrition, it’s hard to learn. A good meal gives them the energy to learn, interact, and look to a hopeful future.

Q: Can I sponsor another woman next year?

A: Of course—there are currently 300 women on the waiting list! We hope this will become very important to you and you will want to help other women with “A New Beginning.” But if you only sponsor this one woman, we thank you—you have changed a life.

. . . and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:3

Like Sheep Among Wolves

2011-04-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

In Matt. 10:16, Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”

Yesterday, I received an email from a friend we support. He is working with local pastors in a “closed country.” I can’t say where for security reasons. One of these pastors had sent him an update on what they were going though. Here is a small part of what the pastor wrote.

“The day before yesterday I was driving home and my wife called and told me to come quickly. There was a crowd of people at the gate who wanted to come inside. My wife shut the gate and would not let them in and they acted like they were going to break through the gate. They started yelling at her and shouting threats against her. Only a couple of these men presented identification. It was at this time that I arrived home and saw what was going on. They told me to open the house and I asked the police officers to present a warrant before I would let them inside. After a few minutes one police officer showed me a written complaint from people in our neighborhood. The complaint stated that there was a Christian family in the neighborhood and that the Christian man was poisoning the rest of the neighborhood with his beliefs. It said that they didn’t want a family like this living in their neighborhood.”

The email goes on to talk about police doing a search of their home, seizures of property, frightened children, arrest, court dates and possible prison time.

Why would Jesus send this family “like sheep among wolves”? Their neighbors hate them; the police are investigating them; their children suffer rejection and possible harm. They could easily stop all this by denying Christ—one statement—problem solved. So why do they continue? Simply this, Jesus sent them. As because of this others are turning to Jesus. But it comes at a price.

Centuries ago, shortly after people started following Jesus, Paul the missionary, wrote to a church like ours, saying, “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” (2 Th. 3:1)

To another church he made a similar request: “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” (Colossians 4:3)

God did bless his ministry, and the gospel spread and has continued to spread. In the US, it is “safe” to be a Christian. But in many places, this is not the case. You may not know where this family lives and ministers, and you don’t know their names, but God does. They have asked for our prayers. Would you take a moment right now to pray for them?

Peace Nihorimber

2011-04-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Burundi, East Africa

Burundi is a country struggling to recover from over a decade of civil war and genocide. It is the second poorest country in the world. Jesus often sought out the last, the least and the lost—the women of Burundi would certainly fit that description. In 2009, a team from Trinity traveled to Burundi, in East Africa. We worked with Women of Global Action (now Tirzah International), to help women and their families move forward. Peace Nihorimbere, a native of Burundi directs a program where women are being prayed for, discipled, and trained in sewing and in hairdressing. They are learning how much God loves and values them, and that He has a future and a hope for them.

Our current involvement includes mission trips to serve these women with the love of Christ and a sponsorship program called “A New Beginning.” This program allows sponsors at Trinity to support a woman in the program, providing vocational training as a seamstress, a hot meal every day, and a sewing machine with supplies upon graduation. The cost is $350.00.

Our purpose in Burundi is to help women to gain a place in God’s family and to regain a place in Burundi society. We are also hoping to do the same for street boys and young men who were caught on both sides of the civil war.

TBC in Liberia

2010-11-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Heather and Marti arrived safely in Liberia. Marti said Liberia is "still ravaged by war, but Eric and friends are incredibly resourceful. And yes, we are having lunch on the beach!"
Pray as Marti and Heather work with Eric to make the most of a difficult situation. Eric is bringing much needed supplies to a computer center and school that he worked to establish. Now he is planning to add a free public library and a High School.

Sewing Aprons for Our Guatemalan Friends

2010-09-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

The upstairs room over the garage of Emily Gaudet's house is affectionately known as the "upper room." Recently it was the site of a sewing frenzy of as ten volunteers from Trinity made aprons for the ladies of our Sister Church in Guatemala. There were sewing machines and sergers--there was fabric and thread--and there was an atmosphere of fun and friendship as the 58 aprons came together.

It's just another simple way that we are seeking to bring help and hope to real people in specific ways.

Thanks, Gals!

Changing Liberia from Right Here in Lafayette!

2010-09-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Do all those statistics about hunger and poverty around the world make you feel like there is nothing you can do? Recently, volunteers from Trinity did a lot!
Eric Wowoh is from Liberia and has spent the past few months collecting donated computers and school books in a warehouse. On August 21st it was time to ship this precious cargo to Liberia, a nation torn by war and tragedy.

As the 18 wheeler towing a 40-foot shipping container pulled up, volunteers from Trinity Bible Church and Change Agent Network were ready and waiting. The sun was hot, but the passion for changing a nation's future was hotter. Five hours was hardly enough time for twenty volunteers to load the 84,000 pounds of supplies for the school and library.
When the last box that could possibly fit onto the truck was placed, they turned around and saw that the warehouse was empty--God had supplied exactly what was needed!
Thanks to all who donated equipment and spent a hot Saturday loading the truck!

Why I Go To Haiti

2010-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

by Mark Thomas

1. Because it's hard, but I recognize that God's will for the next season of my life might lie outside of my comfort zone. So I want to push back the walls of that "zone." That takes proactive, initiative energy on a regular basis.

2. Because God's worldview is bigger and better than my WV. I want to move and expand my WV to overlap His. That takes intentionality, too.

3. To further study the no-man's-land between rigid denominational WVs and cultural spirituality that small WVs dismiss in toto (I have a diagram of that which is easier to understand than these words!).

4. To discover any effective implementation of another culture's interpretation and obedience to the Great Commission.

5. To hear hymns and praise songs sung with passion in Creole. "Lord, when I die, put me in the heavenly Haitian choir :)"

Kevin and Renae are off to Papua New Guinea!

2010-06-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Renae Kellenberger, along with their son, Kai, will leave July 13^th on a long awaited journey. After several years of training and preparation, they will be flying to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to begin their work as missionaries with New Tribes Mission. New Tribes Mission is an international, evangelical Christian mission that has approximately 3,300 missionaries in more than 20 nations. PNG makes up the eastern half of New Guinea, the world’s second largest island. Located north of Australia, the island is characterized by a long spine of mountains, known as the New Guinea Highlands. Tropical rain forests and rugged mountains have made it difficult to develop a transportation infrastructure. The island supports a population of nearly a thousand different tribal groups speaking almost as many languages—a missionary’s dream!

For the first six months, Kevin and Renae will focus their time on orientation and language acquisition. After that, they will be living in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where Kevin will use his substantial skills at the Tech Center. He will be providing much needed technical support for a number of widely scattered church planting teams as they work on Bible translation, Bible teaching and literacy. Working in remote areas, these teams depend on the equipment and technology largely unfamiliar to those of us living in the U.S.

Remember to support Kevin and Renae is your prayers and with your encouragement and financial support.

You can follow their ministry at www.ntm.org/wp/kevin_kellenberger/ or add them as a Facebook friend.

Day of Prayer and Fasting for Burundi's Presidential Elections June 28, 2010

2010-06-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last year, a team from Trinity traveled to Burundi, in Central Africa, to serve people who have endured over a decade of civil war and genocide. We worked with Women of Global Action (WOGA), in partnership with PACWA (Pan-African Women's Christian Alliance) in helping women and their families move forward. Women are being prayed for, discipled, and trained in sewing and in hair-dressing. They are learning how much God loves and values them, and that He has a future and a hope for them. This program is directed by Peace Nihorimbere, whom many of you have met.

Burundi will hold their presidential elections on June 28. This is a dangerous time for the country as opposing parties have already made allegations that the May district elections were not run fairly. Often, violence erupts after major elections. The lives of these women and their families will be impacted by the election process and the election results. Let's join Peace, her team, and our Burundian sisters in lifting these elections up to the Lord:

Please pray for:

Peaceful elections resulting in a president who will work for the good of this nation
The Lord's protection on the nation of Burundi, and on the women who are in WOGA's programs in Burundi
Peace for the hearts of these women who have already suffered so much and are just learning to put their hope in the God who loves them

2010 Haiti Team

2010-06-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 25, our Team will be leaving for Picot, Haiti. This is a much-anticipated trip following the January earthquake that devastated Haiti. We have had a fond relationship with our Sister Church in Picot since 1990 and it will be an emotional reunion. There are twelve team members this year—some going for the first time, some seasoned veterans. The team members are:

Mark and Marti Thomas
Bill and Mary Langford
Pete Prados
Lisa Ledet
Crystal Comeaux
Gerri Thibodeaux
Marie Picou
Blake Bernard
Marcie Lemieux
Camille Comeaux

Please be praying for the team that they have a safe and productive time with our Sister Church.

It is well with my soul . . .

2010-02-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

In our Sunday morning service last week, we had a phone call directly from our Haitian sister church. We ran it through the speakers so everyone could hear. Their children's choir sang "It Is Well With My Soul" to us in the congregation. Their voices were beautiful and the words are remarkable considering the difficulties they are dealing with. Read through the words and take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

[CHORUS:]

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin O the joy of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul

And Lord haste the day
When my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and
The Lord shall descend
Even so it is well with my soul

This week in Haiti

2010-01-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your interest in the lives of our Haitian brothers and sisters.

As you know, we have been in partnership with Reciprocal Ministries International (RMI) for the past 20 years. Things change rapidly in Haiti from day to day, so it is always important to know what to do next. Here is what has going on this week:

1. Housing and coordinating the efforts of Doctors in the Cayes area. Since the earthquake, the population of Cayes has grown from 70,000 to 200,000. Many are in need of medical assistance. Doctors are stretched and supplies are limited. We have been allowing them to stay in our guesthouse and helping them with translation and logistics.

2. Medical supplies are being flown in to supply these doctors. This week, several hundred pounds arrived. Next week we will be flying in an additional 9000 pounds of medical supplies.

3. Food distribution is very critical at this point. People are hungry. In Cayes, we have purchased much of what is available and are partnering with a number of organizations to distribute rice and beans.

4. Driving trucks to Port-au-Prince to pick up refugees from the MEBSH churches there. We are transporting these refugees back to Cayes and giving them temporary shelter at a Youth Camp. Last week, 40 were brought in and this week 50-60 orphans will be brought to Cayes.

Please remember to pray. We must believe that prayer is God's plan for his people in a situation like this. It unites us both to God and to the people we pray for. It is fascinating that God waits for us to pray. Then, as we join him in his purposes, he moves. Amazing.

Relief arrives in Haiti

2010-01-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

We are working with our long-time partners, Reciprocal Ministries International (RMI), to meet both the immediate and long term needs in Haiti. Our focus is on the city of Les Cayes, 120 miles west of Port-au-Prince. Because Les Cayes was not affected by the earthquake, thousands are pouring in to find medical attention, food and shelter. In the past week, the population has grown from 70,000 to 200,000!

Earlier this week, we sent $30,000 to RMI. One of our priorities is food. Here are some of the places the food has been distributed:

an AIDS patient feeding program
the MEBSH churches in Port-au-Prince
local Cayes MEBSH churches that are feeding refugees now living in their buildings.
the local Rotary Club that is feeding patients at the local government hospital (2 meals a day!)
30 local families who have taken in extended family & friends who are refugees.

Medical people and supplies are another priority. A medical team is leaving from Ft. Myers on Monday. Another is being sen from Jacksonville, Florida. Nine thousand pounds of medical supplies have been prepared to be sent in via the Bahamas.

Medical professionals are encouraged to go with these medical teams. Please contact me if you would be able to spend a week in Haiti.

Trinity Joins RMI in Response to the Crisis in Haiti

2010-01-17T06:12:00.000-08:00

Our hearts just ache and break as we watch the images of a country that is so dear to us. The magnitude of the devastation of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is unimaginable. It is hard to wrap our minds around what has happened.

There is a 2nd wave of tragedy that is currently unfolding – and it has not been mentioned in the news yet. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian refugees are flooding the countryside as they flee the devastation and lack of the most basic of needs in Port-au-Prince. They are leaving with just the clothes on their back and maybe a few personal items in a bundle on their head, some carrying their injured or even dead family members. Many communities will find themselves doubling or tripling their population almost overnight. They are descending on family, friends, and churches with nothing but what they could carry out with them.

Les Cayes, where RMI is headquartered, is already beginning to feel this crush. The few hospitals that are there, including the 2 mission hospitals in the area, are already overwhelmed by wounded with more pouring in by the hour. Our Sister Church medical team that is on the ground right now has been helping as much as they can with the overwhelming need at our mission hospital. The MEBSH (the Haitian church association that we have partnered with for over 30 years) churches in the area are beginning to feel the rush from Port as refugees are flooding the area beginning to seek aid and help since they have NOTHING. Since many of these folks have been a part of the MEBSH church association, they will flock to the MEBSH churches as they have nowhere else to go or turn to.

GREAT NEEDS are rapidly developing in the Cayes area. Hospitals are already out of medicine and supplies to treat the wounded who keep pouring in. RMI already has lists of medical needs from our mission hospitals and others in the area.

Since the earthquake we have wondered how we could help - our headquarters is in Les Cayes, 120 miles from Port. We don’t have a presence in Port. But this wave of refugees brings the needy right to our door step! It seems that we didn’t need to go to Port, Port is coming to us!

RMI is UNIQUELY positioned to help these refugees. With our extensive base of operations, our staff on site, our network of contacts in the communities around the south of Haiti, and you, our Sister Churches, and many friends, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!

Our strategy is to concentrate on the masses of refugees pouring into southern Haiti:
Provide desperately needed medical supplies
Provide short term medical teams to help in the hospitals
Provide food and basic necessities for the refugees
Provide short term housing as possible
Provide spiritual encouragement and witness
We cannot do any of this without your help!

How can you help?
Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ so impacted by this tragedy. Everyone in Haiti has been impacted by the earthquake, even if they weren’t in Port-au-Prince.

DONATE FUNDS – 100% of the funds donated go to meet the needs of the Haitian people.

Join a Medical Team. If you are a medical person that could volunteer for a team to minister in Haiti for a week, contact Tim@trinitybible.org. Time frames and transportation are being worked out with RMI.

Guatemala Sister Church Mission Trip

2009-11-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Friday Report from Guatemala
The team had a VERY busy week: two ladies events, two kids events, a men's Bible Study, two worship services, a pastors workshop, a seminar to explain how a board of directors work, six home visits, and a farwell service at the waterfall! Oh, i forgot that we also put up a ceiling at the church and played will a zillion kids! We had an amazing week. Pablo's church sends it's warmest greetings. Today, we travel back to Guatemala City for our flight back tomorrow.

Tuesday Report
We had a great day with our sister church in Guatemala. We began with a welcome service. After friendly introductions, Chuck and Brian led worship and Tim gave a message on the Lord's prayer.
After a Leaders meeting, Eric led the Men's Bible Study on faith and the men had a contest to create ways to keep an egg from breaking when thrown in the air-what fun! The ladies put on a program for the kids that ended up in a mudfight-Comi may never recover! We had good lessons, great friends and lots of fun. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Moldova Medical Team

2009-09-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

Coming Home!

Our last report was that our team has been blessed by seeing the Lord at work as they served the people of Moldova. Even as they met with opposition, particularly in one village, they saw God fulfilling his perfect will. The team members are grateful to all of you for keeping them in your hearts and in your prayers.

Pray for the team as they wrap up! Sunday was spent in the capitol city of Chisinau before they began traveling home. Pray for them as they fly home together, that their hearts would be sensitive to what God is asking of them as they return to life in the states.

Friday, September 25

We’ve received word again from Moldova!

Peter Law, the trip leader reported that the first two days were blessed in many ways. They have seen more than 200 people plus they had free access to the school to do fluoride treatments and they were able to share the gospel freely in all the classes. More than 400 kids were given fluoride treatments and heard the gospel. The local authorities are very open and friendly. One of the existing churches in that area is praying three times a day for our team and the work they are doing and they can see God’s blessings in every minute.

Tuesday, September 22
Our mission team arrived safely in Moldova. They received a very warm welcome as they settled in with their host families. Sunday was a wonderful time of sharing with the believers at the local churches. Several of the team members preached, others shared their testimonies, and God blessed the fellowship. For the past few days, they have provided much-needed medical services to the people in the nearby villages. Please pray that culture and language barriers would be dissolved by the warmth of Christ, and that nothing would inhibit the love of God from being freely communicated this week! Also pray for the translators, that they would be given grace to clearly communicate not only words, but the message they are interpreting for the team. Peggy Reeves is suffering with the symtoms of a cold, please pray for her as well.

Guatemala Mission Trip – November 7-14

2009-09-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

In 2001, Trinity Bible Church began a long-term Sister Church partnership with “Rios en Los Valles,” a small Church in Comitancillo, Guatemala. Since that time teams from Trinity have made many visits to our friends in Comitancillo. During the past few years, Trinity has been able to assist the church in many tangible ways. Work projects have resulted in a new church building, church benches, musical instruments, a roof, paint, and latrines throughout the community. We are also working in the community by providing ministry training for 140 pastors and worship leaders.

Mostly, we have come to love and appreciate these gentle people. Through their simple life and faith in Christ, we become students to a people who have learned to trust God and enjoy his presence in the in the midst of great hardship.

Come join us as we visit and serve our Sister Church once again. For more information, contact Lisa Ledet, 406-2801 x120 or by email: Lisa@TrinityBible.org.

Pier Visits TBC Next Week!

2009-09-04T13:01:00.001-07:00

Many of you know Pier as our friend and partner in Guatemala. For a more official introduction, Pier Benites is the National Director for Leader Training with Mission Housing Minsitries. In addition to being the Pastor of a Guatemalan church, he organizes the FTE (Facultad Teologica Evangelica). This group of Honduran and Guatemalan educators is currently training 140 pastors and ministry leaders at seven satellite locations in Guatemala. The program graduated its first class of 45 students last October. Trinity was honored to participate in the graduation ceremony. Pier will be with us Wednesday to Friday, September 8-11. If you want to have visit with Pier while he is here, contact Tim (Tim@TrinityBible.org).

Medical Mission to Moldova - September 2009

2009-08-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

In September, Trinity Bible Church will send a forth medical team to Moldova. Our work in Moldova began in 2006 (See Picture above) and has continued until now. Medical teams provide much needed help to the community. We visit several villages during the week and provide medical, dental, and eye care. In addition, team members care for the spiritual needs of the villagers through listening, loving, sharing the good news and praying. These trips not only help the villagers, but also support the local church planter by helping to establish the reputation as a positive influence in the community.

Crossover’s work in Moldova

Trinity has followed Crossover Communications International’s (CCI) church planting efforts for several years. After Moldova gained independence from the USSR in 1991, CCI sent in a team to evaluate. They began to implement and repeat a four-step process they call the “ministry multiplication cycle.” The four steps of the cycle are evangelism, establishing, equipping, and extending. This involved evangelizing nationals, discipling them, training them to be church planters and providing a network of support. This network includes ongoing training sessions, a personal mentor, financial support of about $100/month, visiting medical teams, and meetings with peers to exchange ideas and encourage one another. The financial support is limited to three years. After this they are financially independent.

Current Leadership

Fyodor Lupanciuc, a Moldovan from the capital city of Chisinau, planted one of the first churches. He is now the President of CCI-Moldova. The vision of mobilizing a national church planting movement has been realized with the establishment of 100 churches in the countries surrounding the Black Sea, all led by indigenous church planters. Over the past fourteen years a host of national church planters have been mobilized and strengthened by careful selection, theological and ministry training, peer support, and the pastoral care of personal mentors. Seventy-four churches were planted in Moldova. Of the Moldovan church-plants, sixty-five remain active, representing an 87.8% survival rate. There have been several second-generation churches, but leaders are looking forward to the first third generation church. Currently sixteen percent of all Moldovan Baptist Union churches have been planted by CCI trained church planters, and twenty three percent of Baptist Union baptisms are from these same churches.

Reaching beyond Moldova

CCI is now building a Mission Training Center with the plan of sending Modovans as missionaries to nearby Central Asian countries. This is a powerful strategy, by which Crossover will able to mobilize proven church planters who speak the language, understand the culture, and can live on a fraction of what Westerners would require.

Trinity’s Part

Trinity’s involvement in this has been significant. Each month, Trinity sends enough support to sponsor 15 national church planters. We also sponsored the first three Moldovans to work in another country. We helped to buy the land for the Mission Training Center (MTC) and last month made an investment in its completion. The MTC will open this year.

Haiti Update

2009-08-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Trinity Bible Church has been working in partnership with the churches of the Picot District of Haiti since 1990. Here is a brief overview of the five Haitian churches and their activities:

The main Picot Church is led by Pastor Calixte Dorval.

The Picot Church currently has:

200 members in the church.

An average attendance of 400 every Sunday.

There are 300 kids in the Picot School.

There are 11 teachers and 4 other employees at the Picot School.

In addition to the Picot church, we partner with four other churches in the Picot District churches.

Mohotier Church, lead by Pastor Samson Louis
Roche au Pont Church, lead by Pastor Alexandre Petit Frere
Les Rois Church, lead by Pastor Fils Aime Herard.
Buffard Church lead by Pastor Jean Delerme Deler

The Churches are all involved in several regular activities:

Worship Services on Sunday morning, Tuesday night, and Thursday night, open air service, door to door outreach, club for the kids in the school, meeting with deacons, evangelism services, and a picnic day for the district ladies.

The Church’s Social Activities Include:

Visits to the homes of church members, support for the widows in the church, visitation of those who are sick, a conference for the youth and parents, and a seminar for couples.

Project Priority for Picot Church:

Finish the construction of the parsonage at Picot Church

Buy uniforms for the Choir

Provides needs to the youth at the church

Project in Priority for the District:

Construction of parsonages for all the District Pastors.

A convention for the church members

Construct a school at Les Rois Church.

Current prayer requests include:

Pray for Laroche au Pont Church and the Pastor

The health of Madame Calixte

Pray for the many problems of Haiti

Street Kids in Bujumbura receive their first Bible!

2009-08-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hope and Help in Bujumbura, Burundi (say that five times fast)!

2009-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to Burundi, we assured the people that God is their Father and he will care for their needs. We were bringing hope to believers living in the second poorest country in the world. But, it is hard to bring hope if you have no intention of bringing help. Jesus told his disciples, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Burundi has experienced years of civil war, genocide, poverty and political instability. These have left the country in a state of social and economic exhaustion. Yet God is working - and he most often works through his people. So we are working. We work with the nationals to bring Hope and Help to our sisters in Bujumbura.

One Trinity Partner is a friend of ours appropriately named Peace. She has developed a Sewing Center to help impoverished women to learn a trade, regain their dignity and earn a little money to live on. At the Sewing Center, they also find a loving community of believers. One of the women shared Psalm 84:5-7 with us. "Blessed are those whose strength is in you . . . As they pass through the Valley of Tears, they make it a place of springs . . . they go from strength to strength, till each appears before God." How many tears have these women known? Many of their family members have died in the genocide? They have been left homeless, impoverished and abused in ways I cannot describe in this blog. Yet God is turning their tears into springs. Pray for the women at the Sewing Center, that they can truly experience the abundant life that Jesus offers.