Thank you so much for all of your prayers, love and support! Rebecca and I are doing really well here in Arequipa! I just wanted to give you a little update.
Lee and Dori Williams were such a blessing to us! They had our apartment pretty much set up for us. They left us some of their furniture so our apartment wouldn´t be empty. Their friends have become our friends and we have adapted really well to the culture and food.
I have been practicing the chords I know on the guitar, and it´s coming along. We´ve been able to worship with the church group. I´ve played the keys several times. It´s a house church, so things are done a little different. We´ve enjoyed sharing in these meetings and just listening. It´s really great practice for our Spanish-speaking skills.
We went outside of Arequipa to help Team Arequipa, a group of missionaries here, with a latrine project in the mountains where the barrio (neighborhood) has no electricity or running water. This means we did a lot of digging. We had a generator and a jackhammer, and they let me run it!!
We are learning what it means to be the Body of Christ in everyday life, not just the traditional Sunday/Wednesday stuff. It´s been very rewarding and valuable.
We have walked all over Bancarios (our neighborhood) and almost all of Adepa (our friend Patti´s neighborhood). We´ve been praying for Arequipa, and all of Perú to be invaded with the light and love of the Father! We take time to talk with the people on the streets, in the tiendas (stores), and look for opportunities to share God´s love with them.
Thank you for being a part of this work that Jesus is doing in Arequipa! We believe that we are changing the atmosphere just by being here! Love you!!! Blessings!!!
Greetings! I (Michael) just wanted to post an update on the outcome of my trip to the United Kingdom. I want to begin by thanking God, and everyone that He used to make this trip possible. This trip served as a tremendous blessing for Jennifer and I. I spent a total of seven nights with the ministry in Wales. While in Wales, I was able to spend a lot of time getting to know the family that we were staying with. They are a beautiful couple with three beautiful children. We were able to take a one-day excursion for me to be able to see some of the countryside there in Wales. It is breathtakingly beautiful there! Much of my purpose for going, I felt, was to experience some different aspects of ministry. I really believe that the Lord matured me in some areas while I was on the trip. He brought me into deeper communion with Him. He provided the grace for me to be able to enter into intercession with Him for the people of Wales. The Scriptures teach us that Jesus intercedes for the saints. The Bible also teaches that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. As we become more like Him, the more we will enter into intercession with Him. The closer we get to the Father, the closer it will bring us to the Son, who is interceding on our behalf. Just as Christ spent all night in quiet intercession for the twelve apostles that He would choose to turn the world upside down after His departure, He has also spent that much time and more in quiet intercession for the calling that He has prepared for each one of us. He is no respecter of persons. He has called each one of us with a unique calling, before the foundation of the world was laid, and continues to intercede that our destinies might be fulfilled. The trip to Scotland was awesome! I took a five-and-a-half hour train ride from Llandrindod Wells, Wales to Glasgow, Scotland. The landscape is something that cannot be described with words. It was amazingly beautiful to enjoy the countryside on the way to Scotland. I spent three nights with the ministry in Scotland, which is the ministry that Jennifer and I believe God is calling us to join. I was able to meet the pastor and his wife, along with many others. I left feeling that I had left my home behind. Even though I was only able to spend a few days with the people there, God did such a work in my heart that it seemed as if I had known them my entire life. Jennifer and I would like to ask that you make a commitment to pray for us. The ministry wants us to come in July. While this seems very sudden, we know that God is able to bring this together in His timing. Jennifer and I will be going through a service-based internship program. This is a program that the government recognizes in order for the ministry to be able to bring foreign students into Scotland. The ministry has to provide Jennifer and I with certificates, which will enable us to get our visas. Also, Jennifer and the kids will need passports. Of course, our family will also need plane tickets to make this journey. Jennifer and I will not be able to work in the country, because of the type of visa that we will be receiving. Jennifer and I are trusting God for the support that we will need. The ministry will cover our living expenses; however, she and I will need money for groceries, etc… The house we will be living in once we arrive in Scotland has wireless internet, so Jennifer and I plan to sell our desktop PC so that we can buy a laptop computer to take with us. Also, we are believing God for the money needed to purchase a vehicle and mobile phones. Yes, these are luxuries, but Jennifer and I would like to be able to have transportation and also be able to communicate with friends and family. The only real costs I know are that the visas will cost an estimated one-hundred and fifty dollars per visa. The needs are great, but we serve a great God. We fully trust that He will provide the needs that Jennifer and I have. Our only desire is to be obedient to His perfect will for our lives. Again, thank you all so much for making this possible for Jennifer and I. May the Lord richly bless each and every one of you that have sowed into what the Lord is doing in and through us. We invite you to partner with us in prayer, give as the Lord leads, and help us to fulfill the calling that He has set before us. May the Lamb who was slain receive His full reward! Amen.
Title: Peru
Location: Arequipa, Peru
Description: Rebecca Haines and I will go to language school for 2 months, while working with a local church and community. We have already purchased our flights into Lima, and will purchase the flight from Lima to Arequipa in country. This flight will cost around $140 USD.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers! God has already shown Himself faithful in the planning of this trip!
Advancing His Kingdom!
Jessica Celis
Start Date: 2010-05-31
End Date: 2010-08-03
Title: Trip to Wales and Scotland
Location: Wales and Scotland, United Kingdom
Description: Thanks for helping me (Michael Herndon) with my trip to Wales and Scotland! We are now leaving on the 30th of April. I purchased my plane ticket, and I have the money for the bus fare into Scotland! We will be gone for a total of 11 nights. During my stay in Wales, the cost for my lodging will be $75 per night. This cost will include 3 meals per day, which is a tremendous blessing! I’m believing God for the remaining cost of my trip, $825. I am extremely excited! I know that this trip will be a life-changing experience, and I can’t wait to see what the Father has in store!
Start Date: 2010-04-30
End Date: 2010-05-12
I (Michael Herndon) will be traveling to Wales and Scotland with a precious friend of ours from the school. She has had a tremendous impact on our lives during our stay here at the school, and this trip will just be a time of serving her, the ministry that she is connected with over there, and establishing relationships with the group of people that we believe that God has ordained us to join. I will be taking a two- or three-day excursion into Glasgow, Scotland, in order to meet the ministry that Jennifer and I believe that we have been called to serve. Please pray that God will give us His favor, and clear direction that we may know exactly where He desires for us to reside. Again, thank you and may the Lord richly bless you!
Title: Mexico Easter Outreach
Location: Reynosa, Mexico
Link out: Click here
Description: Jessica Celis will lead a team of 12 to join Calvary Commission for 3 days of ministry including: street evangelism, prison ministry, giving, loving, and extending the supernatural power of God Almighty to those who are sick in their bodies or need a miracle!
Students of River of Life School of Ministry are required to attend this mission trip to receive their Diploma. Members of River of Life Christian Center are also invited to attend.
Start Date: 2010-03-30
Start Time: 04:00
End Date: 2010-04-03
End Time: 19:00
