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| RESPONDING TO THE DISASTER It was just over a month ago that I left for Kenya. After returning, the Lord put Haiti on my heart. I am a trained disaster responder and chaplain with Crisis Response International (CRI), a Christian relief organization. CRI asked if I could deploy to Haiti to help with relief efforts and bring the love of Jesus to the Haitians. I responded with a resounding YES! You can read my support letter as it provides additional information. Through a series of events, the Lord changed my mission organization. I am going to Haiti with CityLights Ministries, Int'l (CLMI) which is based in Crystal, MN. CLMI oversees 27 churches in Haiti. The mother church was destroyed in the earthquake and so was the school and portions of the orphanage. CLMI's April trip is one of many that CLMI will be taking to Haiti in the next 3 - 5 years. CLMI's goal is to:
The chicken and vegetable farms will provide food for the children at the orphanage and for members of the community and will help the Haitians become self-sufficient. In addition to the building projects, we will be holding evangelistic services to encourage the Haitian believers and win as many to Christ as possible. If you would like more information about the "Bellanton Transformation Project" or would like to contribute, please visit the Bellanton Transformation Project website or complete the contact form on our website. The team leaves April 11 and returns April 22. (The date was changed from April 12 - 23 to secure lower-cost airfare.) Haiti Newsletters
November 1, 2009 started out as a typical Sunday but didn't end that way! November 1st was the first day of Grace Church's 2009 Mission's Festival. A very dear friend and I spent the morning together. While we waited for a pastor from Iraq to arrive in our room, I heard there was still time to sign up for the mission trip to Kenya. As they listed the various ministries that still needed help, I felt the Lord's tug on my heart. The tug didn't go away but intensified during the day. After an intimate, life-changing time with the Lord Monday morning, I knew He was indeed calling me to go to Kenya. I had no idea how I was going to come up with the $1650 payment that was due that very day. As I filled out the missions application, Satan tried to discourage me saying there was no way I was going to get the money. I needed it that Monday because Grace was purchasing the airline tickets. If I didn't have the money, the cost of the trip might increase by hundreds of dollars. After completing the application, I started to write my support letter. I tried to call a few friends but it seemed the money would not be available. As I prayed, the Lord reminded me that our Federal tax refund had come Friday of the previous week and there was enough money to cover the $1650 that was needed. I called Dale and he readily agreed to let me write a check for $1650. Within a short time, I was on my way to Grace rejoicing in the Lord's call and provision of funds. The Lord has been calling me for months to lay aside my comfortable American life-style and partner with Him by living a life of prayer and fasting, self-denial, and increased dependence on the Spirit. I have never been happier or experienced more joy than I have since I surrendered my life and future to Him and chose to walk the path of self-denial. One final thing, you may have noticed that Dale and I have decided to sell some things we no longer need or use. I will be getting a list of these items on the website soon. The money from the sale of these items will be used to fund Kingdom business which may include future mission trips and the call He has on my life to go to disaster areas as a chaplain and bring the gospel to those who have lost family, friends and this world's goods. You can help by either buying some of these items or helping me find someone who wants to buy them. Prayer Requests
I believe the Lord is going to do a great work in Kenya and I am humbled and thrilled to be partnering with Him. I thank Him for each person who felt and answered His call to partner with me through prayer and financial support. We are truly laboring together to see many come into His Kingdom! Kenya Newsletters January 28
Skyline from the Sheraton I am still processing and know that the things I saw and felt will never leave me. I was forever changed and came home with a new passion to share Jesus as never before. I am grateful to be home in America and thankful for simple material blessings; like toilets with seats and toilet paper. Most don't have either. In their extreme poverty, though, they are richer than most Americans. They easily enter the kingdom of heaven because they don't have wealth to keep them from seeing the value of Jesus' death on the cross. We should envy their simple, child-like faith!! Sharon's First Mission Trip Orland Vacation Hams with HF Privileges Hit the Air After FCC Drops Morse Code Requirement
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