To all of our Harvest Hands Friends,
Go to this site, if you would like to view our photos from our Nicaragua Trip 2009:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cinrodlaf/NicaraguaTrip2009#
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The months fly by so quickly, it’s difficult to keep track of what is happening! Now that November is upon us, we are prepping for our family to visit for Thanksgiving and at the same time planning our trip to Nicaragua with about 12 – 15 people. Oh how many blessings God pours out on us that we are thankful for!!
During the last week in October, we had the privilege and honor of hosting several of the pastors and mission leaders of the churches who come on a regular basis. These churches send teams two or three times a year and have been instrumental in the growth of the church here in Los Anonos.
This group of churches were made up of our home church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine (it was so good to have Dick and Maida Ray, our pastors, here!!); New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus) Ohio (Brian Robertson, associate pastor and Cindy Schmidt, missions director); Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia (Derek and Carrie McFarland, associate pastors and Jeff Kesner, missions director); The Summit of Madison, Virginia, (Mark DeCourcey, pastor); and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan, (Mike and Lauren Befus, associate pastors). These people come to Los Anonos and give freely of their hearts, souls and pocketbooks! We thank God for them!
We talked about the vision of a new church here and how to make it work. We talked about the needs, such as a pastor and a larger building. We do know of a building nearby that will cost $1,000 a month to rent. It is a very large house, with a living room that is able to hold about 100 people. Plus there are several other rooms that could be used for classrooms. We know that God will provide the perfect place for a church in Los Anonos. He will also provide a pastor with a heart for this community.
On our mission trip to Nicaragua we will be working with the local Vineyard church of Managua and with several of our Los Anonos young people and several people from La Viña. This is, for many, their first mission trip.
Our hope is to see the Viña Los Anonos become a missonal church from the onset. We also want to see the other churches do more missonal work abroad. We will be working in a community called Tipitapa. The poverty here is extreme. A children’s Christmas program at one of the local churches in this community is being given, as well as a small construction project. Also we will visit a school that is in the dump of the capital city of Managua. There are 1500+ people who live here, where you see children rummaging through the trash with the hope for something to eat or a tin can they could recycle for cash.
We thank all of you for your support and prayers! They are so needed at this time.
If you would like to send monthly support or a one time donation, you can send a check to Harvest Hands at this address:
Harvest Hands
C/O The Vineyard Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Blessings to you All!
Rodney and Cindy
During the last week in October, we had the privilege and honor of hosting several of the pastors and mission leaders of the churches who come on a regular basis. These churches send teams two or three times a year and have been instrumental in the growth of the church here in Los Anonos.
This group of churches were made up of our home church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine (it was so good to have Dick and Maida Ray, our pastors, here!!); New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus) Ohio (Brian Robertson, associate pastor and Cindy Schmidt, missions director); Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia (Derek and Carrie McFarland, associate pastors and Jeff Kesner, missions director); The Summit of Madison, Virginia, (Mark DeCourcey, pastor); and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan, (Mike and Lauren Befus, associate pastors). These people come to Los Anonos and give freely of their hearts, souls and pocketbooks! We thank God for them!
We talked about the vision of a new church here and how to make it work. We talked about the needs, such as a pastor and a larger building. We do know of a building nearby that will cost $1,000 a month to rent. It is a very large house, with a living room that is able to hold about 100 people. Plus there are several other rooms that could be used for classrooms. We know that God will provide the perfect place for a church in Los Anonos. He will also provide a pastor with a heart for this community.
On our mission trip to Nicaragua we will be working with the local Vineyard church of Managua and with several of our Los Anonos young people and several people from La Viña. This is, for many, their first mission trip.
Our hope is to see the Viña Los Anonos become a missonal church from the onset. We also want to see the other churches do more missonal work abroad. We will be working in a community called Tipitapa. The poverty here is extreme. A children’s Christmas program at one of the local churches in this community is being given, as well as a small construction project. Also we will visit a school that is in the dump of the capital city of Managua. There are 1500+ people who live here, where you see children rummaging through the trash with the hope for something to eat or a tin can they could recycle for cash.
We thank all of you for your support and prayers! They are so needed at this time.
If you would like to send monthly support or a one time donation, you can send a check to Harvest Hands at this address:
Harvest Hands
C/O The Vineyard Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Blessings to you All!
Rodney and Cindy
Friday, October 16, 2009
Dear Harvest Hands friends,
It's time for another newsletter! How quickly the months pass! Thank you all so very much for all that you do! We are seeing the fruits!
Baptism!!
We woke up this past Sunday to a beautiful sunny day. What a day for a baptism, a baptism of 14 of our young people from Los Anonos! And the Lord was so faithful to keep the rain away until we were finished!
We held it at our friend Rosa’s property in the mountains, a lovely place with a natural pool, a rancho and the peace and love of God.
Rodney went out early to set up. Rosa’s sister was already there, cooking a typical Costa Rican meal for forty people. The remainder of the people arrived around 10:30.
Our service began with worship, followed by a precious baby dedication that had been requested by several of the young mothers who wanted to dedicate their babies to Jesus. These children were anointed with oil and the mothers were encouraged to raise their children in the ways of God.
After the dedication, 14 young people gave their testimonies about how the Lord has changed their lives and why they wanted to be baptized. Some of these young people have come out of drug addictions and they all still live in very difficult situations. I've attached a photo of one of our young men being baptized. It is such a picture of dying and being resurrected into a new life!
The day ended with a sharing of communion, a great meal and a wild round of mud “futbol”! (Photo attached) Note the “muchacho” on the left…. He is our very own Steve, who is fast becoming a friend to all of these young men.
There is so much happening here that it is difficult to put it in one short letter. Rodney and Jono took a trip to Nicaragua at the end of September to plan a mission trip. They made some awesome connections there, one being a Christian school in the middle of the Managua dump, where about 1,500 people live… yes, they live in the dump. As we will be taking several of our young people from Los Anonos on this trip, please pray for them to be able to raise funds, etc.
Towards the end of this month, a group of pastors and mission directors will be joining us for five days of meetings. We will discuss what the future of Harvest Hands and a new church here in Anonos will look like. These leaders are from the churches that support us in our ministry here. They are wonderful people of God who come from several different churches: Our church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine; New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus); Ohio, Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia: The Summit of Madison, Virginia; and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We love that we can all work together to advance the Kingdom! I’m reminded of Psalm 133:
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
It is the joining together of these churches in unity that has been so beneficial to this ministry. God is anointing us and blessing us as we serve here together.
We are in desperate need of a larger facility for our meetings. Please keep this in prayer. Right now, we have our little church divided into many small groups, which has been working out well. But we desire to be able to meet as a body and do not have a space large enough.
Think of how far Los Anonos has come! And it is because of all of your prayers! Thank you!
Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy
It's time for another newsletter! How quickly the months pass! Thank you all so very much for all that you do! We are seeing the fruits!
Baptism!!
We woke up this past Sunday to a beautiful sunny day. What a day for a baptism, a baptism of 14 of our young people from Los Anonos! And the Lord was so faithful to keep the rain away until we were finished!
We held it at our friend Rosa’s property in the mountains, a lovely place with a natural pool, a rancho and the peace and love of God.
Rodney went out early to set up. Rosa’s sister was already there, cooking a typical Costa Rican meal for forty people. The remainder of the people arrived around 10:30.
Our service began with worship, followed by a precious baby dedication that had been requested by several of the young mothers who wanted to dedicate their babies to Jesus. These children were anointed with oil and the mothers were encouraged to raise their children in the ways of God.
After the dedication, 14 young people gave their testimonies about how the Lord has changed their lives and why they wanted to be baptized. Some of these young people have come out of drug addictions and they all still live in very difficult situations. I've attached a photo of one of our young men being baptized. It is such a picture of dying and being resurrected into a new life!
The day ended with a sharing of communion, a great meal and a wild round of mud “futbol”! (Photo attached) Note the “muchacho” on the left…. He is our very own Steve, who is fast becoming a friend to all of these young men.
There is so much happening here that it is difficult to put it in one short letter. Rodney and Jono took a trip to Nicaragua at the end of September to plan a mission trip. They made some awesome connections there, one being a Christian school in the middle of the Managua dump, where about 1,500 people live… yes, they live in the dump. As we will be taking several of our young people from Los Anonos on this trip, please pray for them to be able to raise funds, etc.
Towards the end of this month, a group of pastors and mission directors will be joining us for five days of meetings. We will discuss what the future of Harvest Hands and a new church here in Anonos will look like. These leaders are from the churches that support us in our ministry here. They are wonderful people of God who come from several different churches: Our church, the Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls, Maine; New Life Church of Gahanna (Columbus); Ohio, Mountain View Community Church of Culpeper, Virginia: The Summit of Madison, Virginia; and Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We love that we can all work together to advance the Kingdom! I’m reminded of Psalm 133:
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
It is the joining together of these churches in unity that has been so beneficial to this ministry. God is anointing us and blessing us as we serve here together.
We are in desperate need of a larger facility for our meetings. Please keep this in prayer. Right now, we have our little church divided into many small groups, which has been working out well. But we desire to be able to meet as a body and do not have a space large enough.
Think of how far Los Anonos has come! And it is because of all of your prayers! Thank you!
Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy
Saturday, September 19, 2009
September 7, 2009
Dear Harvest Hands Friends!
We have entered a new season here at Harvest Hands. It seems that our seasons are such.... January to April and June to August are team seasons. September to December and May to June are our “down times”, when we are just as busy in a different way than when teams are here. God doesn’t stop moving in Los Anonos when we have “down time”. He continues to advance His Kingdom.
We would like to welcome Steve Limerick from our church in Mechanic Falls, Maine! Steve will with us for a year. We’ll love having another man around the house. He will be able to help Rodney with some of those “manly” chores that Taylor and I are not able to do!! God always provides for our needs!
As some of you may know, I, Cindy, took advantage of the “down” time and had surgery on my foot on August 25th. And I would like to thank all of you for your prayers. It is healing nicely. This time as been difficult, because I’m not really able to do much. I thought that I would enjoy the idea of not cooking, etc., but I’ve found that it’s more frustrating than restful! I roll around the house in an office chair! I do stand up on one leg to occasionally cut veggies and help Rodney in the kitchen a little. He’s doing a great job keeping us all fed!
This “down time” has also been a time when we can spend a little more time in the Word and a little more time journaling. However, we have been very busy planning future events, which I would like to tell you about.
This week, Rodney and Jono, the young man who is working with us, will be going to Nicaragua to plan an outreach with the Vineyard Church in Managua. This outreach will happen in November. We are really excited about this, because the trip will involve bringing several of the young people from Los Anonos and people from La Viña Escazu– 20 in all. What a better way to involve them in Kingdom work! They will have the opportunity to serve in a community called Tipitapa, which makes Los Anonos look like Beverly Hills. 85% of Nicaragua lives way below poverty level. The purpose of doing a mission trip at this time is so that the DNA of the church is mission minded and church planting minded.
Please keep this trip in your prayers.
Pray for Rodney and Jono as they plan the outreach with the folks from
Nicaragua.
Pray for God’s favor upon those going in November.
Pray for all of the technical logistics (place to stay, vans, etc.)
Pray that the funds will be there for our Anonos young people.
They are working on getting their passports right now, the money for which was provided by a church that sends teams here. But they will need funds for the trip, as well.
Other current and future happenings is of course the baby church, which is growing. We have been meeting in our small “casita”, but 45 people in a 12’X16’ area doesn’t quite suffice!! So, we are looking for a larger facility for our meetings. We will keep the little casita, as well, because right now it is used 4 nights a week for various meetings...English class, meetings for those who struggle with addictions and our Friday night meeting which started out to be only for the young men, but has turned into an “everybody” meeting.
In October we are having our first baptism!!!! We have 15- 20 people who want to be baptized and I’m sure that more will sign up when we announce it.
Please pray for strategy for this new little church.
That God would bring us a larger facility.
That God would show us the steps to take in order to make it thrive.
That He would help us to train up some of the young people as leaders.
That He would give someone the heart to pastor it.
Please pray for us as we minister to the folks of Los Anonos.
That we will be able to find a good place for the baptism.
That He would give us wisdom, grace and patience.
That He would enlarge our hearing and seeing, to know what He is doing.
That there would continue to be a unity here in the house, as we now have
2 young people living here and 2 more people working with us. A
team of six!! It’s wonderful!
This photo is of our present Harvest Hands Team:
Left to right: Jono Calvo, Taylor Crossman, Luis Sanchez, Cindy, Steve Limerick and Rodney
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We could not do this without all of you!
If you wish to make a donation, here’s the address:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy
Dear Harvest Hands Friends!
We have entered a new season here at Harvest Hands. It seems that our seasons are such.... January to April and June to August are team seasons. September to December and May to June are our “down times”, when we are just as busy in a different way than when teams are here. God doesn’t stop moving in Los Anonos when we have “down time”. He continues to advance His Kingdom.
We would like to welcome Steve Limerick from our church in Mechanic Falls, Maine! Steve will with us for a year. We’ll love having another man around the house. He will be able to help Rodney with some of those “manly” chores that Taylor and I are not able to do!! God always provides for our needs!
As some of you may know, I, Cindy, took advantage of the “down” time and had surgery on my foot on August 25th. And I would like to thank all of you for your prayers. It is healing nicely. This time as been difficult, because I’m not really able to do much. I thought that I would enjoy the idea of not cooking, etc., but I’ve found that it’s more frustrating than restful! I roll around the house in an office chair! I do stand up on one leg to occasionally cut veggies and help Rodney in the kitchen a little. He’s doing a great job keeping us all fed!
This “down time” has also been a time when we can spend a little more time in the Word and a little more time journaling. However, we have been very busy planning future events, which I would like to tell you about.
This week, Rodney and Jono, the young man who is working with us, will be going to Nicaragua to plan an outreach with the Vineyard Church in Managua. This outreach will happen in November. We are really excited about this, because the trip will involve bringing several of the young people from Los Anonos and people from La Viña Escazu– 20 in all. What a better way to involve them in Kingdom work! They will have the opportunity to serve in a community called Tipitapa, which makes Los Anonos look like Beverly Hills. 85% of Nicaragua lives way below poverty level. The purpose of doing a mission trip at this time is so that the DNA of the church is mission minded and church planting minded.
Please keep this trip in your prayers.
Pray for Rodney and Jono as they plan the outreach with the folks from
Nicaragua.
Pray for God’s favor upon those going in November.
Pray for all of the technical logistics (place to stay, vans, etc.)
Pray that the funds will be there for our Anonos young people.
They are working on getting their passports right now, the money for which was provided by a church that sends teams here. But they will need funds for the trip, as well.
Other current and future happenings is of course the baby church, which is growing. We have been meeting in our small “casita”, but 45 people in a 12’X16’ area doesn’t quite suffice!! So, we are looking for a larger facility for our meetings. We will keep the little casita, as well, because right now it is used 4 nights a week for various meetings...English class, meetings for those who struggle with addictions and our Friday night meeting which started out to be only for the young men, but has turned into an “everybody” meeting.
In October we are having our first baptism!!!! We have 15- 20 people who want to be baptized and I’m sure that more will sign up when we announce it.
Please pray for strategy for this new little church.
That God would bring us a larger facility.
That God would show us the steps to take in order to make it thrive.
That He would help us to train up some of the young people as leaders.
That He would give someone the heart to pastor it.
Please pray for us as we minister to the folks of Los Anonos.
That we will be able to find a good place for the baptism.
That He would give us wisdom, grace and patience.
That He would enlarge our hearing and seeing, to know what He is doing.
That there would continue to be a unity here in the house, as we now have
2 young people living here and 2 more people working with us. A
team of six!! It’s wonderful!
This photo is of our present Harvest Hands Team:
Left to right: Jono Calvo, Taylor Crossman, Luis Sanchez, Cindy, Steve Limerick and Rodney
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We could not do this without all of you!
If you wish to make a donation, here’s the address:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Church of Mechanic Falls
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Bendiciones,
Rodney and Cindy
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Dear Harvest Hands Friends,
As we prepare for our last team of this season, we are realizing that these are some of the most exciting days that we’ve had during the three years that we’ve been living here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica.
Watching what the Holy Spirit has been doing and being a part of it has been such a pleasure. We are seeing a church being raised up and a transformation taking place in this community. We are thankful for all of the supporters and for all of the teams that have been involved in being the hands and the feet of Jesus.
Changes are happening within the hearts and the minds of the people who we have been working with. Los Anonos looks the same, but when one goes to the meetings or meets people in the street, the difference is evident.
We are seeing the Holy Spirit move powerfully in ministry, with much weeping and repenting. One of our young leaders, Tito, just recently shared at our youth meeting about honoring your mother and father. He described his life with his father, Gilbert (King Kong), and how it was difficult for him to say “I love you, Dad.” His father is a crack addict, who searches through trash, the river and other areas for anything that can bring him money to support his addiction.
For those who have been here, you’ve seen Tito’s father in the streets, a man who has a face that is full of pain and anger. But beneath it, we know there is a man who Jesus wants to bring salvation to.
Tito shared that he has come to the place where he can now share his love with his dad. But his father typically will look down at the ground and not know how to respond. After sharing, Tito opened the meeting up for ministry. There were many young people who were able to relate and for at least a half an hour, there was weeping, as the Holy Spirit was releasing healing to the broken hearts.
This is one story of many that happened throughout the week. We have recently started a new Bible Study right in the heart of the Quebrada. This is the area of Anonos that houses the addicts, prostitutes and drug dealers and is considered the most dangerous area. We are averaging anywhere from 15-18 people in a room that is no bigger than 8’ X 11’. Here too, we are seeing the Holy Spirit move in a powerful way. We have several stories already from this particular Bible study, which we will share in our blog this week.
Recently we have had a young man named Jonathan Calvo join us. He has been a tremendous benefit as he has a real heart for working in the community. He is bi-lingual, which helps us to work more easily. And he is a local Costa Rican. He is well received by all. He will be working with us for at least the next three months. Jono, as he is called, will be helping us with our language skills as well.
Steve Limerick, a young man from our own church in Maine, will be joining us on September 3rd for a year. We look forward to his arrival!
With that, Taylor Crossman, who has been with us since June, has also decided to stay for a year. So God is providing committed workers for the harvest to Harvest Hands!!
And last, but not least, many of you know that the New Life team from Columbus, Ohio, came to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos! This was no small matter, as many of the local young people also became involved in this project! They set a precedent of how we want to do yellow houses in the future. I know that I sent a memo out about this before, but once again to get an in depth description of building a yellow house, go to: nlcostarica2009.blogspot.com We highly recommend that you check it out, if you haven’t already done so, because it gives such a wonderful description of the blessing that it was to all to build this home.
Please be praying for these things:
*Wisdom for those involved in being a part of this new church in Los Anonos. There is a kingdom clash and we are seeing that. The warfare is heavy, because we are in the enemies territory.
*Pray for us to be strong in this spiritual warfare.
*Pray that God would raise up local leaders here to take part in the Holy Spirit’s transformation of Los Anonos.
Here's a photo of some of the young people who we work with, with team members from the New Life Church of Columbus, Ohio!
As we prepare for our last team of this season, we are realizing that these are some of the most exciting days that we’ve had during the three years that we’ve been living here in Los Anonos, Costa Rica.
Watching what the Holy Spirit has been doing and being a part of it has been such a pleasure. We are seeing a church being raised up and a transformation taking place in this community. We are thankful for all of the supporters and for all of the teams that have been involved in being the hands and the feet of Jesus.
Changes are happening within the hearts and the minds of the people who we have been working with. Los Anonos looks the same, but when one goes to the meetings or meets people in the street, the difference is evident.
We are seeing the Holy Spirit move powerfully in ministry, with much weeping and repenting. One of our young leaders, Tito, just recently shared at our youth meeting about honoring your mother and father. He described his life with his father, Gilbert (King Kong), and how it was difficult for him to say “I love you, Dad.” His father is a crack addict, who searches through trash, the river and other areas for anything that can bring him money to support his addiction.
For those who have been here, you’ve seen Tito’s father in the streets, a man who has a face that is full of pain and anger. But beneath it, we know there is a man who Jesus wants to bring salvation to.
Tito shared that he has come to the place where he can now share his love with his dad. But his father typically will look down at the ground and not know how to respond. After sharing, Tito opened the meeting up for ministry. There were many young people who were able to relate and for at least a half an hour, there was weeping, as the Holy Spirit was releasing healing to the broken hearts.
This is one story of many that happened throughout the week. We have recently started a new Bible Study right in the heart of the Quebrada. This is the area of Anonos that houses the addicts, prostitutes and drug dealers and is considered the most dangerous area. We are averaging anywhere from 15-18 people in a room that is no bigger than 8’ X 11’. Here too, we are seeing the Holy Spirit move in a powerful way. We have several stories already from this particular Bible study, which we will share in our blog this week.
Recently we have had a young man named Jonathan Calvo join us. He has been a tremendous benefit as he has a real heart for working in the community. He is bi-lingual, which helps us to work more easily. And he is a local Costa Rican. He is well received by all. He will be working with us for at least the next three months. Jono, as he is called, will be helping us with our language skills as well.
Steve Limerick, a young man from our own church in Maine, will be joining us on September 3rd for a year. We look forward to his arrival!
With that, Taylor Crossman, who has been with us since June, has also decided to stay for a year. So God is providing committed workers for the harvest to Harvest Hands!!
And last, but not least, many of you know that the New Life team from Columbus, Ohio, came to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos! This was no small matter, as many of the local young people also became involved in this project! They set a precedent of how we want to do yellow houses in the future. I know that I sent a memo out about this before, but once again to get an in depth description of building a yellow house, go to: nlcostarica2009.blogspot.com We highly recommend that you check it out, if you haven’t already done so, because it gives such a wonderful description of the blessing that it was to all to build this home.
Please be praying for these things:
*Wisdom for those involved in being a part of this new church in Los Anonos. There is a kingdom clash and we are seeing that. The warfare is heavy, because we are in the enemies territory.
*Pray for us to be strong in this spiritual warfare.
*Pray that God would raise up local leaders here to take part in the Holy Spirit’s transformation of Los Anonos.
Here's a photo of some of the young people who we work with, with team members from the New Life Church of Columbus, Ohio!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
This month our newsletter is in two parts. The first part is our update on the happenings in Anonos. The second part is a newsletter written by Mike Befus, associate pastor of the Grand Rapids Vineyard, about his youth group's trip to Costa Rica.
Harvest Hands Newsletter
Over the last several months there have been many amazing things happening here in Los Anonos. It started when the young adult group that we meet with each week watched the documentary “Trans-formations”. It is about the power of prayer to transform a community. This is exciting, because there has been a work going on here in Los Anonos over the last three years and this is great news for all those who have been laboring here. We see the beginning of God birthing a church, which has been wanted from the beginning.
After watching the video “Transformations”, these young adults took it upon themselves to pray for the transformation of their own community. It wasn’t long after they began to pray for transformation that things really began to change. Here is a documented list of things that happened.
The police came in and began to bust down the buildings where crack was sold.
The police were also making drug arrests.
There were two young men who were murdered. These killings had a major impact on the
community. They had been drug dealers.
There was a greater increase of prayer after the murder, which included the local churches, who want no more violence.
Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan came with their young adult group. This group did a teaching on Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer. They also did the “Everything” skit, which impacted many. Attached is a letter and photos that came from their associate pastor, Mike Befus.
The Vineyard Church of Columbus sent a team of youth. They brought 30 of the Los Anonos young people to a conference at one of the local Vineyards. This, too, had a major impact on the lives of the young people.
During the visits of both of the Vineyard teams, the young adults began to come to places of repen-tance and wanting more of God. We have seen some major deliverances. We’ve seen kids on their faces on the floor, repenting and weeping and crying out even more for the transformation of their community. Those who struggle with addictions are even coming to these meetings and are wanting more teachings about Jesus. This is truly the Kingdom of God being demonstrated in this community.
A young man, whose name is Mario, probably 20 years old, was one of the first youth that was reached here in this community over three years ago. He had fallen back into the addictions of crack, the use of thinner and other drugs. He fell back into these addictions about two years ago. Thank God that during this in-breaking of the Holy Spirit, he is one of many, who are being touched in a ma-jor way. At the time of this writing, he is on fire again. But this time, there are many young people, here in Los Anonos who have also caught the fire. They will support him and help him along. What a blessing this young man is. He has so much potential.
Also, there is a work that is being done with those who struggle with addictions. We were having bi-weekly meeting with them, where they received a meal after we shared the Word of God with them. They asked if they could have meetings every week, only they said that they don’t need food. They only want the Word of God. Wow!
Adult have approached us about doing small groups in their homes. We probably could be doing at least five at this time, if we had the help.
I could tell many stories of many things that we have seen over these last several weeks. Daily, there are new things that God is doing. It is as if we are reading the book of Mark. There seem to be so many amazing things happening in such a short amount of time. The kids, or the young people are attracting the adults. We see a church being birthed. We are excited for what God is doing.
I believe that we could go on and on, but we’ll try to keep you posted as time goes on.
Prayer needs:
Please pray for a pastor, preferably a bi-lingual Tico, who we can work with.
Please pray for protection, because, of course the enemy doesn't want this to happen.
Please pray for more workers for the harvest.
Pray for a facility large enough to hold this many, as our little casita is bulging!
Please pray that we would allow the Holy Spirit to coach us, because it is Him that is birthing this church.
Also, here is a photo of Alejandro and Mauricio, brothers who struggle with addicitons and who want to be freed.
Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy
Here is Mike Befus's account of his trip with his youth group.
Costa Rica Report
Isn’t it amazing what change a year can bring? We had the privilege of returning this year to Los Anonos, our second trip, but the journey seemed more like a step into Narnia. Only months have passed in my life, but in Anonos kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall: only rubble remains where drug houses stood, only bullet holes and stories remain of dealers murdered in the street, the economy of crack is crumbling, the walking dead are being raised to life, the children of Anonos are becoming the children of our Lord.
The transformation is far from complete, but the contrast is clear – life is changing in Los Anonos.
Our 2009 team was a mix of ages: teens, twenty-somethings, a couple of moms – but they were hand-picked for their readiness to demonstrate the kingdom. Our primary ob-jective was straightforward: to pass on our experience in following Jesus to the Anonos Muchachos (lit: the Anonymous Boys). Its a growing group of teens (boys and girls) that are swarming to Rodney and Cindy and finding Jesus. We were hoping to play a small part in adding courage to the dreams God is already stirring in them.
Upon arriving, it was clear that we were simply joining a mission well underway. Several of the young Anonos guys had radically changed since the previous year. Tito’s journey stands out: meeting him last year it was evident that he had ‘one foot in, one foot out.’ He recounted that over the last year several people had prayed for him, given him pro-phetic words, shown him what Jesus looks like, included him in ministry, and how he had recently decided to go ‘all in.’ The change couldn’t be more clear – a new softness in his voice, a new tenderness toward others – a clear humility is growing in place of that colloquial bravado.
There is an equally impressive change happening in the ‘community’ of addicts. Last year, this community existed only in the business exchanges of the after-hours Que-brada (that hapless & hopeless broken riverside road that is the centre of the drug trade). Just six months ago, Rodney and Cindy began boldly going out to the hedges inviting the most broken, most addicted to a simple gathering at the rented Casita. What started with a juicebox-handout invitation has grown into a dozen male addicts asking to have the Bible explained to them. Every other Thursday, these notorious neighborhood characters saunter into the Casita while the well-dressed church folk continue up the hill to a proper church. Its an interesting scene, the well-meaning religious folks and the ragamuffin addicts.
On the evening we attended, the seasonal rain was pounding the corrugated roof of the one-room Casita – far too much noise to carry on a meeting, far too wet for anyone to go without an umbrella. So we did what disciples do, went to the door and started telling the rain to stop (smirking at what seemed a symbolic gesture). But one of the addicts joined us at the door, “lluvia deja!” And within a few minutes it lightened to a drizzle. All of the regulars poured in for brief worship and a nervous testimony by our gringo stu-dent about his own battle with women, drugs and suicide, then a short story about the restoration of Peter. It occurred to me that most of these guys already seemed like they knew Jesus – if someone had not told me the backstory I would’ve assumed that they were young, energetic disciples, just like Peter. Maybe they weren’t churchfolk, but there was a palpable excitement about finding Jesus that I don’t always feel at church.
The next day Luis got an urgent call from one of the guys from the meeting: Domingo from Nicaragua. Twenty-five years old, a head taller than the rest of the neighborhood, Domingo was the current top dealer in town (as well as father to three beautiful toddler girls). We gathered a small group of guys – an emergency response crew – and headed down. Domingo lived in one of the nicer homes on the Quebrada, presumably a benefit of running a crack enterprise, and when we arrived, Domingo’s wife offered us the best seats on the porch. The pair explained to us how things had been changing since Do-mingo began attending the addict’s meeting some weeks earlier. The changes in his heart were so gripping that he’d told his boss he wanted out – just two weeks ago. Of course, that isn’t how organized crime works in any country, and the mafia boss ex-plained to Domingo that there is no way out: “If you try, we’ll kill you. And just so you know we’re deadly serious, show your loyalty by ‘taking out’ this girl from this other neighborhood.” But two weeks had passed, and Domingo explained to us that “he can’t do it; he can’t kill people – anymore.” He’s heard about Jesus, and he wants a change. He’s scared out of his mind, but he wants in. Domingo’s wife had been a Christian, a decade earlier in a different life, and she told us over tears that she wanted ‘back in.’ And so the both of them, and Luis, our party of gringo helpers, and those unseen; we all gathered round to welcome this family into the kingdom. They wept as they asked Jesus to come in, take over, and release them from this prison of their past. And then Luis wept and prayed over them with the passionate, Fatherly tone of a man who’s struggled his whole life for this barrio.
Its humbling to reap where others have sown, but we were all grateful to be there to watch a kingdom fall. Full of courage, we headed into a couple days of teaching work-shops hosted by pastor Martin and his orange church on the hill. The hosting church, the muchachos, a few addicts, and a few 20-somethings from Escazu Vineyard turned out to hear a Bible presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to begin to hear la voz de Dios (the voice of God) and pray for the sick. On night one, a variety of people around the room were shocked at their newfound ability to hear an accurate prophetic word. What was more shocking was to see various churches and social classes coming together to learn and do Jesus’ ministry. By night two, the group grew to a packed house eager to learn to pray for others. We started with a word of knowledge for a woman who upon receiving quiet prayer immediately exhibited very loud signs of de-monization or emotional trauma. (It always makes for interesting teaching times when the supernatural is on display.) With a then-captive audience, we instructed everyone how to pray for the sick in a simple way, watching and listening for John 5-ish indica-tions of ‘the Father at work.’ By the end of the practice session that night, seven out of eight of our ‘subjects’ had received some kind of relief from pain; for several of them it was a surprise total, immediate healing. One of the addicts I’d recruited to pray with me (not yet a Christian as best I could tell) wrapped up our prayer time together by enthusi-astically preaching to me: “Jesus gives us the power to heal, he gives it to us!” I imagine that same exuberance as the 72 returned with joy in Luke 10.
The next day we needed a break from all the excitement, so we took eight of the muchachos on a white-water rafting expedition. Despite being just a 2-hour drive from Anonos, none of them had ever been! As we boarded the rafts, I heard several anxious cries of “Dios perdoname, Dios ayudame” (God, forgive me, God help me!) from a few Ticos, but Tito in particular. Next time you see him, please remind him of it.
Settling into the second half of our stay, I was glad to see the muchachos ready to take their appetites for adventure to the streets. Tito, Dago, Jesus & Lester emerged as the four muskateers most ready for action. We accompanied them to the CCA men’s rehab in Alajuelita for a Father’s Day celebration with the addicts. Many of the addicts were estranged from their families, and the Anonos muchachos gladly filled that void by offer-ing Jesus-style family time: worship, some family-style games, and a hands-on blessing of these recovering men and dads.
Returning to Anonos, the boys courageously set a plan to gather all of the muchachos/as (about 25 in all) to the Casita for ministry planning. Tito especially stepped up as leader, setting the agenda for his peers to gather for two nights of listen-ing prayer, ministry in the streets, and a futbol match to close. It was a clear risk, to head out into the community after dark, looking for those the Father is drawing, but the muchachos rose to the task. New leaders emerged as we went out with the message and power of Jesus. God’s power was moving through them, and the neighborhood was experiencing ministry through the hands of its own children. Several students reported God’s tangible power on display.
We were all having fun, but by night two, it was clear that this thing was more serious than fun. As we moved from the Casita to the Planche to pray, several addicts, even those we’d ministered to were openly passing crack in the street, some were bringing it into the Planche with taunting gestures. So we countered with a performance of the “everything skit” – a story of Jesus saving us from our self-inflicted death, right in front of the scene of those bloody street killings a couple months earlier. A fumble-turnover of sorts.
On one of those dark nights, Luis got a panicked call from Domingo. Despite usually avoiding the Quebrada after dark, Rodney, Luis and I grabbed the biggest and youngest gringo in our group (don’t tell his mom) and headed down to find out what the panic was about. When we arrived, Domingo’s eyes were darting, keeping watch on the street. He explained that his boss had sent two groups of messengers down that day to warn him, “kill the girl, or we’ll kill you – we’re coming back at 10:00 pm.” I looked at my watch: 6:00 pm – now my eyes were darting, too. I scoped out the nearby concrete wall, and thought about drive-by shooting scenes I’ve seen in movies. I thought about the photos I’d seen of bodies in the street two months earlier, just in front of the Casita and just across the river from where we sat. Domingo was sure he needed to get out of town to-night. I was sure we needed to stop talking and smuggle his daughters out the back door. But after talking it through, it was clear that our pale-skinned ‘special ops force’ would do too much to draw attention. Domingo assured us, “the neighbors are watch-ing.” And so Luis and Rodney, at great personal risk, hatched a plan. I assumed they knew what they were doing until Rodney looked at me and said, “we’ve never done this before.”
And so we settled on a brilliant, if non-glamorous plan – we delegated. Walking up the hill, we interrupted Pastor Martin’s church service to tell him of the problem. He was glad to assist these new converts with an escape to Nicaragua, even suggesting a loca-tion where a friend’s church would get them settled. Slightly better than our ideas. So, as unsettling as it was to leave this family to someone else’s care, we entrusted the situation to a trustworthy man. Don’t be fooled, Martin is a hero-in-the-making, a great choice for any secret mission. Having escaped a teenage life of gun fights, drug dealing and prison, Martin found Jesus at nineteen and has given his life to living and working in Anonos. He was more than up to the task. So we went home to pray, and Martin went down to aid and assist. By morning we got the call: Domingo is out; he’s fled to Nicara-gua; he should be there by day’s end.
Can you say, game, set match? That’s certainly how it felt, but as you’re reading this remember that the match is still on, its still being fought – right now! But there are defi-nite points on the board, and you helped put some of them there. Next time you visit Los Anonos it won’t be the same Anonos that you last visited, because that kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our Lord. Can I get an amen?!
The "Everything Skit" at the Casita
Harvest Hands Newsletter
Over the last several months there have been many amazing things happening here in Los Anonos. It started when the young adult group that we meet with each week watched the documentary “Trans-formations”. It is about the power of prayer to transform a community. This is exciting, because there has been a work going on here in Los Anonos over the last three years and this is great news for all those who have been laboring here. We see the beginning of God birthing a church, which has been wanted from the beginning.
After watching the video “Transformations”, these young adults took it upon themselves to pray for the transformation of their own community. It wasn’t long after they began to pray for transformation that things really began to change. Here is a documented list of things that happened.
The police came in and began to bust down the buildings where crack was sold.
The police were also making drug arrests.
There were two young men who were murdered. These killings had a major impact on the
community. They had been drug dealers.
There was a greater increase of prayer after the murder, which included the local churches, who want no more violence.
Vineyard North of Grand Rapids, Michigan came with their young adult group. This group did a teaching on Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer. They also did the “Everything” skit, which impacted many. Attached is a letter and photos that came from their associate pastor, Mike Befus.
The Vineyard Church of Columbus sent a team of youth. They brought 30 of the Los Anonos young people to a conference at one of the local Vineyards. This, too, had a major impact on the lives of the young people.
During the visits of both of the Vineyard teams, the young adults began to come to places of repen-tance and wanting more of God. We have seen some major deliverances. We’ve seen kids on their faces on the floor, repenting and weeping and crying out even more for the transformation of their community. Those who struggle with addictions are even coming to these meetings and are wanting more teachings about Jesus. This is truly the Kingdom of God being demonstrated in this community.
A young man, whose name is Mario, probably 20 years old, was one of the first youth that was reached here in this community over three years ago. He had fallen back into the addictions of crack, the use of thinner and other drugs. He fell back into these addictions about two years ago. Thank God that during this in-breaking of the Holy Spirit, he is one of many, who are being touched in a ma-jor way. At the time of this writing, he is on fire again. But this time, there are many young people, here in Los Anonos who have also caught the fire. They will support him and help him along. What a blessing this young man is. He has so much potential.
Also, there is a work that is being done with those who struggle with addictions. We were having bi-weekly meeting with them, where they received a meal after we shared the Word of God with them. They asked if they could have meetings every week, only they said that they don’t need food. They only want the Word of God. Wow!
Adult have approached us about doing small groups in their homes. We probably could be doing at least five at this time, if we had the help.
I could tell many stories of many things that we have seen over these last several weeks. Daily, there are new things that God is doing. It is as if we are reading the book of Mark. There seem to be so many amazing things happening in such a short amount of time. The kids, or the young people are attracting the adults. We see a church being birthed. We are excited for what God is doing.
I believe that we could go on and on, but we’ll try to keep you posted as time goes on.
Prayer needs:
Please pray for a pastor, preferably a bi-lingual Tico, who we can work with.
Please pray for protection, because, of course the enemy doesn't want this to happen.
Please pray for more workers for the harvest.
Pray for a facility large enough to hold this many, as our little casita is bulging!
Please pray that we would allow the Holy Spirit to coach us, because it is Him that is birthing this church.
Also, here is a photo of Alejandro and Mauricio, brothers who struggle with addicitons and who want to be freed.
Blessings to All,
Rodney and Cindy
Here is Mike Befus's account of his trip with his youth group.
Costa Rica Report
Isn’t it amazing what change a year can bring? We had the privilege of returning this year to Los Anonos, our second trip, but the journey seemed more like a step into Narnia. Only months have passed in my life, but in Anonos kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall: only rubble remains where drug houses stood, only bullet holes and stories remain of dealers murdered in the street, the economy of crack is crumbling, the walking dead are being raised to life, the children of Anonos are becoming the children of our Lord.
The transformation is far from complete, but the contrast is clear – life is changing in Los Anonos.
Our 2009 team was a mix of ages: teens, twenty-somethings, a couple of moms – but they were hand-picked for their readiness to demonstrate the kingdom. Our primary ob-jective was straightforward: to pass on our experience in following Jesus to the Anonos Muchachos (lit: the Anonymous Boys). Its a growing group of teens (boys and girls) that are swarming to Rodney and Cindy and finding Jesus. We were hoping to play a small part in adding courage to the dreams God is already stirring in them.
Upon arriving, it was clear that we were simply joining a mission well underway. Several of the young Anonos guys had radically changed since the previous year. Tito’s journey stands out: meeting him last year it was evident that he had ‘one foot in, one foot out.’ He recounted that over the last year several people had prayed for him, given him pro-phetic words, shown him what Jesus looks like, included him in ministry, and how he had recently decided to go ‘all in.’ The change couldn’t be more clear – a new softness in his voice, a new tenderness toward others – a clear humility is growing in place of that colloquial bravado.
There is an equally impressive change happening in the ‘community’ of addicts. Last year, this community existed only in the business exchanges of the after-hours Que-brada (that hapless & hopeless broken riverside road that is the centre of the drug trade). Just six months ago, Rodney and Cindy began boldly going out to the hedges inviting the most broken, most addicted to a simple gathering at the rented Casita. What started with a juicebox-handout invitation has grown into a dozen male addicts asking to have the Bible explained to them. Every other Thursday, these notorious neighborhood characters saunter into the Casita while the well-dressed church folk continue up the hill to a proper church. Its an interesting scene, the well-meaning religious folks and the ragamuffin addicts.
On the evening we attended, the seasonal rain was pounding the corrugated roof of the one-room Casita – far too much noise to carry on a meeting, far too wet for anyone to go without an umbrella. So we did what disciples do, went to the door and started telling the rain to stop (smirking at what seemed a symbolic gesture). But one of the addicts joined us at the door, “lluvia deja!” And within a few minutes it lightened to a drizzle. All of the regulars poured in for brief worship and a nervous testimony by our gringo stu-dent about his own battle with women, drugs and suicide, then a short story about the restoration of Peter. It occurred to me that most of these guys already seemed like they knew Jesus – if someone had not told me the backstory I would’ve assumed that they were young, energetic disciples, just like Peter. Maybe they weren’t churchfolk, but there was a palpable excitement about finding Jesus that I don’t always feel at church.
The next day Luis got an urgent call from one of the guys from the meeting: Domingo from Nicaragua. Twenty-five years old, a head taller than the rest of the neighborhood, Domingo was the current top dealer in town (as well as father to three beautiful toddler girls). We gathered a small group of guys – an emergency response crew – and headed down. Domingo lived in one of the nicer homes on the Quebrada, presumably a benefit of running a crack enterprise, and when we arrived, Domingo’s wife offered us the best seats on the porch. The pair explained to us how things had been changing since Do-mingo began attending the addict’s meeting some weeks earlier. The changes in his heart were so gripping that he’d told his boss he wanted out – just two weeks ago. Of course, that isn’t how organized crime works in any country, and the mafia boss ex-plained to Domingo that there is no way out: “If you try, we’ll kill you. And just so you know we’re deadly serious, show your loyalty by ‘taking out’ this girl from this other neighborhood.” But two weeks had passed, and Domingo explained to us that “he can’t do it; he can’t kill people – anymore.” He’s heard about Jesus, and he wants a change. He’s scared out of his mind, but he wants in. Domingo’s wife had been a Christian, a decade earlier in a different life, and she told us over tears that she wanted ‘back in.’ And so the both of them, and Luis, our party of gringo helpers, and those unseen; we all gathered round to welcome this family into the kingdom. They wept as they asked Jesus to come in, take over, and release them from this prison of their past. And then Luis wept and prayed over them with the passionate, Fatherly tone of a man who’s struggled his whole life for this barrio.
Its humbling to reap where others have sown, but we were all grateful to be there to watch a kingdom fall. Full of courage, we headed into a couple days of teaching work-shops hosted by pastor Martin and his orange church on the hill. The hosting church, the muchachos, a few addicts, and a few 20-somethings from Escazu Vineyard turned out to hear a Bible presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to begin to hear la voz de Dios (the voice of God) and pray for the sick. On night one, a variety of people around the room were shocked at their newfound ability to hear an accurate prophetic word. What was more shocking was to see various churches and social classes coming together to learn and do Jesus’ ministry. By night two, the group grew to a packed house eager to learn to pray for others. We started with a word of knowledge for a woman who upon receiving quiet prayer immediately exhibited very loud signs of de-monization or emotional trauma. (It always makes for interesting teaching times when the supernatural is on display.) With a then-captive audience, we instructed everyone how to pray for the sick in a simple way, watching and listening for John 5-ish indica-tions of ‘the Father at work.’ By the end of the practice session that night, seven out of eight of our ‘subjects’ had received some kind of relief from pain; for several of them it was a surprise total, immediate healing. One of the addicts I’d recruited to pray with me (not yet a Christian as best I could tell) wrapped up our prayer time together by enthusi-astically preaching to me: “Jesus gives us the power to heal, he gives it to us!” I imagine that same exuberance as the 72 returned with joy in Luke 10.
The next day we needed a break from all the excitement, so we took eight of the muchachos on a white-water rafting expedition. Despite being just a 2-hour drive from Anonos, none of them had ever been! As we boarded the rafts, I heard several anxious cries of “Dios perdoname, Dios ayudame” (God, forgive me, God help me!) from a few Ticos, but Tito in particular. Next time you see him, please remind him of it.
Settling into the second half of our stay, I was glad to see the muchachos ready to take their appetites for adventure to the streets. Tito, Dago, Jesus & Lester emerged as the four muskateers most ready for action. We accompanied them to the CCA men’s rehab in Alajuelita for a Father’s Day celebration with the addicts. Many of the addicts were estranged from their families, and the Anonos muchachos gladly filled that void by offer-ing Jesus-style family time: worship, some family-style games, and a hands-on blessing of these recovering men and dads.
Returning to Anonos, the boys courageously set a plan to gather all of the muchachos/as (about 25 in all) to the Casita for ministry planning. Tito especially stepped up as leader, setting the agenda for his peers to gather for two nights of listen-ing prayer, ministry in the streets, and a futbol match to close. It was a clear risk, to head out into the community after dark, looking for those the Father is drawing, but the muchachos rose to the task. New leaders emerged as we went out with the message and power of Jesus. God’s power was moving through them, and the neighborhood was experiencing ministry through the hands of its own children. Several students reported God’s tangible power on display.
We were all having fun, but by night two, it was clear that this thing was more serious than fun. As we moved from the Casita to the Planche to pray, several addicts, even those we’d ministered to were openly passing crack in the street, some were bringing it into the Planche with taunting gestures. So we countered with a performance of the “everything skit” – a story of Jesus saving us from our self-inflicted death, right in front of the scene of those bloody street killings a couple months earlier. A fumble-turnover of sorts.
On one of those dark nights, Luis got a panicked call from Domingo. Despite usually avoiding the Quebrada after dark, Rodney, Luis and I grabbed the biggest and youngest gringo in our group (don’t tell his mom) and headed down to find out what the panic was about. When we arrived, Domingo’s eyes were darting, keeping watch on the street. He explained that his boss had sent two groups of messengers down that day to warn him, “kill the girl, or we’ll kill you – we’re coming back at 10:00 pm.” I looked at my watch: 6:00 pm – now my eyes were darting, too. I scoped out the nearby concrete wall, and thought about drive-by shooting scenes I’ve seen in movies. I thought about the photos I’d seen of bodies in the street two months earlier, just in front of the Casita and just across the river from where we sat. Domingo was sure he needed to get out of town to-night. I was sure we needed to stop talking and smuggle his daughters out the back door. But after talking it through, it was clear that our pale-skinned ‘special ops force’ would do too much to draw attention. Domingo assured us, “the neighbors are watch-ing.” And so Luis and Rodney, at great personal risk, hatched a plan. I assumed they knew what they were doing until Rodney looked at me and said, “we’ve never done this before.”
And so we settled on a brilliant, if non-glamorous plan – we delegated. Walking up the hill, we interrupted Pastor Martin’s church service to tell him of the problem. He was glad to assist these new converts with an escape to Nicaragua, even suggesting a loca-tion where a friend’s church would get them settled. Slightly better than our ideas. So, as unsettling as it was to leave this family to someone else’s care, we entrusted the situation to a trustworthy man. Don’t be fooled, Martin is a hero-in-the-making, a great choice for any secret mission. Having escaped a teenage life of gun fights, drug dealing and prison, Martin found Jesus at nineteen and has given his life to living and working in Anonos. He was more than up to the task. So we went home to pray, and Martin went down to aid and assist. By morning we got the call: Domingo is out; he’s fled to Nicara-gua; he should be there by day’s end.
Can you say, game, set match? That’s certainly how it felt, but as you’re reading this remember that the match is still on, its still being fought – right now! But there are defi-nite points on the board, and you helped put some of them there. Next time you visit Los Anonos it won’t be the same Anonos that you last visited, because that kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our Lord. Can I get an amen?!
The "Everything Skit" at the Casita
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Dear Harvest Hands Friends,
We recently returned from Maine where I visited for a month and Rodney visited for two weeks. It was a wonderful time of catching up with family and friends and a month of sharing what God has been doing in Los Anonos and other communities around the San Jose area, where we work.
Last week, we welcomed Taylor Crossman, who is going to be with us for the next few months to help us with the following teams. She will also be teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) and assisting us in all of the daily aspects of the ministry. She serves and attends Mountain View Community Church in Culpepper, Virginia, which is also one of the fellowships that comes on a regular basis. This is a photo of Taylor.
Since our return, we have been preparing for our next round of teams.
June 17 – June 25th The Vineyard Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan
They will be doing a two night teaching on “Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer” for the youth of Los Anonos. We are very excited about this teaching, because we will be joining with another church in Los Anonos.
The team will be ministering at both the men’s and the women’s rehab centers, working in the school in Los Anonos and doing some planting in Jasmin. Also, they will doing some work in the local gym and working in 25 de Julio.
July 1 – July 8th Vineyard Columbus Youth Group, Ohio
This team will be attending a worship conference at LaVina del Este, prayer walking in Anonos and doing some work in Jasmin. They will also be taking our Los Anonos youth to the conference
July 11 – July 19th Two or three people from a church in Ohio will be with us to do a
scouting trip to see if their church would like to send teams.
July 18th – 27th New Life Church from Gahanna, Ohio (part of Columbus)
This group will be coming to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos, which
we and many of the people in the community are excited about. This house is
being built for a man who has a mentally disabled son and who is one of the most
needy persons here in Los Anonos.
July 30th – August 8th The Summit Church from Madison, Virginia
They will be working with one of the local churches doing teachings and doing
work on the church.
August 11th – August 19th Mountain View Community Church from Culpepper,
Virginia.
A children’s program is in the works for this group. And more planning.
All of these fellowships are returning groups, which is exciting for us and for the people in the community. It sends a message of care, love and a desire to build deeper relationships, which helps in the process of transformation. Each church has its’ special uniqueness in creating a fullness for what needs to be done here. And we are thankful for their participation with Harvest Hands, who they truly are.
We ask that for the next nine weeks that you would please pray for us and for these teams, that we would continue to be the hands and the feet of the Lord and bring glory to His name.
Thank you for your donations and your prayers.
If you would like to make a donation to Harvest Hands, make the check payable to:
Harvest Hands and send to:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Christian Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Blessings,
Rodney and Cindy LaFrance
Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time! John 4: 34-35
These are the men with addictions, with whom we work. These men are ripe!
We recently returned from Maine where I visited for a month and Rodney visited for two weeks. It was a wonderful time of catching up with family and friends and a month of sharing what God has been doing in Los Anonos and other communities around the San Jose area, where we work.
Last week, we welcomed Taylor Crossman, who is going to be with us for the next few months to help us with the following teams. She will also be teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) and assisting us in all of the daily aspects of the ministry. She serves and attends Mountain View Community Church in Culpepper, Virginia, which is also one of the fellowships that comes on a regular basis. This is a photo of Taylor.
Since our return, we have been preparing for our next round of teams.
June 17 – June 25th The Vineyard Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan
They will be doing a two night teaching on “Hearing the Voice of God and Healing Prayer” for the youth of Los Anonos. We are very excited about this teaching, because we will be joining with another church in Los Anonos.
The team will be ministering at both the men’s and the women’s rehab centers, working in the school in Los Anonos and doing some planting in Jasmin. Also, they will doing some work in the local gym and working in 25 de Julio.
July 1 – July 8th Vineyard Columbus Youth Group, Ohio
This team will be attending a worship conference at LaVina del Este, prayer walking in Anonos and doing some work in Jasmin. They will also be taking our Los Anonos youth to the conference
July 11 – July 19th Two or three people from a church in Ohio will be with us to do a
scouting trip to see if their church would like to send teams.
July 18th – 27th New Life Church from Gahanna, Ohio (part of Columbus)
This group will be coming to build the first yellow house in Los Anonos, which
we and many of the people in the community are excited about. This house is
being built for a man who has a mentally disabled son and who is one of the most
needy persons here in Los Anonos.
July 30th – August 8th The Summit Church from Madison, Virginia
They will be working with one of the local churches doing teachings and doing
work on the church.
August 11th – August 19th Mountain View Community Church from Culpepper,
Virginia.
A children’s program is in the works for this group. And more planning.
All of these fellowships are returning groups, which is exciting for us and for the people in the community. It sends a message of care, love and a desire to build deeper relationships, which helps in the process of transformation. Each church has its’ special uniqueness in creating a fullness for what needs to be done here. And we are thankful for their participation with Harvest Hands, who they truly are.
We ask that for the next nine weeks that you would please pray for us and for these teams, that we would continue to be the hands and the feet of the Lord and bring glory to His name.
Thank you for your donations and your prayers.
If you would like to make a donation to Harvest Hands, make the check payable to:
Harvest Hands and send to:
Harvest Hands
c/o Vineyard Christian Church
P.O. Box 55
Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
Blessings,
Rodney and Cindy LaFrance
Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time! John 4: 34-35
These are the men with addictions, with whom we work. These men are ripe!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)