Author: Shanda Watts

You may have heard on the news about an American doctor in Afghanistan, Dr. Dilip Joseph, who was kidnapped by the Taliban and rescued by Navy Seals a few weeks ago. Dilip is a ministry partner, and an ambassador for the prince of peace whose birth we celebrate this Christmas. In light of his kidnapping, I have been reflecting some on the peace that Jesus came to give.

When Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he spoke to people who believed that the coming Messiah would establish his rule through violence. They expected him to throw off the yoke of the oppressors, and reign in righteousness. The journey of Jesus to the cross was a mystery to his disciples. It was just the opposite of what they expected. Instead of conquering, he would be crucified.

Jesus told six parables in Matthew 13 to explain the nature of His kingdom, and to resolve this contradiction in the hearts of his followers. He described His Kingdom not as something that would be imposed by force, but a transformation that would begin in the heart. There would be different reactions to the kingdom message: good soil that received the truth, parched and thorny soil in which the truth could not take root and grow, and hard ground that would not receive the truth (Matthew 13:24-30). The kingdom would start small like a mustard seed and grow very large; truth like leaven would permeate the whole lump of bread (Matthew 13:31-35). People would be willing to sell everything to be part of it (Matthew 13:44-45). The good and the bad would grow together until the judgment when God separates the righteous from the unrighteous and establishes his righteous reign forever (Matthew 13:47-52).

In these parables, Jesus called for an end to holy wars that
seek to impose ideas on people by force. Instead, entrance to the kingdom would be voluntary and open to all people
everywhere. The message of the kingdom has inherent worth and value that yields great influence and power, compelling people everywhere to abandon all and follow Jesus. His teaching is right and true. His salvation is free and undeserved. The future he promises is perfect and eternal. Jesus described those who carry the message of the kingdom as the salt of the earth and light of the world. Their influence is felt in lives, families, communities, and cultures.

Dilip made the choice to believe in Jesus, trust him for salvation, and to carry the message of the kingdom to the ends of the earth at any cost. I thank him for his example, for his witness and obedience to the principles of the kingdom, and for his role as an ambassador for the prince of peace. I also want to thank you for your role in enabling us to serve as Christ’s ambassadors to the poor in villages and slums around the world.

2012 was a good year. Below are a few highlights from 2012 and an invitation to join us for a major event in January 2013.

Please join us at the first annual wholistic missions
conference hosted by Global CHE Network. 400-500 mission
leaders from across the country and around the world are
coming together for the strengthening and expansion of word and deed ministries that transform lives, families, and communities through the power of the Gospel. The
conference will feature 70 workshops and top notch speakers. For more information, visit the conference web site.

Highlights from 2012 – Praise!

1. Provided CHE training for leaders from Healthcare Christian Fellowship International to equip them to achieve their goal of mobilizing 1,000,000 witnesses and 100,000 churches through Church Health Ministries in 100 countries. Plans were made together with the international board, and training seminars were held in India, Singapore, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Vision was cast at conferences in South Africa and Costa Rica.
2. CHE programs were initiated in Eastern Europe, and CHE centers established in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
3. Bryan Benz, a lifetime friend and support from Bethel Baptist Church in Tucson, joined our staff as a Projects Manager. He will be giving oversight and direction to many of our major initiatives around the world. Bryan needs support, if God should put it on your heart to
   give.

Merry Christmas! Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men!

December 2012 Prayer Letter

Who would have thought that consulting with a government agency in Korea on the topic of “Initiating and Transformational Movement” would prove to be one of the most meaningful ministry experiences of the year? God was at work, and he invited me for a few days to join him in what he was doing.

It all started with a lesson we teach called “Worldview and
Development”. The lesson explores the links between cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors, and the resulting consequences in the life of communities and nations. The point of the lesson is that ideas have consequences, and the lies embedded in culture must be uprooted and replaced with truth if there will be sustainable development. We explored common ideas about the nature of the world often held by whole cultures and the impact of those ideas on development: men are superior to women, sickness is caused by spirits, being born in a low caste and there not being anything one can do about it.

In the break after that session, Ms. K approached me and asked in quiet sincerity “Why do you live?” I answered,

I live because God created me in His image for fellowship with Himself. He made you in his image too, and I show my love and respect to Him by respecting and loving you. He gives purpose and a reason for living.

She said, “That is beautiful. I want that.”

We talked briefly about Jesus and I promised to give her something she could read and went on with the next session. I left a Bible with a believer in the group to give her with a note: “I live for Jesus. As you are interested in knowing more, please let me give you a book. I use this book daily to help me build my relationship with God…”

My colleague, Dr. Lim, who came from Singapore to assist with this training, had a similar experience. He was being driven to see a project and had some time to talk with Mr. S, a biochemical engineer. He asked the Mr. S if he was religious. He said “No, my parents are Buddhists and my in-laws are Christian, but my wife and I are not religious.” Dr. Lim replied that the complexities of the human body led him to believe that in intelligent design, and asked permission to share a bit from the Bible. Mr. S consented, so Dr. Lim told the story of the Bible briefly beginning with creation and moving through to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Then he gave his testimony of how he as a Buddhist he came to confess his sins and invite Jesus into his life, and of his assurance that if we accept Jesus we get a continuous relationship with God even when we die. One day God will give us a new body and will transform the world into a new world. Mr. S said,

I want that. I want to be part of that new world. Will God allow me to be part of that new world?

Dr. Lim assured him that he could, and concluded by quoting John 3:16. He left a Bible for him with the same believer who will deliver the one from me to Ms. K.

In our last session, which was review and evaluation, I asked the group to write down questions that this training had raised for them. Many of the questions were about struggles and difficulties they were having managing their projects. Mrs. L shared that she was under a lot of pressure and felt anxiety about the fact that her boss was pressuring her to meet deadlines and report the results so he would have something to give to the national assembly. At the same time, some of the partners she was required to work with were uncooperative, making progress difficult. I listened and then I said, “This is one of those times when as a Christian I want to say that I will pray for you”. With tears she replied,

I’m not religious so I don’t have anyone to pray to.

This group of government workers were spiritually empty and searching for truth.

There were two more expected outcomes from this trip. Dr. Lim will represent the CHE Network in collaboration with the Korean aid agency to train skilled birth attendants in a country in Southeast Asia. Dr. Miguel, a medical doctor and CHE network member from the Philippines who also joined us for this consultation, will collaborate to fight TB in the Philippines.

I am now heading back to Phoenix to continue preparation for the International Wholistic Missions Conference in January. We are really excited about the prospects of evangelicals from all over the country coming together to learn and share skills for engaging our communities for Christ. The conference will feature 70 workshops and top notch speakers to hand of strategies and skills to the church for ministry in communities at home and around the world. I’ll send more information in a separate email, but you can visit the conference web site now to learn more.

Praise!

1. Tim and Vanessa: Tim has accepted a call to serve as a worship pastor. It is too early to give details, but we are rejoicing with them.
2. Healthcare Christian Fellowship International: We are moving ahead on the collaboration with HCFI to mobilize 100,000 churches for Church Health Ministries in their communities. The next training event will be in Hong Kong. Praise God for colleagues who have volunteered to do this training so I can stay home in December and get ready for the conference in January.
3. Korea: Praise God for all he did on the recent trip to Korea.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for Tim and Vanessa as they make a move to another state.
• Pray for Ms. K., Mr. S, and Ms. L.
• Pray for Dr. Lim as he works with the Korean agency to train birth attendants and prevent maternal mortality in a county in Southeast Asia.
• Pray for Dr. Miguel as she collaborates with the Korean agency to expand the fight against TB in the Philippines.
• Pray for strength and wisdom for Terry as he travels, consults, teaches, speaks, and plans for a major conference in January.

November 2012 Prayer Letter

Jeannie and I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica. She was able to arrange her work schedule so she could come, and I had frequent flyer miles to pay for her ticket. We sat together with the leadership of Healthcare Christian Fellowship International working out plans to mobilize 100,000 churches for Church Health Ministries by 2020. My colleagues say that I am not the same person when Jeannie is not with me. They are right. She brightens my days and gives a bounce to my step.

On the family front the biggest news is that Tim is in the process of interviewing and candidating for a position as a worship pastor. Tim, like me, is blessed to have a wife who brightens his days and gives bounce to his step. I can testify that he is not the same person without her. They are both talented musicians whose lives are a glorious duet of praise. We have seen God’s hand on them and believe they will be a gift to any church. Pray with us that God will direct them to that place He has prepared them serve.

I will be in Korea next week consulting with potential ministry partners there. Jeannie will not be with me, so I’ll be drab and dull. I may be able to share more details about that at a later time, but this could possible open doors for ministry in both Asia and Africa.

Speaking of opening doors for ministry, can I ask you to pray with me about a very big project that will be taking up a lot of my time in the next few months? The Global CHE Network is hosting the first annual International Wholistic Missions Conference at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona. The conference will feature 70 workshops and top notch speakers aimed at mobilizing and equipping missionaries and churches for transformational ministry in their communities and around the world. For more information, visit the conference web site.

Praise!

• Europe: A missionary in Hungary who is partnering with us to initiate CHE ministries among Roma Gypsies writes:

We are having to turn people away from our TOT1s in both Serbia and Hungary! The demand to take the course is great. We have people coming from Romania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia as well as Hungary (including our first Romas). We are already planning our next TOTs for early spring! (Ukraine may be next.).

• Healthcare Christian Fellowship International: We have begun the process of training medical professionals around the world to work with their church to reach out to their communities using the CHE strategy. HCFI has mapped out a clear plan. Initial training has been done in India, Singapore, the Philippines, and South Africa. Training is scheduled for South America, West Africa, and East Asia in the next 9 months.
• Arizona: Bryan Benz, a lifetime friend and support from Bethel Baptist Church in Tucson, has recently jined our staff as a Projects Manager. He will be giving oversight and direction to many of our major initiatives around the world. Bryan needs support, if God should put it on your heart to give. Click here.

Prayer requests

1. Pray for God’s direction for Tim and Vanessa.
2. Pray for wisdom for leaders in Liberia seeking to launch a large CHE program there. The first TOT had to be cancelled due to weather and travel conditions.
3. Pray for many in villages and slums around the world to encounter our Lord in the lives and teaching of CHE workers.
4. Pray for strength and wisdom for Terry as he travels, consults, teaches, speaks, and plans for a major conference in January.

Fall Schedule

October 20-27: Consultation with Ministry Partners in Korea
November 5-7: Leading CHE Network Meeting, Louisville, KY
November 8-10: Dean of Community Health and Development, Global Missions Health Conference, Louisville, KY
November 15-18: Teaching workshops at International Conference on Missions, Indianapolis, IN
December 3-9: Training of Trainers in Hong Kong (now to be facilitated by colleagues)
January 9-11: International Wholistic Missions Conference, Phoenix, AZ

October 2012 Prayer Letter

Terry leaves Monday for Liberia, where almost one in four children die before the age of five from preventable causes. More than 80 percent of the country is Christian, and the church may be the only institution with the capacity to mobilize enough people to do what needs to be done in the area of community health to prevent these deaths. The solutions are simple things such as health education, clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and malaria prevention.

Terry and the team will present an overview of Community Health Evangelism (CHE) to more than 3,000 pastors, and then will spend two days with key Christian leaders discussing the possibility of a broad CHE ministry in the country.

Then on April 16, his team will meet with Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, and the Honorable Joseph N. Boakai, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, to present a vision to them.

Equip International has a CHE program in Liberia already with 10,000 Community Health Evangelists at work in 400 communities. Equip will partner with these pastors to train and equip them for an expansion of the movement into the eastern part of the country.

Pray for wisdom, guidance, and protection for Terry while he is in Liberia. Pray for the leaders of the church there as they consider what their role should be in this crisis.

Praises

1. Praise God for the continuing expansion of Community Health Evangelism ministries globally. There are now CHE ministries in 112 countries.
2. Praise God for new staff coming to work with Global CHE Network at a time when demand seems to outstrip capacity. A lifetime friend and supporter from Bethel Baptist Church in Tucson has recently joined our staff as a Projects Manager. He will be giving oversight and direction to many of our major initiatives around the world. His first project will be coordinating a partnership with Healthcare Christian Fellowship International aimed at mobilizing 100,000 churches and 1,000,000 witnesses for Church Health Ministries by 2020. Bryan needs support if God should put it on your heart to give.
3. Praise God for more than 60 missionaries trained for CHE ministries from 18 different countries and dozens of organizations through training events in the United States in the first quarter of 2012.
4. Praise God for broad exposure for CHE at two major missions conferences in the United States recently.
5. Praise God for a group of advisors who have come around me to help with 12 major initiatives for 2012 (a few of them described in the requests below).

Prayer requests

• Pray for guidance as we meet next week with the leader of Healthcare Christian Fellowship International to determine first steps in our goal to mobilize 100,000 churches and 1,000,000 witnesses through church health ministries and CHE.
• Pray for a CHE Network working group that has come together with the goal of helping short-term teams deliver long-term solutions by providing tools and strategies for integrated community health and development ministries.
• Pray for another working group that is working closely with several Christian Colleges and Universities to introduce CHE into their mission and health curricula as well as offer internships to students in CHE programs around the world.
• Pray for Terry as he has a busy travel schedule this month:
  April 10-21: Liberia
  April 21: Speaking at Best Practices in Global Health Missions Regional Conference in San Antonio, TX
  April 22-27: CHE training for 60 missionaries in Gadsden, AL

Thank you for partnering with us to bring good news to the poor through Community Health Evangelism.

April 2012 Prayer Letter

We have reached an exciting milestone in our work of mobilizing and equipping workers to bring good news to the poor. I was commissioned by Medical Ambassadors/ LifeWind (MAI/LW) three years ago to start a member association that existed solely for the benefit of its members.

The mission of the association is the strengthening of each ministry, and the expansion of the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) movement. We believed this structure would allow a deeper collaboration between organizations, release new resources for the work, and empower the growing movement for broader impact. This proved to be true. Today, members of the Global CHE Network represent more than 450 organizations in 105 countries.

We deliberately housed this association under a new 501c3 which I helped found called the Alliance for Transformational Ministry (ATM). At the same time, my colleague Stan Rowland, was retrofitting the CHE strategy for ministry to the urban poor in North America. He called his new ministry Neighborhood Transformation (NT), and we housed his network under the same ATM umbrella.

The work of ATM, the Global CHE Network, and the Collaborative for Neighborhood Transformation is large enough now that it requires more than full time attention. For that reason, MAI/LW is sending me out along with two of my colleagues, Stan Rowland and Dr. Jody Collinge, and transferring our employment to ATM.

Nothing about my work will change. I will go on doing exactly what I have been doing as the founder/coordinator of the Global CHE Network. I will continue to work together with MAI/LW for the achievement of our corporate vision.
My organization and how I receive support, however, will change. I will be accountable directly to a single ATM board, and Dr. John Payne (CEO of MAI/LW) will sit on that board. Support for our ministry will need to be sent to ATM instead of MAI/LW.

After January 1, support for Terry and Jeannie Dalrymple needs to be sent to:

ATM
727 E. Bethany Home Rd., Suite D – 122
Phoenix, AZ 85014

MAI/LW will continue to provide receipts for any contributions to my work through March 31, 2012. MAI/LW will forward these funds to ATM with no deductions. However, any contributions received after March 31, 2012,
will be returned to the sender with the instructions above. MAI/LW will be sending you a letter soon restating what I have told you in this letter.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your prayer and financial support and to share with you some of what God is doing as a result of our partnership. I am currently working on 12 major initiatives with the Global CHE Network.

1. Partnering with Healthcare Christian Fellowship International to mobilize 100,000 churches and 1,000,000 witnesses for Christ by 2020.
2. Providing tools for Short Term Mission leaders across the country who are seeking to do their work in a more integrated and developmental way. Helping short term teams to contribute long term solutions that bring people to faith in Christ while lifting communities out of cycles of poverty and disease.
3. Writing a book aimed at mobilizing for ministries that reach the lost, strengthen the church, and lift communities out of poverty.
4. Making CHE part of the curriculum and training for missionaries in Christian colleges and universities worldwide.
5. Networking with other global networks to strengthen existing CHE work and expand the CHE movement beyond the current 105 countries.
6. Establishing an intern program in collaboration with several Christian universities and connecting interns with CHE programs for research and promotion of the work.
7. Maintaining and developing the best curriculum available for integrated community based transformational ministry that brings evangelism and compassion together.
8. Facilitating communications and building relationships between more than 1,500 network members.
9. Training and mobilizing for a CHE surge in Europe, including the establishment of a CHE center there.
10. A malaria project aimed at mobilizing churches for integrated ministry and reducing deaths due to malaria in Togo and Nigeria.
11. Partnering with the International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA) and HCFI to establish a global Health Care Sunday with websites in 9 languages aimed at
    mobilizing churches for outreach to their community through church health ministries.
12. Creating a worldwide integrated outreach to children.

The best years are still ahead. We will continue to walk through the doors God opens, and seek to be faithful to his call and direction for our ministry. Thank you for walking with us.

November 2011 Prayer Letter

This week, we are having another training class in Los Angeles, CA. From June 12-17 I will be co-facilitating a Training of Trainers 1 (TOT1) course with David Phipps and Jeff Yeager. During this course, we will be presenting the participants with an overview of CHE and equip them to get CHE programs going in their target areas. Please
pray:

• For the three of us as we prepare for the training.
• That the participants would be challenged and encouraged.
• For safety for everyone travelling for the training.

The end of malaria, the beginning of life

As many of you know, we have been moving forward on a project in Lomé, Togo called “Malaria Ends, Life Begins”. In Lomé, one child in thirty dies from malaria. In this project, we are partnering with local churches in Lomé to distribute insecticide treated bed nets to help prevent malaria and save lives. Additionally, we are using this as a springboard for CHE programs in the area. We are excited about this program as the first four churches have raised matching funds for the nets, gone through CHE training, and are ready to launch. As they begin reaching out to their neighbors, distributing nets, teaching malaria prevention and sharing the Gospel, please pray. Pray that God would bless their investment (of both time and money) immensely, that they would see a serious drop in malaria incidence, and that many of their neighbors will come to Christ. Pray also for the other churches in the area that are eager to distribute nets, but still need to take ownership of the program and invest in the nets and training.

Hope for Europe conference

Last week Jeannie and I returned from a conference in Budapest, Hungary focused on initiating new ministry in Eastern Europe. As a result of the trip, we may have a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) Training Center in
Switzerland, a new CHE program among the Roma Gypsies in Hungary, new CHE programs in the Ukraine, and a partnership with Healthcare Christian Fellowship representing 200,000 Christian healthcare professionals around the world. Thank you so much for your support and prayers. Please pray that these ministries will mature and that strong partnerships will continue to develop from the connections we have made.

Fall schedule

This year is flying by and the remaining half is filling up quickly. Here is a glimpse at some of the events on the horizon:

• August: Vision Seminar and missions conference at Fuller Theological Seminary.
• October: TOT 1 in Colorado Springs, CO; North American Missions Leaders Conference.
• November: North American CHE Network Meeting; Global Missions Health Conference.

Please keep us in your prayers as we finalize the details for each of these events and pray also that each person we come into contact with through these events would see the love of Christ in us.

Learn more about our ministry here.

June 2011 Prayer Letter

This letter is to thank all of you who contributed to make the Philippine Wheelchair Mission a reality. Five hundred and fifty wheelchairs were delivered to people in the Philippines who cannot walk and could not afford a wheelchair. More than 350 chairs were distributed before the short-term team left the country. Requests were still pouring in, and the remaining chairs will be distributed shortly. A team of people from Big Valley Grace Community Church raised the funds to purchase the chairs, assemble, and deliver them. The chairs were manufactured by the Free Wheelchair Mission and distributed by LifeWind International and HCDI Philippines. In the following pages we will share a few selected stories of how the lives of individuals and families were transformed by your precious gift. Joseph is a 13 year-old boy the size of a six year-old who is a victim of polio. Quiet and shy, he sat in his chair with an expression of wonderment. He cracked his first smile only after Jeannie brought out a package of Jelly Belly Beans. Jeannie Dalrymple and Connie Chin, two members of the wheelchair team, entered Joseph’s neighborhood though a three-foot narrow rocky path. His 11 siblings, mother, and neighbors stood around amidst the cement, wood, and “half” constructed homes of their urban development. This was an event! Joseph’s neighbor, Lilia, had been ministering to his family, facilitating Bible studies in their home. Every day she watched Joseph crawling on dirt, gravel, and mud in order to go to school or play with his friends. She prayed God would provide him a wheelchair. She even thought about calling GMA 7, a local television station, but felt God saying, “No, just wait.” Lilia heard about the Philippine Wheelchair Mission through her church, and her prayers were answered. “I could never afford this,” she says of the wheelchair, “this is God’s answer to my prayers.” “I will be at school every day next year!” These were the first words out of Billy’s mouth as he sat in his new wheelchair. Billy is 15 years-old. He has a six year-old brother who is also unable to walk. Their mother carried them to school every morning and picked them up again one at a time to carry them home in the afternoon. Now that Billy was older and bigger, he frequently missed class because he was just too heavy for his mother to carry. Billy and his brother both received wheelchairs. Editha Lazona from North Cortabato has a son, named Crispin, who is 47 years-old and unable to walk. Editha supported the two of them by running a small store attached to the front of their home. She testified that now that Crispin has a wheelchair, he can run the store and she can go out to buy supplies, run errands, and find other work. Ritcher’s face brightened with the realization that there was hope he would be able to function again. Before he became ill, he worked at City Hall. He could have recovered completely from this viral illness, but no regular therapy was available to him. Consequently, he has been confined to his bed for the last six years. The wheelchairs were being distributed at a small sports complex in the in the community, and people were being carried from all around by family and friends to pick up their chairs. Ritcher, however, could not get to the gymnasium because his father, who used to carry him around, had sustained a stroke two weeks earlier that left him hemiplegic. Upon learning of the situation, the team took a chair to his home. At first there was hopelessness and sadness in his face, and he refused even to sit in the wheelchair. Finally, he was persuaded to get into the chair. As the team taught his mother some therapy exercises to help with rehabilitation, a smile came over Ritcher’s face as he began to realize there was hope he could regain function. In the meantime, the wheelchair will assist him with transportation and he can be part of the community again. Ritcher’s father was also given a wheelchair. Thelma couldn’t believe Christians would help a Muslim like her. Thelma is a single mother from the Muslim B’laan tribe in Mindinao. She was left to raise her four children alone when her husband was killed in a work related accident. One of Thelma’s four children is Primo, a seven year-old boy the size of a three year-old. Primo had an illness at three months of age which left him with atrophied and weak extremities. He never walked, but desired to go to school. Thelma was praying for a wheelchair for her son, and had a plan for getting one. She voted for a man who was elected to serve as her Barangay Capitan, and would now ask him for a favor in return — a wheelchair for her son. But God chose to supply what was needed by another way. Before Thelma had opportunity to take her request to the Barangay Capitan, she learned that free wheelchairs were available from the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) team working closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). After receiving the chair, Thelma expressed her gratitude to the donors who gave the chair, and testified publicly that she could not believe Christians would care for and help everyone — even a Muslim like her. She said she was touched by the care that was given her, and by the fact that the Christian God “is a kind and loving God.” Thelma then opened her home for Bible Study. By the way, Primo can now go to school! Reymark, a 13 year-old with cerebral palsy, wanted to go to school, but only reached first grade because his guardian aunt could no longer carry him. His aunt had been praying for a wheelchair. Answered prayer! Crispin is a stroke victim. He spent much of his time sitting on his bamboo cot looking out the window into the sunshine. His family had rigged up an apparatus in his room using bamboo poles and a cloth harness that enabled him to carry himself from his bed to a small table where the family left food they prepared for him and to the potty chair. He spent much of his time alone while his wife worked in the fields. When visitors came to the house and his wife was out, he would call from his bedroom, “Come in,” and the visitors would find their way back to his room. Crispin’s wife learned of the free wheelchairs and walked 45 minutes each way several times in the hot sun to ensure that Crispin would receive one. The Vice Mayor of his municipality accompanied the team to deliver the chair to Crispin at home. As a result of the visit, the Vice Mayor promised Crispin that he would cement the floors in his home and make a ramp out of the house to give him access to the world. Praise God! When Crispin got his wheelchair, he came out of his bedroom and entered his living and dining room for the first time in seven years. He spontaneously raised his hands giving praise to Jesus for the wheelchair. Through the Philippine Wheelchair Mission project, we set out in faith to achieve the following objectives:

• To distribute 550 wheelchairs in the Philippines, giving mobility and hope to 550 disabled persons and their families.
• To raise awareness of disability, especially in those communities where HCDI has Community Health Evangelism (CHE) programs.
• To establish support groups for the families of the disabled in HCDI program areas to focus on local solutions to the needs of their disabled.
• To mobilize Filipino workers to transform lives and communities through the power and hope of the Gospel.
• To facilitate evangelistic/benefit concerts in Manila and Cebu featuring singer and evangelist Ray-an Fuentes. Through this concert we will share the good news of the Gospel and at the same time raise awareness of disability in the church and community. We also hope to provide resources for HCDI’s CHE ministries in poor communities throughout the country.

It is too early to truly measure the full impact of what God has done, but we saw His hand at work on so many different levels and in so many different dimensions that it is nearly impossible even to summarize in this short document. We praise God for a successful trip and for all the lives that will be changed. May God receive all the glory!

August 2008 Prayer Letter