Lifetime of Faithfulness

There is a painting, at the National Gallery of Art, of Daniel in the Lions' Den by Sir Peter Paul Rubens.  Daniel, because of his diet and rigid schedule, was probably, most likely ripped.  Far greater than his external physique was his internal resilience.  His...

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More Help for Missionaries

After serving full time in the West Indies for 13 years, it has been my privilege to work with missionaries through counseling for the last 9 years. Covid 19 has certainly been a unique challenge for everyone but how does that look for missionaries? How can the local...

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Culture Shock

This past week, I talked to some missionaries who had to leave the field (due to Coronavirus) and go back to their country of origin.  This is how I would phrase how they feel: After a long flight, in a non-commercial plane, we handed over our passports as we went...

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Barriers

Chuck Yeager turned 97 years old this past February.  When he was just 24 years old (October 14, 1947), he piloted the Bell X-1 experimental plane.  His goal was to get the plane to the Mach 1 speed. At 25,000 feet, the plane dropped from the fuselage and its rocket...

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Transition – 6th and Final Year

Last month Connie and I hit the 6-year mark of our move to the USA after 26 years in Kenya. We are nearing the end of the formula for transition back to home culture; for every four years living in another country, it takes one year to adjust upon return. In this...

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New Faces, Same Mission

Having shared with you last time of a change to our global staff, it is time for you to learn more about my colleague Teddy Haubner. The post below is from him and it will give you insight to his heart and motivation for global ministry. As he has learned quickly...

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Deciding Where a New Church Meets

Planting a new church can be done in so many ways. Some start from scratch, others start with a few hundred on opening day. The variety of meeting places is in the thousands. They all meet a purpose for a season. Some stay as just one church, others reproduce...

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Coronavirus and Mission Trips

A parent asked this past weekend about the March student trip to Guatemala, and how the current situation with coronavirus would affect it. Excellent question. Below is my response: Thanks for asking. Teresa and I have been watching coronavirus shortly after it...

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India Intrigue

We have a team of 5 men returning from India today. Look for a few guest posts in the coming weeks from them. Many of you know that Africa captured my heart long ago. In the last few years, India has captured my intrigue. The intrigue of India unfolds every time I...

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Prayer When the Words Don’t Come

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit...

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Faith 2020

Instead of a new year’s resolution, I recently moved to “a word for the year.” This has given me a central point to focus my thoughts, prayers, study and decisions. In 2018 my word was clarity. In 2019 it was discipline. This year it’s FAITH. I’m talking about faith...

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Talek – 10 years later

Last month, as I looked at Facebook, I found this picture (Talek Church worships while new building is under construction – Facebook post of Thomas Pesi) This made me laugh, out of sheer joy. Here’s the story: Ten years ago, there was no church building existing here....

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The Grace in Christ’s Birth

This will be my last post for this year. It has been a full and rewarding 2019. I especially appreciate all the guest writers who contributed to Global Notes. We are all richer from hearing so many different perspectives on God’s work around the world. As we...

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Choosing Joy

Written by Lily Lovell (age 13) | Guatemala 2019 Trip GOD GIVES US MANY BLESSINGS Our team split  into groups to visit families’ homes and talk to them about the dreams for their children, see their homes, and have a glimpse into what they face every day. Our group...

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Does Anyone Else Find This Amazing?

“Disciples would do what a rabbi told them to do.” John Dickerson, commenting on Matthew 28:18-20. When Jesus said to his disciples Follow me and Go and make disciples of all nations they did. When Jesus told Peter to come to him walking on the water, he got out of...

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Love One Another by Natalie Bussell

Tears streamed slowly down my face as I tried to compose myself watching a preschooler softly sway to Christian music, so touched she has her eyes closed as she sings. A song we’ve listened to hundreds of times and have heard our own worship band at Connection Pointe...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Running the Race

GUEST  WRITER: Ashley Hentrich is a Donor Partner Liaison with VisionTrust International.  Her primary role is to support churches in engaging their congregation to serve the staff, children and families of VisionTrust through child sponsorship and short-term mission...

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VULNERABLE CHILDREN

I wrote last week about Justice (link here) and mentioned that we are focusing in India and Guatemala with IJM (www.ijm.org). They are advocating for vulnerable children. Another way we engage with advocacy for children is through child sponsorship. More than an...

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JUSTICE

We recently started supporting International Justice Mission. They are involved in many countries, working to end... Slavery Human trafficking Domestic violence Land theft Police abuse of power Our partnership will be focused in two of the countries where we already...

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HOME-GROWN PART 2

One of my favorite things to do is talk to people about the stirring of their heart toward missions. Back in 2015, Connie and I started meeting with a small group of people who all felt this stirring, to serve overseas for one year or more. All who were in that first...

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HOME-GROWN MISSIONARIES PART 1

Today is the somber anniversary of 9/11. Many remembrances are occurring around the country and around the world. I don’t remember what I was doing on that fateful day in 2001, but I do know I was in Nairobi. When news broke of who was behind it, I was reminded of the...

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GREATER THINGS GLOBAL

This month marks two work anniversaries. 5 years for me on staff at Connection Pointe, and for Teresa…. 27!! We enjoy what we do, leading our church’s involvement in God’s Kingdom work all around the world. While I am one who likes to reflect on the past, I would like...

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SPEAR AND SHIELD

A group of us were recently reading Scripture together, and we came across a verse that included weapons of war: But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. (Nehemiah 4:16a, NLT) When we...

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POWER

POWER I began thinking about power several years ago, when I realized I had it. I was a respected minority, with resources, position and education that gave me access to people and places that the majority didn’t have. When I understood the capability of that power, I...

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MIKE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

One of the best things about my role at Connection Pointe is the relationship I have built with our global partners. They are Rock stars, every one of them. For those who were in our services this past weekend, you heard from one of them – Paul. Yesterday I had a...

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Jesus Knew

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. (John 13:1a) Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. (John 13:3) For...

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eSwatini: An Inside Look by Meah Strole

First walking up to my sponsor child’s house you could feel your heart slowly break. Just looking at the house broke everyone’s heart, the doors had gaps, glass on the windows were broken, and the structure was looking bad. The inside had nothing in it but a few trash...

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Project: Classroom Local and Global

This weekend begins Project: Classroom, an annual summer feature at Connection Pointe. We have the privilege to bless teachers with resources that would not be covered in their regular budget. By focusing our attention on the teachers, they are better equipped to make...

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Who’s There?

“We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.” (Luke 24:21) Hopes can be dashed, just like these men. Their most recent report was that of an empty tomb and they couldn’t make sense of it. Turns out they were...

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MY FIRST DAY IN KENYA

by Jack Copeland, age 17 Mambo! Last night we safely landed in Nairobi and arrived at Grace House. It felt incredible to finally arrive on this trip I had been imagining for months!! However, I knew that even with as many youtube videos titled “Top 10 Tips for...

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Made for More

When I started on staff at Connection Pointe, the most commonly verbalized understanding of missions was a mission trip of 6-10 days. It was touchable and explainable. The second most common understanding of missions was missionaries, a life committed to serving and...

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An Example of Courage

After Peter cut off Malchus’s ear in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told Peter to stop fighting: Put away your sword. Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send...

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Missionary Care

One of the things we are working to improve at Connection Pointe is our care for missionaries. We have written guidelines for sending people into cross-cultural missions service, but have few written guidelines to sustain them on the field and receive them back....

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Blessing Generations

This past weekend our pastor John Dickerson spoke on raising the next generation, encouraging us as parents (and grandparents) to teach our children the ways of the Lord and to live a life that demonstrates those ways. He spoke from Psalm 112: Praise the Lord! How...

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Engaging Muslims During Ramadan

Do you know about Ramadan? It is a 30-day period of fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam, observed by Muslims worldwide. Connection Pointe has several partnerships that are involved with Muslims – in the Balkans, Turkey, Middle East, India, and England. There are...

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Transition. Year 5

I’ve been told that for every four years you live overseas, it takes one year to adjust when you move back to your passport culture. Having served in East Africa for 26 years, that means 6 ½ years for Connie and I to make that transition. Having moved back in April,...

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The Prosperity Test

We are in the midst of 4 Connection Pointe teams going out between Feb 20 – Apr 20 India Turkey Roseland (Ms Pearl) Kenya All of these places have significant challenges of poverty, with several having the added test of persecution because of being a Christian. But...

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Theology vs Real Life in India

We returned from India March 3. Great trip. Always good to be with believers on their turf in their home country. Always inspiring and humbling to hear their stories. As expected, my teaching on theology of suffering paled in comparison to the suffering we learned...

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Theology of Suffering (Part 4)

God provides the will and supplies for going well through suffering. Have you ever wondered how you would handle a persecutor threatening your life, or a time of deep despair when all hope was lost? I have. I do not know how I would respond, but I know there are...

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Theology of Suffering (Part 3)

Principles from Be Still, My Soul In preparing to share about suffering, I’ve been reading Be Still, My Soul and learning how other followers of Jesus view suffering. Here’s what they said: Suffering is not something to avoid. God can use suffering. See what He did...

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Theology of Suffering (Part 2)

As my wife and I sorted through our thoughts in this dark time, we reached an understanding that suffering is a normal part of the Christian life.  In fact, Jesus himself suffered… when he was tempted (Heb 2:18) he learned obedience from what he suffered (Heb 5:8) he...

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Theology of Suffering

I leave next week for India with Drew and Aaron. I was asked to prepare a teaching on the Theology of Suffering to share with the leaders there. I wanted you to have it too as a way to remember us in prayer. This is the first of 4 posts on what I have prepared. Thirty...

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Mission trip members needed…

I wanted to make you aware of three trips this year that are eager to have more people. All are to Africa, a place near and dear to my heart! All are places we sponsor children. All are longhaul flights, but the people at the other end make it all worthwhile. Kenya -...

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ROI

Return On Investment. There seems to be a whole science that helps a person investing money to receive the best possible return in profit. Just about any of us (including me) want our money to grow so there’s more of it. I think of our first house purchase in 2015 as...

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Update from India: One year later…

Our longterm relationship with ASSI and the work in India is well known to many of you. Just last week, this update was sent out from Victor: On Jan 7th, 2019 some highly ranked police officers & their staff, accompanied by their media team visited the ASSI office...

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Sending Neely

This past weekend in all of our services we were privileged to have a moment of prayer in sending Neely McLoed as a missionary to Guatemala. Her commitment is for two years, to work with the Vision Trust staff at Los Verdes where all the Connection Pointe sponsored...

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Life from Death

In Romans 5 and 6 the word death/die/died/dead appears 27 times. That could make quite a depressing read without the context. In those two chapters we read over and over of death’s relationship to sin, but also to life and hope. For example: Sin brought death – 5:12...

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The Wednesday Review

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday.  These are all Western creations (I think) that encourage us to get started on our Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving, except Tuesday when we’re encouraged to “take a break from spending” (said the radio ad) and...

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Light Over Darkness

Diwali was celebrated yesterday in India. It is a festival of lights, as important to Hindu, Sikh and Jain as Christmas is to Christians. Diwali is a time to celebrate light overcoming darkness, good over evil. Sound familiar? As followers of Christ, this sounds very...

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Keshe’s First Visit

Many of you had the chance to visit with John and Peris Keshe on their first trip ever to America. John and Peris are our beloved Connection Pointe partners from Kenya, where they oversee an organization they founded that provides support for vulnerable Maasai girls...

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Inspiration from South America

Connection Pointe has supported two works in South America for decades. Bruce and Alice Higham work with the Ayore, Bruce E and Cindy Higham, Nathan and Noah work with the Maco. (Bruce E is the son of Bruce and Alice.) On Saturday October 20, the Living Room was...

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Fall Trips are in full swing!

This week, we have two trips in progress: Guatemala – led by Jeff Lovell and Eric Peak. This team is doing a Vacation Bible School, and several of the trip members are (once again) spending time with their sponsored child. Connection Pointe member Neely McLoed is...

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Hope of Nations and Jenn Newingham

Our church is currently in a series called Hope of Nations. We are being prepared to live out our faith in America as it races fully towards a post-Christian, post-truth society. We’ve been told that western Europe is ahead of the USA in having this kind of...

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God’s Global WORD

I have a collection of Bibles at my desk that are in different languages. They serve as a constant reminder that God speaks to people in their heart language, and He wants to meet us all on a heart level. On Oct 20 at 6:30 pm, we will have two families visiting us who...

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GLOBAL EXCITEMENT RECAP

“The graveyard of missions has become the vineyard of the Lord.” -Victor John Victor John was referring to north India, where the growth of the church has reached millions in the last twenty years. Before that, very few new believers had come to Christ in spite of...

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TELLING STORIES — A UNIVERSAL PRACTICE

Telling stories is a universal practice and one of the best ways to share something meaningful and memorable. YOUR STORY… Over the next couple weeks, I want to encourage all of you who sponsor children to tell us your stories. Whether you have visited them or not,...

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Blessed Persecution

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10) In some ways this verse is an extension of Matthew 5:6 that speaks of a hunger and thirst for righteousness that only God can satisfy.  We can’t become...

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Family

by Lisa Smith As we return from Swaziland, my mind continues to fill with thoughts of the family we left behind. Each visit is like an annual family reunion, the kind where everyone simply can't wait to see each other. And when it’s time to leave, some smile and hug...

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Peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) God is the God of order. He spoke the chaos into order in Genesis 1. His Son Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. By bringing peace we honor the family Name. Yet to make peace...

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Pure in Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8) The common person reading this verse would likely say, “That’s not me. I’m not pure in heart.” No one is, all the time. But many do strive for it and have times of success. For example: An African...

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June Globetrotters

CONNECTION POINTE GOING OUT... This Saturday June 9, we have a team of students going to Guatemala. These are always effective and encouraging trips, anticipated by the children and staff at Los Verdes. Many of you are aware of the eruption of the Fuego Volcano in...

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Mercy… A story from Egypt

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Mt 5:7) When Connie and I visited Egypt for our 30th anniversary in 2011, the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East were just beginning. Mass cancellations by tourists left Connie and I very noticeable...

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Satisfying Our Hunger and Thirst

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” (Mt 5:6) The New Living Translation says justice, not righteousness, which makes me wonder how they are related. They seem so different. As I studied, I found there are other...

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Meek lived out…

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Mt 5:5) John Keshe is meek. John Keshe has done a remarkable job with his pieces of earth inherited from God. For example: He knows Kenya’s famous wildlife. He worked with Michigan State University for 13 years...

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Blessed are the meek…

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Mt 5:5) This is the most difficult beatitude blessing for me to understand. First of all, who says meek anymore? I don’t think it just means humble, as one translation puts it. I’ve also heard gentle as a...

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It’s a 6th-generation boy!

I’ve been quiet the last few weeks because of a life event. A new family member was born! Connie and I went to Seattle to meet this little one, born March 26. Connie was in the room at the birth while I posted myself in the hallway by the sign, “For safety of staff...

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Comfort Deep Down

“… for they will be comforted.” Mt 5:4b It is God’s nature to comfort. “Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.” (Isaiah 49:13) In John 16:7...

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Good Mourning

Mt 5:4a – “Blessed are those who mourn….” When we mourn, we grieve a loss. When we take time to sit with it, lean into the emptiness, the hole that’s been left, feel the hurt, cry the tears, express the pain, lament to God and others, acknowledge the change… something...

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Kingdom Blessings

“… for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 NIV) The scriptures mention Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Christ, kingdom of priests, and even just Kingdom. What is the difference and what are the similarities? Are they physical places or something else? Since we...

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Trains and Training from Connie

The haunting sound of a lonely train whistle traveling through our quiet town now produces a different internal reaction because of spending two weeks in northern India. Instead of it seeming too loud and unnecessary, pictures of communities come barreling forth with...

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GLOBAL INFORMATION SHARING

Just recently I had an ah-ha moment: There are programmed ways people absorb information in every country. In our country it usually consists of one or more of these elements: school, being taught or coached, books, ebooks, internships, technology and the internet....

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Arrival

Our high-caliber team arrived in India and has had a strong start. Remember to pray for their continued adjustment to the 10 ½ hour time change, different foods, cultural differences all around, strong health, and being away from their families. Their interactions...

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DIVULGING INFORMATION

One of the biggest challenges I have as the global impact director at our church is keeping everyone digitally informed of what our global partners are doing in parts of the world that are hostile to our Christian faith. I would love to tell you more, have you pray...

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Quotables

I keep a book of my favorite quotes. The ones below are from people in other cultures. Enjoy. The call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him – Oswald Chambers (ministry in Egypt) God expects His children...

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BELIEVABLE LIVES

When I read Romans 2:17-29, Paul is telling the Jewish followers of Christ that they are not living believable lives. Born to Jewish parents and circumcised, they are relying on their Jewishness as the more important credential versus a heart that is right with God...

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What a gift we were given…

Connie and I had the joy of hosting all our children and their families for a week over Christmas. What a gift this was to us, as they all live on the west and east coast. We had good talks while they were here, but mostly we just enjoyed being with each other, good...

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Christmas Strange and Familiar

Giving of gifts at Christmas is common around the world. Food is even more common at Christmas, but done in a variety of ways. For example, we slaughtered a cow and had 250 people over for Christmas Eve lunch in 1991. The chai servers carried around 5-gallon buckets...

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The Stand Outs of 2017

As I reflect on Global Impact at Connection Pointe this year, these things stand out to me: God is stirring hearts for global service. With the addition of twelve people recently expressing interest in serving overseas for one year or more, we are becoming an...

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Thank You Trip Leaders

This past Sunday we hosted our mission trip leaders for a brunch to thank them for their ministry impact and leadership in global settings. We had 102 people on our global trips this year, which could not have happened without the commitment and capabilities of these...

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 Thanksgiving Concept

As we gather with others this Thursday to thank God for our blessings, it brings to my mind a curiosity of how global this concept of Thanksgiving might be. A google search revealed a commonality of harvest and being thankful, but whom to thank was varied: Thanks to...

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Rooted Globally

We have had several weekends this year to highlight on campus how God is involving Connection Pointe in his global Kingdom. On November 25/26 we will do this once again, with five additions to what we have previously done in 2017. We will have a video greeting to...

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Pray for the Persecuted Church

November 5 and 12 are the days when millions around the world will be praying for Christians who live out their faith under persecution. Connection Pointe supports workers in several places where this is a way of faith: India, Indochina, Turkey, the Middle East. At...

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ICOM in Peoria Nov 16-19

The International Conference on Missions is an annual conference that “exists to Encourage, Equip and Enlist workers for the Harvest.” Main speakers this year are from Africa, India and the USA. In addition, there are 25 different tracks of workshops Nov 17/18 that...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Thank You Steve

In 2007, Steve and Kristen Reeves came to Kenya with Kent Fillinger, Drew and Jen Cougill.  That particular trip ushered in a new era in global missions at Connection Pointe. Though missions had been a significant part of Connection Pointe history for decades, the...

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GLOBAL NOTES: More than Anticipated

Perhaps you noticed that we had an unplanned hiatus from the weekly GLOBAL NOTES. Our blog was "caught" in a recent update and it took a little while for the "release." We are up and running again -- better than ever. Having enjoyed ten days vacation with our family,...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Trip Outcomes

If you haven’t had a chance to hear from our teams that just returned, I encourage you to ask at least one person about their experience. This is what I’ve learned so far. Unplanned. Flight changes, lost luggage, team conflicts, daily schedules upended. Unknowns....

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Swaziland Team Update

-Lisa Smith After all of our travel difficulties getting to Swaziland, we finally arrived in Njojane with still only 1 of 32 bags. That meant having no sweeties or sponsor gifts to hand out yet, no crafts and Bible lesson activities we had planned to do, and no soccer...

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Kenya: Choosing Faith Over Fear

-Ashley Mennel For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  II Timothy 1:7 As we visit with students and families whether that be at the Madoya School in Nairobi where many students are sponsored by CPCC members, or in...

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Greetings from Guatemala

Dave Wohlenhaus, Team Leader We arrived safely yesterday (Sat) and our hosts Rut and Josh met us at the airport. Three of our bags with supplies did not make it, but they were delivered safely today (now we are ready for VBS). Our first day was spent delivering water...

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GLOBAL NOTES: News from the Field Part 2

June 7, 2017 FROM THE FIELD, PART 2 Giles and Alison Emery in Kenya sent me this update a week ago: God continues to bless the work of Missions of Hope International (MOHI), and we are humbled and thankful to be part of it! MOHI has a staff of more than 750 Kenyans,...

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GLOBAL NOTES: News from the Field

May 31, 2017 Central America Vision Trust Guatemala sent this personal video update from Los Verdes. You will see several from our March student trip, once again bringing hope and the love of Christ to these dear children we love! Watch here. Europe Our partners in...

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GUATEMALA TEAM: Day 3

Day 3 of VBS was a success and also brought along some manual labor. The students moved dirt this morning and blocks this afternoon to help with construction projects happening at the Learning Center for new classrooms. They were all hard workers and had such great...

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GLOBAL NOTES: 40 Days

March 1, 2017 Today is the beginning of Lent, a traditional 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter. Over the last several years Connie and I have tried to incorporate this Christian tradition as one of our spiritual disciplines. Believers around the world,...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Global Hoosier Legacy

Feb 8, 2017 I missed writing the blog last week for a reason many of you know. My dad passed away. He was 90. As a WWII veteran he was buried January 31 with military honors. The 21-gun salute was impressive, playing taps quite emotional. But the presentation of the...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Panama

Dec 21, 2016 As mentioned previously in Global Notes, we had a vision team of five men visit Panama in early November to discern how we can be a better partner with Jose and Rosa Rodriguez. This 3-minute video captures the young church-planting work amidst the beauty...

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GLOBAL NOTES: One for the Ages

November 23, 2016 It was one for the ages. I was moved to tears and cheers. Connie and I kept looking at each other and just smiled, hearing a voice from our second homeland. The thousands in attendance gave a standing ovation at the end. Oscar Muriu, senior pastor of...

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GLOBAL NOTES: India Team Report

Nov 16, 2016 Our India team returns today. This has been one of the more challenging trips this year for a Connection Pointe team because of the demonetization of 85% of India’s cash by its government. Buddy Faulkner texted me from India on Saturday and said, “This...

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GLOBAL NOTES: ICOM

The International Conference on Missions (ICOM) is Nov 17-20, this year in Lexington, KY. This is one of the best mission conferences because of its broad appeal to the national church and international missions. Several Connection Pointe members have plans to attend;...

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GLOBAL NOTES: Something New

Last month I passed the two-year mark of serving on Connection Pointe staff. I am now at a place of understanding our church and its global work that I can write a weekly post to challenge and inform. Encourage your friends and family to subscribe to this page to keep...

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Two Principles of God’s Kingdom

-Dan Crum, Global Impact Director   My teammates on this trip have been demonstrating two principles of God's Kingdom this past week, perhaps without realizing it. First, God meets us on our level. Do you see the African talking stick that Don is holding? He...

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And then today happened …

-Cassie Perez, Team Leader   This is my third trip to Guatemala. The poverty, the plights of the families, it no longer shocks me like it did on previous trips. During our evening devotional yesterday, I shared that I had been feeling less affected this trip,...

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Our Glory and Joy

-Ashley Mennel For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy. 1 Thess 2:19-20 There I was standing in an incredibly remote Maasai village in Kenya. The only person in the village...

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Falling Head Over Heels

-Lydia Thomas In 2013 I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Guatemala with my parents and my brother. I fell head over heels for the people and the culture and vowed to go back as soon as I could. Since that first trip, I have gone on the Guatemala student trip...

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Pumping Water

-Harvey Cline I enjoy a good workout. Workouts normally feel pretty good. It's also good for you. You burn calories, relieve stress, build strength, and improve aerobic fitness. Anytime I am able to get a workout while performing a useful task is even better.  Things...

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What do we really need?

-Joey Mutnansky Seel Today, we visited the homestead of my sponsor child, Tengetile and her sister Noncedo, the child of another couple on our team. She lives with her gogo (grandmother) and 6 additional children under her care. There’s no warmth between the family...

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Touching Lives Forever

-Angela Baker Guatemala Trip Team Member 1 Peter 4:10  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. Some say that to teach is to touch a life forever, and nowhere is this more evident than at The Learning Center in...

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What motivates them?

-Chuck Rapp Life on Nosy Mitsio has many challenges. Here's my Top Ten list. 10.  Outhouse and bucket showers 9.  Poor nutrition and strange foods 8.  Very little electricity (solar) and no AC 7.  400 square foot home 6.  Lots of dirt 5.  Missions study and homework...

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Another long commute…

-Chuck Rapp I'm convinced that Madagascar has the worst roads in the world! In order to beat the traffic and also travel during the coolest part of the day, we left Ambilobe at 2:30 AM Wednesday. The distance to Diego Suarez is a bit less than 100 miles, and the trip...

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This team is phenomenal!

The title is a direct quote from our Guatemala team leaders! And they also added, "everyone is healthy too." Pure Water With Dignity: Our First Full Day In Guatemala Guatemala presented our team of twelve with a gorgeous, sunny day. We divided into equal teams and...

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Honored Guests

-Chuck Rapp We were the honored guests Sunday night at a village party hosted by the Mayles.  About 25 - 30 people from the village and the village headman came.  We were joined by AIM teammates Steve and Becka Orner and their three children. We experienced watching a...

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Snapshots of life & work in Nosy Mitsio

-Chuck Rapp There's one thing I've learned that children all over the world have in common--they all love to have their pictures taken. The second thing they share is they all love to see themselves in pictures! This morning we had the opportunity to visit Liam's...

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Capacity has a new meaning!

Update from Chuck Rapp... We have reached Ambilobe. So, about that four hour ride over bumpy roads? Seemed like it was more like 6 hours over continuously BUMPY roads! Here are a couple of photos of our ride. Somewhere in that pile are three pieces of our luggage. Top...

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Are we there yet?

Update from Chuck Rapp... Hello from Antananarivo, capital city of Madagascar. It's currently 2:00 AM and despite back-to-back overnight flights with little sleep, I'm presently wide awake. Oh, the joys of international travel, in this case 7 time zones. To give a...

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What is an Unreached People Group?

Chuck Rapp continues with his story... Day 3 - What is an unreached people group ... and why should we care? The story of the Antakarana people group is pretty amazing. In the early 1840s, during the Merina invasion, the Antakarana hid in caves and cliffs on the...

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All the Way to Nosy Mitsio!

Chuck Rapp, a member of the CP Global Impact Team, is on a journey that may seem difficult to some but the rainbow at the end is his grandchildren. Chuck is taking us with him so you are in for a treat--and all from the comfort of home. I don't think Chuck and Pam are...

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Experiencing Easter in Guatemala!

After arriving safely on Saturday, our team was very excited to experience Easter in Guatemala. We woke up early Sunday morning to go into Guatemala City for morning Mass at one of the Catholic churches. About 75% of Guatemalans are Catholic, so it was a great...

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There’s Singing at Red Sands!

The Dallas Christian College Choir stopped by to surprise the kids at Red Sands Christian School! Brian, Lifeline's Navajo Administrator, writes, "Dave Sprinkle brought the choir by and they sang and performed for the kids at Red Sands. It was so powerful. It brought...

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10 Principles of Missional Living

Over the last several weeks I have had the chance to interview people whom I consider to be “missional” – a fancy word for Christians who intentionally live out the Good News of Jesus in their behavior and conversations. They are all very committed. These ten...

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Beyond the Stethoscope … 100 Patients in India

The little ones came from the railroad tracks, like one does not imagine, but the world permits, dressed in filthy clothing and layered thick with dust. Their feet were bare. ASSI lined them up in rows on the floor of the cement schoolroom and they sat in silence as a...

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His words struck me hard…

His words struck me hard. They were spoken factually; they weren’t condescending or critical. Just factual, and the facts hurt. “In the US, you are bound by time; in India we are bound by relationships.”  As Neil Propst blogged, here in the US we pursue the “river of...

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India Team: An incredible introduction…

November 15 Today we arrived and after a long three hours of sleep we got up to head down to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. Words are difficult to come up with to describe the majesty, beauty and splendor of this magnificent structure. When you consider that it was...

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What a weekend!

What a great weekend we had, experiencing God’s global work on campus, learning more about our community, and casting vision for our part in His work around the world! We are now over 600 children sponsored in Kenya, Guatemala and Swaziland. 9 people are interested in...

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Global News

As we think about this past year, take time to be thankful for our global partners who have: Been using the Bible translations they completed last year in Magahi (India) and Maco (Venezuela). Built community relationships in Guatemala through water filters and stoves...

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Guatemala Trip Perspective

-Karin Daun Karin has the rare perspective as one who was a member of the first team from CP going to Guatemala. Read on as she shares, not only stories from this trip, but shares the transformation she sees happening. 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers...

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Kenya Update: This is your second home.

-Don Dyck, Team Leader Our Kenya team spent the entire second day at Missions of Hope International’s (MOHI) Madoya school conducting teacher training on reading comprehension for nursery (preschool) through 6th grade. We were pleased to see many familiar faces in the...

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Guatemala Team Update: Full Day. Full Hearts.

Monday's events presented the greatest imaginable range of highs and lows. LEARNING CENTER Our partnership with VisionTrust is centered around a Learning Center, where children are taught about the love of Christ, receive academic enrichment, eat a nutritious meal,...

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Guatemala Team: Covered in Prayer

It is a privilege to serve on a short-term mission. Still, there is often anxiety mixed with the excitement of preparing to travel. Our team received the confidence of knowing that our trip was covered in prayer. BEFORE As we prepared to travel, our team committed to...

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Update from Kenya: Sisters and Stories

With each passing day, our hearts are being claimed more and more by the people of this land. And even though Satan puts up roadblocks, as Joseph said to his brothers, “what you have intended for harm, God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the...

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Update from Kenya: Imago Dei. The image of God.

You were made in the image of the great Creator.  He loves you and has a purpose for you. This has been a consistent theme here in Ewaso Ngiro the last couple days. Three of our team have stayed behind in Nairobi to work with teachers from Madoya School. We are...

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From Start to Finish

The construction team was able to build a classroom on Monday - Wednesday this week. God was with us. There is no doubt that having the skills, knowledge and ethic of Jansen Gehring and Greg Kleis enabled this to be built. God put them on this trip for a reason! Here...

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Jambo from Kenya!

After a long and mildly eventful adventure in Amsterdam, we arrived Monday night safe and sound in Nairobi and were greeted by Connection Pointe’s own Giles & Alison Emery, missionaries with CMF at Missions of Hope International (MOHI). After a long-awaited...

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The Day of Connections

Our second day was the "Day of Connections." THE CHILDREN: We held VBS with 140 children. The connections we felt with these kids was very special. They just opened up and loved us and wanted our smiles and our hugs.   OUR TEAM: It was also a day of deeper...

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An Amazing First Day

Our first day in Guatemala was nothing short of amazing. We were able to go into the homes of the some of the poorest families and install wood burning stoves. These stoves are life changing for two reasons: 1) They have roof top vents, so the family does not have to...

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1+1 Update

Dan Crum, Global Impact Director After only two weekends of launching the 1+1 child sponsorship ministry initiative, the number of children sponsored in Kenya, Guatemala and Swaziland has grown from 385 to 570. Well done, Church! Our goal remains 1000, to equal the...

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When Education is not Free

For Americans, a high school education is a free gift that is often taken for granted. We seldom realize that for many others in the world this is a luxury, one they cannot afford. In Kenya, the government will pay for primary school but not secondary school, which is...

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It Is Worth It

-Joey Mutnansky While in Swaziland this summer I had a unique opportunity to visit the home of Tengetile, my sponsored child. The way to Tengetile’s homestead lead us down a path and through a barbed wire fence. As we approached we saw a gogo (grandmother) perched on...

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If Jesus had been Maasai…

A few years back I submitted the blog post below to demonstrate that Jesus is relevant in every culture, even Maasai, and to challenge people to make Jesus relevant in their circle of influence.  Our global partners make this one of their primary issues every day....

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Guatemala: A Key Partnership

-Jeff Lovell Vision Trust Guatemala is one of Connection Pointe’s key partners. Los Verdes, Guatemala, is a place where we are investing resources via the Learning Center and staff, and the most-visited of all our partners.  This partnership is flourishing! In...

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Swaziland: Big Surprise for Lee

Sunday morning Lee got a big surprise when Pastor Sam asked him to give the message at church. He did and spoke words only the Holy Spirit could place on his heart on the spot like that. Joey also played a song on guitar for everyone. It was a very special service for...

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Swaziland: More of the Story in Pictures

This was no ordinary cookout. It was a South African "braai" barbecue. Take a look at that grill. We were happy to share it with others! Typical homesteads of today's care points and their view of sugar cane all around. Every care point benefited from all the soccer...

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Swaziland: More of the Story in Pictures

This was no ordinary cookout. It was a South African "braai" barbecue. Take a look at that grill. We were happy to share it with others!   Typical homesteads of today's care points and their view of sugar cane all around. Every care point benefited from all the...

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Swaziland: A Day of Roller Coasters

Wow! What a day of roller coasters. We spent the day visiting four other care points in eastern Swaziland. Each community had its own unique “personality.” One by the name of Komba seemed to be more healthy, vibrant and progressive, while another, Section 19, was more...

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Swaziland: We Are Here

After spending several days of traveling and preparing, today (Wednesday) was our first day at the care point in Njojane.  What used to take up to almost an hour once leaving the paved roads, has been shortened to about 15 minutes.  Continued...

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Committed to Care

The recent attack by Al-Shabab on Garissa University College in Kenya underscores the stress in many countries where our Connection Pointe ministry partners live and work every day. Giles and Alison Emery, John Keshe – these are three of our partners living in Kenya....

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The Call…

- Harvey and Yasmin Cline Does it come in a dream? Does it come in an audible voice? Does it come through a song, a sermon or circumstance? Does it only come to the spiritually mature, the most holy or those that are considered “worthy” to be used? No, it's a call all...

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AVATAR AND SWAZILAND

-Lee and Lisa Smith Sawubona, So, what do the movie Avatar and the tiny country of Swaziland have in common? I greeted you with the Swazi word for “hello” or “Sawubona” (sawuˈɓona/). However, its roots have the much more significant meaning of “I see you.” This is the...

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An Introduction…

Many of you know that Connie and I recently finished 26 years of missionary work in Kenya, focused on evangelism and church-planting, materials production, leadership and member care. Our last newsletter gives a good summary of that long season of life. Find it here....

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Stories of Transformation

-Joe Burkett During our recent mission trip to India I took about 600 photographs. This Hindu worship center in Varanasi, on the Ganges River (pictured below) was one of the most beautiful. This site is the epicenter of worship of the Hindu god Shiva, the Destroyer,...

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Some things are just amazing…

This amazing Connection Pointe team just returned from India and brought back with them amazing stories and a ton of amazing pictures. You've been reading their stories (and there will be more to come), but today we wanted to share some of the amazing pictures with...

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Who has a Bible?

-Teresa Byington My house has a Bible in about every room and I suspect you have at least one Bible also. We are blessed. (If you don’t have a Bible and go to Connection Pointe, please stop by the Information Center in the Lobby—we have one just for you.) Scripture...

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Stories from India

The Story of "N" -Connie Crum A significant part of our time in Patna was hearing stories from several women church leaders. "N" became a believer and began growing in her faith through a dream she had about her sister-in-law becoming pregnant. Her sister-in-law did...

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Our Journey Comes to an End

Thursday, November 13 We began this very long day with prayer walk stops at Birla Temple and Albert Hall. Jaipur is a beautiful city; it was home to the maharajahs and boasts some impressive architecture. On the way out of town we saw several elephants on the road. We...

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Our Journey to India: The City of Jaipur

Wednesday, November 12 Jaipur is a city of approximately 4 million people and the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. As part of the Unstoppable initiative, Connection Pointe is partnering with ASSI to expand into this beautiful, but needy, city. The 150 mile...

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Our Journey to India Part 3

Pooja, Krishna and Sankar were my highlights of the day as we visited Delhi ministries. We began with a visit to an ASSI child care location in a slum area along the railroad tracks.  I did a quick count of the children when were arrived; there were 27. By the time we...

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Our Journey to India Part 2…

Sunday, November 9... We had the honor and privilege of worshiping with about 150 Indian believers in a village outside Varanasi. The service lasted “only” three hours. We had chairs, but the local believers sat nearly all that time on the concrete floor. Following...

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Our Journey to India

Wednesday, November 5... We are on our final descent into Patna, capital city of Bihar state and location of our conference. According to Operation World, this is a city of 2.3 million people. Bihar is considered the poorest state and has the second highest population...

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Greetings from India

We have seen many places where ASSI works and heard inspiring stories of transformed lives and miracles. Everything we've heard about the movement of God here is true, but can't be captured in words and pictures--however, it can be sensed in the testimonies and facial...

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A NEW CHAPTER…

Opening a new chapter of life can be stimulating and intimidating. For Connie and me it’s been both as we adjust to this new reality of being permanent residents in the USA after 26 years in East Africa. The stimulation has come from being more involved with family...

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Kenya Team: Final Day

Today started at 6 am with stops in Waso Ngro to greet John Sanco and hear about the progress of the clinics. They just received an ambulance for emergencies and have started a prenatal training program for the villages. They thanked us for the support of Connection...

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Kenya Update: Maasai Mara

Today was filled with travel. We went into the Rife Valley on our way to Maasai Mara. We will be attending the Talek Church Sunday for worship and then we will visit in a Maasai village. This is the area Dan and Connie Crum worked as missionaries and we will get to...

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Kenya Team: Sunday in a Maasai Village

We worshipped with the Talek Community Church, with Pastor Tomas and Paster Moses leading us in the Word. The children greeted us with song and dance which was delightful. It was good to see the impact of these churches and how they continue to grow. Pastor Tomas has...

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Gratitude for our trip

What an incredible trip God granted us. Our team saw so much in Guatemala that revealed His magnificence. In a community with deep problems, the Learning Center is a light. Connection Pointe's sponsorship plays a important part in sharing His love. Our team's...

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Guatemala Team: Does Sponsorship Work?

Does sponsorship "work"? Our team can testify that it can make a tremendous impact in a child's life. Rut, head of our partner VisionTrust Guatemala, told one of our team members a story about his sponsored child.  Carmencita's attendance had waned, and the mother...

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Guatemala Team: Thrilled to be in Guatemala!

Our team is thrilled to be in Guatemala! Arriving in La Comunidad on Sunday, we headed into the community, where we visited several families. We got to know the children and their mothers, see their homes and pray for their needs. This week our team will support the...

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Day 5 in Kenya

Today was filled with hugs and blessings. The teachers reviewed lessons that they shared and provided feedback. The winners were the spelling exercises that Kirsten and Elainna taught. They wanted more and the willingness of our teachers to engage with the children...

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Day 4 in Kenya

Today was a day of cross-cultural collaboration between the teachers of the Missions of Hope Family Center at Madoya Huruma and Elainna and Kirsten. Kenyans and Americans were teaching common lessons to enthusiastic students--nearly 400 throughout the day. The staff...

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Kenya Team Report…

Day 1 in the Slums - This was a day filled with meeting new people, visiting Village One and learning about all aspects of Missions of Hope. The vision is to transform a valley of darkness into a mountain of hope. All of this is founded on the power of the...

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Day 1 in Kenya

Waking up to new friends, sounds and smells. We are off to Missions of Hope center for orientation and visiting the village. Mark 10:51 What do you me to do for you , Jesus asked. My prayer is that we all discover that this...

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Kenya Team 2014

  Welcome to our team. We are going to serve with Missions of Hope in Narobi Kenya. We will be bring books and supplies to the school we have been working with and where a number of our sponsored children attend. Read about this mission which Connection Pointe...

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An Unstoppable Partnership

If you have ever wondered how God moves in cultures far from the influence of His Church, our next trip to India could be for you! We have an Unstoppable God and we are being obedient to His command (Acts 4:20) by partnering with Asia Partners to launch another church...

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Blessings of Child Sponsorship

While in Swaziland, Nicole had the blessing of not only meeting her sponsored children, but also getting to visit the homestead of one of them.  Homestead visits are typically emotional for an entire team, and Nicole shares her thoughts and feelings on this once in a...

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Father’s Day in Njojane

The Swaziland Team arrived safely home on Wednesday. We thank our prayer warriors for the constant prayers and want you to know that we definitely felt them. We saw prayers answered, hearts moved (and broken), and more hope than ever before. Since the internet was a...

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Two Amazing Days at Njojane

Two days. Two amazing days. Two communities on two different continents who share a bond with each other that is nothing short of God's love in the flesh. The Connection Pointe and Njojane communities may be worlds apart, but each year and each visit bring us closer...

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Swaziland

Update for Tuesday, June 10th: Our day began with a devotional by Logan, the youngest member of our team, who reminded us to fear not, God will lead and provide this week. After a long day of traveling (and taking a few wrong turns), we made it to the Mpolonjeni Care...

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Swaziland Team Arrived Safely

The Team arrived safely in Johannesburg with all luggage.  Praise God all 22 pieces made it!  We continue our journey into Swaziland this morning and hope continue updating as we head to our first Care Pointe later today.

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Prayer Guide for Swaziland Mission Team

As our team prepares to leave for Swaziland on Sunday, we are thankful to have so many people praying for us and all that lies ahead.  Due to limited internet availability, we've put together a daily prayer guide asking that you keep these things in mind each day as...

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Swaziland Child Sponsor Celebration

If you sponsor a child in Swaziland, we want to celebrate YOU! We would like to thank you for partnering in the life of a child in Swaziland by inviting you to a Swaziland Child Sponsor Celebration on Wednesday, April 23 at 7:00 pm. (Room 118). We will have an...

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Guatemala Student Team Week 2 Update

Hello from beautiful Guatemala! Our team has started off this week working hard, having fun, and learning so much about Guatemala. The team arrived safely on Saturday evening, then experienced home visits accompanied by some of the Care Pointe teachers to homes of...

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Overcoming the Gates of Hell

Thoughts from CPCC member, Chuck Rapp In the calculus of faith, Jesus clearly taught that seeing is not equal to believing.  But, sometimes seeing does help with comprehension.  This past fall my wife and I participated in the CPCC trip to Israel.  One of the...

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New School Year Starts in Guatemala

Great things are happening in Guatemala! Here are a few updates from our La Comunidad project site. The first day of 2014 classes start today, January 16th. The teachers and community are excited for the new school year! On Monday, VisionTrust Guatemala held a teacher...

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2015 Global Impact Trips

Explore the places you can make a global impact in 2015! March 21-28 - Guatemala (Students) June 7-17 - Swaziland June 13-20 - Guatemala (Students) Oct 10-17  - Guatemala (Family-Friendly) Oct 11-21 - Kenya Nov (TBD) - India For more information, visit...

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Praying for Unreached People Groups

James Fraser, a missionary to Burma once wrote in his journal, "I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home." Many of us will never meet a member of an unreached people...

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Guatemala Learning Center’s 1st Graduation

This fall was the La Comunidad Learning Center's very first kindergarten graduation. The CPCC team in October brought graduation caps and gowns to help the Learning Center make it a special celebration for the children and their parents. Enjoy these pictures of our...

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Visiting the community

The Madoya team visited four community members. One was a gardening project which has transformed the area. went to to 3 homes and met some amazing...

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Play time

Today was another great day of sharing. Melissa lead the children in outdoor games. The teacher training continued with grades 4 and 5. The team also managed 120 1st and 2nd graders with a game of pin the nose on Elmo. Crowd control was challenging but...

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Simple things make the difference

Many new friends at Madoya school. It was day of training with the teachers of grade 4 & 5. We continued our letter exchange between the USA students and the students at Madoya. Each student received a letter and then wrote a letter to be delivered to their new friend...

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Madoya Center service Day 2

Today was another great day of sharing. The teacher training continued wit grades 4 and 5. Veronica the head teacher showed her spirit by combining the tools lesson with the dental health study. Her smile is infectious and you see the impact in the staff and children....

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WOW

WOW That was the greeting that we received time after time as we visited each of the classrooms at Missions of Hope Madoya school today. A "wow" is the children's way of welcoming guests and showing appreciation and love. Today, Don and Carolyn worked with teachers...

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Worshiping at Joska Girls school

  We traveled to Joska boarding school today for Church. The MOHI team was honored to worship with the teachers and girls. The service was an honor to God and we witnessed the talent from the girls as they sang,danced and read scripture. It was a time of...

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Meeting the children at Missions of Hope

The Connection Pointe team meets children from Missions of Hope schools at Pangani center. Missions of Hope which started in 2000 with 50 children now has 10,761 children in 16 schools. We were introduced to the community development strategy of the ministry. We saw...

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Kenya Team ready to go

Connection Pointe team is ready to serve all packed and prayer up for the 20 hours of travel. We are at the Indy airport and ready to leave. Thanks to the Steffy'a for being our...

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Update from Njojane, Swaziland

By the grace of God and the leading of His Spirit, Pastor Philemon Mbuyisa has been appointed as permanent Shepherd to the congregation at Njojane. Final preparations are being made to the pastor’s house on site at the Care Point. In the meantime, Pastor Philemon is...

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God’s Love Never Fails

Post by Mary, Guatemala team member: God's love changes lives. The teachers at the learning center in Los Verdes are dearly loved and they know it. God has poured out His love into their hearts and they are loving the children who attend. Because the children know...

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Dan and Connie host the Kenya Team

The Connection Pointe Team will serve in the same area that Dan and Connie Crum served the Maasai for over 25 years. Their last term in Kenya they saw continued fruit borne as Maasai evangelized and planted new churches. The medical clinics in this area have expanded...

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Kenya team prepares

The Kenya team from Connection Pointe is preparing for their trip. There will be three teams going to Kenya. The urban poor team will be serving the teachers of Mission of Hope with teaching materials. The Water team will be surveying progress on projects in Maasai...

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Getting Called Out of the Comfort Zone (post by Sean)

I always hear people say that their time on a mission trip is more of a blessing to them than those they intended to serve and my time in Guatemala was most certainly that. On the third day of our trip I was asked to give a sermon at the local church. The thought of...

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A Teen’s Perspective (post by Lydia)

The Guatemala team is home safe and sound. Since we weren't able to post regularly while there, we'll follow up with a few posts from team members as we continue to reflect on this experience. A Teen's Perspective: The first thing I noticed when the kids first came to...

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Blessed by Sponsorship (post by Brian)

I decided to take my oldest son on a mission trip to Guatemala to show him how blessed we are and to help show God's love to the kids there. Prior to the trip, my wife and I had discussed sponsoring a child at the Learning Center. We decided if there was one that we...

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Building Community Relations

Knowing that Guatemalans start playing soccer at a very young age, our team was a little anxious about being challenged by the Los Verdes/La Communidad community to a soccer tournament Tuesday evening. We were anxious about getting beat 10-zip, but excited that these...

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First Day at VBS

We were briefly able to find wifi tonight, so here is a taste of our first couple of days in pictures. We absolutely fell in love with the children as we led our first day of VBS. They are definitely much more comfortable with the team of foreigners as we were greeted...

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First Impressions

The team made it safely to Guatemala yesterday and were immediately greeted by our hosts from Vision Trust. Saturday evening was then spent unpacking VBS supplies, getting settled and getting to know the Vision Trust staff. Sunday was an exciting day as we visited the...

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Guatemala Team is on the way

And we're off! Next stop...Guatemala City. The team appreciates all the friends and family who have helped make this trip possible...including those who drove us to the airport very early this morning when the bus wouldn't start. Pray that any other unexpected bumps...

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Guatemala Prayer Guide – October 19-26

The team leaves for Guatemala bright and early Saturday morning! Thanks for taking the time to pray for us while there. We will have very limited internet access, so we wanted to give you specific things to pray for us each day. October 19, Day 1: Today is our...

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New Learning Center Opens in Guatemala

This picture sums up all of the excitement! All year our partners in Guatemala have been working on opening a Learning Center in the La Communidad and Los Verdes communities that Connection Pointe is in partnership with. From January until a few weeks ago a local...

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Leaving for Home

As our team heads to the airport this morning, we ask for your prayers of safe travel. We are so thankful for all of our prayer warriors and supporters that have been with us every step of the way. We've truly felt your presence with us this week. See you soon! The...

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You Call It Africa

The first thing I remember seeing upon departure from the Johannesburg airport was a billboard for a South African travel agency boasting the words, "You call it Africa. We call it home." It struck me as odd for a few minutes; what kind of marketing is that? Of course...

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A Teen’s Perspective

This trip has really changed the way I see things in the world. Not just people traveling the world to bring the Good News of Jesus, but the way faith is practiced and everything that happens all around the world. One thing that has really been on my mind the past few...

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Prayers for Njojane

Sawubona Booti ne Sisi en Jesu, (Hello brothers and sisters in Jesus), The seed that was planted by our Lord in Njojane, watered by Connection Point, One Child Matters, Children's Cup and Fellowship Christian Church of Swaziland has grown into a young life-giving Care...

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Section 19

We've been away from wifi (and electricity) for a couple of days, but we're back in Mbabane/Emafini tonight. All I can say is "Wow!" after our evening debrief. Our experiences over the last couple of days have ignited such an incredible passion for the spiritual &...

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I am not forgotten

A reflection on today by Yasmin... Orphanages are not common in Swaziland. It is a relational culture where family members take in children whose parents have died. There is the occasion where a missionary doing home visits may come across a home headed by a teenager...

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God At Work On Our Homestead Visits

Today's thoughts are brought to you by Kristen.... The word of today was without a doubt...faith. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea what our beautiful, incredible Father had in store for us or the truth that would be heard. All week, we have been blessed to...

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Thoughts on Today and Sponsorship

Today's thoughts and observations are brought to you today by Joey... I woke this morning with the words to the song "Kings and Queens" running through my mind: "little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me. Will we leave behind the innocent to grieve...

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Celebration in Njojane

Today was a day our team and the community of Njojane won't soon forget! This morning our team discussed how we were struck by why we, as Americans, have so much and these people so little. How is that fair? Emily, one of our team members, wrote: But what I noticed...

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Our First Day in Swaziland

Today, our team traveled four hours from Johannesburg, South Africa and safely arrived in Mbabane, Swaziland. We couldn't be more excited about our first stop....a Care Pointe in Mvutjini. The children, what seemed like close to 200, greeted us in song and prayer. Our...

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Swaziland Team

The team arrived yesterday and is doing great! One of the missionaries has been posting pictures on Facebook and I wanted to share them with you! I'm sure you'll get a update directly from the team later today. For now....enjoy these pictures!  Keep the prayers...

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Team Leaves Today for Swaziland

 Thanks for taking the time to pray for us and Njojane during our Swaziland trip!  We'll try to post updates along the way, but this guide will help you to know what prayer requests our team has for each day.   June 9, Day 1:  Today is our first of two traveling days....

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Beginning a church planting movement

Recently our ministry partners in Delhi, India visited Haryana to explore the possibility of starting a new work in that State. They visited a small village that is approximately 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Delhi.  This village used to be a Muslim dominated area,...

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Guatemala in 8 Pictures

 1. Felicita...one of our team favorites who struggles with a learning disability, but has found her place at the Learning Center. 2. Joy...Nothing beats the pure joy of little children who have so little, but love and trust so much. 3. Laughter...Whether at us or...

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What do you want to be when you grow up?

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" This simple question and the answer Rut, Country Director for Guatemala, would change her life forever. Working as a teacher for a private school here in Guatemala Rut came to a community called Cruz Blanca. She stopped and...

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An awesome experience!

We've had an awesome few days (with no wi-fi!) We will be doing a full update on our trip when we get back in the states, but it's been a fantastic trip and an truly amazing group of students! Everyday we've been to the learning center we've made amazing connections...

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A student post (by Ashton)

This first day-and-a-half have been eventful, to say the least, and definitely full of miracles. One might say the miracles started with all 20 people and 36 bags arriving safely in Guatemala, but I think that the miracles started months ago, when God worked to put...

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20 hours after….

20 hours after we meet at Connection Pointe (excuse the typos :)) we are finally settling in for the night. It's been an amazing and eventful day. From a little run through the Indy airport due to some slow computer check in issues, one of the vans getting a little...

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Guatemala Trip Prayer Guide

Want to know how you can pray for our team? Here is a day by day prayer guide! Monday, April 1, Day 1: Pray for smooth (and safe) travels today. Once we arrive in Guatemala City, we will have the chance to visit the community (La Communidad) that we will be working in...

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High School Guatemala Trip

14 high school students, 4 adult leaders, and 2 of our leader’s kids (20 people total) leave for Guatemala tomorrow, April 1 oh...and 36 suitcases.... During our time in Guatemala we will be spending a lot of time with 90 kids in the community of La Communidad. Half...

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Peace in the midst of the election in Kenya

This update is long overdue, but we wanted to make you aware of the need for peace for the country of Kenya. During the last presidential election major violence erupted as a result of what was thought to be corruption during the election process. This time it has...

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Prakash-isms

One of the great treats of this trip were the many words of wisdom from Prakash who served as our primary host.  The following is a collection of our favorites.  Don't rush thru them; spend some time pondering his insights.   Then - as Prakash would be quick to add -...

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Delhi Teaching and Visit to Literacy Center

Friday was our opportunity to share teaching with Delhi church leaders.  Our topic was “The Living God Is a Missionary God”; you’ll be able to hear Pastor Steve address this topic during week 1 of the Perspectives course which is coming to Connection Pointe beginning...

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Shane’s Thursday blog

The train ride was an inspirational trip.  On one part it shows us how most Indians travel from city to city.  On the other end I had the opportunity to see how an Indian man protects his family.  Throughout the night a man continued to pull our curtain back and check...

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Access and Acceptance

Wednesday afternoon we were blessed with another session with church leaders.  We again had about 20 in the room, and the combined number of first generation churches planted was around 240.  It was a great privilege to hear from six of them including one gentleman...

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To the Least of These

Wednesday morning, for security reasons (not wanting to attract too much attention), we split into two groups.  Half of us went to the kids’ shelter near the railway station, and the other half visited two ministry schools with a total of about 35 students at a...

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Arrival in Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur is a city of about one million and headquarters for the ministry.  Upon arrival we heard a musical program by the children from the railway shelter.  After dinner at their compound we had a tour of the facilities.  A recent development is that they have...

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On the Road Again

Tuesday morning we experienced the “automobiles” portion of our “planes, trains, and automobiles” Indian experience as we traveled from Varanasi to Gorakhpur.  The following is my rambling stream of consciousness as we journeyed. 150 miles in 6 hours = 25 mph average...

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Ron’s Reflections from the Ganges

Ron Gremore shared the following thoughts regarding our Monday morning experience. The day started early with the launch of our “small boat of hope in a sea of darkness.” (Renee Cole). After prayer by Chuck Rapp asking for God’s protection we took a pre-dawn walk to...

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Humbled and Ashamed

Shane Christopher is our guest blogger.  Here are some of his thoughts from our experiences Monday. We were blessed to hear many church/community learning center leaders share their stories.  In this room were about twenty humble men who have together personally...

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Four World Religions in One Day

Monday afternoon we continued our up-close-and-personal tour of world religions.  Our first stop was a Buddhist temple purportedly on the location of Siddhartha Gautama’s first sermon.  Varanasi is not only a holy city of Hinduism, it’s also the birthplace of...

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At the Ganges

Apologies that this post is a bit late; we were without internet last night. I suppose one upside of jet lag is that 4:30 AM doesn’t feel so bad; your body has no clue what time it is any way!  By 5:00 we were on our way to the Ganges; this river is quite holy to...

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A foretaste of heaven

The highlight of the day was definitely worshipping with a congregation of about 130 Bhojpuri people in Varanasi.  Their facility was approximately 30 feet wide by 60 feet long, so it was definitely cozy.  And lively!!  (I especially appreciated the chairs for the...

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Safe Arrival

We arrived safely in Delhi Saturday afternoon.  We must have had good tail winds as the flight from Chicago was “only” 13.5 hours.  A big answer to prayer is that our luggage made it too.  Seen here is Shane's view of the Himalayas as we passed over.  The Delhi/New...

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En route!

I have a sense that this missions trip is going to be unlike any other I’ve been part of.  Each is unique; I’ve built buildings, prayer walked cities, distributed literature, taught lessons, totally embarrassed myself in a skit (what happens in Paraguay stays in...

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Day 7 A visit to Antigua

Friday, 01/25/13 Today was our "free day," during which we visited Antigua, about and hour and a half drive.  Rut, Josh and VisionTrust teachers joined us for fellowship. We started at the market, haggling for souvenirs.  The vendors must have really liked us, because...

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Day 6 Last Day with the Kids

1/24 Last day at the Community Center, wow, this week has flown by.  What an incredible time we have had with the children, teachers and families of Los Verdes.  Even though school is for 3 and 4 year olds in the morning and 5 and 6 year olds in the afternoon, some of...

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Day 4 Jesus Film in the Park

Tuesday, 01/22/13 We awoke to another beautiful day in Guatemala.  Unfortunately, two of the team are staying in bed today with stomach sickness.  We are sad for our friends, and are hoping for a quick recovery. On the way to the church building, we stopped at the...

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Day 3 Bring on the kids!

1/21/2013 Los ninos! Today was our first day of VBS.  We packed our day's supplies and were driven to the church / temporary Learning Center by Rut and Josh.  Rut's friend and the regular teachers joined us to help with VBS and act as translators for our team. Just...

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Day 2 In the community

What an awesome day.  Guatemala City and the surrounding area are beautiful.  Mountain and volcano tips peaking though the sky are proof of God’s majesty and creativity.  We were welcomed with an awesome bright orange sunset last night and woke to beautiful orange hue...

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Day 1 WE ARRIVED!!

1/19/2013 Alarm clocks rang early this morning, and the team met at CPCC at 4a.  We stuffed our suitcases in the van and headed for the airport.  How wonderful: not much traffic at this time!  While checking in for our flight, we realized that we’d forgotten one...

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A Christmas Party in Swaziland

  Every quarter at the Coffee Co. we feature a new global project. For every purchase at the Coffee Co. 20% goes to benefit a global ministry project. Something as simple as drinking Coffee is helping to make an impact around the world! This quarter we are...

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India Partner Prayer Update

Here's an update and some ways you can pray for our partners in India! Pray for the upcoming Conference: Purvanchal Shanti Mahotsav (PSM), Varanasi 1-3 November 2012 God has been faithful and kind in blessing the efforts of ASSI for the last 18 years in reaching out...

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Kenya Update – Fire at the Boys Dorm in Joska

Kenya Update: A few weeks ago a fire destroyed the boys middle school dorm at Joska. Joska is the boarding school that takes students once they are out of elementary school. It's a safe place where kids go and get a great education. Joska gives kids the chance to get...

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Learning from our Global Partners

Over the past few days we've had the opportunity to be invest and built up by some of our partners from India.  Yes I did say…our partners from India were investing in and teaching us. For many of us this is a new concept. We are used to and accept that fact that we...

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Camp Is Over…

Our English camp ended yesterday. We were sad to say goodbye to the staff, university students, and campers we had gotten to know oh so well over the last week to week in a half. On Friday, we did have what is called Decision day with our campers. Each of the tutors...

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Welcome Campers!

Yesterday, there was great enthusiasm and excitement all day as we waited for the campers to arrive.  A total of 26 students were welcomed last night by our whole team in a great celebration.  For the first time, we were introduced to our tutor groups.  It was indeed...

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Zdravo!

Zdravo, So many awesome things are going on in Macedonia! The movement to reach young people for Christ seems to be growing and growing! It is awesome to talk to these young students and hear there passion for Christ! We have been having worship every morning and to...

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We Finally Made It!

We made it finally to Macedonia late last night. The drive from Greece to Macedonia was about 3 hours, but it was so pretty...even at night. The whole team caught up on sleep last night as we didn't wake up until noon today. Our day is pretty laid back today. We met...

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Macedonia Team Travel Update

The Macedonia team has had a little hiccup in their travel plans! When they got to the airport in Indy they found out that some of their tickets had been cancelled out of the system. They made to Boston, but have to spend the night and will fly out tomorrow! The good...

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Departure for Macedonia: Hours Away

It is a great delight to have the privilege of sharing Christ over the next couple of weeks in Macedonia.  We thank you all for your prayers and support during the preparation of this trip and now as we go.  We are all the hands and feet of Christ; we can only go...

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Home at last!

We are back safe and sound in Indy! Our trip was so amazing. It was so great to see everyone grow and change throughout our trip. One of the highlights of our trip was when when had the chance to visit the Global Leadership Academy where leaders all over Africa come...

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Headed home!

Hey all, we are headed out on our over 24 hour journey home tomorrow. We will leave here tomorrow morning at 11:00 Swazi time for Joburg and then fly into Atlanta! We will be back at 11:45 on Sunday morning in Indy. Please pray for safe and smooth travel and quick...

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Meeting my sponsored child Temaqusi

It was our first day at the Care Pointe. I didn't know a lot about my sponsored child, Temaqusi. I knew she had just turned four in February and today would be the day I would meet her. When we arrived at the Care Pointe there were a few kids hanging around the...

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Hope in Njojane

A few months ago I posted this blog.. http://www.cpccglobal.org/hope-in-the-midst-of-heartbreak/ This was Sandizo 4 months ago.... And this is Sandizo and his family now... This little guy has been on my heart since I read his story so I was anxious to meet him and...

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Church lions & lots of kids!

Hey all! After a few days out and about we have a lot to share with you. Our Sunday morning started out with an early morning drive to the Eastern side of Swaziland to visit Pastor LaSellete. She is an amazing woman with an awesome story of coming to know the Lord...

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Swazi team We made it!

We safely arrived in South Africa yesterday evening (for us) afternoon for all you! Everything went smoothly on the way here and everyone was able to relax, eat a good meal (pizza!), and get ready for our 4 1/2 hour trip to Swaziland today. We were greeted here in...

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Poverty Isn’t Physical

Take a minute and ask yourself the question? What is poverty? Did you do it? I’m going to guess your answer goes something like this, “Lack of basic needs like clothing, food, water, and shelter.” Almost every American would answer exactly the same. When we see...

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Send a gift to our kids in Swazi!

This June we will be taking team of 9 people to Swaziland! As part of our trip our goal is to bring a small gift to every child at our Care Pointe. About 150 of these children already have sponsors so we need 75 additonal gifts for the kids who don't have a sponsor...

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Coffee with a mission!

 If you haven't been to the Coffee Company lately, you will want to check it out this weekend! You'll notice that it has a new look and a new mission! From now on, 20% of every purchase at the Coffee Co. will help support a global project with one of our strategic...

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An Early Face of Friday

Meet Char and Mitch.... I was going to feature them on Friday, but they need some prayer now so I decided not to wait! Mitch and Char are missionaires in Swaziland and have played a key part in getting our parntership there. About six weeks ago Mitch went into the...

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If Jesus had been Macedonian

 Guest post written by our missionaries in Maceondia. Their names have been kept confidential for security reasons. “If Jesus had been…” Amazing phrase. My head struggles with this phrase in one direction, and my heart also struggles, but toward another pole. My head...

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Face of Friday

  Meet Josh, Mariela and Rut.... A few weeks ago we had the privilege of meeting these three on a vision trip to Guatemala. Together they lead a ministry to help children in Guatemala escape the cycle of poverty. Have you ever met people you instantly admired?...

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If Jesus had been Maasai

This guest post is by Dan Crum. Dan & Connie have served among the Maasai in Kenya for over 20 years.             If Jesus had been Maasai, he would have been a shepherd and not a carpenter.  He would have traveled to Loita to confront the witch-doctors, not...

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Hope in the Midst of Heartbreak

This blog is reposted from some of the missionaries working closely with our Care Pointe in Njojane, Swaziland  Last night, Steph and I were doing dishes together after a long day. I love that we have the time to debrief -- we go separate ways all day, but catching...

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Time to return home

Our last day at the Navajo Mission brought a mix of emotions. We definitely saw tremendous progress from the time we arrived, but there is still a significant amount of work that remains for other groups. In addition to finishing up our projects on the last day,...

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Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

I was not aware that it was Dr.Seuss's birthday, but we were invited to read his books today in Miss Springer's class. This was a great event opportunity and the K-2nd graders enjoyed every minute of it. In addition to this, the team made a lot of progress on our...

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Face of Friday

Meet Marieta... As a Church we had the chance to use some of the Christmas offering to offer small business loans to 10 individuals in Nairobi, Kenya. These loans help people grow their small businesses, thus breaking the cycle of poverty and allowing them to support...

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Gone with the wind

Today brought with it 50 mile per hour winds throughout the better part of the day. Arizona weather has been interesting. When we flew into Phoenix it was 70, we then drove through Flagsgaff where there was 5 inches of snow, and we arrived at Winslow there was lots of...

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Warning: Construction Zone

Day number two has been tedious, but fruitful. We have had numerous projects going including: installing 3 new bathrooms, many electrical projects, new sewer and water lines installed, and new vents for the school bathrooms. Fortunately, God has blessed us with a very...

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The Adventure Begins

This morning was an early wakeup call as we departed the church at 4 am. All 9 guys and our driver made it to the airport. After a 4 hour plane ride to Phoenix and a 3 hour van ride to Winslow, we arrived at the Navajo Trails mission for lunch. We had a great...

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Could Youcef Nadarkhani Change a Nation?

Youcef Nadarkhani is a name you may have seen run across your internet screen lately. He's an Iranian pastor charged with leaving Islam and evangelizing Muslims. Iran is a large nation in the Middle East where 98.6% of the population is Muslim. Amazingly, 0.2% of this...

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Face of Friday

I was standing in the middle of a slum by a railroad track in India when this little girl walked up to me. I was instantly captivated by her. She was obviously one of the railway children, one of thousands of homeless children who use the railway system to live. They...

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New Weekly Series!

Tomorrow kicks off "The Face of Friday" series on our blog. Every Friday we'll be sharing stories and a picture of someone who we've encountered on a trip, or who is being impacted by Global Impact at Connection Pointe. We want you to be informed not only about the...

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New Blog!

We are so excited to be launching the new global outreach blog! We think this is a great platform to share what is happening with Global Outreach at Connection Pointe and how you can get involved. If you are looking for information and how you can be a part of God's...

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Our Vision

Our vision at Connection Pointe is to connect people to Jesus and each other and that’s exactly what we are trying to do globally as well. In our efforts to reach the world we are focusing on specific communities to partner with. We believe that change best happens at the community level when people in the community are invested in the change.

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Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by! We are so glad that you’ve found us! Whether you are stopping by to follow a trip or to find out how to get more involved with global impact you are in the right place! Here are a few things that you won’t want to miss while you are here!

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