As you may have heard in news reports, a large 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines. The epicenter was on Negros Island, to the southwest of Cebu Island, where many Mission of Mercy programs are located.

Our staff reports that the earthquake was “so strong. Everyone went out of the building to an open space. But everyone is alright.” Thankfully, a social worker was present and was able to provide counseling to children who were frightened by the event.

A dental team is also in the Philippines providing dental care to children in our projects. They experienced the trembler and several aftershocks. They will travel to another city tomorrow and ask for prayers for good weather, as much of the travel between islands involves ferry boats.

We have two very different mission teams leaving this weekend.

THE PHILIPPINES

A dental team is traveling to the Philippines to provide much-needed cleanings, exams, and other services to our projects there. This may be the first time some of our children have seen an actual dentist. Please pray for a spirit of trust to form between the team and the community, and for an absence of fear for the little ones getting their first cleaning!

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

On Sunday, a very special team of elementary and middle-school aged kids (and their parents and grandparents) are leaving for the DR. In response to the need in one of the communities we serve, the team raised funds to build a library.

The project expects to use the space to help children (like the sweet little girl pictured above) study and help their parents learn to read and gain new skills. We are quite excited to share more about their trip with you when they return. In the meantime, please pray for their travel and the work ahead!

Cyclone Funso's projected path as of 5pm January 24th may avoid areas our programs serve. Image courtesy of the Pacific Disaster Center's Global Hazard Atlas.

UPDATE: Cyclone Funso's path is taking it out to sea. Praise God with us that our friends in Mozambique and Swaziland were spared more storms.

When it rains, it pours. And that’s definitely happening in Mozambique and Swaziland. Less than a week after Tropical Storm Dando made landfall and ruined both church buildings and homes in the communities we serve, now Cyclone Funso is threatening.

Today it strengthened to a Category 4 storm with winds over 130 mph. Thankfully, it seems to be drifting along the Mozambique Channel and has not veered inland.

We are praying Cyclone Funso continues on its projected path and skirts past Mozambique and Swaziland. Still, bands of intense storms are raking across southern Africa. Even Bulawayo, Zimbabwe is getting large amounts of rain. (You can see the general location of our projects in the white dots on the image above.)

As the ground is already saturated from Tropical Storm Dando, the aftereffects of Funso can still cause major damage. Please join us in praying for the safety of the children and staff in Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, especially those who may be staying under damaged roofs.

The weather reports show another round of storms brewing behind Cyclone Funso -- please pray with us that those storms also miss these beleagured countries. But if they don't, we pray that God will be making a way for those in the storm's path to find shelter and hope. And may His church continue to move to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world.

You can help Mission of Mercy respond to crises like cyclones and floods with a donation to the Children’s Crisis Fund. In the past, funds have been used to rebuild homes, provide medical treatment, and allow the staff to meet the most pressing needs in a community. Thank you for your continued support of our friends and the children they serve!

Fernando, a Mission of Mercy sponsored child, was inside his home when it collapsed but escaped without major injury.Friends, we are so thankful to tell you that the children and staff at our Xai-Xai program were not injured in Tropical Storm Dando.

We do know, however, that many of the children's homes were severely damaged. Many homes in Xai-Xai are built of reeds and thatch and could not withstand the wind and rain.

The lightweight nature of the materials was also a bit of a blessing for children like Fernando pictured at left, who was inside his home when it collapsed. Thankfully he escaped with little more than a few scratches.

As you can see, much needs to be done to help rebuild the Xai-Xai community. You can help by making a donation to the Children's Crisis Fund, which is available for children whose homes were destroyed. As we reported earlier, we are also raising funds to repair the roof of the Xai-Xai project's building (which also acts a church).

We appreciate your prayers and support for the residents of Xai-Xai. These difficult times also provide an opportunity for the love of Christ to become tangible for those who have so little. Thank you for all you do.  

Weather as of 1pm MST, January 17. Image Courtesy of TerraMetrics via Weather Underground.We are asking for your urgent prayers for the children we serve in Mozambique, as they recover from the effects Tropical Storm Dando.

With forceful winds and heavy rain, Dando wreaked havoc in Mozambique, and in Xai-Xai (pronounced shy-shy) in particular. Today we received reports that the roof of the building that served as the project and church was ripped off.

The staff in Mozambique are in the process of checking on the children registered in our programs. As always, please know that if your sponsored child was directly affected, we will contact you personally; however, given the general state of things this may take some time.

If you would like to make a donation to help Xai-Xai rebuild, or to help the children and their families repair homes that were damaged, please consider making a gift to the Children’s Crisis Fund. Mission of Mercy relies on the CCF to respond and rebuild in situations like these.

Thankfully, Tropical Storm Dando has slowly lost intensity after making landfall, but is still dumping rain in Mozambique and Swaziland. Please pray for the children whose homes may have been damaged. May the Lord be their protection and keep them dry. And may His church rise up beyond the building itself and continue to serve this community.

  As the team walked through the community, they were immediately smitten with the beautiful children with their deep eyes and yet horrified by their living conditions. One team member wrote,

 "…what we saw should never be. No one should have to live in the filth that we saw. No child should have to play in the garbage. But then again, the children we saw had smiles on their faces as they played barefoot in piles of garbage. Maybe they know something about life that I don't know. I'd sure like to find out."

The children they saw. Children like the young boy, standing in what most would consider a dump, in his ironic and immaculate “Preserve the Future” shirt.

Because of the two-year anniversary of the massive earthquake in Haiti, today is a day of reflection in Haiti. It is a day of mourning, of remembrance. For others, it is a day of examination – have we helped? Have we made a difference for this country?

It is far too easy to get lost in analysis. So instead of focusing on our own efforts and their impact, we want to focus on the children. Like the young boy who paused during his day to let some visitors take his photograph.

Or these children with the beatific smiles as they are first enrolled in a Mission of Mercy program.
Or those who pray and sing to God before class, or those who eagerly make their way to school.
Much can be written of Haiti, of its continued status as “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,” a phrase that Haitian-born journalist Joel Dreyfuss considers a cage of words – “a box, a metaphorical prison” – that lends little to true understanding other than emphasizing the numerous tragedies and challenges it faces.

Instead, we will continue our work with the children of Haiti. We will continue to pray for dignity, for creative solutions to issues and continued growth in our partnering faith communities. We will pray for these children to find their identity as a child of God and not as a resident of a nation with a reputation.

And we will pray that we can have God’s eyes and ears and heart for this country. And we will claim the promise of our faith – we are new creations, the old has passed away, behold, new has come – for the children of Haiti, today and every day.

Medical Mercy is starting the new year right where they left off: bringing hope and health to children in our projects around the world. Dr. Beyda is asking for prayer for this trip. Here are the details:

Tomorrow we leave for India. A team of 18, medicines, equipment and excitement.

We’ll be in the southern part of India along the coast off the Bay of Bengal based in a small town called Puri, population 150,000. Puri is well known as a pilgrimage site for Hindus with their many gods. That will tell you something.

We’ll be going to 4 projects seeing the children and the villagers, expecting about 500 patients a day, diseases and illnesses common to the areas in an underdeveloped country.

We’ll be running simultaneous “tracts of care” in each: nutritional assessments, first aid training, implementing a water filtration system, medical examinations and treatment, and vitamins and de-worming medicines for all. It’s amazing to see the tracts running in parallel, patients moving from one tract to the another, and finally exiting with an opportunity for spiritual counseling.
 
We all know the saying “what are we bringing to the table?” when we talk about negotiations and relationships. What is it that we “bring” that will be valuable to the other person? In this case, it’s obvious. Medical care, pure water, vitamins, first aid kits, and prayer.

But here’s where I like to go a little off the path. I am always aware of “what we bring,” but I am more acutely aware of “what we leave behind.” It is the memories, the interactions, the changed lives, the improvement of what sometimes is just an existence for those we meet.

It is the power of prayer, the introduction to a God who is singular in His reign, and at times the new believer that we leave behind. And so it begins tomorrow. We’re bringing much…I’m excited to see what we leave behind. Be with us.
 
In all things give thanks,
 
David

Honduras, and a large portion of Central America, has been receiving heavy rains as part of a slow moving storm. The heavy rains have caused severe flooding throughout the region. 

Our projects in southern Honduras, near Choluteca, have especially been affected. The Choluteca River has already overflowed and it is expected to rain for another 28 hours. The city of Choluteca is on alert for mudslides and continued flooding.

The flooding has ruined all of the crops in the area, which is the poorest in Honduras. As most of the residents in the area are subsistence farmers, this loss of income is devastating.  

So far, approximately 30 of our children and their families have been affected and are taking shelter in schools and churches that have been set up as refugee centers. As this storm continues, we are expecting the loss of more homes as many of our children live along the Choluteca River.

Our staff in Honduras is working hard to get us more information as soon as they can. As we receive updates, we will share them with you here. If your sponsored child is affected, we will personally contact you with the information. 

There is an urgent need for food, water, and clothing. We are sending funds to cover these immediate needs and to help our children and their families recover from this crisis. If you would like to help, please consider giving to our Children's Crisis Fund.

Please keep our children, their families, and the staff in Honduras in your prayers!

The Kenya Women's Circle of Kenya team safely returned late last night. Their last few days in Kenya were filled with travel, Nairobi traffic, and more walks through communities such as this one, where one brother helped his younger sibling avoid the barbed wire around their home. 

One team member shares, "We want to thank you for your prayers -- they were felt every day as we worked and learned and cried together. The Lord is doing a great work in Kenya and we were blessed to meet and encourage the people who serve Him so diligently."

More posts will follow as the team begins to process their experiences. We are grateful that the Lord brought them back with many tales and photos to share with us.  

Today was a sucessful day for the medical team in Bangladesh. The medicines finally arrived and what's even better is that they were able to get them into the country without paying any fees! Isn't it amazing how God always comes through for his people?

The internet is slow and inconsistent, but Dr. Beyda was able to send us a short update on how today's clinics went.

Six vehicles, 30 people, one and a half hour ride and a river crossing by ferry, is how we started the day today. Chalna is an isolated community that hasn't seen medical care in over 15 years. The children were malnourished, some sickly, but all were laughing and smiling nonetheless. Prayer was the order for the children. 

It was for us as well. A Hindu woman came to Christ, others heard, and wondered if we really were who we said we were. Servants. And we served. 200 medical patients, 19 dental patients (it takes a while to extract teeth; Dr. Bob and Diane were at it constantly). Public health education, dental hygiene, water filtration system training, first aid training, nutritional assessments, medical examinations, and dental work were all being done simultaneously with the team taking on all facets of health intervention and training in a distant remote village in the southern part of Bangladesh. A ballet of sorts, one continuous act, and an encore.

We came to a village and within 6 hours left them with a chance for a better life. A bold, ambitious undertaking, and perhaps a little glorified, but it worked. There is nothing better than the see the smile after something is given freely and taken freely as well, no strings attached. Unconditional love I believe it's called.

In all things give thanks,

David

 Thank you for your prayers for the team so far- keep them coming!

Please keep the Medical Mercy team in your prayers! They are having a very rough start as they begin their work in Bangladesh this week. Dr Beyda shared the following on his blog:

So much for blogging good news. This will be short just to give you an idea of what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. Short synopsis: we left Phoenix for Chicago, picked up the rest of the team, left Chicago for Abu Dhabi, drained the fuel tanks on the plane there due to head winds, stopped in Kuwait to refuel, got to Abu Dhabi late, missed our connecting flight to Dhaka, got a flight to Karachi, Pakistan in order to catch another flight to Dhaka, (or we could of stayed in Kuwait overnight...who wanted to do that-not!), got to Karachi, connecting flight to from Karachi to Dhaka delayed, spent 10 hrs in a transit area in Karachi, finally getting to Dhaka after leaving Phoenix 42 hours earlier, and got all our luggage but none of the 15 boxes of meds and supplies (almost 800 lbs of needed stuff). That's it. Done. Nothing we can do about it.

The team spent the night in Dhaka and left early this morning for a 6 hour drive to the first clinic with the dental stuff, public health education stuff, nutritional assessment stuff, a few pills here and there that team members had in their personal belongings and stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. They are going to run a clinic as best they can. I on the other hand am still in Dhaka waiting to go back to the airport this afternoon to see if the meds come in on the next flight. If they do, I make an 8 hour drive to the south of Bangladesh to catch up with the team sometime very late tonight. If the meds don't arrive....well, I don't really know what I'm going to do. The troubles we've seen. The anxiety of it all. The unexpected. The not knowing. It is what it is. And with all that I still say, in all things give thanks. 
David 

On Sunday we visited a slum community to attend church with the most beautiful people. The church building was a simple structure of corregated metal which got progressively hotter as the service went on. The music was accapela and full of joy, and the sermon was fantastic. The pastor preached in English with Hapi, Mission of Mercy's Kenya director, translating in such an unobtrusive way it felt like call and response. So beautiful.

After that we took a quick tour of New Life Home, which we'll visit again at the end of the week. Having just walked through the slums that morning, watching the nurses tenderly care for the children was so encouraging.

The photo above is of Vincent, a sponsored child who traveled many hours to meet his sponsor. His favorite gift from her by far were these funny glasses. Although his smile took much coaxing, once those glasses appeared the giggles kept coming. We loved having Vincent with us for most of the day -- he was quite the gentleman.

This morning we're packing up to head to Emarti; today we'll work with the women and the two days after that with the children. We have many special things planned, but it's unlikely we'll have internet over the next few days. Thank you for praying for us! It has been a wonderful trip thus far. Please pray that we can communicate God's love despite the language barrier. We are eager to see how the women respond to us, as last year they were moved to tears when they realized the women had returned to visit them. This year we have several women from previous trips -- I am praying that God continues to knit our hearts together!

Kate is a Mission of Mercy staff-member who joined the 3rd annual Women's Circle of Caring trip to Kenya. The team will start the week in Nairobi before venturing south to the Emarti Maasai region. She sends us this update:

Praise God -- we are now in Nairobi with all of our bags safe and sound. This is truly a gift from God because we checked SO MANY BAGS, all of which were filled to the brim with gifts and supplies for the Maasai. I'm quite sure we gave the baggage guy a heart attack when we came rolling in.  

Tonight we sleep and try to reset our internal clocks -- tomorrow we go to church and visit a community where Mission of Mercy ministers. I expect this to be an overwhelming day. The community is in one of Nairobi's slums. This is what I've been both waiting and fearing to see: this is where Mission of Mercy children call home, and having never seen anything like it personally, it may very well horrify me. Just as one part of me wants to be unshockable, the other part of me wants to be moved by what moves the heart of God. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. It's a difficult prayer to pray knowing what may come. I will try to post more later.

Friends, please join us in praying for the Women's Circle of Caring team that departs for Kenya this morning. Many of the women are returning for their second or third trip to work with Mission of Mercy project that serves the Emarti Maasai people.

They have a long travel day ahead of them. Please pray for traveling mercies, that their luggage and supplies will arrive safely in Nairobi, and that they can fully focus on ministering to the Emarti. We can't wait to see what God does in them and through them during this trip! If the internet remains stable, they will try to post updates here on the blog, so check back often!

Hurricane Irene's location as of 9 am, Tuesday August 23, churning more than 50 miles north of the coast. Image courtesy of Stormpulse.com; to track the storm's path and progress, click on the image.Thank you for praying for our programs in the DR and Haiti! We just received word that our projects in both countries sustained minimal damage. Praise God!

Although Irene had been upgraded to a category two hurricane, the storm's path took it north of the coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Many Mission of Mercy projects are located in this northern region and closed temporarily to allow families to ride out the storm together.

Our prayers for the communities' safety were answered! The staff is still checking with families and community members, but it appears that no major damage occurred.

If you sponsor a child in the Dominican Republic or Haiti, please note that we will only contact you if we are notified that your sponsored child has been affected.

In the event of natural disasters or disease outbreaks, Mission of Mercy relies on our Children's Crisis Fund to respond. To ensure we continue to have has the funds available to help the children and their families in times of hardship, please consider a donation to the Children's Crisis Fund. To read how the Children's Crisis Fund met needs in the past, click here.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Mission of Mercy is incredibly blessed to work with several passionate partners on the field, such as the staff of Children's Cup who help us minister to children in Swaziland and Mozambique.

Nothing encourages us more than when the body of Christ comes together to meet the needs of children. Even the smallest act, such as measuring basic food stuffs, can make a huge impact.

Yesterday we received some photos of our Children's Cup friends in Swaziland unpacking 1252 boxes of food from another partner, Feed My Starving Children.

The "Manna Packs" that Feed My Starving Children donates to organizations like Mission of Mercy are enriched with protein and nutrients which are essential for meeting the nutritional needs of children in our programs, especially in remote areas where food and transportation costs are so high.

In addition to Swaziland, we have used Feed My Starving Children rice packs in Haiti after the devastating earthquake and cholera epidemic.

Several shipments also went to Kenya in response to the severe drought and famine there. Over the course of a year and a half, Feed My Starving Children and Mission of Mercy made sure over 1 million meals made it to the mouths of hungry children in several areas around the globe.

What's amazing about all of these Kingdom connections is that several of our headquarters staff in Colorado Springs will volunteer to pack Feed My Starving Children meals at area churches this weekend. We are thrilled to take part in a program that we know saves lives!

We also want to ask for prayer for the continued needs in Kenya. The drought in the Horn of Africa continues to impact families across Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. We are coordinating with Feed My Starving Children to send another shipment to our projects in Kenya, and the logistics are always harried. Please pray that we can quickly cut through the bureaucracy and customs issues and get this critical food source to the children and families who need it most! 

If you'd like to help us ensure that our children in Kenya receive the nutrition they need, please consider donating to the Children's Crisis Fund. Thank you!

How many teachers had an impact on your life? Do you pray for those who have a direct influence on your sponsored child? Here are some suggestions from someone who's been in the trenches.

We anxiously watched as Tropical Storm Emily approached the Dominican Republic and Haiti. And we are praised God as this storm weakened to Tropical Wave, which is weaker than its previous category of Tropical Depression.

Those praises continue as our field staff reported no damage. Some rain fell in the northern parts of the DR and Haiti, but not enough to cause concern. We thank God that our projects can continue to operate normally as they minister to the children and the community.

In this image from August 3, Tropical Storm Emily approaches the DR, Haiti, and after that, Cuba. Image: NOAA

The mission team in Honduras wrapped up their projects in Choluteca and Tegucigalpa and safely returned to the U.S. God has surely knit their hearts together, so we can continue to pray that they can hear God clearly and have the time and space to seek God's face about all they saw, felt, and heard in Honduras.

No doubt you have seen the disturbing images and stories: the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 60 years is devastating areas in northeast Kenya, southeast Ethiopia, and Somalia. (Click here for a map.)

Thousands of Somali refugees are fleeing the drought-ravaged region and humanitarian organizations are struggling to meet the desperate need posed by chronic malnutrition, especially in children.

Although our projects in Kenya and Ethiopia are some distance from the hardest-hit areas in Somalia, the entire region is struggling as the price of basic food stuffs rises dramatically.

Many of the communities we serve depend on herding animals for their income and survival; as the drought worsens, it is more difficult for flocks to find proper pasture. Some communities in northern Kenya have seen an increase in dangerous and violent raids to steal livestock.

Mission of Mercy has been monitoring the the prolonged drought in several regions in Kenya. Thanks to the resources available in our Children's Crisis Fund, we have provided over
1 million protein-enriched rice meals to ensure the children in our programs could eat. We are also providing clean sources of water.

Together with several international partners, we are coordinating the delivery of more food packets. Our staff in Kenya and Ethiopia continue to check the health of the children, who are often the most vulnerable in times of great need. Our health care workers are trained to evaluate the nutrition needs of the children, utilizing Medical Mercy assessment tools and a “rapid rescue” program for those at great risk.

Please join us in prayer for the people in this region:

• That humanitarian organizations already on the ground will have the means and supplies to respond.
• That the needed materials, medicine, and food would flow unhindered from the organizations, through the governments and customs, and into the hands of the people who need it most.
• That the donation of additional food packets for Mission of Mercy projects would go quickly, and that our partner organizations would be blessed.
• That the global Church would respond to these desperate situations.
• That the communities we serve are protected in terms of the health of the families as well as safety from raiding livestock thieves.

If you are interested in helping us meet the needs in this increasingly desperate region, please consider giving to our Children’s Crisis Fund, which provides for the acute health needs of children as well as nutritional aids like the rice packs our children call Manna.

One of Mission of Mercy's radio partners, SOS Radio, is currently in Sri Lanka, working at a very special project and learning how the opportunity for leadership changes lives...

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