Home, Sweet Home!!!

Home, Sweet Home...thank you, Jesus for the safe journey and for watching over us...thank you also for dedicated people who sacrifice personal security and conveniences to further your kingdom...thank you for my amazing family and my church and friends who care deeply about me and about furthering the Kingdom of God and ministry of grace!!! May we continue to serve you with fervor where ever you have placed us!!! Amen!

Goin' Home!!!

We are about to head out to begin our journey home!!! Can't wait to sleep in my own bed, hug my family, and eat a juicy cheeseburger!!! Thanks for all the prayers, it should only take about 30 hours from the time we leave our home in the Philippines to the time we get home in Fallbrook...BUT WE'RE GOIN' HOME!!! YEE HAW!!!

Cool Car

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Isn't this the coolest car??? This is the vehicle that Mark and Kathi drive around in...only one passenger seat so two of us get to sit in the back...makes me feel like a kid again!!!

Other team members

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We were able to meet some of the team that Mark and Kathi work with, it was a great time of encouragement and fellowship...we will continue to lift them up as they continue their work...

Paradise Island

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So, after touring and seeing some of the facilities in which Mark and Kathi work, they took us out to Paradise Island, which is a local beach resort...beautiful and the only way to get there is to take this transport boat to the Island. We had a great time visiting and sharing, on the way home they made us wear the life jackets...I guess the water looked a little rougher...great resort, the only problem, no weapons!!! They take all the fun out of it!!!

Transportation....

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So, after India and the way they drive there I was expecting something similar in the Philippines...while I would say that driving in the Philippines can get a bit crazy at times, it's nothing in comparison to India...however, you do find some pretty interesting forms of transportation...like this "tryke" motorcycle...which can have upwards of 10 people in it...at least they drive on the right side of the road...!

Faith Academy

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This is Faith Academy where Mark and Kathi's son, Joel goes to school. Joel is finishing up his Senior year. Mark and Kathi have an older son named Drew who is currently attending Concordia University, Irvine. They are both great guys with a great heart to serve the Lord...

Koinonia Seminary

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Mark and Kathi took us to the seminary where Mark teaches, it has about 65 students and is a wonderful place. Mark is currently working on his Doctorate and should have it completed in less than a year...

With Mark and Kathi and son Joel

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Well, we have reached our final destination before our return to the US...we have now safely delivered 5 T-shirts from CTK reminding our people how much we love them and are praying for them...It's hot and humid here, but a beautiful place, very tropic...we have been treated to two thunderstorms since we have arrived, very cool!!!

Last leg...Philippines!!!

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So, our last stop is in Davao city, Philippines...we should be there Tuesday night...don't know how much internet availability we'll have, but will post more if we can...blessings, P. Mark

Where we've been in India...

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So you may be wondering where we've been in India, we flew into Hyderabad, which is central India and the C. O. T. R. is on the East Coast in a town called Vizag (you see the long version of the name on the map)...

Medical Ministry

One of the ministries of C. O. T. R. is a medical ministry to the community. On Friday, we traveled to a local village where this doctor examined about 50 people in the community and gave out medicines to those who needed help. We rode in that little ambulence to the village...this doctor also does eye surgeries and is on call 24 hours a day for emergecies...

Mozambique Video

So, I never made it Mozambique, but Brandon did...here is a short video showing some of what he did there...

More food...

So Brandon and I were introduced to some new food items on this trip, including this Indian breakfast that has a donut looking item smothered in a spicy sauce...now I don't even really eat much for breakfast, and usually it pretty bland, so we both ate about two bites and said, "Maybe not for breakfast..." but later we were treated to Indian ice cream...we're talking the real thing...cream....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...now we're talkin'!!!!!

Food, Food, Food...

Just to give you some idea of how amazing this ministry is, they prepare 3000 meals per day for their students, 3 meals per day, that's about 1000 students they have from pre-school to seminary...that's an amazing feat to put on everyday. They have huge vats of rice cooking, their own farm, cows to produce milk...it's an incredible operation!

Seminary Chapel

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So, along with the Children's Chapel services we were also informed that we were to speak at the young adult seminary chapel services for two nights, the first would be for about a half an hour and the second would be for a full hour. Again, not much time to prep, but let me tell you, when these students sing, it's like heaven's gate opens and you are ushered into the presence of God...these students love Jesus and it shines out from them! What an honor to spend time with them and encourage them as they seek a life of service to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We were blessed and I believe we were also a blessing to them...!

Children's Chapel

School meets Monday through Saturday in India and everyday at C. O. T. R. the children who live on campus meet at 5:00 pm for chapel services...so when we arrived (after not sleeping in 24 hours or so) we were informed that they expected us to lead a half hour children's chapel service that afternoon...no prep, no nothin' just our wits...and you know we are but half wits anyway...but somehow Brandon and I pulled off two days of chapel services for the kids and everyone had a great time...By the way, in India, public means private...so when it says public school it really means private school...go figure...

Church On The Rock Ministries

So, Brandon and I were introduced to the Ministries of the Church On The Rock which is located in Vizag, India, on the east coast of India about half way down the coast. Beautiful area. This ministry was started by Dr. Titus and his wife Mary back in the early 80's. It began as a ministry to some orphans in the area and has grown to include a 750 student private Christian School grades preschool to 10th grade, a "junior college" which is later high school for us, a Bible College, a Seminary, a community hospital, and a campus that houses several hundred students all year long. God is doing amazing things on this campus and I was privileged to witness the faith and soundness of this ministry. Truly a church built on the Rock of Jesus Christ!!!! I have Mary pictured above, Dr. Titus died about 6 years ago, but Mary carries on the ministry with the help of her children and many others...

Driving in India

So we arrived in India Thursday morning, I mean morning at 3:30 am...Mark and Josh Peake were there to greet us at the airport in Hyderabad and we spend the next couple hours at a lounge we rented where we could shower, Brandon slept for a bit and we had breakfast there...then at 7:30 am we got on another plane for Vizag, India where we were to spend the next couple of days at the ministry called "Church on the Rock" or C. O. T. R that I will tell you about in the next post...Once we landed in Vizag we were picked up at the airport and we traveled to C. O. T. R. ...We got to experience first hand how people drive in India...on your worst day of traffic with the craziest drivers you've never seen anything like this unless you've been to Southeast Asia...these yellow "taxi" cabs are darting in and out of traffic...nobody looks, everybody just goes and heaven help you if you are a pedestrian!!!...Also, if you don't have a horn, don't bother driving in India, it must be used every 4 seconds or less...So, after experiencing this kind of driving for a while I discovered this truck that had the sign "If driver is reckless call...." which begs the question, "What constitutes reckless driving in India?" never mind, I really don't want to know...

Brandon Returns from Mozambique

Picked up Brandon at the Jo'burg airport tonight, he had a great time in Mozambique with Dave and Gerd LePoidevin, found his bag, tomorrow we're off to India...I'm feeling 100 percent again, Praise the Lord!!! Thanks for your prayers!!! We'll post more when we have some time, right now it's night, night time...

Feeling much better...

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me, I feel a ton better and am ready to eat again...I'm still in South Africa and will stay here through Tuesday when Brandon comes back and then Wednesday we will fly together to India...I figure I should be back to full strength by then...Brandon went ahead to Mozambique, but because his flight was delayed he missed his connecting flight and he got stuck at in Maputo and the airlines put him up in a hotel...they also mis-placed his bag...I e-mailed him a little yesterday and he should be on his way to Nampula right now where Dave and Gerd LePoidevin live. Please pray that all goes well and that he has all his stuff...Blessings, P. Mark

If you don't have your health...

For all my wonderful prayer warriors, I am doing much better today, I went to the doctor this morning and the doctor said I probably picked up a traveling bacteria...last night I flushed out my entire GI system with diarrhea and vomiting-really a tough night, but the doctor gave me something for the nausea and stomach cramps so I feel much better and have started rehydrating, never been so dehydrated...really the worst I've felt that I can remember...So, the real bummer part is that I missed my flight to Mozambique...Brandon went without me, I'm still going to see if it might be possible for me to go tomorrow, but that's a bit of a long shot and totally depends on me continuing to feel better...thanks for your prayers, I'm very disappointed right now, but also know that God has ways that are not my ways and sometimes stuff like this just happens...please pray that if it would be possible, I could find a flight to go tomorrow and that I continue to feel good...

Under the weather...

Well, I got home from the safari trip yesterday and felt very achy, and I knew I was fighting something...today, Friday, things have gotten worse, but not terrible...please pray for my health as Brandon and I leave for Mozambique tomorrow morning to be with Gerd and Dave LePoidevin and their work with Mission Aviation Fellowship...Pray that I'm over this bug by morning! Thanks for all your prayers, I know I'm in the Lord's hands...love and blessings to all of you!!! I'll report more when I get to Mozambique...Love you, P. Mark

More Safari...

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Here are a few more shots, just a sampling of these really amazing creatures...

Safari Time!!!

So, you can't really go to Africa without trying to see some animals, so Thursday, we set out to go to Pilanesberg National Park to see some amazing animals...we saw a herd of about 12 elephant, rhino's, giraffe, and even got a shot of Pumba, the wart hog!!!

Big Thank You to CTK!

Jay and Sarah loved the T-shirt we gave them with names of people who are there to cheer them on...it is such a great thing to know that others are standing with you as you seek to bring light into this dark world. Thank you for praying for and supporting Jay, Sarah, Thomas, Graham and Samuel. They are a wonderful family, full of the love of Christ with a great mission to bring Christ to the nations!

Other Projects

To the very North of South Africa is a country called Zimbabwe, which has been ravished over the past several years with unrest. Jay and Sarah have a heart to someday move to Zimbabwe and plant churches there and help the people understand a Biblical model of life in Christ as a way to be free both politically and spiritually. Until then, they regularly travel to this area to encourage local pastors and do training to help them lead their people.

They also work in two local churches to provide leadership training and discipling to help local leaders flourish in Christ. For more information go to http://www.ocafricasa.net

Bram Fisherville and Hermina

Jay took Brandon and I to a neighborhood called Bram Fisherville and introduced us to a wonderful woman named Hermina (pictured in the first picture). Hermina lives in Bram Fisherville and the Gerharts work with her as she pours out her life into the lives of people in this neighborhood. Right now, Hermina provides a Pre-school for 72 children who's parents need help so they can find work. They also are working with other women to build a sewing business that will be able to provide for their needs. Their hope is to one day plant a church in this neighborhood.