Miracles for Honduras ... with a simple Rummage Sale

The below post is from an email sent to us from our Missions Committee Director, Pam.  She has been a tremendous motivator and she has been such a blessing to our mission team as well as Community Church of Elkhorn.  Just wanted to pass along the great stories she shared regarding our recent Rummage/Bake Sale held at our church a few weeks ago.  

[When we started this journey to Honduras I would never have believed that God would give us so many miracles and blessings along the way.   Here are just a few that God has given me to share:

Many people think we should be pricing the items that we have in the "sale", however, God takes care of that:

Three young women (teenagers) came to the rummage sale.  Each of them pregnant, none married; they were looking for baby items.  One of the girls "bought" three brownies, one for each of them.  Their funds were very limited, however, as they turned to go one young girl reached into her pocket and brought out a wrinkled $5.00 bill, which was all she had.  She handed it to me and told me to put it towards our Honduras mission.  WOW! what a God moment.

Another woman selected just one small item and handed me $20.00 and said that she wished her church would do something like this.  Kim, you had given me a folder of information about Honduras which I gave to her and she said that she was going to bring this up at the next meeting at her church.  Where will God lead her church?  Let's pray it's to the mission field.  Miracles are everywhere!

As you know, I put an ad in the local paper with the date and times of our rummage sale.  I had a phone call from a lady that said she had read in the paper about our unique rummage sale with proceeds going to our Honduras mission team; she wanted to be a part of it by dropping off nick-knacks and other items (she usually gave to Goodwill)  for our church rummage sale.   (WOW! another God moment)   One of ladies from our church selected several small figurines (apparently, collector items) for herself and took them home.  Now here is the amazing part of the story.  A few days alter, this lady from our church was in the drugstore and she overheard a woman who was trying to purchase a figurine to replace the one she had accidentally broken while cleaning (she is a maid).  But the store employee told her that the particular figurine she was looking for had been discontinued.  The lady from our church stepped in and said that she thought she might have that exact figurine as she had just "purchased" it at the Community Church of Elkhorn's rummage sale.  Upon going home, sure enough, she had just the figurine the cleaning lady needed.  She contacted the store and told them she would drop off the figurine.  The cleaning lady wanted to pay for it, but "No Way!", the lady from our church was just thrilled to be a part of God's plan.  God moment from start to finish!  As it turned out, the lady from our church was able to find out the name of the cleaning lady and she could not believe it but she had been one of the many children she had driven on the school bus back and forth to school for many years.  What a blessing all the way around!  

When people come up to me and ask the prices at our rummage sale, I tell them it is a simple donation to support our mission trip to Honduras.  Sooo many of them do not have much, but they literally open their wallets and give it all!!!  Blessings and miracles are all around us if we just open our eyes.

Collecting Supplies ... and PRAYERS!!

Hey You Guys!!  

In case you forgot ...

The Community Church of Elkhorn is sending a team of 12 people to Honduras from 9/28-10/5/2013, to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the Honduran people in the capitol city of Tegucigalpa.  Our team consisting of medical professionals, as well as non-medical individuals, will provide medical, dental, vision and pharmaceutical care for many of the Honduran people who would not otherwise have the means to receive such care.  In addition, we will participate in a children’s ministry that will involve sharing a gospel message designed for children and giving each child a special bracelet to help them remember the message. 

We've begun collecting supplies, ... items needed in serving and providing for the Honduran people.

Many of us are purchasing a few things each week ... some of us are sewing homemade eyeglasses cases for the Optical portion of the ministry ... we've received several donations!

This is a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of fellow human beings who do not have the resources to properly care for themselves.

Would you like to help us make a difference?  Do you know someone else you can invite to partner with us?

We are collecting donations of the following:

Adult and child toothbrushes and travel size toothpaste (Do you know a dentist who'd be willing to donate?)

Cough/Cold Tablets – Adult

Antibiotic Cream (Neosporin, Polysporin)

Prenatal Vitamins

Vaginal Yeast Infection Treatment

Ibuprofin (200 mg)

Anti-Itch (hydrocortisone) Cream

Anti-Fungal Cream

Acetaminophen (500 mg)

Antacid Tablets

For a complete list of NEEDS, please contact Brian/Kimberly Prendergast: 262-723-5584 / prenderbergs@gmail.com

**We will also accept monetary donations allocated for purchase of medical/dental supplies!!  Checks should be made out to Community Church of Elkhorn.  *In the check memo line be sure to reference Honduras Team #3913B* - Medical/Dental Supplies

We also need your prayers!  Team #3913B Prayer Needs:

      Deb  – Shoulder surgery recovery

      Nancy  – Back surgery recovery and ongoing pain

      That God would remove all of the obstacles that Satan tries to throw our way

      Unity and strength among team members

      Confidence by the Spirit to share the Gospel, our faith in Jesus 

      Continued financial support partners and fundraising successes

      Spiritual growth for each team member

Upcoming Mission Team Events:

July 22, 2013 - Pizza Ranch Fundraiser

July 26-27, 2013 – Rummage/Bake Sale-Part Two

August 14, 2013 – Spaghetti Dinner/Silent Auction

** if you or someone you know may be able to donate an item or service for the Silent Auction, please do not hesitate to contact us!!

	Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction    Location: Community Church of Elkhorn, 4654 Briggs Rd. Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Time: 5:00p – 8:00p Serving: Spaghetti, Breads, Salad, Dessert, Beverage FREE WILL OFFERING to support Mission Team Needs.

Back ... with updates

Here I am … here we are … and it is only about three months until we embark for Honduras again!  WOW!  Can you believe it?  Well, stuff is going on and we have been preparing … so here are the updates!!

Evangelism Training – We’ve had one meeting with Evangelism Training and we briefly went over several of the methods that can be used when sharing the Christian faith with someone.  One of the more common methods is the Romans Road.  Our Pastor, who is also a member of our team this year, went over this with us.  Basically, the Romans Road is a path to follow along using verses from the book of Romans that outline Salvation through Jesus Christ.

• Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

(Everyone has done something that displeases God or is against the nature of God.  Once we have sinned, we cannot go backwards or "undo" the wrong thing we have done.)

• Romans 6:23a - "For the wages of sin is death;"

(The punishment that we all have earned for our sins is death, not just physical death, but eternal separation from God.)

• Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

(God loves each and every one of us, ... so much so ... that while people were rebelling and sinning against Him, He sent His very own Son to take our punishment for the sins we have committed.)

• Romans 6:23b - "but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

(When Jesus rose from the grave three days after his crucifixion, God proved that death and the power of sin had been overcome.  Each of us, by accepting God's free gift of eternal life, by trusting in Jesus as the one who is our Savior, are granted immunity from the death sentence of sin.

• Romans 10-9:10 - "If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Fundraisers – We held our first Pizza Ranch fundraiser at the beginning of May and we took in a little more than $400!!!

Last weekend, we had our HUGH Rummage/Bake Sale at our church!!

Mmm ... do those baked goods look yummy???

We made cranberry scones, Welsh cakes, chocolate chip cookies, cherry cheesecake bars ...

... and, of course, caramel pecan pie!!!  Mmm Mmm Mmm ...

Here are the Welsh Cakes ... delish!

Here's teammate Nancy manning the baked goods ... we needed to make sure that shoppers knew "Nancy is NOT for sale!"

Brian was on hand to help shoppers take their purchases to their vehicles.

All items were "purchase-by-donation" ... no prices were set-pay what you like-help grow our mission-to-Honduras fund!

Here's Pastor Bob reiterating my last point!

Who's this lovely trio??  Glad you asked ... from L to R, we are teammates Nancy, Kimberly (myself) and Jen.  

On the left of this photo is Pam.  She is the head of our church's missions committee and she facilitates the WHOLE Rummage Sale Extravaganza!  On the right is a happy shopper!

This is Susan; she went to Honduras with us last year.  This year she supporting us by sewing wonderful eyeglasses cases for the optical area of the brigades we will be working in.

This is our Honduras bulletin board!  Pam put together most of it but I made the poster on the right to show everyone what we will do in Honduras, who's on our team and there's a rising scale to reflect as we get closer and closer to our mission fund GOAL!!

When the children were around and they got a little bored, there was a fooz-ball table available for purchase-by-donation that they had a great time playing. 

It's still available so if you're interested ... just let us know!!  

Any donation ... it's YOURS!!!

We are likely going to have another rummage sale at the end of July but for this one we were so blessed to raise nearly $2,200.00 towards our mission fund GOAL!!  Woo-Hoo ~ Praise God!!  

Other future happenings:

July 22 - Pizza Ranch Fundraiser #2: 5:00p - 8:00p

Come out to support the October 2013 Honduras Mission Team!! Tell your friends and family!! A great time with great food and great people ... all for a GREAT CAUSE!!

July 26-27 - Rummage Sale #2

Community Church of Elkhorn

August 14 - Spaghetti Dinner/Silent Auction

Community Church of Elkhorn

Team Building - Obedience

Well, ... here we are again, preparing to return to the country of Honduras to serve our Father God by serving the Honduran people.  If you're still following along since last year, so glad you're here!  Hang on ... because you're sure to be blessed by our Awesome God as we follow His leading.  If you're a newcomer to these posts and our support team or if you've just happened here by chance, ... WELCOME!  We're glad you're here too and we hope you stick around.

We've officially begun our Team Building and Training meetings and the first one went quite well.

  

Brian asked Pastor Bob (who is also going to Honduras with us this year) to share a devotion with the group on "Obedience" ... 

... it was perfect for this particular meeting and for those of us who were present.

There are numerous rules, tasks, obligations ... with which we are expected to obey on a daily basis.  We all know them ... [speed limits, dietary restrictions, visiting hours, anti-piracy laws] ... do we obey them?  There is a reason for every rule, guideline, or instruction we encounter.  Obeying speed limits keep us safe on the road.  Obeying dietary restrictions keep us healthy.  You get the point ... 

You know, there have been many people who have had the inner "desire" to go on a mission trip, several who have felt the invisible nudge to accept the invitation to go on a mission trip ... this mission trip ... yet, struggle with following "the pull", accepting the challenge or making the commitment to do so.  Often, we may not even realize it or pay close enough attention to it ... but that "invisible nudge" may actually be God trying to let us know that He has a job for us to do.

The biggest reason to not obey is most likely "FEAR".

One particular team member has really struggled with whether or not this mission trip is indeed something meant for her to be a part of ... I know how she feels ... last year that was me.  She has the inner desire; she feels the "invisible nudge" ... but there's also fear.  

But there is nothing to fear when God is involved.  He is always with us and he is an ever-present help ... 

... after church on Sunday morning she approached me to project her on-going doubts and after responding with a few convicting but encouraging words, she was dangling by only a few threads of confidence as I was reminded of something that Pastor Bob stated many years earlier during a sermon.  

[  It is the account of the parting of the Red Sea.  Pharaoh has finally conceded to free the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptian people after succumbing to the ten plagues.  As the Israelites are fleeing with Moses, Pharaoh changes his mind and sets out after them with his entire army, all of his chariots, all of his horses and every one of his troops. 

The Israelites became terrified and they cried out to the LORD and basically wanted to give up and return to their grueling service unto the Egyptians.  

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

(Exodus 14)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ... ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground ... ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left ... ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward^[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

When did the Red Sea part?

It might be tempting to respond "when Moses stretched out his hand" ... but in reality, and I'm sure you would agree, ... Moses had nothing to do with the parting of the Red Sea.   

So, let's try it again ... when did the Red Sea part?

When Moses obeyed the Word of the LORD.  

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding ... woot-woot ... we have a winner!!!

When did the Jordan River part?

When the priests just barely stuck their little toe into the water ... *translation* ... When they obeyed the Word of the LORD.

All I did was ask my fearful team member "when did the waters part?" and responded "not until they stuck in their foot".  ]

When they showed they were willing to obey what God was asking them to do, God took over and did what ONLY HE can do!! 

Amazingly, and SO LIKE GOD, Pastor Bob was inspired to reference this again during his time of sharing.  Oh, dear team member, if that isn't God's confirmation, I don't know what is!  

Obedience isn't always easy and sometimes it can be scary but it is usually rewarding and it is always for "our best".  In this case, obedience to God, though it starts out seeming as if we are doing a job for Him ends up feeling like an nothing less than an amazing gift has been given to us by God.

So, ... any takers for going on a mission trip to Honduras?

After our devotion, we had a time of "team building".  A member of our church who is experienced in military training and team building exercises has agreed to work with our team each month to whip us into "tip-top-team" shape and to correspond his training with our training.  

For the first gathering, I have a feeling he went easy on us.

Here we were during a little exercise of "let's get to know one another while exercising our memory and attention-to-detail".  

(this exercise involved little animal-shaped bean bags being tossed to one another while stating things that someone else said)

Then, my dear, sweet husband climbed aboard his ship (the tiny blue tarp you see in the photo) and awaited as each member of our team requested admittance to the team, as well as the tiny-blue-tarp-of-a-boat.  Before admittance, Brian would ask each person what he/she had to offer his team to which each team member had to reply with only ONE word.

This is Laura ... her ONE word was "Nursing".

One by one, each team member requested permission to climb aboard and be counted as a member of the team ...

Would everyone fit?

Sure enough ... we ALL FIT!  

What a GREAT team!  

Honduras - GET READY!

Preparing to go Again ... Mission to Honduras: 2013

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                                                                                                             April, 2013

Last year, many of you may remember that we (Brian, Kimberly and Ben) went on a mission trip to Honduras in October.  It was so awesome to share with so many of you about our Medical/Evangelism mission and it was an amazing privilege to serve the Honduran people and share with them the hope in our hearts and the certainty of the joy of our Salvation in the LORD Jesus.  Many of you joined our mission team through prayer, financial support and contributions of supplies.  Your participation was and is so valuable to us and we invite you to come alongside us again as we prepare to return to Honduras in October of 2013.   We (Brian and Kimberly) are excited to, once again, serve the Honduran people and spread the Good News of Jesus, our LORD and Savior and this year, we are also excited to share with you that our roles will be slightly different as we will be leading a team from our own church!  As Team Leaders, we will provide informational materials to those interested in going on mission to Honduras; we will facilitate team meetings and training, maintain necessary paperwork on each team member and track finances for support-raising.  In addition, we will coordinate communications and necessary payments to World Gospel Outreach, the organization with whom we serve in Honduras.

Ben will be a team member once again as he responds to the Spirit’s leading to participate in something that matters to God.  Ben says, “When I went on the mission trip last year, it was an experience like I had never had before.  One of the reasons I really look forward to going back is because I really loved doing “Concrete”.  We would pour a small concrete floor into a family’s home that had previously only been a dirt floor.  It is a great feeling to see their joy by us just putting in a new floor for them.  I hope to, once again, impact the people of Honduras and to provide a way for lives to be changed.  They have so much need!  I pray that God works greatly in and through our 2013 mission to Honduras.”

 

This is an invitation for you to be a part of something that matters … something that makes a positive impact in the life of another human being ... AND it’s an opportunity for us to form a relationship out of purpose. 

Here’s just some of the ways your support impacts the people of Honduras:

1)      Karla came to Brigade to receive dental work … greatly needed dental work.  When she came to us, she only had seven bottom teeth; when she left, she was toothless.  Her teeth were so bad, she was grateful to have them removed.

                                                                      

2/3)This is a home.  Eight people eat, sleep and live in this space, that the family stated has been upon a dirt floor for over thirty years.  Now they have a level, concrete floor.

4)    This young gang member received hope and a way out of a hopeless situation.

                                         
Again, we need to raise $1,595.00 each OR $4,785.00 for the three of us.  As we did last year, each of us will start us out with our $200/person “deposit”, which is due on or before 4/21/2013.  That leaves $4,185.00 that we need to raise via faithful contributors and fundraisers with $1,905.00 being due on or before 6/23/2013 and $2,280.00 being due on or before 8/18/2013.

There is a lot of work to be done but “many hands make light work” and nothing is impossible with God!

No contribution is too big or too small and we just LOVE to watch as one-by-one we become a great, Big GOD Team as more and more people join us through prayer, financial support and contribution of supplies.  If you would like to begin praying for us, here are some specific needs we have thought of:

1) That we follow God’s leading in effectively training and encouraging our team members 2) That our fundraisers would impact the community as well as our funding needs 3) That God is preparing the Hondurans we have not yet met 4) That we would continue to grow and mature spiritually and discern the will of God for our lives

In Honduras, at the beginning of each day of Brigade, after a time of praise and prayer, we would shout out at the top of our lungs, both in English and Spanish (like the shot at the start of an important race) “Let’s Go To Work!”  (vamos a trabajar).  All the Hondurans waiting in line outside could hear this; it was a jolt of excitement and energy to kick off the precious work about to be done …

… So huddle with us now … place your hands to the center … on three … One, Two Three … “Let’s Go To Work!”

With all our love and warmest regards,

Brian and Kimberly Prendergast/Ben Lindberg

Honduran Medical-Evangelism Ministry Information

Honduras is among the poorest nations of the world. It is a nation of neglected and abandoned children and adults in dire need of help. Many families are locked into a devastating cycle of disease, unemployment and illiteracy. Every year, more than 50,000 Hondurans have their medical and dental needs met by medical and non-medical volunteers who make up the Medical-Evangelism brigades of World Gospel Outreach. Lives are changed and communities are transformed as WGO Brigades partner with more than 80 local Honduran churches to serve those in need, bringing medical care to some who have never had it.

Your prayers and financial support are needed to fulfill the call to go to Honduras to serve the people there and to share our hearts for Jesus with them.  Each team member must raise $1,595 ($4,785 for the three of us) and have a prayer team supporting our efforts.  We sincerely covet your support and invite you to invest in us and the work we seek to do for the LORD.  All financial gifts are tax-exempt.  God bless you and be with you.

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I, We… will help Brian and Kimberly Prendergast and Ben Lindberg as they serve as short-term missionaries to Honduras from September 28 – October 5, 2013.  We agree to pray for them ______ and/or I, we would like to contribute $_________ to their mission fund. 

Name - __________________________________________

Address - ________________________________________

________________________________________________

Email Address - ___________________________________   

(so you can receive updates on the mission – YOU WILL NOT BE CONTACTED BY THE MISSION ORGANIZATION)

Please make checks payable to: and mail to:

Community Church of Elkhorn

c/o Kimberly and Brian Prendergast

1614 Meadow Lane

Elkhorn, Wisconsin  53121

*In the check memo line be sure to reference Honduras Team #3913B* and return the remittance form above to ensure that your contribution is allocated properly.