Posted: July 30, 2009

This is the final MIS update for the summer. We thank you again for praying through these weeks for our students, faculty and staff who served overseas with missionary and national ministries. Please continue to pray for the last few to finish well, return safely and for all to be able to process the experience to be truly life changing.

Swaziland #2

We have been so blessed and feel incredibly welcomed by the Vanderwal family and the Swazi people. We have been to 3 mobile clinics so far and spent a morning at the hospital. We have also worked on various projects for the Luke Commission on the days in between clinics. So far, Sundays have been spent at church, going out to eat, and resting. Today we were blessed to listen to Harry and Echo participate with the worship team at church - Harry singing and Echo playing the keyboard!

Each of us has been challenged and stretched in new ways. The 4 students have each participated in HIV testing, blood sugar, blood pressure and blood draws at the mobile clinics. They have also each worked in the eyeglass department using the auto-refractor and computer system to determine which glasses would work best for each patient.

Within the first few days of our trip the Luke Commission received a shipment of many personal transportation devices... much like wheelchairs but have a hand crank to move the wheels. They require some assembly and our team quickly learned how to assemble them. So far we have been able to give 3 of these out to very needy people at the clinics! The look on their faces and the joy and gratefulness with which they received these gifts was priceless!

Our first day at the hospital was a good learning experience. I had 2 students in Labor Ward and Tiffany took the other 2 to Pediatrics. In the span of approximately 2 hours there were 6 babies born in Labor Ward and the students were able to learn newborn assessment and newborn care. They also observed the deliveries and assisted the midwives. In Pediatrics, they gave IV medications, and did dressing changes and vital signs.

God has blessed us with some good times of sharing and encouraging one another. Please continue to pray that God would draw our team closer together and closer to Him as we learn and grow through our many experiences here in Swaziland. Thanks so much for your prayers for all of us! Many blessings in Christ, Rebekah

Indonesia

Our arrival in Surabuya went very smoothly....no problems in customs, and quick baggage claim. Eighteen checked in bags of t-shirts, gifts and Bibles. It was great to have such a large team of students. They are working together very well.

The first camp up in the mountains above Surabuya went well. Lots of great spiritual decisions at the bonfire on the last night. Prayer walk was something new we added that Andrew Hood thought of and it went great. We are in Surabuya now at the Narita hotel, and literally ran into a Missionary who spoke in Cedarville's chapel two years ago, David Ray, who was put in prison here in Surabuya, but his name has been cleared and he ministers in Malaysia now, but comes through here and his son is considering Cedarville. What a coincidence or a God thing!

We are off to Jakarta tomorrow, flying there and driving straight to the camp in the mountains. There are 120 registered there. Both camps have doubled in size and I'm glad our team did as well. We are off to Bali next Friday for a couple of days of debriefing and visiting Christian schools there. God is doing so much here in Indonesia. All the kids at the camps and the Christian school people have been so appreciative of our deciding to come, that they literally break down in tears. However, don't cease praying for our health travel safety, team unity, spiritual warfare, spiritual decisions and our finances. Several members are still a bit short on reaching their goal, but all have put out 100% effort and I am so proud of them. Love to all. In Him, Tim

Spain

The team report as they returned to the US:

Hello Cedarville Friends and Family, we are back in the wonderful United States. Being out of the country for a while definitely makes you appreciate how blessed we are here. It's great to be home, but what an impression Spain has made on all of us.

Our last week in Spain ended well. We finally finished painting and cleaning the soccer stadium and some other projects around town. It was great to see the fruits of our labor but even more so to see how it has and continues to impact the people of that town. Again they just didn't understand why these Americans would spend their summer vacation to come work in the hot sun for free! Our missionary host John was able to talk to Kiko (who works for the town) about the Lord. He had lots of questions. Three of the boys who came to English teaching showed up at the church all week to hang out with us. They said they wanted start coming to church. Don Cabeen one of the missionaries is going to continue to build relationships with them.

We had a chance to paint a few rooms of one of the missionaries house as well as the entire church in La Puebla the last few days. We also did some sight seeing and visited a 14th century castle in Cordoba. It was beautiful!

Our last night we had a barbeque with the church family. Thursday we spent time debriefing with the missionaries and nationals. All of us including the missionaries and local Christians have been stretched, encouraged and blessed by this trip. It has been so awesome to see God work in us and through us! Our lives are forever changed.

Thank you all so much for you thoughts, prayers and support. God has been sowing seed in Spain and we pray the work will continue long after we are gone. The Spain Team

Romania

The team returned with this note: We all got home safely last night, with all of our luggage.

This was one of the best trips we've had to Romania. The ministry during the 3rd week was very good, and we were in awe of the faith shown by Romanian missionaries in the area.

More details are at blog.

Paraguay

The team also returned with posted reports: blog.

Posted: July 6, 2009

Thank you for praying for our students, faculty and staff as they serve in various cultures this summer!

Hungary

We have now taught for a week and are running a busy but rewarding schedule. We teach four hours per day, 9 - 11 and 6 - 8. Each teacher has two 45-minute sessions, then a 30-min chapel involving singing, skit, puppets, video clip or other means of setting the stage for the pastor's short message. Pastor chose the theme ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS, Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, the rich young ruler and other gospel stories of people being changed or rejecting Jesus. With a translator he does a fabulous job of conveying the gospel. The students love spending time with our "teachers," so we along with the youth pastor spend afternoons playing sports etc on the church property because the relationships are so important for reaching out to them. Lesson planning in the evening after 10 makes for a long day.

This Sunday morning we have the service with testimonies & I'm speaking.. Many students return to this service so there is a great deal of interaction between the outsiders and the church people.

I was excited to meet the new college-age translator who recalls our ministry in the 90's when he was much younger, so the history of our connection helps.

Please pray for energy and effective use of our time and the power of God's Word as it is given by the pastor in their own language. Several students are living with each other, the moral and spiritual needs are great. Thanks for your prayers. Merlin Ager

Spain

Hello Cedarville Family and Friends,
Thank you for your prayers! We arrived in Spain Tuesday morning (6/23) and spent the first night outside of Malaga in Torremolinos so we could get some rest. Besides a few hours on the plane we were up for 48 hours before getting a good nights rest. It definitely took us a few days to get over the jetlag and a few more to get used to the pace of life in Spain.

The Spanish people generally sleep in late, work, have a big lunch and a nap time (Ciesta). Many then return to work and then easily stay up until 2, 3, or 4 a.m. Wednesday our missionaries took us about an hour and a half to La Puebla de Cazalla. We are staying in the Pabellon (gymnasium) on the edge of town. Each day we are getting up early and doing work in the town. Most of the team is currently cleaning and painting a soccer stadium. The others are weeding and cleaning up school yards and parks. A highlight has been meeting the mayor and the councilwoman. They are the ones who have approved us to work in the town, which is quite unusual. We have also done some sight seeing. We were able to swim in the Mediterranean and explore the towns of La Puebla and neighboring Osuna. Osuna is nearly 3,000 years old and has Iberian and Roman ruins. We also had a BBQ with the people of the church in La Puebla and Sunday we went to church in Utrera. It has been so awesome to worship and fellowship with the Christians here. God is at work and its humbling to be a part of it.

Two of our team members will now share with you about their experiences here so far:

I have been blessed so much by the people here in Spain and it has been less than a week. The people in Spain have gone above and beyond when it comes to caring for all of us. My favorite night here in Spain, so far, was when we had a BBQ with all of the members of the local church in La Puebla de Cazalla. It was awesome to see the people of this church praising God in a different language and lifting each other up with jokes. It has been neat to see God already using us to work in the hearts of some of the local town people we have encountered. They are so confused as to why a group of students from the United States would come to work for their town for free. Please continue to pray that we will continue to make an impact on the local people and they will see the joy of Jesus Christ through our actions.
- Stephanie Cleek

We've been working at a football (soccer) field and some parks in La Puebla. We're painting some walls and cleaning up some trails and doing other work like that. One really cool thing that we've seen is how the people in La Puebla are reacting to our visit. They don't understand why we would want to come to their town during our summer vacation to give our time to work for free in their town. This has given and hopefully will continue to give the missionaries here a chance to explain our reason for coming to them: to show them God's love by serving them.
- Daniel Lyman

Please pray for energy both physically, emotionally and spiritually. Working all day as well as interacting constantly with another culture and language is challenging. We are constantly being watched by the people so pray that God would be seen through all that we say and do. Finally we have 3 Spanish young Christian females living with us girls at the gym in our small locker room. Please pray for patience and understanding as we constantly interact with them and that we can be an encouragement to them in their walk with Christ.

Adios de Espana
Lynsey Fabian and Anthony Mandela and Team Spain

Romania

For updates, check out our blog.

China

We are back safely to Colorado... And I wanted to let you know that ALL went well! More to come when I have more sleep!

Paraguay

Check out their blog.

Swaziland #2

They arrived safely after some travel frustrations, but thankful that all are there with luggage!

Posted: June 22, 2009

The Spain team departs on Monday, June 22nd. Please pray for safety as they travel. More updates to come!

Amazon and Bangladesh have also arrived safely back in the U.S. More updates to come from them as well! Continue to pray for our China, Swaziland #2, Romania, Paraguay, and Hungary teams as they currently serve!

Swaziland #1

Hello all,

I am sorry for the delay in sending out a message. The opportunities to communicate while in Swaziland were limited and the last message I wrote would not send. This is a summary of our last two weeks and the trip home.

We assisted in several bush clinics around the country. One was held at the first Nazarene church established in Africa. There were 27 Americans who were there to refurbish the facilities that included a church, a primary and high school, a residential program for high school students, a health clinic, nurses' house, and gardens. We enjoyed the interaction with the high school students as we shared songs about the Lord. The students speak English well so communication was not a problem. Several were in need of medical assistance or interested in obtaining eye glasses. The clinic was well attended and that day we performed 370 HIV tests. A number of nursing students and faculty from the RFM Hospital School of Nursing also attended for a few hours. We were thankful for the help that two of the nurses gave us who were with the American group.

Suzanna, the abandoned baby we were caring for, accompanied us to every clinic and always aroused interest by the Swazis. One lady took care of her while we worked the clinic and expressed interest in adopting her. Others have also talked of adoption but it remains to be seen if they follow through with the hospital social worker and the necessary paper work. She is growing well and is a pleasant baby so we continue to pray that the Lord will provide a good home for her. Unfortunately, another abandoned baby is in the hospital that was found in the forest.

One example of what the Luke Commission does for the hospital is illustrated by events from WednesdayThursday last week. One of the former translators called Echo to say that his neighbor was in the hospital and getting sicker instead of better so he wanted her to come. She found that the child had bacterial meningitis and the hospital did not have Rocephin, the drug of choice. In this case, they gave the parent a prescription to go the pharmacy and purchase it. They could only purchase one dose at a very high price. Echo was able to obtain a number of doses at a reasonable price so took them up to the hospital. One of the nurses reviewed all the inpatients and found a number with bacterial meningitis so Echo worked to obtain the needed medication for all of them. The physicians, nurses, and parents were so thankful as they saw this as an answer to prayer. By Saturday, the child who had been unresponsive was up walking!

One of our enjoyable African experiences was to visit a game reserve about one hour from Manzini. It is a 45,000 acre reserve that sectioned off various areas for specific animal groups. The first animal we saw was a male lion. He was not intimidated by the open vehicle we were riding in and ambled along beside us for a while until he cooperatively laid down and posed for pictures. At lunch, we were treated to watching a group of elephants come to the large watering hole. They appeared to be two mothers with a set of twin baby elephants only a few months old and a yearling elephant. The babies were so cute! After the guided tour, Harry took us in the van back to the area where the giraffes live. He warned us that they are hard to find and very skittish. We don't know if it was the cold, rainy weather or what caused them to be out so visibly but we saw several groups of 3-5 giraffe standing close to the road. Once again, they posed so nicely for pictures! Harry has been to the park 7 times and never seen so many giraffes so we were thrilled.

As we reviewed our month in Swaziland, we realized that we participated in 9 bush clinics (average attendance 300-500/clinic) and spent 8-9 days at the hospital. We attended four Sunday services at the Potter's Wheel Church and cared for Suzanna. There were many challenges we felt inadequate to meet but we found that when we were weak, He was strong. We enjoyed the interaction with the translators who opened their hearts and homes to us. They provided the best glimpse we had into the culture and way of life in Swaziland. We have a better understanding of the many challenges facing this country as it struggles against the rising tide of HIV/AIDS. We recognize that we've been blessed with the opportunity as women to obtain an education, to plan our futures, to have adequate food, shelter, health care and job opportunities.

It was a special blessing to me to share the time with a wonderful group of young women who love the Lord and seek to please Him. There were difficult days for all of us during our time in Swaziland but I heard no complaining or refusal to do the work. Each one sought the Lord and looked to Him for the strength to do the work He’d given us to do. It stretched us and in it we found His grace to be sufficient.

Our trip home was uneventful and everyone has now arrived at their final destination. Please remember to pray for the next group of nursing students who will be in Swaziland the month of July. Also hold up the Vanderwals in your prayers as they have a incredibly busy schedule and many demands on their time.

I will send out a final report with pictures but I am so thankful for your financial support and faithful prayers! God bless each of you.

Because He lives,
Marsha

Romania

Greetings from Romania! We just finished a super week ministering in two villages. In the morning, we did our computer class with 35 1st-graders in the local school. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting, but some Romanian teenagers from the local church helped us out and it ended up going very well. We were able to clearly share the gospel with the kids during our chapel time each day. Please pray for the pastor of the local church and his relationship with the principal of the school, who is apparently catching a lot of heat about letting us use the school. Baptists aren't well thought of in Romania, which is 86% Orthodox.

In the afternoons, we taught in a church in a small village. We started with 3 students the first day, but ended up with about 15 students. It was an interesting situation, with some very "hard" kids. It was great to see the response of the team. At first we were frustrated with the attitudes of these kids, but the team just decided to work even harder at loving them. By the end of the week, we saw a definite softening. Please be praying for one specific girl, Nicolete, who is about 15. She comes from a broken home, and is hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. I was so proud of how the team showed her love. What a privilege for me to be with students of this quality!

Next week we are on to two new villages. Each village is distinctly different, and we look forward to what God has planned.

For a better idea of what's going on with the team, check out our blog.

Dave

Hungary

Our ministry starts Monday here in Hungary. The team arrived safely with all of our luggage. We are getting caught up with the jet lag and we have been well received. The team is functioning smoothly. We are meeting today and tomorrow to coordinate our efforts and that of church personnel. In between teaching episodes we have a chapel program during which we communicate Biblical truths. The pastor selected the theme which is ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS. We will provide music, skits, testimonies and the pastor will give a brief summary of the truth for the day. We have 130 students divided into morning and evening and seven different classes. About 50% of the students are new and most do not attend this church so there will be lots of prospects for the church. One of last year's students came to Christ, has been baptized, and has now married his girlfriend. We appreciate your prayers and support for a ministry that began in 1996 and continues to still flourish. God bless. Merlin Ager for the team.

Paraguay

Check out their blog.

Posted: June 10, 2009

Thank you for praying for those serving overseas through the summer months. A number of teams have returned with full hearts and much to share! Scotland, Bangladesh, Europe, Togo, China (tennis), Liberia, and Costa Rica have all returned. Feel free to contact a team member for a full account of the ministry! Please read on and pray for these teams.

Amazon

Part of the missionary's note to his prayer team:

Thanks so much for your continued prayers! We, and the evangelistic team from Cedarville, have had quite a ride with campaigns in Tonantins, Santo Antonio do Ica, here in Sao Paulo and out this week for the last stop in Benjamin where we used to work. Here, we also had a VBS where we were packed out, and a three day camp that spread to four days, where four teens were saved.

We did two baptisms this week, one teen that accepted the Lord months ago and a new convert, the single Peruvian lady that was saved a few weeks ago and is now joining the church. The team has already seen two large anacondas, caught in our very yard, some caiman, two groups of monkeys playing in the yard, and many of the playful dolphins, and have fallen "in love" with the floating house and swimming every day...

On the aviation side, the airplane is not only doing very well, but is saving us a lot in time and money in travel, and we have had the thrill of stopping at our Ticuna Indian villages and doing some re-kindling.

Thanks again for your love, support and prayers

Prayer requests:

• Aviation funds as we get off to a big start this month: re-stocking our shop and re-opening the ministries
• Safe travel for all the travel yet to come with our group (then traveling back to the US Tuesday - Thursday, June 9 - 11)
• Our church and its transition to having local leadership, so we can go on furlough

Swaziland #1

It has been a good week in Swaziland for the nursing team! Last Monday, we traveled to the southern region that is very rural and experiencing high poverty rates. The area was dry, dusty, windy and warm but the school children and adults were very receptive to the Gospel and the medical care provided. The children sang for us and then we examined their heads for ringworm and their skin for scabies. All who needed treatment were given it. We saw a baby probably 9-10 months old who had hydrocephalus (water on the brain) whose head was about three times the size of a normal child that age. About 50 people waited until 10 PM to receive Bibles. The New Testament in Siswati is very expensive so they want to distribute the Bibles one per homestead. Those who received Scriptures, sang and were very happy.

That night, we got to bed at 3 am (Tuesday) but were so blessed by seeing the people's joy.

On Tuesday, we helped out at the house preparing the clinic on Wednesday.

It requires much effort to keep up with packaging all the medications since each person receives pain medication (like Tylenol), vitamins, and worm medication. Then Harry prescribes other medications specific to each person. It is hard to imagine having no medications available and the many serious medical conditions these people live with and never receive treatment.

Wednesday, we traveled to a school high in the mountains outside Manzini only about a 45 minute drive. We began the morning by loading the trailers and vans with 700 boxes from Samaritan's Purse, the Christmas shoeboxes.

These were sent from UK and were divided into ages and gender.

Unfortunately, the news of the clinic hadn't reached the adults so few showed up for the clinic. It is an organized procedure to distribute 700 boxes with the children listening to a Gospel presentation. After receiving their boxes, they sat on the ground and opened them. It was such a thrill and a blessing to watch the children open their boxes and hear their shouts of joy as they put on scarves, gloves, played with toys and ate the candy.

On Thursday, we toured the hospital and saw the devastation of HIV/AIDS on the young people. Two wards of people were just waiting to die. Some responded to the tracts and gifts we distributed but some were too sick. We worked a few hours in labor & delivery, special care nursery and pediatrics.

We then found out that the hospital and VanderWals worked it out to allow the abandoned baby girl to leave the hospital and stay with VanderWals. She is three weeks old and weighs about 6 pounds. She is eating well and seems healthy. With seven of us and the VanderWals, she is receiving LOTS of attention. We keep her at night so the students are taking turns with night feedings.

We went to the hospital this morning and worked in the same wards until about noon. We saw a baby born who needed resuscitation and was eventually transferred to the special care nursery. They have very few ways to help babies so we will see how this baby progresses. Many in the special care nursery die.

We greatly appreciate your continued prayer support; the Lord has shown us so much of His grace and mercy!
In His grace, Marsha

China (TESL)

Hey all,

Just a quick note to let you know that the Cedarville team is alive and well in Xiamen China. I am keeping communication short and sweet by request of locals. Simply be assured that all is well. I am very impressed with this team. Great levels of curiosity about the people and this place. Great levels of maturity among them. One of the best groups I have ever traveled with. Phil Bjorklund

Paraguay

The missionary hosts: Jeff and Amy McKissick are posting a few blogs with photos about the trip nearly daily.