1. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] [ Create account | Log-in ] Add to Favorites SITE SEARCH MAIN MENU Home About NIMA Contact NIMA Online Giving Gallery OurGV Mall Web Links NIMA Facebook Morning Glory FB DONATE VIA PAYPAL $ for (NIMA and Morning Glory Christian School in Guatemala) CONTACT INFO NIMA PO Box 15133 Las Cruces, NM 88004-5133 (575) 647-2168 nima@missionoffaith.org THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION A Call of Christian Conscience for: May-June 2013 Update Posted Jul 10, 2013 - 04:44 PM Print this story 0 This is the New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) Update for May-June, 2013. NIMA is an outreach of Agape Christian Church and friends from around the world. Our main outreach in Guatemala is Community Christian Hospital and Morning Glory Christian School located at the Llano de la Virgen, and village evangelism to the small communities served by Morning Glory near San Raymundo, Guatemala, especially the Christian Church at Sacsuy, and Community Christian Hospital. We also work with other worldwide ministries to help the folks of Guatemala that live in the hard to reach areas that are without modern medical and physical attention. Inside this edition... "Soft Whispers" by Lori Nij "Guatemala Mission Trip Report" by Richard & Linda Clark "Downsizing" "Sweet Vanilla" by Herb Pinney "Here's Why" by Rob Courtney Read more New Iberian Mission Association MayJune 2013 Update NIMA is an outreach of Agape Christian Church and friends from around the world. Our main outreach in Guiatemala is Community Christian Hospital and Morning Glory Christian School located at the Llano de la Virgen, and village evangelism to the small communities served by Morning Glory near San Raymundo, Guatemala, especially the Christian Church at Sacsuy, and Community Christian Hospital. We also work with other worldwide ministries to help folks of Guatemala that live in the hard-to-reach areas that are without modern medical and physical attention. Read Recommend Send Be the first of your friends to recommend this. Search AVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlrecommendhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlAVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlrecommendhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml

2. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] the sanctity of human life the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife the rights of conscience and religious liberty. ManhattanDeclaration.org Read the Declaration Sign the Declaration KEEP THE CROSSES Bible Options NIV Libronix Bible Study Software ONLINE There are 7 unregistered users and 0 registered users on- line. You can log-in or register for a user account here. Address & Contact Information Queno & Lori & All Staff Mail address: 11 Calle 5-85 zona 1 Colonia Huerta Peefort San Raymundo, Guatemala Central America 01060 Phone for Lori from out of country: 011.502.6630.8069 E-mail: amglory@missionoffaith.org Lori's Blog: http://morningglorystories.wordpress.com Facebook: If you want latest pictures and information from Lori, Interns, Melba, Dean, and Herb, go to Facebook. If not already a friend, contact Melba Pinney at melbapinney@msn.com for an invitation and instructions with directions. Herb Pinney & International Office Mail address: P.O. Box 15133 Las Cruces, New Mexico 88004 Phones: Office: 575.647.2168 24-hour cell: 575.650.3915 Residence: 575.647.8421 E-mail: herb@missionoffaith.org For Essays on Christianity/Culture: Visit Herb's Hitchin' Post at www.blog.agapechristianchurch.net For More Information: If you need brochures, financial information, statements, or further information, please write or e-mail Herb at the address listed above! Editor of Monthly Update, President and CFO. Senior Pastor, Agap Christian Church. Dean Pinney: Phone: 682.888.2138 E-mail: deanpinney@gmail.com Ft. Worth, Texas Rob Courtney: Mail address: 11 Calle 5-85 Zona 1 Colonia Huerta Peefort San Raymundo, Guatemala Central America 01060 Gifts: Mail to Herb's address E-mail address: rob@missionoffaith.org Christian Education Leader for School & Churches. Laison for English Language Communication with the World. Shannon Slee: E-mail: slee.shannon@gmail.com Editorial Assistant, Quincy, Illinois Websites, Credit Card Donations, & Bank Transfers www.zianet.com/nima www.missionoffaith.org www.morninggloryschool.net Credit card donations and gifts can be given via Websites and PayPal. Bank transfers will be made through Bank of America in Las Cruces, New Mexico; contact for bank instructions. New Iberian Mission Association MayJune 2013 Update NIV Save

3. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] Soft Whispers Lori Nij, Colegio Cristiano Maana Gloriosa, San Raymundo, Guatemala These last few months have tested my faith almost as never before. Every month we have come up to the day before pay day and just in time the second deposit comes through. Three times I have made payroll and first-of-the-month bills with twenty dollars to spare left in my account. God has been faithful, but He has stretched my faith and increased my prayer life. I am beginning to wonder if I stepped out too far and God is telling me to pull back... or if He just wants me to keep forging forward. This month is really working on me. We are over six thousand dollars short. As of tonight I am less than one week away from pay day. I am trying to believe that God will pull through, but honestly my faith wavers. I have been praying long into the night looking for answers. I know times are hard all over the world. I know our supporters are already making sacrifices to keep Morning Glory going. I know churches are having to cut programs and reduce budget because giving is down. I read the news; I hear the doomsday preachers. I am reminded of the Old Testament story of Joshuas fight against the Amalekites. As long as Moses arms were raised, the Israelites would win the battle, but when Moses would tire and his arms would drop then the enemy would begin to win. Finally Aaron and Hur stood with Moses to hold his arms up when he tired and Israel won the battle. To be really honest and transparent, my arms are getting awfully tired; it seems that the battle never ends. Often it seems as if loads of rocks are pushing my arms down and the enemy screams in my ears, Let it go! I try to stand strong but the little girl in my heart wants to run and hide. My armor is worn and tarnished. So many problems to be resolved... so much tragedy... so much hurt and pain in this broken world. So many wounded children, broken marriages, hurt hearts and so many times I can only listen and cry with the broken. My heart breaks over and over; I cry until it seems I have no more tears. What answer can I give to a little girl whose mother couldnt care less what happens to her? How do I put the pieces of a young mans heart back together when his parents

4. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] tell him they wish he had never been born? How do I erase the scars of a thirteen-year- old child raped by her mothers current boyfriend? How do I help the child who is so malnourished that he cant learn to read? What do I say to the four-year-old who tells me that when he grows up he is going to beat up his father just like his father beats up his mother? What am I going to do if the budget doesnt come in? Which teacher am I going to fire? Which child am I going to send home? Which program am I going to cut? What is going to happen when I cant make my body move anymore? Where is Joshua? I worry long into the night... sleep seems never to come... I am tired. I put up a strong front; I stand firm... yet my legs and heart are trembling. I am reminded of a Twila Paris song from the 1980s how true it rings, "I drop my sword and cry for just a while, cause deep inside this armor, the warrior is a child." Even as I write the tears flow. But in the midst of all the negative news and prophets of dire and doom a still, small voice keeps whispering in my heart. "Pssst... I am God. I am the maker of the universe. I own all the riches in the world. I am in control." I look around and I see His hand and presence in every moment of my day. Somehow all the bills get paid, somehow I always make payroll, somehow the buses run, the car moves, there is food on the table and even enough to share for those who wander through. Out of nowhere appears an Aaron, a Hur to lift up my weary arms for one more day. A word, a note, a song... and just enough strength flows into my weary body to keep my arms lifted and to keep fighting the battle. God speaks through the smile of a child, through the music they play, through their tears and laughter. He speaks in a surprise donation. He whispers my name in the middle of the night when sleep evades me. He reminds me over and over again that He is in control. I know He has this, I know the answer is there. My job is just to keep my arms raised and allow Him to win the battle. So, tonight my heart is in my hands. I need you. I need you to lift my arms up; I need you to stand with me. I need you to ask your friends for help. I need you to share the Morning Glory story. We need churches to step out on faith and become part of our story. We need individuals who can sponsor a child, organizations and schools who will consider sponsoring a teacher. We need groups and organizations who will sign up to help us build the classrooms and buildings. I need you to be my Aaron, to be my Hur. I need a Joshua, someone with a passion for brown-eyed kids willing to take Morning Glory into the next century or hold down the fort til Jesus comes. Guatemala Mission Trip Report May 1-6, 2013 with Extension to May 17, 2013 Richard & Linda Clark, Valley View Christian Church This is a message to all who supported our Guatemala mission trip with financial gifts and with prayer. We want to give you a report of all that happened with the team and with us on our extended stay. It was Gods providential grace that my morning devotions included 2 Cor. 8 & 9

5. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] where Paul spoke of the grace of giving. Reading those two chapters helped me to understand what had happened to us over the past few weeks. What you did for us allowed us to do for the people of Guatemala and the Morning Glory School of San Raymundo, Guatemala. Our hands became your hands in expressions of love, help, and support. The mission trip was very well planned and led by Mary Beeks. Those who went with her were Linda & Richard Clark, David Gallegos, Javier & Toni Tapia, and Laura & Lisa Rogers. We had no problems getting 100 sky lanterns, 160 flashlights, and 30 hammers through security on either end of our flight. Queno Nij met us with a van and his pickup at Guatemala City to take us out to the school. The one-and-a-half-hour trip over the twelve miles to the school was an experience. I rode in the front seat and was able to experience travel first-hand in Guatemala. It was dark when we arrived and I learned that lights on vehicles seemed to be an option which many choose not to take. If you noticed the 12-mile trip took 1 hours, that is about 8 m.p.h. averages. That is due to speed bumps on all of their roads. Upon on our arrival at the school on Wednesday night we had a meal served to us and we got settled in our rooms for rest to prepare us for the days ahead. The next morningThursday, 5/2/13after morning devotions and breakfast, we met the students for the first time. Some of us stood at the gate where five buses unloaded five hundred children with their backpacks and homework projects. You may ask the question of how they get that many kids on those buses and all I can say is that they have a very disciplined system. I am not a person that cries very easily, but that sight brought tears to my eyes; in fact, I am tearing up as I type this. I am still trying to figure out what this emotion is. Seeing the seven hundred students with neat, clean, well-pressed uniforms can only reach into your hearts. They had smiles on their faces and the boys were giving us high fives. Later that morning the ladies took some of the children into town to buy them shoes. One girl did not have her new shoes the next morning and was asked why. She told us that she didnt want to wear them to school until she wore them to church and thanked God for the shoes. We all could learn a lesson from this little girl!! The women also did some shopping for food for two families. For one family they bought rice, beans, flour, and sugar. For the other family they bought a takeout meal of chicken as a special treat for them. Many of these people live in extreme poverty. While the women were doing their thing in shopping, Queno took me and David over to the Casa por Cristo house where they were working on a hand-dug well. They had reached water but couldnt get the pump running. When we arrived and saw the wiring coming to the house and the pump I saw my first challenge. Without going into great detail, we went into a hardware store... and I use that term very loosely... and were able to purchase a four-lug panel with breakers to install in the house. This gave us enough room electrically to furnish 220 (volts) for the well plus power for the house and their old house. The pump would not work so we decided as a group to use some of the money we brought to fund the well-digging and the needed pump. When pulled, the old pump was found to be sand logged and was repaired and will be available for the other well that we had dug at the school.

6. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] On Friday morning all hands were on deck getting everything ready for the womens conference. The good planning paid off when everything came together. The women started arriving mid- morning. Toni led the women in worship and was the main speaker. I didnt understand what she was saying in Spanish but I really understood the response of the women in attendance. They had workshops on the topic of breaking the chains that hold them in their lives. The women showed that they were being affected by what was being said. The one thing that was not in the plans was the number of children in attendance. Mary has the numbers but we had between 90 and 100 women and around 60 children. During the debriefing this was addressed in that we will need to have something for the children in the future. We had to scramble some in getting food for the children. The cooks did a great job of making the adjustment. We had some excitement while we were setting up for the womens banquet. The tables were set up on the exercise court outside. On Thursday night we had a rain storm and it looked like we were going to have a repeat. The decision was made to move everything into the hospital that was not being used at the time. They have an atrium in the center of the hospital that has a covered porch all around. We went in and moved the benches and set up the tables. When we were finishing the set-up everyone started to notice that they had fleas all over them. The weather had settled down so after everyone getting sprayed for fleas, we moved all the tables and chairs back outside for the banquet. While we were doing all of this moving the women were in session inside.

7. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] The banquet went off without a hitch. The women launched the sky lanterns, which represented them letting go of the things they were trying to break away from. The lanterns were very spectacular. Dont expect to see this here because you cant launch them within five miles of an airport. We ended the evening with clean-up and getting ready for the mens work day and conference. On Saturday the men started showing up mid-morning and throughout the day. We had snacks and coffee and had a get acquainted time. We broke out into two teams. Javier said he loved to paint so he headed up the painting crew. I went with the group of men that cleaned up the new property. It had brush and trees that they cleared and piled up to be burned later. Some of us worked on removing concrete piers from the old building that was gone. They needed to have the piers cleared to get access to the property. We didnt get them all cleared but the lot looked much better when we were finished. After the work was completed we gathered back for the mens conference which was led by David and Javier. The men seemed to be with the program. We gave them and the women small flashlights with the scripture of Isaiah 2:5 : "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord." We also gave the men hammers. David asked me to say a few words which he translated. I used the illustration of what God told Moses when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush. When Moses made excuses of why he couldnt do what God asked of him, God asked Moses what he had in his hand. What he had was a simple shepherds staff. God allowed Moses to use that staff to deliver the children of Israel. I then told the men that we gave them the hammers that they might have something in their hands to help carrying out the work the Lord had for them to do. Each man held up his hammer when David translated that to them. They dont have church services in the morning, so we went to Antigua sightseeing and shopping. We spent the day in the city and went to a nice restaurant to sample the local food. We shopped in the market and walked the crowded streets seeing the people and the sights. I dont know how far we drove but like all of our trips it was slow over bumpy roads. We came back to Loris house for supper. Before we had supper we had a worship service and communion. Queno used a handmade portable communion set that Harland Cary gave him at Colegio Biblico in Eagle Pass, Texas where he went to school and also met Lori. Lori was moved to tears during the service. The team was picked up at 4am on 05/06/13 to go to the airport. We met with Lori after she got things underway for the day. Our main focus was to get the three bathrooms finished and operational. There were a few electrical problems that needed to be corrected. The main things I saw was exposed wires that needed to be protected. There were many things that would not meet code in the U.S., but they were not a real hazard and there was no way that we were going to have time to correct them. I jokingly told Linda that we were going to need to stay for at least a couple of months. She was good with that... what a gal!!! We were able to repair some screens and clean up the area where we were going to build the bathrooms. Linda and I moved from the school into town down the street from Loris house. We had very good accommodations and the whole house to ourselves.

8. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] On Tuesday we set out to getting materials to work with which was not as easy as it is here. What they call a lumberyard was a saw mill with rough-cut lumber which means that it has no dimensional standards. They did have some plywood which made making the cabinets much easier. We went to the hardware store trying to buy the materials we needed but could not find everything. It was time to improvise; somehow we made it work. The tile layer showed up and got started on laying tile in the two bathrooms and the shower. We had to learn the Guatemalan method of setting a commode; they are not bolted down, and they are set in concrete.

9. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] On Wednesday we were able to get started cutting out the three cabinets. We didnt have the tools that we are accustomed to working with but we were able to cut out the cabinets. It required some in-progress engineering. While Linda and I were working on the cabinets, the tile setter had his dad come and help. They worked on tiling the bathrooms and shower and also started on getting the main kitchen tiled. After visiting with Lori we decided to buy some more paint and have the maintenance man Chano and another man by the name of Bildad continue painting. They were able to get the inside and outside of the dining hall and kitchen painted. They also painted the entire outside of the dorm with contrasting trim. The end results were very nice and clean. The end result of the new tile and paint in the kitchen was outstanding. I was having trouble getting started in the mornings and figured out that I was missing my morning coffee. When I would get to the school I was able to get coffee and get going. Brandon Culp came by and introduced himself. He heads up Casa por Cristo in that area. He and his wife, Heather, live in San Raymundo. He was able to get me some of the supplies I needed. He invited us to have dinner at their house. We went there on Sunday night. On Thursday Lori stayed home from school and worked on the banquet she was planning for Mothers Day. We went to the school and got one cabinet installed and the other two cut out. We came back to Loris in the afternoon and worked with her on preparation for the banquet. They cooked sixty pounds of chicken breast and a whole lot of potatoes plus a large container of mixed vegetables. They grow the largest carrots I have ever seen. We helped move the food to the rented hall and took part in the Mothers Day program. They had between 200-300 mothers along with children. The students (boys) served and all of them were dressed in white shirts with black pants and vests. They had a program that all of them enjoyed. Because Loris car and Quenos pickup were broken-down, Rob, one of the teachers, and I had to make several trips in his Renault in transporting all of the food. The banquet was over by 9pm to allow the women to catch a bus to go home. Because of the late night on Thursday we got a late start on Friday. Being Mothers Day, there was no school because it is a national holiday. There were no students at school but we went out and worked on the cabinets. We got them done and ready to install. With the tile work done, we were able to make the final mounting bracket and get the cabinets ready to install. Brandon had found some electrical plug covers for us and Linda went around the school and installed several and replaced others. We were the only ones at the school and Lori sent a cab for us in the evening. On Saturday, because Loris car and Quenos pickup were still broken-down, we didnt have a way to get to the school. We spent the day walking around San Raymundo seeing the sights and doing a little shopping. They do not have church on Sunday morning. We walked around town and did some more

10. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] shopping but didnt buy very much. Queno got his pickup fixed and we went with him to where he preaches. It is near where we worked on the Casas por Cristo house with the well. The services started at 2:30pm and went until 4:30pm. They had another meeting that lasted another hour but because we didnt have anyone to translate for us, we didnt have any idea what was going on. We went over to the Culps for dinner. They told us how they had met on one of the house- building projects. They had been in San Raymundo for only a couple of months. They seemed to be hungry for conversation in English. They walked us to our house and stayed and visited us. Because the tile setters had finished their work, we were able to set the three commodes. Let me show you why this was important. The 700 students had 4 commodes and the teachers had one bathroom for 35 teachers. By adding the two commodes for the students it increased their number by 50%. And with the one additional teacher bathroom, that doubled their number. We then started to fit the cabinets in each of the rooms. We started working on hooking up the plumbing. We figured out what we needed in the way of plumbing fittings. We measured the classroom floor that they wanted to put some flooring down. When we went to town I went down to the hardware store and tried to get fittings for the plumbing. Sure makes you appreciate Home Depot and Lowes. We could not get the parts we needed, so we had to make shift and make do. On Tuesday, 5/14/13, things really started to come together. Chano and Bildad were getting the painting done. They were trimming out the exterior in the dark green. Linda and I were able to get two of the sinks installed and the commodes plumbed and working. I learned how to improvise Guatemalan-style. I may use these tricks in the future. Queno and I started hanging the doors on the bathrooms. We didnt have prehung doors so we had to build the frames and then hang the doors. On Wednesday, Queno was not able to work with me on hanging the doors. Linda and I worked on getting the bathroom off of the library finished. We got everything plumbed and working. We did some repair work on the bathroom door and also the door going into the library. Thursday was our last work day at the school. We tried to get everything done. Queno was able to work with me and we got the bathroom doors hung but did not get them bored and the hardware installed. We didnt get everything done but much was accomplished. In summary, this is a list of the things that were accomplished on this mission trip: 1. Giving support and encouragement to Queno and Lori Nij. 2. Giving support and encouragement to the staff of the school. 3. Giving uplift to the women through the womens conference.

11. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] 4. Giving help to the community through special gifts to families and children. 5. Being an encouragement to the men of the community with the mens conference. 6. Accomplishing some projects through work day with the menclearing land for the new upcoming building project; getting the painting started on the dorms and the dining hall. 7. Helping by funding the digging of two hand-dug wells that were over 100 feet deep at the school and one in a community. 8. Purchasing a new pump and the repairs on another pump for the wells. These wells were named Charlie One at the school and Charlie Two in the community. We did this because of Charley Carlins passion for providing water for those who do not have water like we do. 9. Purchasing the paint and paying for the labor to finish the painting project. 10. Installing three more bathrooms for the students and the teachers. 11. Correcting some of the electrical problems. This could be another long-term project to correct the wiring and make some improvements. 12. Only the Lord knows what eternal impact any of this will have. We are told to do all things as if unto the Lord. This team did that. Valley View can be proud of these who represented you in this mission work! We will be having a special program and slides show of the trip. We will have spaghetti, salad, and dessert on O6/19/13 in Room 230 at 5:30 at Valley View Christian Church. Some have a class at 7:00 and this should allow enough time for them to see what happened on this trip. We want the team to be there and to tell their part of the story when the pictures come up. We want all who helped support this trip financially and with prayer to come and see the results. Because of Gods grace and Christs love Richard and Linda Clark Downsizing Herb Pinney You can read the anguish in the words of Lori and Rob, and I can tell you, I feel the full load of the scriptural instruction to pay your employees and I am sure God means on time. The money that comes into NIMA covers the expense of raising the money as well as all costs on the state side of reaching out to the wonderful folks that support the mission and keeping you informed of all that is happening both with our supporters and with the mission in all of Guatemala. Over the years we have been very far above most mission groups in the amount of the offerings that reach the mission field that goes to those doing the work in Guatemala. A national average for very good missions is in the 70% bracket. We have always been above 90% to the mission field. Now, I have to improve that. I get very busy and with a snail-mail mailing list of almost 1500, I realize that I have some duplicates and when someone kindly tells me, I correct that, but I have to do better; I have to downsize my expenses here in the States. So, I am trimming my mailing list by perhaps as much as 50%. The cyber list can get as big as we want; it costs no more to send out 2000 e-mails as it costs to send out 1. So, if you get the print version of the Update, and also get and READ the e-mail version, let me know, and I will trust you to read the webpage version that my man Daniel does a fantastic job with. If you get the print version and I havent heard from you in 2 years, and you want to keep getting the print version (and yes, I have ink in my veins, I am a reader and I love the printed page), drop me a postage gift of any size and I will keep you on. We send bulk packages to some churches and this gives them copies to distribute. If you dont want that, let me know. If you do and I havent been sending to you, tell me and tell me how many. Over a half dozen years ago, Agape stepped out and bought a near new Kyocera-Mita 3535 computer-directed copier for Agape and NIMA. Agape paid for the printer and the deal was NIMA

12. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] would pay the maintenance that included all repairs and the toner tray that cost $210 by itself. This is an important part of our mission equipment. Our semi-annual maintenance payment is coming due and it will be a little over $2,000. Up until now, I have been able to put a little aside each month to have the money when the bill came due. Also now, Agape is paying their part of the maintenance since the maintenance costs per year (based on pages printed) have exceeded the cost of the machine. These six months, I have not even been able to make the entire payroll on time, and have had to send two or three wires as money came in to make it all work. Bottom line, I dont have the money set back for the 6-month maintenance payment coming due. If any one out there could help with that without taking from their regular giving, I will name my next boy born to Melba and I after you. Now dont hold your breath on that as, as Sarah said, "We are past the age." But it was a nice thought anyway. I just talked to Lori; there are some wonderful things in the works over the next few months. We are just against the wall right now. I have the trifold that is in this mailing sent to Neelys and this is the handout for every concert. There is a 4-minute DVD that goes with it. If any of our regular supporters would like a copy of the DVD please let me know and we will mail a copy. Sweet Vanilla Herb Pinney, Agape Christian Church, Las Cruces, New Mexico Every cook has in his or her cupboard a bottle of vanilla extract. It is a major ingredient in the art of baking. Where would the ice cream world be without vanilla? A true native of Mexico and Central America, vanilla is the product of the beautiful black flower, the orchid. For hundreds of years, the Americas had an exclusivity on vanilla since it would only grow where a certain type of western hemisphere bee existed. Once it was discovered how to hand pollinate the orchid, the production spread to the tropics of the world. Vanilla has a very special flavor of its own, but its greatest asset in cooking is that it is a blender of other flavors and the ingredients at the hand of the cook. In the auto world, I learned to use vanilla to blend out unpleasant odors that remained in a vehicle after something had been left in a vehicle that caused a bad odor or when someone smoked in a car and left the smell of stale tobacco. By sprinkling some vanilla on the carpets and about, then closing the car up in the sun light, the vanilla would go to work to overpower the bad odor and blend it into a pleasant smell. The odor was natural, sweet and just a hint in the background of the car, unlike the artificial sprays that overpower and last only a short time. Then the original smell is back. The vanilla blends and overcomes; it has staying power. I call vanilla my blender. In working with youth groups over the years, I always felt blessed if I had a girl or boy that was vanilla, a blender. One that seemed to fit in with everyone, and cause a sense of well-being and oneness in the group. Adult groups need the same thing to really get along well. Sometimes in a group of two or three dozen, you will have one blender that just seems to make the group work together. Blessed is the leader that has one or two good strong vanilla persons to work in a group. The same is true with organizations. There just seem to be certain groups that clash and others that seem to at once morph into a blended organization. The Christian church, when it is true to its roots, is a kind of vanilla in the world of John 17 Christians working together. Lori is the eighth generation of the Christian church in our family.

13. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] She has perfected the beauty of blending workers, organizations, church groups of all kinds into what we lovingly call the Morning Glory family. One of the tenants of the Christian church is, "We are not the only Christians, we are just Christians only." The beauty of that position, when we come to working with Baptist Christians, Presbyterian Christians, Roman Catholic Christians, Lutheran Christians, or whatever kind of Christians, is that we always have the same last name and feel a kinship. This has been the secret of the rapid expansion of Morning Glory, as well as the variety of doctors that have come to be a part of the special teams that come to serve as short-term missionaries in our hospital and all of its special outreaches: all fit in. When Lori married Queno and he graduated from Colegio, he came to Vidor to get ready to travel to Guatemala, return to his home church as minister, and start an adventure that was only a distant dream in my mind. The First Christian Church in Vidor and a half-dozen Christian churches in the Golden triangle of southeast Texas and Valley View Christian Church in Dallas supported her. When the opportunity arose to buy the house and property that was the original part of what are now Morning Glory Academy and the Community Christian Hospital, there was no backing or support for such a purchase. Lori was sure that the property would be important to the future of the work, and it was for sale at an advantageous price. I went to one of the members of the church in Vidor and personally borrowed the money and we made the purchase. The Iglesia de Cristo in San Raymundo paid the taxes and fees and on a following trip to Guatemala I paid the church off for their investment, and NIMA became the sole owners of the property. Once we owned the property on the Llano de la Virgin, we began to develop it as an orphanage. This did not work, and soon we built a one-room school and a pre-school was started. Lori took over the pre-school, and suddenly an explosive growth and development began to happen. We had gone to work to greatly increase our giving base and it seemed that we were always playing catch-up with the growth and development of the campus. The King of Spain sent the first major gift for the development of the hospital, and suddenly there were Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and all kinds of Christians involved and being blended into a family that sought to see the sick healed, the injured repaired, and everyone cared for in a beautiful way. As the hospital became more and more a self-running, local organization, Lori became more and more in charge of the growing field of education and Queno was kept busy designing and supervising the construction of one building after another. We kept adding to the property and now cover a good portion of that part of the Llano. Along the way in our development, there has always been time and ability to help someone else to develop in the community. We knew that every school, every organization, every business that made San Raymundo and the Llano thrive, was a solid bit of the foundation that would make Morning Glory thrive. One day a couple of Italian nuns of the Roman Catholic Church who were seeking to get a little school started in San Raymundo walked out to the campus and sat down to talk to Miss Lori. It seemed that their students told the nuns that their music was boring, while Miss Loris kids all knew really cool songs. So, the nuns wanted to know where Miss Lori got such cool music. Then, they were having a problem in getting government accreditation for their very small little school that their order was seeking to build in town. Lori helped them with curriculum and paperwork in Guatemala City, and they were on their feet. One of the sisters had a brother who was a very important surgeon in a major hospital in Rome, Italy; before long the little school contract and Miss Loris cool music brought a team of surgeons from Rome to do short-term mission doctoring at the hospital. That has become a yearly event in January.

14. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] Of course, every group is treated to a Miss Lori cake and coffee evening of sharing and swapping ideas, theology, and world history. One evening with the Rome doctors, Lori mentioned that we had a church in Matelica, Italy, that was a monthly supporter of Morning Glory, and that the minister was Harold Fowler, who she had known since she was a pre-school girl. The doctor looked up with surprise and said, You mean Professor Harold Fowler? I have several of his books in my library in Rome. He is a wonderful writer! There, over coffee in Guatemala, came together an American teacher and administrator, a Roman doctor, and sharing about a mutual friend that ministered on the east coast of Italy in a small church of Christ with people that love the children of Morning Glory. This is the blending that will make the coming decade really work. It has become painfully obvious that we have outgrown the ability of the Christian churches that we have developed into a support groups ability to support our growth and expansion. We have not been able to sufficiently expand that group of Christian church supporters, and we are running behind on our growth budget each month. With the fantastic partnership of Casas por Cristo, we have been introduced to a great number of other kinds of Christian churches that have fallen in love with the success and work of Morning Glory. We are looking at a number of them for major monthly help. Several of the Christian church major worldwide mission groups have long ago sought support from like-minded Christian organizations other than the Restoration Movement. These groups are doing fantastic work worldwide. Our Bible colleges have opened their doors to the blending of our college classrooms with students from all different kinds of churches. In a recent edition of the Christian Standard they listed the percentage of current students with Restoration Movement roots as follows: from a low of 10% at William Jessup University in Central California, and 30% for Dallas Christian College to 87% for Ozark Christian College and 70% for Emanuel Christian Seminary. The Christian church blending, being vanilla, seems to be working everywhere. The best part of that is that the Christian Church theology comes directly from the Bible, and if the theology of those that come to blend in is from the Bible it blends right in; if not, it just falls by the way. Thus all the blending does not change our core values and core beliefs in any way. The beautiful part of that, as Lori sits in the evening with them over coffee and cake, is that they are excited about how the Bible only makes Christians only, and that we are Christians, but not the only Christians. They begin to adjust their thinking to the Bible-only point of view. The education is not just for the students that ride in on the buses. Welcome to the mix! Here's Why Rob Courtney, Colegio Cristiano Maana Gloriosa, San Raymundo, Guatemala I was looking at him right in his eyes. I dont even remember the last time I saw such anger. You could say there was a rage. Normally, when kids get smart or rebellious with me, I give them a lesson in authority. But Kenny was different. For the first time, I pitied him. Kenny had just gotten into a heated discussion with Lori. After a few choice words, he stormed out of Loris office even though Lori had not finished talking with him. I went upstairs to call him back down to Lori. He refused to come. Kenny is 14 years old. I explained to Kenny that authority was requiring an action from him. He

15. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] indignantly refused. Kenny chose to completely ignore the principal of his school because of his anger and sense of entitlement. I cant write words to explain to you the image of those eyes burning through such a young face. My heart broke for Kenny. To see such anger in such a young man was scary. It is worse to think of the problems he will encounter in life because of his egotistical refusal to cooperate. Kenny is in his last year at Morning Glory. For me, its probably too late to help him see a better way. But then I think about the other boys at Morning Glory who must have similar issues. So few of them have guidance. If no one else is going to help these young men pursue peace and wisdom, then Ill do what I can. Normally a situation like the one I had with Kenny bothers and angers me. Normally, I walk away from those situations thinking that I might as well go home. But Kenny scared me into a realization: if the blind lead the blind, they will most certainly fall. Im not the most qualified guy in the mission field, but I realize it's up to me to do what I can to pull these boys out of blindness. But then I do the math. Kenny and so many kids like him need Morning Glory. I firmly believe that Loris plan is the best one right now. I believe in the program. But weve had four months of barely making budget. If the money doesnt come, we have to turn away kids and shut down programs. That means we have to turn away Kenny. We have to deny the lost a map. And that scares me even more. We need you to help us help the Kennys. We need you to decide that Kenny, Dailyn, Candy, Erivan, Alex, and 550 more young ones are worthy of your attention. We dont do this because is always fun. We do this because the children of San Raymundo are worth our attention. They are worthy of our time but we need YOU to decide they are worthy of your resources. Please consider giving monthly to Morning Glory or increasing your current giving. We have a big project here and are growing to meet the needs. But mustard plants cannot grow without water and sunlight. Your prayers are our sunlight. Your funds are our water. Help us help Kenny and the 550 kids with needs just as urgent as his. If you could have seen Kennys eyes, you wouldnt need me to tell you why. Missionoffaith.org is now using Facebook Comments. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then add your comment below. Comments are subject to Facebook's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service on data use. If you don't want your comment to appear on Facebook, uncheck the 'Post to Profile' box. To find out more, read the FAQ. Comments 0 Home:: News:: Search:: Jesus loves you! Facebook social plugin Comment using... Recommend Be the first of your friends to recommend this. Comment using... AVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlu_0_0http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmllightfeedback_0UOKCNxUOIRy7WMvGen_UScomment1http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlen_US Submit AVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlu_0_0http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmllightfeedback_0UOKCNxUOIRy7WMvGen_UScomment1http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlen_US Add a comment... AVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlrecommendhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlAVqq3ZZQhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtmlrecommendhttp://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml

16. May-June 2013 Update :: New Iberian Mission Association (NIMA) :: Mission of Faith :: http://www.missionoffaith.org/Article103.phtml#contents[7/11/2013 9:31:45 AM] Agap Christian Church of NM, Inc. - All rights reserved. Web site is powered by PostNuke. [XML]