SATAN TRIED TO STOP TEAM'S ACTIVITIES!

A team leader from Jefferson Street Baptist Church, Eureka, Kansas, shares that Satan tried many times to interfere with the work she and others were doing with the Operation GO saturation team in Mexico. Read about Karen Gudde's experiences below. She shares (in her own words) what transpired during her volunteer trip.

"My daughter and I had been in Mexico for three weeks prior to our Operation GO project. We had gone to Oaxaca where I fell in the shower (slick tile) and my knee was in pain the entire week. I found out last week that I have torn the Meniscus and will need surgery but God was so good – he really gave me a lot of relief from the pain during the week. It got much worse when we came home!

Some of our experiences were as follows:

One woman shared with us during our trip that she was just broken hearted because her son is an alcoholic and his wife has left him. She just cried as she told us about the devastation that has come to her family. I don't know exactly how old she was but she walked to church with a cane.

Satan tried to stop other activities…..one of the young boys on the trip found out the night before we came home that his mom and stepdad had been in an accident and would be in rehab and hospitals for four months. Of course, he was devastated thinking about this but we encouraged him, prayed with him and let him know that Satan was only trying to steal the joy he felt. He knew his parents were going to live but they were going to have a rough recovery. Well, we got home on August 8 and Adam told me Sunday that his parents had come home Saturday! The power of prayer is awesome! God is so good.

If anyone thinks there is nothing that they could possibly do, can they stuff packets? We always end up having to stuff the bags with the gospels and the invitations. When we were stuck in traffic this year, we did it even in the van!

I could probably write a book about the experiences we have had on these trips but my chief encouragement would be for people of all ages to just go and serve. God commands us to GO! Many churches may be GIVING, which is wonderful, but are they GOING? Volunteering is an experience that opens your eyes and enlightens you in ways no one can describe to you with words. I know it is expensive. I know it may be uncomfortable going into unknown territory, but these people are lost and we can let God use us to help shine light in their world and show them the Savior. What greater joy or responsibility could we ever want or hope for in this world?"

If you want to join the Lord in His work in Middle America and the Caribbean region, like Karen and others, please contact us at the addresses listed on the right-hand under "Contact info below."

PRAISES FOR THE GO CARIBBEAN TEAMS

Thank the Lord for all He did the last two weeks in Barbados through the hard work and faithful efforts of the "GO CARIBBEAN" teams. Fifteen
people publically trusted Christ as Savior!

If you feel God leading you to be part of a GO CARIBBEAN team, please see their contact information at http://go-caribbean.org/

Praise report from Barbados!

The GO Caribbean team showed an evangelistic movie during a recent mission trip to Barbados. They are excited to report that two people asked Jesus into their hearts at the conclusion of the movie!

Please thank the Lord for hearing and responding to our prayers, and join us in praising Him for these new believers.

If you feel God leading you to be part of a GO CARIBBEAN team, please see their contact information at
http://go-caribbean.org/

Standing in the Gap for people of Barbados!

September 13 – 19, 2008, the GO CARIBBEAN team will work with the People's Baptist Church and go door to door in the community to pray and hand out Gospels of John. They will also invite people to a showing of an evangelistic film on Wednesday and Friday nights.

Prayer concern: Please pray for the team's energy and for many to come to know Jesus as their Savior. Thank you for standing in the gap for the people of Barbados!

If you feel God leading you to be part of a GO CARIBBEAN team, please see the contact http://go-caribbean.org/

Can This Marriage be Saved?

In May 2008, IMB missionary, Beth Larner, and Donna, a volunteer, visited a home in Sección Primera de Santa Fe to share the Gospel. The owner of the home explained to the women that she was having marital problems.

Feeling in their heart that the Lord would lead them to the passages in the Bible that could heal this relationship, they asked if they could return to study scripture. The woman invited the missionaries back. The next morning when Tommy and Beth visited, they found both husband and wife eager to learn how Christ could mend their family. After the Bible session, the wife prayed to receive Christ into her heart, and asked the missionaries to return to study the Bible with them.

The Lord is the answer to mending troubled marriages! Volunteers are the answer to helping us tell others about His love, mercy and grace.

The Holy Spirit is working through our missionaries and faithful volunteers! Our region expresses our thankfulness for our volunteers and their contributions!

For volunteer opportunities contact
The MAC Region at
954-340-1193
http://www.macregion.org/
http://www.going.imb.org/

Dominica Team Helps to Further God’s Kingdom!

Matthew John Baptist is a Dominica national who knew about the Bible, and could quote scripture, but had not made the decision to ask Jesus into his heart. When students from Georgia met Matthew John Baptist this summer while on a mission trip to Dominica, they talked at length with him about his salvation. Although he still did not want to make a commitment to Jesus, he asked the team if they would present the gospel to his friends. Delighted to accept the invitation, the team added another Bible study to their schedule and began to pray for this young man.

Friday evening not one of the friends attended the Bible study. However, Matthew John Baptist showed and God used this opportunity for His glory! Mathew accepted Jesus into his heart and now he is more anxious than ever for his friends to hear the
Good News and how the Father has the perfect plan for their lives.


The Lord used this team in a mighty way and He can use YOU!

For other volunteer opportunities contact:
The MAC Region at
954-340-1193
www.macregion.org
http://going.imb.org/

STUDENT FROM GEORGIA VOLUNTEERS ON CARIBBEAN ISLAND

Note: Written by a Georgia student volunteer:

"I just thought I'd send out an update of my life and all the crazy, amazing things God has been doing!

Well I just got back from an incredible 7-week mission trip from a little island in the Caribbean called Dominica! :) It was so beautiful there! It was extremely different from anything I could ever imagine or expect. I went with a team of seven students from colleges all over Georgia, and we definitely had our work cut out for us! I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but God did! We "scouted" out the island, finding out where things were, where people hung out at, what the needs were etc., and we also worked in a primary school helping with reading, writing, and whatever else the teacher could come up with for us to do. (It is definitely not my calling in life to be a teacher!) It's waaaay different teaching a kid how to write an S than it is teaching a VBS! We also helped with three different churches while we were there; leading Bible studies and hanging out with the youth on youth nights--the kids were so much fun and always so full of life! We also hung out at the local colleges while doing Bible studies and prayerwalking. And we did different outreach/evangelism events in different villages (where eight people accepted Christ!)

God definitely showed me a lot about myself on this trip! It was challenging at times, but God always provided and He always knows what He is doing! I met some amazing people on this trip that I will never forget and will always cherish!"

For other volunteer opportunities contact:
The MAC Region
http://www.macregion.org/
http://going.imb.org