Mission Blog

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Haiti, November 1, 2009

T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Sunday). Praise god from Whom all blessings flow. What a glorious last day in Haiti God has giving me. Usually we arrive in Z’orange on Sunday and leave on Saturday. My schedule is so different this time with me leaving Haiti early to get ready for the Mexico mission trip that my last day will be spent in worship with my Haitian brothers and sisters.
We went just a little north of Z’Orange to visit the Jerusalem IIII church. Right now this congregation is meeting under a thatched roof with crude post and beam construction. Our prayer is that God will build His church on this spot and let us have a part in it by whatever means He chooses love church here in Haiti, especially out in the country. God is so cool to let us see real worship at it’s finest. People coming together for the common purpose of church, the body of Christ joining together as one, not a bunch of spastic committees working against each other for the common purpose of a power struggle.
We can learn so much from things in which most people want to distance themselves from. I myself have to be careful not to fall prey to the things of this world. Brother Carl preached the truth and the locals sang as if they were angels from heaven. After church we went back to Z,Orange and had a great Haitian lunch with Pastor Dorleon, his wife and Jean Renel the associate pastor. Killer food, goat, rice and beans, fried plantains and greens.
I saw John Wesley’s wife today and talked with her for a little while. As of now they are not together again which seems to be an off and on thing happening between the two. I did not see him but I am very stoked at her commitment to God and the church. I never got to see Pastor Fani either. That saddens me greatly because I have grown to love him and his wife so much. He never came down off the mountain and may not for quiet some time. Next time down I plan to spend some time up with him, God willing. I feel as though I am cheating sometimes with all the blessings I receive serving God. Weather it is Haiti, Mexico or home the blessings I get I do not deserve, but God is so gracious to us and allows us to be a part of His plan if we are obedient and available. God’s plan will go on without us so we ought to take advantage and taste the sweetness of His grace and mercy. Please pray for Haiti.
Kenny
GMSM
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Haiti, October 31, 2009

Yeah I finally got my Haitian phone to replace the one I lost in August. GMSM also bought a new phone for George Truelove. The least we could do for such a wonderful servant to God and Haiti. George has become a true friend and brother. Today was a day of rest for the most part. After all it is the true Sabbath according to the Jews. We did visit the church job site to let Chuck make sure all the ducks are in a row and we also ran a few errands.
After all that we took off up the mountain above port to the Baptist Haiti Mission in Fermathe. This mission was started in the early 1940’s and has been an incredible asset to the people of Haiti. Beautiful drive up and down the mountain. I think everyone is burned out tonight including me. We go to the village in the morning for church, lunch and fellowship. I hope that I get a chance to see Pastor Fani. We will have to see. All in all another blessed cool day serving the Lord in Haiti. An old Haitian proverb to end the day with “When the Panther and Goat come together all are safe”. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
GMSM
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October 30, 2009, Haiti Mission Trip

I am so glad that I have learned to have no expectations on any mission trip that God allows GMSM to be a part of. What is so unique about this trip is much of it is being done behind the scenes. Most of what we are doing is making everything cool for the coming team. I can only imagine how this worked if you had to deal with it by yourself like Chuck did for so many years.
We started out this morning picking up some meds from a pharmacy in town. From there we went back to Harry’s church site to get the truck to fill with more supplies to take to Z’Orange. We had two more stops to make on the way to the village before we headed up the mountain. The first stop was to C.A.M. (Christian Aid Ministry) to pick up more meds for the medical clinic that will take place in a week or so. C.A.M. is a Mennonite ministry that helps medical clinics and supports schools along with some church planting.
From there we went to Global Outreach to pick up a donated four wheeler to take up to the mountain to help with some transportation. Global Outreach drills water wells in Haiti and maintains the wells that are dug. After all the gathering of supplies we headed on up the mountain to drop of and pick up some things that needed to come back down. I am getting some great drive time here in all conditions. Mountain driving can be a little scary at times but city driving is down right crazy.
God is so gracious to continue to bless and stretch me in so many ways. I feel so unworthy and undeserving to do what God allows me to do and hope I always continue to feel that way. Thank you Jesus for another great day in Haiti. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
GMSM
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Oct. 29, 09 Haiti Mission Trip

How can we not praise God the creator of all and from whom all blessings flow? Each day in Haiti is such a blessing and a struggle. God has brought so many together through the church of Jesus to sharpen each other and to work side by side. It never ceases to amaze me how cool God is to use a bunch of kooks like us to further His plan of Kingdom expansion. As we stumble through each day God just seems to continue to lay a clear path to travel. I need to say no more about how Dottie takes care of us except PTL. We got to the church site first thing this morning to talk to the bosses (Haitian dudes in charge) about a material for the foundation. Today was a very important day for all involved. The men are just about finished with the digging and are almost ready for rebar and concrete. Once Chuck pinned boss down for a list we took off for another eventful trip to town with Gabriel. Steve and I along with a couple of Haitians took the truck to the lumber store to meet the rest of the crew. The lumber guys got all the rebar together for us and loaded it on the truck. From that point we split back up. We took the material back to the work site while Chuck and Jerry went in search of sand and rock, which in the big scheme of things is not hard to find especially on this island. Although this stuff really is everywhere the building sand and rock has to be bought through the proper venders. Chuck and Jerry had four truck loads of sand and two truck loads of rock delivered to the church site. Even though today was very productive there will be many more trips to town to gather material before the work is completed.
Kenny
GMSM
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First 2 Days Back in Haiti

Kenny is back in Haiti with Brother Chuck of Truth Evangelistic Ministry, working on the foundation for a new church in Port Au Prince, delivering food to children in the village of Z’Orange, and making preparations for the team coming in November. Please pray for all these Christians in Haiti who deliver the truth about Jesus Christ to people who are less fortunate than us in the U.S.A.

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Oct 28, 2009 Haiti mission trip
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, what a day. After another killer meal (breakfast) we headed out to Harry’s church site to survey the progress on the foundation. Chuck spoke to Boss T. Crabs to discuss what was needed as far as materials for the next phase of the project. It was cool to sit and listen as Gods plan unfolds. When the discussion was over we headed out to Love a Child to get the truck and pick up some Feed My Starving Children food to take up to Z’Orange. I drove the truck through town, up the mountain, back down the mountain and back through town. It was so good to see Pastor Doleon and the people of the village. It is also cool to help out with driving duties to give Chuck a break. Once we got back down the mountain the sun was gone and the real fun got started. Trust me; it is a trip driving at night in PAP, Haiti. CRAZY! We found our way back to Harry’s church where Chuck and George was waiting. We left the truck there and trucked back to Dottie’s. What a great day. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Kenny
GMSM
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Oct 27, 09 Haiti Mission Trip
Nothing out of the norm, Gods business as usual. Lots of air time, flight legs and all the stuff it takes to get down to Haiti. It is always good to spend some quality time with Chuck. It may seem selfish but I do like it sometimes when we travel alone. It is nice to just bounce things around. Seems like when we are home both our ministries keep us moving and it is hard to pin each other down. We need to work on that. Anyway we hooked up with our group in PAP (Port Au Prince), had a great meal as always at Dottie’s and just chilled waiting on the Lord to give us direction. Many things need to be done. Materials need to be bought for Harry’s church in PAP, food needs to be picked up and taken out to the village of Z’Orange and preparations need to take place for the team coming in November. It will be a busy week and I am excited to see what God has in store for us. I do hope and pray to see Pastor Fani.
Kenny
GMSM
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Thanks All for a great “Raise the Roof” Concert

Thank you Sonia Gann for the awesome photography!

WOW! What a beautiful day God provided for us to have His concert on. The bands were great and the music was fantastic. All I can say is that whoever decided there were other things to do, well, bummer for you. All the volunteers served with a joyful heart and everything went off as planned. The crowd was sparse but I have come to the point that God knows who needed to be there and they were. Kevin Derryberry, Shawn and Katie Sandlin drove all the way down from Birmingham, Al. and did a great job. Without Silence and the Jeremy Gibson Band rocked. Jamey Shannon did a wonderful job at revealing who he really is. Although I think he does a great job of music minister at FBCFWB, I do believe I like him much better on stage truly using the gifts God has given him. Matt Brown, Josh and the FBCFWB house band all held their own. Drew and Keith did the killer barbeque and kept everyone full. The city of Ft. Walton tried to pull a fast one on us the day before the concert but God was much faster, “Get thee behind me satan”. We raised a few dollars, people heard the truth in the gospel and more people in town know more about Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc. Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow. WOW!
Kenny Phillips founder/director
GMSM
Thank you to the following supporters!

H2O Associates and Surftech
Premier Media Technologies of Destin – Mr. Will Tiller
Los Panchos of ft. Walton – Britt and Nikki Webb
Longhorn’s Seakhouse of Destin – Steve Coley
Longhorns’s Steakhouse of Ft. Walton – Christi
Olive Garden of Ft. Walton – Mr. Jeff Phillips
Fudpucker’s of Destin – Mr. David Smith
Floyd’s Fish House of Ft. Walton – J. J.
Coach and Four Gifts of Ft. Walton – Doug and Michelle Murphy
The Crab Trap of Destin – Patrick O’Roard
Slick Mick’s Deli & Grille, FWB
Coach N four Steak House of FWB – John & Sharon Moon
Winn Dixie of FWB
Food World – John Seabo
Publix of FWB – Philllip Smith
La Paz Restaurant of Destin – Mr. Jere Bortz
Red Lobster of FWB
InnerLight surf & Skate of Penscola

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Ponchatoula Fundraiser for GMSM

Praise God from Whom all Blessings flow. The family and I had fantastic opportunity to participate in a fund raising event in Ponchatoula, La. on the weekend of Oct. the 11th. We visited our wonderful friends the Guillot’s and the Felder’s. The weekend was spent in fellowship and planning for our Christmas mission trip to Mexico on December the 26th thru the 30th. On Sunday the 11th Wormy and the boys grilled chicken at the church which was put in to go boxes along with several side dishes and sold for 7.00 dollars a box. Susan and Sharon coordinated the fund raiser as well as the preparation of the boxes along with a great group of servants. Kim, the girls and I helped pick up the slack where needed.
All in all over 1200.00 dollars was raised that will help offset the cost of the meals we will be preparing and serving in the colonias in Mexico. The event took place at Westside Baptist Church. This same group has also raised over 2000.00 dollars so far for the blankets that will be given out at Christmas. GMSM is so blessed to have such beautiful partners as these in Ponchatoula. Praise God!
Kenny Phillips founder /director
GMSM
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Listen to WPSM 91.1 Today

Kenny will be sharing the news about Give Me Shelter Ministries today at 11AM on Ft. Walton Beach radio station WPSM 91.1. You can also tune in online at http://www.wpsm.com/.

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Dear Friends and Family,

Most of you know that we have had the opportunity to visit Nuevo Laredo, Mexico several times over the last seven years. Our work there has been focused on Casa Hogar Elim Orphanage and the colonia’s outside of Nuevo Laredo. The colonia’s are very poor “neighborhoods”. The houses are built of anything a family can find such as discarded pallets, tin or wood. The colonia’s have no running water, electricity or plumbing and as you can imagine, they are not very secure from the elements.

On our visit last Christmas, the weather turned quite cold. We saw first hand how inadequate the houses in the colonia’s are to keep these families warm. We soon realized that not only was their shelter inadequate but many did not even own a blanket. It broke our hearts to think of these families, from babies to senior adults, having no way to keep warm.

As a group, we decided that our goal for 2009 would be to provide blankets to these colonia’s. It is our prayer that we can distribute 1000 blankets this Christmas. We are working with The Emerald Coast Fellowship of Baptist Churches to get the word out in the local area about this need. Additionally, we are working with two out of town churches, one in Ponchatoula, La and the other in Saraland, Al on this mission project. We believe that with God’s help we can reach or surpass this goal. However, we cannot do it alone. We are asking for help from our friends and family. The cost of a heavyweight blanket is approximately $11. We are working with a vendor who will ship them directly to Laredo, Tx and we will bring them across the border for distribution.

If you would like to help us meet our goal of purchasing 1000 blankets you can do so by donating $11 or any dollar amount you would like to give. 100% of what you give will be used to purchase blankets. Click the big blanket here on our blog or on our website.

If you prefer to pay via check, all checks should be made payable to Give Me Shelter Ministries (GMSM) and mailed to GMSM P.O. Box 864, Shalimar, Fl 32579. Please notate “blankets for Mexico” on the memo line of your check.

We need to place our order for the blankets by early November so if you would like to help us, please send your donations no later than October 31, 2009. All donations are tax deductible.

Please check out Give Me Shelter Ministries website at www.givemeshelterministries.org for more information and details about our planned end of the year mission trips to Mexico and Haiti. As always, we thank you for your continued support of our mission work in Mexico.

Kenny Phillips founder/director

Give Me Shelter Ministries, Inc.

850-496-7398

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Building a New Home in Mexico November 8 – 14

The Quintero Family

Give Me Shelter Ministries and Beachside Community Church are headed back to Nuevo Laredo in early November. We have raised $600 so far, and only need $1900 more dollars to build this home for a family in need.

Pray that our mission is accomplished, and please consider helping us raise the funds by sharing our blog and mission with your friends and family.

It’s hard to imagine, but for the cost of a nice HD TV setup at Best Buy, we can house the Quintero family in Mexico. Praise the Lord!