Who's going?

Pray for the team:

Nancy Wright, Linda & Steve Dean, Laurel, Josh & Jeremy Sullivan, Josh Smith, Nathan O'Neill, Nich Branam, Doris & Gene Hundley, Kelsi Gabriel and Brian, Jan & Megan Joslin

Pray for Curacao '09 trip

Read my post about the next 3 weeks and how to pray.

Pray for Emma Eman

Grace Family,

Emma Eman lost her 91 year old dad Sat. night. Cesar and Emma host the VBS we helped with last year.

Cesar emailed me asking us to pray for her.

Hi Darien,

On Saturday evening at 6.:20 Emma’s father died at the age of 91.

The funeral will be on July 1^st.

Pray for us, since this causes a lot of stress on the preparations for the VBS.

Regards,

Cesar

While it is assumed that she'll mourn his loss (she had a good relationship) that grief will include a lot of stress. That stress is very hard on Emma who battles a number of chronic illnesses that flare up or get worse when she is under a lot of stress.

This year they are pulling all the stops as they celebrate their 10th VBS in their neighborhood. Since she's in charge of the overall VBS project for hundreds of children, this will bring an extra challenge to her and all involved (including our team going Fri.).

Please lift her up right now!

Thanks for putting your faith in action,

Darien

PS If you want to send a note of sympathy or a prayer to Cesar, Emma and their family, you can send it to Cesar at cesar.eman@pbscuracao.com

Pray right now for Curacao trip: leaving Fri.

Take a moment right now to pray for those going on this trip as well as those we'll serve and reach out to.

Also, pray for our local mission trip the following week.

Latest from group coming from Curacao

26th of June 2009

Hi! Darien!

Looking forward to having you with us next week! Quickly some information about our group so that you can make final preparations for us:

1. The group consists of 7 individuals:

1. Kevin Illidge (M/19)

2. Shamiro Anita (M/17)

3. Reyswin Simon (M/21)

4. Shurendy Zimmerman (M/16)

5. Jurlissa Elvilia (F/16)

6. Shanirha Anita (F/23)

7. Calvin Varlack (pastor)

2. We will be arriving on Saturday the 11th of July on AA FLT 4947 at 10.04 p.m. in Savannah H. and our return flight will be on Monday the 20th of July at 8:00 a.m. on AA 4948

3. Ministry:

1. We are prepared to do anything to assist and help out in the backyard bible

classes. We want to serve you in any way possible!

2. Most of the young people will be able to share their personal testimonies in

English; some will probably make use of a translator.

3. They are prepared to share the Gospel in personal evangelism settings.

(street evangelism, places where young people hang out, ect.)

4. The young people have prepared some mime messages for young people

5. We have one singer and also one preacher on board!

6. We are open to experience whatever new ministry that you might feel that will

be an enrichment of the lives of our young people.

I hope this information helps out a little!

Calvin

Alabama Church meeting us in Curacao

The note is about the group from Alabama.

Allan Murphy is the pastor of North Shelby Baptist Church in Birmingham. They have a web site. He was a missionary for several years in Curacao and speaks Papiamentu.

His wife, Mary will accompany. She is a nurse.

Archie Jones is a retired missionary to Ecuador and Chilie. He speaks Spanish.

David Christian is a former missionary to Korea and is a media specialist.

Scott Norton and his teenage son, Austin will be participating.

Jacob Falls is a teen that will be participating.

Jessica Palmer is the wife of the music minister at North Shelby and she will be participating.

Roles, details and more

I am going to give you incomplete information [at the end of this message]on your request to assign people to the various groups. I have not had the opportunity to get input from the team, so there will certainly be some changes. Our next opportunity to speak with all will be June 28. I will copy the assignments section of this email to our team and ask that anyone who may have a strong preference for something let me know. Also, Allan Murphy's team of 8 is planning to work VBS as well, so there are certain to be some changes as we sort out the assignments for all. As I look at the total number available, it certainly looks like there will be enough of us to help staff all groups

Help me be sure I understand about the Gospel Light material. At one time, we anticipated it would ship to our home and that our team would bring it down in our baggage. It seems you are getting it all direct via Fed Ex. If that is so, it is great. Just confirm if you would, so we know if we should be expecting something to arrive here that we should bring with us.

Doris reports that our ladies continue to work on planning for the meetings with the ladies group you will have. Laurel Sullivan and Jan Joslin are working that together. I believe they expect to have something they could send you on [or soon after] our June 28 meeting.

The only craft item that is planned as of this moment is a bracelet that would be a reminder for abstinence and fidelity. If you have other specific things you believe would be helpful, please feel free to notify Doris, Jan or Laurel.

We do have one person each from South Carolina and Alabama that is a nurse. You had previously mentioned being pleased about having a nurse. I would like to hear, what are your expectations of a nurse? For example....do you want the ability to call on one of these ladies, only as needed to attend for some problem, or do you believe you need someone dedicated only to the role of nurse while VBS is in session?

You mentioned that you will have some art projects for girls in the age range of 12 - 15. I will presume you are preparing the plan and materials for these projects. If this is not correct, please advise.

A young lady from Columbia, South Carolina has recently committed to join our team. She is Nancy [Nan] Wright and she worked your VBS 5? years ago as part of a team Darien brought from North Carolina. She is in school now in Columbia and learned of this team's plans recently when in communication with Darien. That means our group now is 15 persons.

That is plenty for one message so I will stop now. The assignments [tentative] follow;

0-2 yrs

3-4 yrs

5-6 yrs

7-9 yrs [boys?] Josh Smith

7-9 yrs [girls?] .....or will both be mixed and simply reflects that you expect a large number of this age group?

10-11 yrs Megan Joslin

12-14 yrs boys Jeremey Sullivan

12-14 yrs girls Kelsi Gabriel

15-18 boys Brian Joslin & Josh Sullivan

15-18 girls Nan Wright

Arts and Crafts Nicholas Branam

Memory Verse

Games on Court Nathan O'Neill [I would like to be able to arrange things so that he gets to have at least a couple of days in other roles. He did this last year]

Ladies group Laurel Sullivan & Jan Joslin

Others in our South Carolina group;

Doris Hundley - She says she will work wherever you need her

Steve Dean - He is very technically competent

Linda Dean - She is our nurse. If you need for a nurse is only on "as needed" basis, she can work with ladies or children [5-6]

Gene Hundley - From my experience with the amount of driving required last year, I am making the presumption that I will not assign to a specific class and can serve any role you need when I am present at your house

I will look forward to hearing the results of your meeting tomorrow. Thanks for staying in frequent contact. It is helping us get organized.

gene

Transportation settled for now

Here is what it looks like: (per Mike O'Neill)

Jul 3:

Sherry and I driving vans, Brad in scout car

Jul 11:

Paul and Phil driving vans, I will be driving the truck with trailer

Jul 18^th

Paul and I driving vans, Brad in scout car.

Sherry and I would be glad to step aside and let someone else drive the vans.

How you can help: transportation

To support the Curacao missions, we need volunteers for three trips:

1. One additional van driver to depart not later than 4:00 AM on 3 July from Summerville to deliver GCF passengers to Savannah Airport no later than 6:00 AM. The van will be provided by Old Fort Baptist Church. Optionally, one scout car that will drive ahead of the van convoy and keep it advised of road conditions and be able to help in the event of a mechanical breakdown.

2. One additional van driver and a driver with truck suitable for pulling a trailer to pick up GCF and Curacao passengers at Savannah Airport and deliver them to Bonnie Dunes at about 10:30 PM on 11 July. We will be using the old church trailer.

3. One additional van driver to depart TBA from Summerville to deliver GCF passengers to Savannah Airport on 18 July. Optionally, one scout car that will drive ahead of the van convoy and keep it advised of road conditions and be able to help in the event of a mechanical breakdown.

We may be able to do without the scout car on trips 1 & 3 but we will need the third vehicle to haul the trailer on the second trip. If you are interested, please contact Mike O'Neill (843) 819-9042 or moneil@sc.rr.com.

What to Pack for Travel

Casual clothing sufficient for 11 days travel (9 for Curacao and 2 for Bonnie Doone). Shorts and T-shirts are fine. It is ok to wear things more than one day. Our housing does not assure any chance to launder anything other than what you might hand wash in a bathroom sink.

• A cap or hat
• PJ’s or suitable sleeping clothes for close quarters
• Closed toe shoes (like sneakers) that protect you on rocky terrain and a concrete play court.
• Bathing Suit (1 piece) and beach towel
• Wash cloth and bath towel [if you bring your own shampoo and soap, make them small]
• Normally equipped personal hygiene items in a travel kit [can be a good zip lock]
• Hair dryer [for some]
• Prescription medications [there will be a 1st aid kit for the group so you don’t need to take your own]
• Sunscreen and insect repellent [especially if you have specific needs regarding either]
• Bed sheets [assume double bed size] and your own pillow if you want it
• Small flash light
• Bible and small journal with pen
• Airport entertainment [books, cards, etc.]
• Your camera and batteries, along with a re-charger
• Spending money [we talked about it, so you determine what is right for you…. $100 enough if you are frugal] Consider taking snacks you like, especially if it helps avoid those high airport prices.
• Offering money for church service(s) on Sunday
• Snorkel, mask, fins if you have them and want to avoid rental cost

Important considerations:

Last year 7 bags were 3 days late getting to Curacao, so be sure you are OK to go without what you pack in your checked bags.

Do most of your packing before July 2! There are stores in Curacao, but things will be more expensive and we do not have time built into the group schedule to accommodate trips to get “forgotten” items.

Most days the only air conditioning we will encounter will be in a vehicle….and, not always then. It is by no means awful, but it does help if you keep things simple.

Remove anything from your wallet/purse that you do not need in Curacao. It is just good travel practice in the event you lose it. The same goes for jewelry. REMEMBER: From the time we arrive at the Savannah airport and until we get on the vans there, heading to Boonie Doone, nobody should leave the group by themselves.

When in Savannah and Miami airports, keep your carry on bags with you or leave them with someone who is prepared to commit to stay with them while you go do whatever you need. If airport security deems your bag to be abandoned, they will be interested in keeping you, as well as your bag for a while and they will feel no obligation to make sure you catch your next flight.

Passport and insurance coverage cards should be with you at all times during travel to and from Curacao. These can be left in our host homes during the days on the island. We will lock the houses when we are gone. It is a good idea to make a copy of the passport (color) photo and signature pages and your insurance cards (black and white ok here) and keep those copies separate from your originals.

It is ok to take cell phones for use in the US. Unless you have a special plan, they will not work in Curacao and those plans are expensive. We will have limited access to email in Curacao at Cesar and Emma’s house and will use that if there is any urgent communication need from or to our group.