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After Traveling all over the world to try to help orphans, the poor and oppressed, God led us to thousands of refugees downtown Charlotte.
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As our family headed to
Rogersville Tennessee, a small town located in the foothills
of the Appalachian Mountains, we
were unsure of what to expect. We
were briefed on the extreme
poverty we would face there . . .
people living with no running
water, homes filled with black
mold, some with actual trees
growing through them. Our hosts
were two construction coordinators
for AIM (Adventures In Missions).
These young men were
willing to live several months in a
condemned home to serve families
in need around them. Taking all of
this in, our family braced ourselves with the possibility of spending our
summer living in substandard housing, sleeping on air mattresses, with
no air-conditioning. We consoled ourselves, by reminding ourselves
that these conditions were nothing compared to
what missionary families face in third world countries.
Upon arriving, we were welcomed into a modest, air-
conditioned☺ home that one of the ministries we would be serving
had graciously offered rent free. We already felt spoiled! The town
turned out to be a very cute and quaint mountain town. It had 2-3
restaurants full of the nicest down-home waitresses and small town
folk you could ever meet. We found out that although there were a
few families inside town in need, most families with urgent needs lived
outside of town in what the town folk called hollers. These
hollers, located far back in the valleys between the rolling hillsides,
were full of broken down trailers and dilapidated homes. Many of the
families, who had lived there for several generations, struggle to
provide for their families and had no means to repair or upkeep their
homes.
We were blessed to be able to train and send out several
teams of volunteers each week to minister to families in need. These
mission teams would meet the familiesÕ immediate physical needs,
such as replacing a leaking roof or insulating their house for winter
while also looking for opportunities to pray with or to share the Gospel
with the families they were serving.
We also partnered with
a Boys and Girls Club
in the area. We sent teams there to
give the fifty plus kids dropped off
each day, the much needed love
and attention they were so
desperate for. Many of the kids
involved were from foster care or
broken homes and openly talked
about the pain they experience
from their parentsÕdivorce. We
if they had heard the Message of Hope? We then took what we gathered
to those in need, who we also prayed for and shared with. It was
definitely a stretch for many in the group, but, we were blessed to
play a part in the lives God touched.
One of the most moving times for me this summer was
when our youngest daughter, Hope, who is 6 6 6 6 years old, opened up
and shared for the first time in a
large group setting. . . . She said that
she felt sad for the woman, Jenny,
whose home we had painted that day.
The spirit began to touch all of our
CL ChristLife Experiencing & Sharing God’s Love [email protected]
Sept 2011
Hope & Lily
helping to paint
Jenny’s home
Outreach Movie Night at a Local Park
Tommy from the Boys
& Girls Club
broken homes and openly talked
about the pain they experience
from their parentsÕdivorce. We
spent time one-on-one with these precious children listening to their
stories and sharing ours.We also led them in sports and crafts activities,
where members of our team took time to share their God Story with the
children who participated.
We had several nights where we reached out to the whole
community at local parks- through offering a meal and then
sharing the good news; or hosting a family friendly movie night
and then presenting the Gospel during a brief intermission....
Another outreach
was one we like to do in
Charlotte. We sent teams of
2-3 people door to door
through the more affluent
areas of town, to collect
anything from (Cans to
Couches) for the poor. We
took the opportunity to ask
the people who we met if they
needed prayer for anything or
large group setting. . . . She said that
she felt sad for the woman, Jenny,
whose home we had painted that day.
The spirit began to touch all of our
hearts as she began to cry, showing
GodÕs heart for Jenny, (I feel sad she
has to live in such a dirty place.) Our
group had spent the week cleaning out
and painting JennyÕs home after she
shared her intentions of opening it up
as a shelter for battered women to
live.
Another time, which stands
out to me, is when our oldest daughter
felt led by the Lord to purchase a Bible to give to someone that day.
Later that night she was led to give it to a woman who had just prayed
to receive Christ at one of our evening outreaches. It was a blessing to
see our children led and used by the Lord.
These are just a few of many great things we saw God do this summer
up in Appalachia. Thank you for partnering with us to make this
ministry possible!!!!
Jenny
Arts & Crafts Outreach at
Boys & Girls Club
This ministry reachesout to the more than 2222,,,,000 000 000 000
Vietnamese refugees, who live in government housing
in downtown Charlotte....
The Vietnamese are Christians who were being severely
persecuted in their country before our government granted
ministry with them as well. This is where we encourage a
local Bible study or small group to (Adopt a Family) that
God leads them to. The vision is that they would welcome
them in as family, mentor them, and help them as they seek
to assimilate into American culture.
Please keep our family
and those that the Lord is
leading us to in your
prayers.
I trust you are continually
looking to your personal
relationship with Christ
to fill you with the love,
joy, peace,
companionship,
guidance,
encouragement, and
We have also begun a new
partnership with a refugee
ministry called Project 658658658658
Now that we are home I am excited to have
formed a partnership with the Charlotte Habitat for Hu-
manity.
We look forward to joining them in serving families in
need around us. As always we will seek to share GodÕs
love and The Message of Hope with those we serve as
well as the volunteers we serve with.
Habitat’s Mission Statement: “To put God’s love into ac-
tion, by bringing people together to build homes, commu-
nities and hope.”
They accomplish this through: Demonstrating the love of
Jesus Christ. “We undertake our work to demonstrate the
love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord
with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all,
and that we must be “hands and feet” of that love and
grace in our world.”
Focusing on Shelter. “We have chosen, as our means of
manifesting God’s love, to create opportunities for all
people to live in decent, durable shelter. We put faith into
action by helping to build, renovate or preserve homes,
and by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden
access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking
the cycle of poverty.”
Please keep this new and budding partnership with
Charlotte Habitat in your prayers. We hope to chal-
lenge and equip them to add more of a spiritual message
to the families they serve as well as the thousands of vol-
unteers who serve with them.
New Partnership
With Habitat For Humanity
Vietnamese Refugees
There are Over 2000 Refugees
Living in Downtown Charlotte
....
The Vietnamese are Christians who were being severely
persecuted in their country before our government granted
them asylum here in the U.S. I am excited to partner with
Project 658 to provide clothing, job assistance, English
training, and mentoring to these victimized families.
We are also hoping to begin our (Adopt a Family)
companionship,
guidance,
encouragement, and
purpose we all were
created for.
Blessings in knowing
Christ,
The DanteÕs
Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for and support this ministry.
Clife Adventures
1108 Market Street,
Fort Mill S.C. 29708
[email protected] 803-207-9496