We invite you to participate in one or more of our upcoming projects. As soon as we are working on dates for projects, we will list them here for you to see. Most of the time, we start with a general date and then, narrow down to the specific dates as we coordinate with local people. You can start making plans, raising/saving money and get your passport ready for these upcoming projects. Click the button below to download the Clear Vision Ministries Volunteer Application. The completed form is due with the initial donation for each project. In the meantime, click the tabs above to read about some of our past projects including pictures and videos. (Due to changes in software, we are working on a new solution to provide videos of our latest projects.)
We are working on putting together CVM projects for 2017. Some of the projects will take one week and some will take several weeks. We need several teams of people in 2017 and we need help raising funds to cover expenses. Please pray about how you can be involved through going, continued prayer and/or donating.
Ecuador
February 12-22, 2018
Project Details:
Provide training for and ministry to Unsion and local ministers.
Approximate Expense: $2,000 per person
El Salvador
March 2018
Project Details:
Provide training for local ministries and local ministers. Also, ministering in churches and to groups of children and youth.
Approximate Expense: $2,350 per person
Malawi, Africa
April 2018
Project Details:
Provide training for and ministry to pastors. Continue working to the start of several schools.
Approximate Expense: $3,000 per person plus $6,000 in conference expenses as we pay for the travel, food, meeting venue and other expenses of conference antendees.
China
July 2018
Project Details: Provide an "English Camp" for children ages 7-12.
Approximent Expense: $3,200 per person
Fiji
2018 - pending
Project Details: Provide times of training for various ministries and provide training for another CVM School of Ministry and Leadership partner.
Approximent Expense: $4,750 per person
Additional projects will be added as details come together. 2018 dates and projects are being developed and details may change.
We were invited to return to Romania this year to help with several camps. Because of facility limitations, Kidz Romania runs multiple weeks of camp back to back (without a break). So, after the English Camp in China, Jimmy made a quick trip to catch the last day of a youth camp, a 2-day ABQ camp and a 4-day kids camp. The days were busy from 8:00am until about 10:30pm each day.
Jimmy had two main jobs during this camp: Leading games and Speaking in the services at night. Each morning, different teams would play games, work on crafts and create a music video. So, we played games for about three hours each morning. In the afternoon, we played bigger games with about two hours of time. Then, the kids had free time and most of them played more games for another hour to an hour and a half with Jimmy playing along and making sure things went well. He introduced a popular game using a ball and some boards.
Each evening we crammed the meeting room full of people for a service lasting around two hours or more. There were skits, puppets, fun songs, worship songs and speaking to the groups. At the end of the service, we spent time praying and worshipping together. While summer camp is common in the USA, it is very rare in Romania with many never having to opportunity to attend before. Kidz Romania has a great staff and a great team of people helping with the camps. It was a pleasure to join Romanians and Americans as we worked together to minister to children from across the country.
A couple of years ago, we worked with Pastor Aline and his church at a Youth service and a day of Leadership Training. Pastor Aline spoke about all of the positive comments received from the training and the impact it made in the lives of the attendees. He was very happy with the results of our previous work together.
Thank you for your prayers, support and help as together we make a difference in the world.
We returned to China again for another week of English Camp. This is such a great opportunity and honor to be able to work with a local team and to serve children of the community. Each year is different from the previous one and we continually work to improve the camp experience for all involved.
This year, Taylor traveled to China to help with the camp. He was a great help in leading games and lessons. The attendees did a great job learning English songs. As usually happens, there was one song the campers enjoyed the most, sang the loudest and requested to sing more.
We had another change this in the addition of a professional chef overseeing the lunches. Because of traffic and the distance he lives from the facility, he decided to stay at the facility for the entire week. Instead of going home to see his wife and family each night, he sacrificed his time and offered his culinary talents to help make the camp sucessful. As always, the kids ran to get to the food and had all they could eat of the tasty treats. The most popular dish served during week was an American favorite: French Fries (with lots of ketchup).
We plan to return in July next year. We need some help. Please give, pray and/or go with us as we take a small team of people to help with the camp.
*Due to the sensitive nature of our work during this project, many details are not included.
One of the attendees in our training in Kenya last year invited us to return to this wonderful city to train more leaders. We went to Nairobi, Kenya to train pastors and leaders in the Nairobi Slum area. This “neighborhood” is made up of sheet metal buildings and is home to thousands of the poorest people in Nairobi. People move to the city with no money and the hopes to find a good paying job in the big city. Many of these people end up living in the slum until they can find jobs or give up and return to their homes.
After three days of training, the 40 or so attendees were very thankful for new knowledge, skills and abilities they developed. On Saturday, we had some people attending for the only day they had available away from work. It was interesting to see how those who attended the entire time were correcting and speaking with the newcomers. It is always amazing to see people when they experience intense realizations about their own leadership, the people dynamics involved in church and how we can improve to better fulfill what God called us to do.
George, one of the attendees at the meetings last year, returned to attend some of the days once again. He came to refresh, spend time together again and share what God has been doing through his life. One afternoon, George stood to encourage the class that the things they are learning really do work in the real world. Since last year, George went to Western Kenya to live among nomadic muslims for several months. Using the skills and abilities developed in our training, he was able to quickly form relationships with the nomads. Then, he was free to share Christ with the muslim nomads and teach them from the Bible. Many muslims gave their lives to the one true God and became believers in Jesus Christ. The new believers even wanted to start a church. George applied his new skills in other aspects of his ministry and has seen many positive changes and growth opportunities.
Brother Francis, who co-ordinated the meetings, wants to create a new school in the Nairobi Slum area to train pastors and church leaders. When he reviewed samples of the CVM School of Ministry and Leadership curriculum, he was amazed at how well our curriculum works together as compared to his formal training in Bible school and Seminary where he currently works toward a Master’s degree. Brother Francis noticed how well the courses flow from one to the next because the courses were written by the same people working on the same goals with the curriculum. He also noted the same interactive teaching style being used throughout the courses that he was enjoying and learning from during the training times during the day. Brother Francis mentioned how surprised he was at how all of the people were learning during our training. Even those he did not think could learn were learning a lot and were able to communicate what they were learning with others.
We deeply appreciate the giving and prayers of our partners to meet the opportunities God provides.
We had the privilege of returning to Malawi, Africa to take further steps in creating Schools of Ministry and Leadership based in Blantyre and Lilongwe with future branches being created in various rural area to be closer to prospective students. After clearing customs, a process far more complicated than just three years ago, a small group was at the door with welcoming smiles and a couple of hugs.
We set off into the parking lot to find the car, and there it was, the same car from last year! The same car that seemed to have a flat tire every day. The same car that needed so much work done we had brought the mechanic along with us to work on the car for days.
So, Jimmy had no choice but to get out the camera and take a few pictures of the Toyota Beast. The adventure started afresh and anew in the airport parking lot. The car was locked up tight (to keep it from being stolen?). And, we couldn’t get in the car. The key wasn’t working to open the rear door or the driver’s door or the passenger’s door. Jimmy began to wonder if we would take a taxi from the airport at some point. After more than half an hour of trying, somehow the key was finally put in just the right position to open the passenger door. After a silent prayer, the key even started the car. As it turns out, keys in Malawi are so cheaply made that the teeth will wear away with a year or two of using the keys. As we drove along, Bishop Frank said he had found good tires to put on the car (since, he now owns the car) and he was confident we could drive all the way to South Africa on the current set of tires.
Fortunately, this project did not involve driving all the way to South Africa or even across Malawi in the Toyota Beast. We were in Blantyre to train teachers to use the Clear Vision Ministries School of Ministry and Leadership curriculum. The curriculum provides a way for local teachers to teach using interactive methods used in professional corporate training, taking into account six adult-learning principles and including methods to teach inclusive of the three major learning styles.
After over 40 hours of training and learning, we were happy to certify 8 teachers to work in the southern part of Malawi and one location in Mozambique that will fall under the leadership and oversight of the Blantyre school. These teachers will follow the course design to teach original classes we developed that include:
Introduction to Bible Study
Introduction to Leadership
Old Testament Survey
New Testament Survey
Introduction to Sermon Preparation
Leadership Level 2
Introduction to Theology
Introduction to Teaching
Purposes of the Church
Financial Foundations
Leadership Level 3
The courses are complete with teachers notes already prepared, handouts for the students to use, PowerPoint Presentations, tests after each course and a final certification exam. The courses are designed to help people learn more about God and to learn more about effectively working with people. The soon-to-be teachers were overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge they gained in one week and the opportunity share that knowledge as they lead others through a two-year period of coursework.
After Blantyre, it was off to Lilongwe to train more teachers for a school based in the capitol of Malawi. We provided 40 hours of training time in Lilongwe for some more teachers. The leadership in Lilongwe will choose a couple of people from the 8 in attendance to teach the courses in the near future. Again, the attendees were very impressed with the learning they received and the opportunity to enhance the lives of future leaders in Malawi.
Important progress is being made to help leaders gain incredible skills, knowledge and abilities to provide leadership to churches across the country of Malawi. These in-depth training courses will prepare men and women to accomplish more for God than they have before. The excitement level is high and the amount of work to be done is massive but we believe the rewards will be incredible; to God be the glory for the great things he has done.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
When you see the Jeepneys on the road, there is no doubt you have made it to the Philippines. After World War II, the USA left behind many Jeeps in the Philippines. Locals converted these war tested Jeeps to haul around large numbers of people as a big taxi and the Jeepney was born. Today, some of these Jeepneys are still on the roads, hauling people around various major cities for very little money per person. If you look closely at the front, you will see the remnant of a WWII Jeep. Of course, you will also notice how each Jeepney has a style and personality all its own based on the owner. The Jeepney is a great symbol of the creativity, personality and innovations of Filipinos.
During this time in Mindanao, we had the opportunity to speak in a local church, to train a small group leaders and to continue coaching and training with Bill and LaVonne Boyer. On Sunday, we ventured off to a local movie theater in a mall. Not to watch a movie but to attend a new church started by a man from South Korea. The makeshift stage was nicely set up with the sound system volume turned up to 10, as always. Being in a movie theater, church must be done precisely on time to allow for ticket sales and customers to find their seats. The running joke is to let church go long and allow the movie goers to join in, especially when there is a big movie opening. The service went well and the speaker (JImmy) actually finished a little early, allowing for more time to pray together.
Since our last time of training, LaVonne Boyer has been using the policy and procedure manual often as she makes many decisions. The Mindanao Training Center (MTC) is being transformed into a more usable and user-friendly property (after over four years of not being used) and has been used to host some events, including weekly training of a group of leaders. Additional help has been hired in the kitchen and in the office to progress toward hosting groups of people on property. It is amazing to see the difference in the Boyers and their newfound confidence in what God is doing at MTC and what the future holds. We also got to spend some training time with a handful of other leaders.
One day, Jimmy asked the simple question: How many books on leadership have you read? One man said 10 books and another said 20. After our time together, the man who has read 20 books on leadership was amazed at how his understanding of leadership had changed. The 20 books promoted various theories and philosophies of leadership but didn't really help the man to understand how to actuallly lead and work with people. After our time together, he shared how our time together unlocked the potential and abilities of actually leading people as compared to theorizing about the possiblities of leading people. An important aspect of all Clear Vision Ministries training involves moving the learning from the classroom and into the real world with real people working real jobs in real life situations. Many people attending our training meetings notices and comments about how practical the learning is.
Thank you for your continued help as reach, teach and serve the people in Mindanao and other parts of the world.
We had the opportunity to return to Tunja, Colombia to work with our friends in this beautiful city surrounded by mountains. Last year, our time in Tunja primarily focused on evangelism and a youth revival. This time, CVM focused on providing training for pastors in different areas of the state of Boyaca. So, we got to spend time sharing with our missionary friends as we drove through the beautiful mountains in Boyaca. As we traveled along one day, our friends shared how they had visited with a pastor and his wife. He asked them what kind of education or training they have taken part in over the years. The wife ran off to her room and came back with a smile and a Clear Vision Ministries certificate in hand. They had attended a week-long training in Bogota several years before!
We began with spending time with our missionary friends to hear about their new work in Boyaca. Our friends are working directly with the pastors in their state to encourage them and help them in their work. The pastors decided they wanted to meet in the evenings because they wanted many of the leaders in their churches to attend the training too. So, during our time in Colombia, we had two 1-day trainings and several trainings happening at night. We also spoke in church services and a "women only" meeting.
Our first day of training gave us a full day with a group of pastors and leaders in Tunja. As always, attendees aren't sure what to expect and come to the meeting wondering what will happen and if this meeting will be just like all of the other ones they have attended. Our opening activity helps people to relax and realize they will experience something fresh and new unlike anything else they have been to in the past.
We shared a great day of training and the people learned a lot during our time together. At the end of the meeting, our friend took one of the pastors to the side and asked what his reaction was to the training. The pastor shared that the training was difficult but very needed and important. During the training, the pastor began to see some attitudes and actions he was doing that limited his success and hurt his ability to effectively lead his church. The pastor shared how he now had hope that he could lead his church better to build God's Kingdom.
After the first day of training, our missionary friends understood how impactful the training could be and began to think of ways to get the most important information to more pastors. Of course, our established training schedule made it difficult but we managed. In total, we had just over 550 people attend the various sessions with pastors from 22 churches.
While this was a quick trip to South America, it was an impactful trip. The people we were with learned a lot and expressed their appreciation for what they learned. Hopefully, we will be able to return to Colombia in the future to make the most of new opportunities.
Together, we are impacting the lives of people in Boyaca. Thank you for all of the help you provide to people through Clear Vision Ministries.
We returned to India to work with our friends in some new places and visited some places we have been to before. It is great to see the progress being made in the places we re-visit.
We have visited one particular village each of visits to AP, India. At first, the church was struggling. Through the last 3-4 years, this church has transformed. On our first visit, there were about 35-40 people in attendance. In just the last 2 years, the attendance has grown to about 120 people, the atmosphere is full of excitement, the people fervently worshiped God, listened intently to various speakers and responded to the message Jimmy shared during a time of prayer. Some of the people of the church have been putting into practice the knowledge and skills we have taught. On one Sunday night, a group of believers wanted to get together in a field and about 50 people came to fellowship, worship and learn from God's Word. (This is more people than was at the Sunday morning service when we first visited the church a few years ago!)
In another city, a church has seen 60% growth over the last year. Their attendance has gone from 1,000 to about 1,600. The church is in the midst of a building program for a larger meeting space in their own building on their own land, instead of renting a facility as they currently are. The pastor believes the church will have over 4,000 people in attendance shortly after completing the building. While attendance is not the only indicator of a church's progress, it is one of the indicators that great things are happening in these churches and others.
One more example, we visited our friend that has traveled with us before. Last year, he had about 20-25 people attending his church and they met under a temporary structure (like a tent) by his house. God has helped them to purchase property and build a church building (with the help of a church in Brooklyn, NY). Now, about 80 people attend the church. The church has grown about 4 times it's number of people in one year.
It is important to know that this incredible growth comes primarily from people giving their lives to God and then, joining the church. Not very many people are church shopping or church hopping in these areas. The Believers are reaching people for the Kingdom of God!
Once again, we had the privilege of training pastors and ministry leaders in a couple of new places. The pastors and other leaders we meet in India want to learn and want to do the best they can for God. They are people with a heart for God.
In one location, we had a week of training with the pastors. The host pastor had family staying with him with his two brothers-in-law leading churches as well. One brother-in-law missed the first day and arrived in the evening. The family stayed up until 1:00am sharing about the things they had learned that day with the newcomer and talking about this new knowledge. The next night, the family stayed up until midnight discussing things from that day!
On the last day of training, we were supposed to stop at 2:00pm to allow people time to catch buses to return home. The pastors asked us to keep teaching because they didn't want to leave and most were staying for the next day of Teacher Training that we scheduled. One pastor apologized for needing to leave at 2:00pm but we assured him it wasn't a problem. He took the 5 hour journey home, only to return the next morning on time for the meeting with his daughter in tow so she could attend the day of Teacher Training!
At the end of the last day of training, at about 6:30pm, some of the attendees shared their responses to the training. Some spoke in Telegu too fast and so much that translation didn't happen. One pastor shared in English how he had been searching for answers for his ministry for the last 10 years. When possible, he attended various meetings, conferences and seminars but never got answers to the questions he had and an understanding of the situations he encounters. This pastor had tears in his eyes as he shared how all of the questions he had about ministry have been answered throughout the training.
We are so thankful to all of those providing financial support and prayer support and encouragement for Clear Vision Ministries to keep working in India. We are seeing the results of our labor there. God is doing great things in India and He wants to do more. We have been asked to return to provide more training in some new places and deeper training in places we have worked in before.
Early in 2016, our pastor friend was attending classes in Hong Kong to finish up his Master's of Divinity degree. A classmate was talking with him about bringing a couple to China for an English camp in the summer. The classmate shared about this Malaysian couple's desire to work in China. Our friend kindly responded that he has someone to do English camp already and doesn't want to make a change. The classmate strongly asked again on behalf of the Malaysian couple to provide the camp for our friend and to send Jimmy to some other church. Our friend replied, we like Jimmy and want to keep Jimmy. We can find another church for the couple from Malaysia to provide the camp. (We learned this story at the final meeting from our 2016 English camp.)
In July, we were back with our friends to work together at another English camp. Each year, we strive to do things better to make the camp better for everyone. This year, we had two major changes. First, Jimmy went by himself to lead the camp and all of the sessions himself, except for the daily craft done after lunch. Second, the older teens did not want to attend the camp because the camp the year before was "too childish" and not fun. (Although, the teens looked like had fun the previous year. If you read the account from last year, the camp was changed to target a younger crowd which was a tough decision all around.)
So, we shuffled the daily schedule around to allow Jimmy to run each session. We discussed having others involved from China and letting some of the Chinese people that speak English lead some sessions. But, it is important for the attendees to hear English from a native-born English speaker with a larger vocabulary and a different accent. Keeping the students together instead of splitting into smaller groups meant keeping the sessions moving fast and keeping the students attention as best as possible.
Next, we suggested that the teens could be assistants for the camp instead of attendees. Our friends in China liked the idea and asked the teens to be assitant teachers/team leaders for the camp. The teens attended the leader meetings before the camp, helped with the teams and attendees and attended the post-camp meeting each day. The teens changed from complaining about the camp to becoming active participants in the camp, playing games, singing songs, learning verses and much more. One of the teens shocked her parents by being the first one in her family up each morning of the camp and getting her younger brother up so they could be on time! Just a few weeks before, this same young lady had vehemently complained about having to attend the camp with the children.
This year, we had an official photography day. A "studio" was set up on the stage and for about 90 minutes, pictures were taken and memories were made. As our relationship grows, our opportunities continue to grow. We have been asked to come back for English camp from now on, until we can't do it any more.
Thank you for the role you play in reaching out to people in China. New opportunities are coming our way as you pray and give to make this ministry possible. We deeply appreciate all you do to change lives around the world.
We are often asked how we find the places we go to and how ministry opportunities come to together to happen around the world for Clear Vision Ministries. We always say God put things together and we follow what He plans. This project is an example of what often happens.
On a chilly Wednesday night in 2015, a missionary couple made their way to church to attend a meeting of college students in Wichita. Jimmy was a helper with the college ministry when in the USA and was there that night. The couple shared about their ministry in the Philippines and the new opportunities before them when they returned. They were currently raising money to take on a ministry of operating a retreat and training center in Mindanao.
Jimmy felt he should invite the couple out for pie after church and did so, along with some friends. During the late night snack of pie and coffee, we listened to the heart of this missionary couple and fear they had of taking on this new ministry. The couple would take on work they had never done before and had no education to help them in the work. They felt totally unprepared and thought the possibility was real that they would fail miserably and come back to the USA in shame. We encouraged the couple that God has a plan for their lives and ministry and we would love to help them. They could learn to do the work set before them. The couple said they wouldn't really know what needed to be done until they got to Mindanao.
In 2016, we traveled to the Philippines to help this couple set up the training center. We worked many long hours listening to the passion and desires of this couple to fulfill the work God set before them. We helped them understand and define the vision God placed in their hearts for the work. Then, we worked through the process of what it takes to step-by-step bring the vision into a reality. This included everything from setting schedules, determining the work to be done and who is needed to do the work, creating job descriptions for all needed positions and making many policy decisions surrounding every aspect of the training center and much more. The vast majority of decisions that need to be made for the training center have already been made and can quickly be found in a manual. We spent many additional hours enjoying each other's company and being an encouragement.
We also had the opportunity to minister in local churches to encourage the members of the church and pastors. It is always wonderful to worship, pray and share with the people in God's family. We are so blessed to be a part of what God is doing around the world and to worship with so many people in so many places using so many different languages. We serve the great and Living God.
It is such a privilege to partner together with those that pray for and give to Clear Vision Ministries to impact lives around the world. Plans have already been made to return to the Philippines in 2017 to use the retreat center as it was meant to be as we provide a time of training for pastors and church leaders. Thank you for your continued help and support!
We returned to Kenya again to work with our friends who fled from Sudan during the civil war to avoid the persecution endured by Christians at that time. Many Sudanese people live in Kenya and travel back to South Sudan to provide help as much as they can. Our plan for this project included traveling from Kenya to South Sudan.
Due to a problem at an airport, Jimmy's flight was delayed by a day getting to Nairobi, Kenya, throughing off the schedule. To go to Aweil, South Sudan we would have to:
Spend a day at the South Sudan embassy in Nairobi to get the proper Visas.
Buy airline tickets to Juba, South Sudan immediately after getting Visas.
Fly to Juba on a Friday
Go to the UN compound to arrange and take a flight to Aweil
Return to Juba by UN flight and back to Nairobi
The UN flights do not follow any schedule are happen as needed by the UN. The flights very rarely occur on weekends. So, it could take days of waiting in Juba just to get a flight to Aweil. The war has destroyed all other normal methods of getting to Aweil. During a meeting, it was decided it would be too difficult to get into and out of South Sudan to make the already scheduled flight back to the USA. So, we made new plans. On the Friday we would have been at the UN compound, there was attack on the compound. Many people were killed and many more were wounded during the attack. By God's grace and wisdom, we had missed being at that UN compound on the day of attack.
We spent a week training pastors and leaders with ministry in Kenya and those traveling to and from South Sudan. During the week, we were able to go in-depth with the training, more so than we had done in previous meetings that lasted a day and a half. We had about 55 people at the training sessions. Pastors from Nairobi shared how the training was needed for all pastors in Nairobi. Several attendees, also finishing degrees in theology at universities, commented on the training being very practical and information they knew they needed but had never heard before.
A pastor's daughter, who is a leader at her father's large church, said she really enjoyed the training. She said she now views church in a very different way than she had before the meetings. The way she viewed and accomplished ministry would change to become more effective because of what she had learned.
Jimmy had the pleasure of visiting with Teen Challenge of Nairobi. This ministry helps people recovering from substance abuse and other issues in their lives. For many, this is a last chance to change their lives before spending years in prison. There are homes for men and a separate home for women. The people going through Teen Challenge follow a rigorous daily schedule to help bring control to a formerly out of control life. Jimmy got to worship, pray and share a message with men and women in the midst of putting their lives back together with God's help. Many incredible stories of life-change come from these homes in Nairobi but it is tough work.
The people in Africa are excited and want to learn practical skills to help them improve their work for God. They are ready to accomplish more for God. On the last day in Nairobi, paperwork was signed to begin the process of partnering together for a School of Ministry and Leadership in South Sudan in the future.
Thank you to everyone who prays and gives to make it possible to touch lives in Kenya and beyond.
Once again, we returned to the country of Malawi to visit friends and continue the work of training and teaching pastors and church leaders. This project in Malawi proved to be challenging and rewarding in great ways.
Travel in Africa is rarely easy. We have been on the search to find ways to make travel as effective as possible. We have ridden in all kinds of vehicles of all sizes and traveled foot-by-foot (walking, also called "five-by-five" by our friend Pastor Peace). This time, our friend rented a vehicle for our journey. Upon seeing the little station wagon for the first time, Jimmy thought it would be O.K. to use to get to the local bus station. Little did he know it was "the" car to be used for the next 18 days. "The" car treated us to:
Over
20 flat tires
Broken wheel studs
Offering a reward for our missing wheel and buying back the wheel from a local who had found it
A mechanic we hired to travel with us for a couple of days
Replacing tie rods
Sitting sideways in a ditch
A dead battery leaving us stranded in the middle of the mountains
A ticket from the police for failing to have proper insurance (the owner's fault)
A ticket from the police for failing to have proper registration (the owner's fault)
Pieces held together by wire
Many, many hours on the side of the road for various repairs
Looks and comments from pastors saying, "You came here in that!?!?"
The final blowout that ripped up the front quarter panel
We had the pleasure of meeting some pastors and leaders who had been in our training during our previous visit. One leader shared how the churches have been working together as a result of the training they had received. In the last 18 months, four churches had new roofs and an entire new church building was built by this group of people. These churches worked together without any funds or support from outside of their own churches. They got the materials and did the work all by themselves and were very proud of how God had helped them and used them. While this work may sound normal in the USA, it is very rare in Malawi for this work to take place in-house without outside help.
We provided training in another village we had trained in before. The previous time, we met in a "building" consisting of 3 half-built walls and an overhang that the church was renting. This time, the same church was in a "building" five times bigger than the previous space with four walls and a make-shift roof on poles. But, the church had purchased the property and the building. Before the people could get the proper roof on the building, the church had grown too big to fit in this building. So, the church took steps to get the bricks and other materials together to build a new and even bigger church, without outside assistance! New construction has now begun on a new meeting place for a church seeing incredible growth in the city with the largest Muslim population in Malawi with a number of Muslims finding the new life that only comes through Jesus Christ.
We were able to provide more cups and trays for the churches to share in the Lord's Supper. These cups and trays will travel throughout Malawi, allowing people to celebrate the work of Jesus Christ through this special time. Some churches will share the Lord's Supper for the first time using these items.
We trained about 100 pastors and church leaders in various villages with many church people in attendance as well. We ministered to well over 1,000 people and served hundreds of meals to people in need. At the close of our time together, we signed paperwork to create a partnership with our friends in Malawi to start Schools of Ministry and Leadership in Blantyre and Lilongwe in 2017 to provide in-depth learning to pastors and leaders.
Thank you for helping Clear Vision Ministries impact thousands of lives in Malawi, Africa!
Since our last visit to Romania, many pastors have asked for us to return to provide more training. As pastors talk with each other, the word is spreading about Clear Vision Ministries and our love of helping pastors understand and explore the unique dynamics of leading churches. Working into the schedules of those we would minister to meant traveling to this beautiful country in November, when winter begins to reveal its razor-sharp and ice cold teeth.
Our schedule was very busy each day as we traveled from place to place for various services and meetings. We got to see some familiar faces and to meet many new people. We shared meals with men and women who love God and are working for Him. We also listened to many stories.
Romania is a place ravaged by extreme dictatorial leadership for many years. Under a communist government, Christianity was outlawed. One day, as we were speaking with a friend, he told us of an event taking place long ago when communism took over Romania. A meeting was held to inform all of the pastors, priests, bishops and other church leaders of the new government and the new rules to be put in place. These leaders were told they must become part of the new state-operated religion or of no religion at all. These people could no longer openly serve the God of the Bible.
Our friend sat through the meeting and could not believe what was happening. Christianity was outlawed and the punishment for pursuing Christianity would be severe. Even worse, our friend shared how almost all of the leaders in that meeting made an immediate decision: leave Christianity and profess allegiance to this new government and new religion AND to become the teachers and leaders of the new religion. Our friend left this meeting mortified by what he had just witnessed, not knowing that in the coming months, some of those same leaders would become so powerful and controlling they would take part in persecuting Christians. Our friend faced and endured persecution from the very same people who had been his friends and co-laborers for Christ. Today, the state-run church is very strong and powerful in Romania with strong ties with and influence from the government.
While working with the churches, we found two very different groups to work with: the established Romanian church and the Gypsy church. The Romanian church (allowed to openly operate after the fall of communism) enjoys tradition, strict time schedules, traditional music, emotions felt in the heart but not on display for others to see and formulaic readings and prayers. The newly formed Gypsy church is quite the opposite with little tradition to hold on to, respected time but not bound to schedules, traditional and non-traditional gypsy styled music, unbridled heart-felt emotions and free-form prayers. Both groups of people love God very much and desire to serve God through their lives. Being in Romania, both churches have their own struggles and have fought for survival.
On one Sunday, we had spent the morning at a full Romanian church service and had a great time together. The schedule was set and followed to the minute. The people read verses loud and strong during the time of reading. The people recited the prayer with fervor. Jimmy enjoyed playing music with the church band for a song and sharing with the congregation. He spoke quickly to finish "on time." The congregation responded well to the message, making new decisions for their lives with Christ. A meal at a retaraunt was shared followed by an afternoon meeting with church leaders and our ministry partner to plan an upcoming event.
That evening, we traveled to another church to minister in their service. The small church was packed with people sitting side-by-side front to back. There was no written schedule and various individuals and groups of people were called upon to pray or read from the Bible or sing. Jimmy had asked for at least an hour of time to speak (including translation) and the pastor reluctantly gave in, thinking 30 minutes would be much better. The people listened, learned and responded to the message, making new decisions for their lives with Christ. At the end of the service, the pastor mentioned his concern about the "long" message but was officially inviting Jimmy to return in the future to speak for two hours instead of just one. Afterward, we went to the pastor's home to share a meal and time of fellowship. Then, we made the drive back to Bucharest with another midnight arrival.
We had the privilege of training over 100 church leaders, teachers and pastors. We also spoke to well over 1,000 people in church services and meetings. We saw God opening the eyes of His followers to things they had not seen before and to new opportunities God is putting before them. There are too many stories to tell than will fit on this simple web page.
We are thankful for the opportunties God brings to CVM in the country of Romania with more work to be done in the future. We are thankful for prayers and support to make the most of these opportunities.
We took the long journey back to India to work with our friends once again. We drove south of Hyderabad on the freeway for several hours before veering off to the east to get to our destination city.
This time, we would train about 60 pastors and church leaders for a week of learning. It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones as we delved deeper into the leadership training material. The information and new skills presented is so different from anything these people have been taught before, it can take a long time for understanding to take place. So, we patiently move through various concepts until everyone understands. We answered a lot of questions during our full week.
One of the highlights of our time together was listening to the pastors share the vision God put in their lives. Many pastors shared their desire to plant 10-15 churches in the coming years. One pastor shared his goal of planting 50 churches in the villages surrounding his current church. Other pastors talked about teaching others and developing different aspects of their ministries. Others talked about developing different kinds of ministries for their area.
One day, we traveled to a nearby village to provide a Kid's Club in the afternoon. But, this time would be very different because we didn't do all of the work for the Kid's Club. We spent a day working through the process of putting together the Kid's Club with our local volunteers. We set up a schedule and different volunteers were given various duties. We practiced some of the parts for the Kid's Club.
At the church, the volunteers did a great job of leading various parts of the meeting. A group led songs at different times, another person told the Bible story with sounds and participation from the crowd, another person led some games and everyone prayed for people. We had a room full of children and the adults that came with their children or just came by to see what was happening. It was great to see so many people involved in ministry for this event. Our team saw the difference working together and planning makes in the success of a meeting.
We also ministered in several churches, encouraging the congregations. Worshipping with God's people around the world is always a thrill and a privilege that is difficult to adequately describe; it is a remarkable experience. We look forward to the plans God has for this partnership in India.
Thank you for your prayers and support as we touch the lives of Indians!
We knew it was finally time to return to the beautiful country of Colombia and the arrangements and details fell into place. We went to the city of Tunja, a city of about 200,000 people in a valley at 9,000 feet in elevation.
Tunja has more centers for higher education per capita then any other city in Colombia. Thousands of young people go to Tunja to further their education every year. The church we partnered with desires to reach the teens in the schools and the students in the local colleges and universities.
We worked with a local church to provide a one-week youth revival (ages 12-30). We were busy:
Passing out 2,500 flyers
Giving out hundreds of cups of free coffee
Planning and playing games
Presenting various dramas (some in Spanish)
Sharing testimonies
Worshipping together
Hearing the Word together
Responding to God together
Praying together
One of the highlights of our week began on Sunday morning when a teacher who attends the church invited our team to come to her school. The principal of the school gave us three hours to provide a full program with the students. The teacher warned us that the students would be tough to control and may not pay very good attention to us. But, this assumption was far from our reality as the students participated very well in every aspect of our time together from the first game until the last prayer. All of the students stood to make a decision to give their lives to God. Our friends, local missionaries, were invited to come back to the school any time to share more with the students.
On Friday, a national holiday was celebrated in Colombia, giving people the day off. In the afternoon, we met together with many of the people who had attended the revival to play some games and enjoy each others company. There were lots of laughs and smiles on all the faces as we enjoyed this time together building bonds with each other. It is amazing how spending time playing together can impact the time praying together later in the evening as we become closer to each other.
We have been invited to go back to Colombia next year to further our efforts there. We are very thankful to our team of people who worked hard at high elevations to impact the lives of people in Tunja. We are also thankful to all of the people who gave and prayed for this project.
This year, we had the privilege of returning to China to provide another English camp. We worked in two different locations with a relaxing train ride in between which gave us an opportunity to see more of the countryside and more of the progress of building new places in China.
In an attempt to bring a little more calm to the first camp, the ages were intially changed by the local leader to focus on students older than those in attendance last year. Due to a misunderstanding, we prepared for younger students. But, at the last minute, some changes were made and the average age of the students was actually lower than last year. So, in the end, we were prepared for the age group at the camp and everything went very well. It is amazing to see how much the children can learn from the English verses and songs. By the end of the week, children could quote verses and sing many new songs learned in the previous days in addition to the songs they learned and remembered from last year.
We were able to partner with about 25 local volunteers to make a great week happen. At the end of the first day, Jimmy was approached by the local leader and told no translators were available for the next day. There was only one more day in the week a translator would be available. For the five days of camp, we only had two days with translators available. Not sure what to do, we prayed and asked other people to pray. The next day, two translators came in ready to help for the day and offered to help the rest of the week as well. God supplied all of the help we needed!
For our second camp, we had a totally different age group, ages 12-40. So, we had to make some last minute changes to our schedule and our material. We had a small group of about 18 people each day, making it easier to get to know people and form a stronger bond with the group. We had a great time teaching, dancing, singing, playing and praying together. We made the most of other opportunities to speak into the lives of other people as well.
We look forward to our next opprtunities in this great country. We appreciate the prayers and support from everyone involved.
Clear Vision Ministries returned to India for two months of work in two states. India consists of over 1 billion beautiful, friendly people. As more time was spent driving from place to place, we saw many beautiful places as well.
During our time together, we partnered with many different people in many different areas of work. God touched thousands of lives through CVM during a wide variety of opportunities:
Visiting a jail and speaking to a group of men, many of whom made important decisions about their lives at the end of our time together
Encouraging believers during planned and special church meetings
Speaking to college students
Training several groups of teachers who work with children, teens and adults
Training 50 pastors to better lead their ministries
Visiting several families to learn more about them and encourage them
Speaking in many outdoor meetings in different villages
Teaching students studying in a private school
Witnessing God touching the lives of people through His Spirit, healing and encouragement
Coaching various leaders one on one
Sharing at a home Bible study group with about 50 people attending
Leading games at a children's camp
Serving as a lifeguard during swim time at a camp
Repairing computers
Playing music
Acting in skits for several different Vacation Bible Schools
Praying with thousands of people
Playing with children during game time
We look forward to our future partnership with people in India and the work we will accomplish together. Thank you for making an impact in the lives of the people in Southern India.
*Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in India.
We were able to go back to Kenya to work with our friends at East Africa School of Theology (EAST). As of now, EAST has made the transition to becoming a two campus university recognized by the country of Kenya. This is a very big transition for the school and we are glad to have played a small role in helping with the tranisition in a couple of different ways. We provided some consutling for changes and encouraged the staff and leaders of the school to work through the upcoming changes to make the university the best it can be.
Jimmy had the opportunity to minister to a congregation in Nairobi at the New Beginnings church in Garden Estates. Worshipping with the congregation in a packed building was a wonderful blessing. Sharing from the Bible and praying with the people was an even bigger blessing.
**Due to the sensitive nature of some of our work during this project, many details are not included.
We returned to China to continue the work we began last year. We had the opportunity to share with people and talk about leadership. We met new friends from many different countries and enjoyed spending time with them. We were able to share in a local church during their English service to encourage the local believers. There are many great opportunities in China and the church is growing very rapidly there. In other areas, things have been made harder and the people are faced with difficult choices.
*Due to the sensitive nature of our work during this project, many details are not included.
Several years ago, a new ministry began in Romania when God birthed a vision in Jan. With $50 and a dream, Kidz Romania was born. Today, the Kidz Romania team is made up of 13 people working in the office and many volunteers throughout Romania. Kidz Romania is involved in many aspects of childrens ministry from school assemblies to worker training and much more. They are also involved in providing special Women's Teas to reach out to a largely neglected portion of people in this country.
We were happy to partner with Kidz Romania to work on several different projects during a one month stay. We helped the ministry move to a new building. This meant sorting through years of material and items to find what should be kept and used and what could no longer be used. Fortunately, the Kidz Romania team had done much of the move during the previous month but there was still plenty to sort through and carry during the last week before the lease was up.
During the week, we helped out with the remaining work to get the new office up and running. This included labeling hundreds of items, installing shelves, hanging curtains, sealing windows and even building a small wall and hanging a door plus other tasks.
During the weekend, we worked in various villages to provide training for area leaders. One weekend, we had the privilege of traveling to Bulgaria to partner with a pastor who had been praying for over 20 years for someone to come and provide quality training. On two other weekends, we provided training to help children's workers during the day and then, provided additional training for church leaders at night. The people were so grateful for the new skills and knowledge gained; some shed tears as they expressed their gratitude.
As any organization grows, there are challenges. Going from a one-person operation to a team of workers plus volunteers requires a significant amount of change and growth in both the leadership and the people working together. We were able to spend four days providing training to help Kidz Romania continue to grow and to work together better to accomplish more. Everyone was engaged and enjoyed learning. During one conversation, a lady said she had learned to apply many new leadership skills during our time together and finally understood how to use some of the theories she was taught when working on her master's degree in Leadership.
Thank you for your prayers and support to help the people of Romania.
This summer, we retuned to China to provide our second English Camp. This was the first camp for this particular neighborhood of over 1 million people. Before our arrival, we were told about 45 people would attend the camp and then, a couple of days before we left for China, we were told the number had gone up to about 90. The first day of camp, we had 120 children and teens attending the camp. None of the attendees had participated in a camp before and many of the young children weren't ready for the structure of the camp but they learned quickly.
Each day featured singing, games, lessons, lunch and other activities. The campers all learned English songs and quickly learned their favorite songs. On the last day of camp, the campers put on a program for a couple of hours. It was great to see the talents of the campers and to hear them sing their favorite English songs from the week.
Over 25 volunteers from a local church provided a lot of help for the camp. They cooked and served meals, provided translation, sat with the attendees, played games and helped the campers. The people all enjoyed the camp and saw it as a great success. They are already planning on more camps for the future.
*Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in China.
This year, we returned to Cuenca, Ecuador to partner with Unsion Television. Unsion is a Spanish speaking television station providing family-friendly programming to hundreds of thousands of people in Ecuador. Their television programming is actively watched in 18 cities with incredible possibilities for expansion in the future as they can be accessed through major sattelites covering most of the Spanish speaking world.
A vital part of the television station is a counseling center. Every hour, a commercial airs offering counseling free of charge to people who are in need if they will simply call a toll free number. Every month, over 10,000 phone calls are received at the counseling center. The counselors have helped thousands and thousands of people to change their lives and change their habits.
We worked on the bottom floor of the Unsion building to prepare it for use as an additional studio and office space. Several other teams have worked on the building to prepare it for this new use. It was an honor to be part of this large project. We prepared and painted the walls in the area to be used as a studio.
On several afternoons, we had the privilege of traveling to area villages. We drove through the mountains for up to two hours to reach these villages. In a couple of villages, the local people wanted to have churches and took it upon themselves to build churches with the hopes someone would come in the future to make use of the buildings. We got to use part of these facilities to provide Kids Club meetings and to give out some food to the local people. Everyone participated and enjoyed the Kids Clubs, even those 70-year-olds who are still young at heart.
On Thursday night, DeAnna had the opportunity to speak at a Women's Convention. The television station had run commercials for this event for over a week. This event took place in the room we worked on during the week. On the night of the convention, the room was packed with women, some of whom wanted more help and signed up for counseling.
After over 50 hours of travel time, we made it to our destination in India, about an hour from Allagadda. Allagadda is famous for the special cows that were in the area for centuries. The name of the town comes from the British spelling when they heard the locals talking about the area. We saw many cows around town but we saw many more believers.
The focus of this project was training for various leaders and encouraging local churches and pastors. We provided four days of training for pastors, covering all kinds of topics and material. The pastors all enjoyed the training and learned many new concepts they want to use.
We spent a couple of days working with children's workers at a teacher's camp. The attendees learned about how children develop mentally and how to fashion their teaching for the appropriate levels of the children in their classes. Everyone participated and eventually got the new concepts.
We got to work with a first ever youth convention for one day in the region of India we were visiting. The teens came in about 10am and stayed all day until about 6pm. We played some games, watched presentations by various groups, ate a good lunch, watched a video, sang some songs and learned from the Bible. We all had a great time and hopefully, it is a first in many more youth conventions to come.
We have more opportunities in India in the coming years. Thank you for your help in India and the future help we will provide.
*Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in India.
We returned to China for a new purpose. We were given the privilege to spend time meeting new friends and visiting new places. God has presented us with many new opportunities in China that we never thought would be possible. These opportunities go beyond what many are able to do, even though they have been in China for many years.
Thank you for your prayers and support to Clear Vision Ministries. Together, we are seeing God work around the world.
*Many details are limited because of the sensitive nature of working in China.
We invite you to explore some more of our projects completed in the past. Simply click the place to see a page giving further detail.
Pakistan - We provided training and encouragement to local believers and more.
After over 50 hours of travel time, we made it to our destination in India, about an hour from Allagadda. Allagadda is famous for the special cows that were in the area for centuries. The name of the town comes from the British spelling when they heard the locals talking about the area. We saw many cows around town but we saw many more believers.
We spent a couple of days working with children's workers at a teacher's camp. The attendees learned about how children develop mentally and how to fashion their teaching for the appropriate levels of the children in their classes. Everyone participated and eventually got the new concepts.
We have more opportunities in India in the coming years. Thank you for your help in India and the future help we will provide.