Reaching the Hungry: Jesus Film

Showing posts with label Jesus Film. Show all posts

We Are Back From Discipleship & Church Planting!

We are back from our latest trip to Malawi!

Here are some highlights:

To continue or to begin supporting the work we are doing in Malawi, click HERE.

To find out more about Discipleship Journeys with Jesus, click HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving From Reaching the Hungry!

Giving Tuesday Tuesday, Nov. 27th

#GivingTuesday is coming up! Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.

Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.

On Nov. 27th, Facebook and PayPal are matching donations a total of up to $7 million on Facebook. Your donations to Reaching the Hungry through our Facebook donate button on Nov. 27th could be matched! Mark your calendar & make your donation on Nov. 27th!

Mexico Christmas Outreach Saturday, Dec. 8th

We are partnering with a church in Tijuana, Mexico to host a Christmas Outreach on Saturday, Dec 8th. We're collecting Christmas gifts, blankets, & dry goods to bless 300 children & their families in this community. We're also having medical, dental, and reading glass clinics to serve the people. We will also have lots of food, and lots of fun activities for the children! Will you join us?

Safety Note: We are in close communication with our partners in Mexico and they have assured that it is safe to cross the border and back into the U.S. during this time. Pastor Carlos will being going down a couple days before the outreach to insure that there aren't any issues.

If you can't make it but would like to send Christmas gifts with us for the outreach, check out our Amazon Christmas WishList (it will send automatically to our donation intake for the outreach).

Mexico Orphanage Trip Saturday, Sept 29th

We returned to bless the beautiful children of Orfanatorio Emmanuel. It was one of the best times we've had there! The children are getting to know some that have been before and have developed new friendships as well. Here's what we did:

The children were blessed with a wonderful story time by Rosario Franco.

Dr. Eric (pediatrician that was with us) gave every child check-up. He reported that it was really nice to see that they all doing well and are getting good care.

Lots of fun crafts, yard activities, and games.

A delicious lunch... hamburgers that were bigger than some of their heads. Plus, amazing street tacos!

We thoroughly cleaned all the children's rooms, restrooms, hallways, and stairwells.

We thoroughly cleaned their kitchen!

We painted their back stairwell.

We hung curtain rods in all the children's rooms.

We fixed several doors and door jams.

A drywall crew went back down to patch holds, work on several of their ceilings and door jams.

Trips fees also provided the funds to do some badly needed roofing.

Here's a VIDEO from this trip as well as some PICTURES.

Malawi Discipleship Training Oct 21st-Nov 2nd, 2018

Pastor Carlos & Dr. Mark Williams have returned from our latest trip to Malawi. Here's what they did during this trip (from the words of Pastor Mark):

We trained over 100 in Discipleship Journeys with Jesus and how to use the materials (which are now in Chichewa language).
We trained all of these in "House Church Planting" for 2 days. This was in partnership with Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI).
We certified 23 Certified Trainers for the House Church Planting materials. (These can now train others in House Church Planting.
We installed one water well in a village and repaired one in another village. I had the privilege of sharing the Gospel at the dedication and about 50 prayed to receive salvation.
We showed the Jesus Film to a village and close to 300 people made decisions to accept Christ.
We spoke at a fundraising church service to raise funds for a building for a new church plant (3 hours outside partially shaded under trees.
We spoke to about 58 village chiefs to introduce DJJ (another outdoor meeting under trees for about 1.5 hours). Handed out 10 talking Bibles.
We visited a mission station pioneered by the famous Scottish Missionary David Livingstone.

To continue or to begin supporting the work we're doing in Malawi, click HERE or go to reachingthehungry.org, and to find out more about Discipleship Journeys with Jesus, click HERE.

Water Well Mission's Trip

Please Sponsor a Water Well for just $2,000 each, or part of a water well.

DONATION

You will receive a tax-deducible receipt. Click on the donation button, or write your check & send it to the following 501(c)3 non-profit organization... Reaching the Hungry; 1018 Ranger Road; Fallbrook, CA 92028.

If you are interested in joining us on a future trip, please email Info@ReachingtheHungry.org or calling (760) 523-0777.

Malawi Mission's Trip - May 17-29, 2015

Written by Nathan Giles (Trip Leader)

Lately, life has been a bit like one of those dreams so vivid that even upon waking, you think it might have actually happened. Stepping out of the airport in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, and seeing my friends Wonderful and Deni again felt a lot like waking up from one of those dreams. It felt like the 6 months since my last trip had only been a dream; then suddenly, I was awake, ready to get back to work.

Our work began the next day at Mtema Village- an area I had visited in October last year known to be a stronghold for witchcraft and masked dancing. Upon arrival, we discovered that the well was a bit too wide at the top to set the pump equipment on. A bit discouraged, we took a few minutes’ drive to a second location, my mind still on the first well. We had prayed that morning during our devotional time for God to reveal solutions to us so that we could accomplish our assigned tasks. Just before we arrived at the second site, I noticed that we had many more metal rods than we needed for the depth of the well and that we could use the extra as supports for a concrete platform to cover the over-sized hole. We were immediately encouraged and confident in God’s involvement in our trip. The rest of the well went in without any problems. Later that night, we were able to show the Jesus Film (an incredible tool for evangelism when your audience has never seen a movie before). Our teammate David, a college student and former Marine, took advantage of the opportunity created by the well installation to share the Gospel with several hundred people in the surrounding area. With well over one hundred people responding in prayer to God, our first day was a tremendous success.

Our next outing took us to Mponda Village in Kasungu. After a late night, we pulled up to the well moments after a man had climbed out of the newly dug bore-hole (quite an impressive feet). We quickly forgot our own tiredness and began the installation process with a new burst of energy. We were able to finish the well with time to spare before our drive to Nkhoma and took a look at the village’s old well. It was a hole about 5 feet across with nothing to keep children, animals, and contaminants from falling inside. With a new source of water, there are able to seal up the old well and stop worrying about its dangers. We ended the day with a drive to Nkhoma where we met with and had dinner with a close friend and partner of Reaching the Hungry, Hamilton Yassin. He and his wife opened their home to us again and prepared a wonderful dinner as I introduced the RtH team for our May 2015 trip, David and Wade (my uncle and still active duty Marine).

We enjoyed a bit of a late start the next day and had the honor of presenting Hamilton, along with the rest of his class and teachers, with solar-powered talking Bibles. The new pastors and graduates of the Nkhoma Theology school can now use these tools to expand God’s kingdom throughout Malawi as they are assigned to congregations in early June. It was very humbling to present gifts that were received with such reverence and thankfulness. We took a walk through the mission station, hospital, nearby market, and up into the hills before loading up for our second showing of the Jesus Film. David spoke again along with Hamilton at the end of the film to kick off a several day long revival meeting on the outskirts the of Nkhoma region. Before departing for Mtakataka, we reluctantly said goodbye to Hamilton and his wife and congratulated them again on his graduation and upcoming move to a new congregation.

We arrived in Mtakataka, ready to hit the ground running, but found that the well was not suitable for a pump. We made plans for a well to be placed there later this year, giving time to better fortify the well and ensure that it will be a long-lasting well in the future. Wonderful took us to a secondary location where a single well (installed in October 2014) has been serving more than 1,500 families in several villages. The well is so busy that it often pumps day and night to meet the needs of the people. Nearby, a second well had been dug in hopes of receiving a pump. The well had more than 3 times the needed amount of water for a pump to be installed and was nearly 50 feet down. Once we took the measurements, the team began working quickly to finish before the sun went down. I then left to meet local village group heads with Amos (Wonderful’s father) who coordinates the Chiefs’ Ministry. I saw many familiar faces from my last trip and had the opportunity to share a message of encouragement. Amos and I also spoke to them on the importance of legacy, not in worldly terms, but in leaving behind a legacy of Godly children leaders in their villages. The chiefs were presented with and extremely grateful for a number of talking Bibles currently being used in Bible studies throughout the area. Amos and I returned to the rest of the team who were putting the finishing touches on the well after taking some time to perform some maintenance on the nearby well.

We were blessed with a meal prepared by some of the women in a nearby village. As we sat in the small hut, I thought about how many people were directly contributing to the work we were doing. Of course there are those who traveled on the team, as well as our ministry partners in Malawi. However, the list goes on from there, well sponsors, team members’ financial supporters, prayer teams, and even the numerous donors who supply us with clothing and soccer balls to take to the villages. Even the people who we thought we were coming to serve were involved in God’s work. Children gathered water, rocks, and sand for the cement; men prepared bricks for the platform and helped assemble the well; and the women had prepared meals for us. Realistically, the team (including Wonderful, Deni, and Amos) could have had a great deal of success responding to God’s call; however, when God’s children each take up a bit of the weight, the results are beyond anything we can imagine.

For our final day of planned outreaches, we visited a church in Salima. This area rarely sees outsiders and is extremely hungry for God’s word. We attended morning service and worshiped with a small congregation which grew and grew as the morning went on (it takes a long time for people to walk from miles away to the only local church in the area). David encouraged the congregation with a message about turning to God knowing that He will help us grow through them. We also had the chance to answer some questions you normally only hear in theology classes. It is a one-of-a-kind experience to worship our Creator with our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world. Later, we sat in on a Chiefs’ Ministry Bible study. We had another wonderful time of worship and teaching before the RtH team was invited to speak. I spoke to the chiefs about living out our faith with urgency and how we prepare for spiritually dry and stormy seasons just as we prepare for those seasons in farming. We then presented the trans-denominational group with talking Bibles to start ministries in their own villages.

We ended the night with another wonderful dinner in a local family’s home before the trip’s final showing of the Jesus Film. That night, the crowd grew to around 1,000 people with more hands than could be counted during the prayer time receiving salvation in Jesus Christ. It was incredible to see how God enabled each member of our team to perform the tasks at hand despite our perceived flaws. There is no amount of skill that can prepare you for ministry, just as there is no amount required before you are useful to God. Our final two days were spent admiring God’s creation and trying to wrap our heads around everything we had seen and done. The time of reflection allowed us to solidify our understanding of all that God had shown us and helped us determine where we would go from there in our spiritual walks.

We would like to give special thanks to all who were involved in this trip. Thank you for partnering with us in supplying 3 new water wells serving over 2,000 families! Your efforts have also sent more than 50 talking Bibles to Malawi and allowed our small 3 man team to reach thousands with the Gospel!

Nicaragua Mission's Trip - Nov. 2 - 13, 2014

Click HERE to request more info on mission trips.

If you are interested in joining us on a future trip, please email Info@ReachingtheHungry.org or calling (760) 523-0777. We have 2 Nicaragua trips scheduled for May 18-26 and Nov 9-20, 2015.

Nicaragua Mission's Trip - Nov. 2 - 13, 2014

RtH Team to Nicaragua

I am so blessed and thankful that I was able to go on my first mission trip to Nicaragua with “Reaching the Hungry”. In the past couple of years, I have been praying and asking God to allow me an opportunity to serve Him on the mission field. On November 2nd of 2014 I headed off on my first trip to Nicaragua, Central America. I was so excited, anxious, and had high expectations. In the two weeks that I was there, God blessed me with more than I could imagine. I had a much closer relationship with Him while I was down there and am still continuing to grow closer with God daily. My experience in Nicaragua really opened up my eyes and heart to see why being directly on the mission field can be a really important ministry.

Mixing cement.

Some of the team installing 5,000 liter water tank.

While in Nicaragua, I was able to see the ministry that Jaime and Monica were called to do in Campo Gonia. We were able to clear paths by chopping down grass with machetes. We also built a new barbed wire fence made from trees we chopped down to provide more security for the ranch. The whole team and other locals were able to build a brick house for a 5000 gallon water tank which will be used for the ranch to provide more water to the people living there. In doing all this work we were able to build strong relationships with the people of Nicaragua, and also encourage Jaime and Monica in the ministry God has called them to do.

Cutting the weeds.

Sheets for roofing.

Besides the physical labor, we were blessed to get to know the local people by partnering with a few local ministries. One of the blessings was visiting inmates in prison. We divided into smaller teams and spent about 2 hours sharing and listening to those who were incarcerated. One of our team members got to share with hundreds on lock-down. He shared how he turned his life over to Christ in the Vista Jail and how God delivered him from 20-years of meth use. After we left prison, we went to serve the homeless by putting on a worship service for them, then we served all that attended a hot lunch.

Our Prison Team.

One of the three Jesus Film Outreach.

There are so many people in this world who need to hear the living truth of our Lord and Savior. During one of our Jesus film outreaches in Nicaragua, I had the opportunity to speak the truth of how the Lord has changed my life and why it’s important to have Him in our lives as our Lord and savior. I was so touched to see how many people in Nicaragua came to know Christ and accept Him into their lives, especially all the little children. It really stirred me inside and I want to continue to do missions and share the word of God no matter where I’m at in the world. The people in Nicaragua are awesome and very friendly, and I couldn't have asked for a better first experience in missions.

100's Come to Christ & 6 Water Wells Installed in Africa! By Nathan Giles

Our Team

Somewhere between the brief 30-minute post travel nap under a mosquito net and the slap of Cima patties hitting our dinner plates, we heard it again, “Hey guys, you’re in Africa”! Pastor Carlos’ 7th or 8th subtle reminder of our dramatic change in location. It seemed a bit obvious, but even then, most of us were still unsure of what to expect. We settled in, to the best of our abilities, and began our first night eating with our Malawian hosts. Amos and his son Wonderful, along with friends Zuze and Blessings, would be our hosts, guides and translators throughout our trip. After finishing our meal (and for some of us our first encounter with the now infamous Cima, a doughy-mashed potato like substance made from corn and void of any taste), we retired to our beds, hoping to get some rest in anticipation of the next day.

After a brief breakfast and devotional in the morning, we realized that the water-pumps we were familiar with were not the ones we would be installing. Instead, we had a different model that required a little ingenuity and patience on everyone’s part. We split up into our smaller teams and headed to our villages. We worked quickly, focused on our task, but were pulled away for a meal prepared by the villages. It caused an instant change of focus for many of us. We had somehow forgotten that we had, after all, come to Malawi for the people, not just some manual labor. We ate and listened as leaders told us what our obedience to God’s call meant to them and what they planned to do in the future. This was only the first of many experiences that spoke to us as a whole.

By sundown on day one, we had completed two wells and despite much difficulty, made progress on a third. The two teams who had finished met up to show the Jesus film in one of the villages. Before the film began, we were again sat down at a table to enjoy another meal while the voices of at least 100 children sang, some sitting and some dancing. As the film began, the crowd grew to around 700 by the end. Scott, one of the men on our team, gave a summary of the movie and our need for a savior. He then presented those in the crowd with the opportunity to begin a new life in Christ. Throughout the crowd, hands raised and around a third of the crowd made commitments, accepting Jesus as their savior.

Scott Byers, Tom Thomas, & Carlos Sales

Nathan Giles

The following day, we completed three wells in addition to finishing the one from our first day. That night, we were able to show the Jesus film in another village, and again, we shared the gospel at its conclusion. The two nights of sharing the gospel in large groups were a great reminder that no matter how comfortable you are, no matter how eloquently you speak, no matter how young in your faith you may be, it is what God does with the hearts of those who hear that draws his sons and daughters to Him. He only asks that we speak. On this second night, we watched as another wave of men, women, and children gave their lives to Christ. Later that night we packed our bags and prepared to travel to Nkhoma where we would meet with World Vision and some of the team’s sponsored children.

We showed the Jesus Film to about 1,500 people. Nathan sharing the Gospel.

Dave Heiliger

Scott Byers, Art Mendoza, & Mike Westbrook after installing a water well.

I had the pleasure of meeting Janette, a 16 year old girl who lives with her grandmother in a small village in the Nkhoma district. She and the other children gathered around us, marveling at the sight of themselves on our cameras. Johnny, another one of our team, talked with Janette and her grandmother for a short while with a surrounding sea of smiles. What happened at the end of the visit was, for me, the most humbling event of the trip. Janette’s grandmother left briefly and returned with a chicken, a gift for our group. The constant, unhesitant generosity we saw has become the greatest example in my life of generosity. In a circumstance where having a meal every day is not necessarily guaranteed, or even expected in many cases, this woman gave. It reminded me of Paul's writing in Philippians 4. He thanked the church of Philippi, a city heavily burdened with poverty, for giving to his ministry even when he had what he needed. We had no need for a chicken, but her gift was meant to feed a ministry and allow us to continue our work above and beyond what we had done on this trip. The chicken, because we had a five hour van ride ahead, found a new owner with the World Vision staff.

Carlos with one of his sponsored children, Stella, and her family.

Nathan giving a village a soccer ball after installing their water well.

Carlos visiting another one of his sponsored children, Lackson.

The next morning we awoke in Monkey bay, ready for our final well installation. When we sat down to breakfast, we found out that the location of the final well was no more than a puddle at the bottom of a shallow hole. Wonderful and Blessings, our Malawian partners, explained to the village what was needed to complete the project in the future. It was very difficult to leave the task incomplete. Instead, we spent the morning in a devotional and took some time to discuss solutions to problems we encountered with the wells and how to better plan these projects in the future. We then headed to Zomba where we met Hamilton Yassin.

At Monkey Bay, debriefing our water well projects and future strategy.

(Art, Tom, Carlos, Scott, Mike, Nathan, & Dave. Johnny taking pic.)

Hamilton, a friend of Pastor Carlos, has completed seminary at the Zomba School of Theology. We were blessed with so many opportunities while visiting. First, the school offered us a house to stay in at the top of Mount Zomba, the highest point in the district at 6,700 feet. Then, the next morning before church, we met the principal who told us about the school’s history and upcoming plans. Johnny Koyle was given the opportunity to speak at church with the help of Hamilton’s translation. He shared a bit of his past, his struggles, and his imperfections, and how he was saved by God’s grace. After the service, we had lunch at the home of one of the church staff members. Once again, we were amazed by the hospitality we were shown. For dinner, we met the pastors, including Hamilton, where everyone gave a short summary of themselves, their families, and faith. This day, I experienced the greatest sense of community within the church that I have ever known. There was an obvious excitement and passion for furthering God’s kingdom that transcends the barriers of distance, language, and culture.

Johnny Koyle preaching at our Sunday morning church service.

The final leg of our trip began with yet another long van ride in which we enjoyed each other’s company with little room, if any, to spare. The next two days, we spent sorting through everything we had seen, done, and felt on the trip, all while enjoying a bit of God’s creation. Elephants, baboons, monkeys, warthogs, impalas, water bucks, crocodiles, hippos, and plenty of birds I will never be able to name. All excellent reminders of how great God is. We took the time to talk, reflect, and learn more about one another and deepen our relationships with God. This time allowed us to gather our thoughts and experiences from the trip and explore ways we can maintain the “mountain top” type experience we were on once we returned to the states.

We are blessed to have all of our team members back safely and our families safe despite the dangers brought on by the fires in North County during our absence. Thank you to all who prayed for us and the work we were doing. Although it was a trip of firsts for many of us, we believe that it is a launching point for further trips and projects in the future. We hope that you will continue in your support, and that you'll consider joining us on a future trip.

AWESOME WATER WELL TEAM!

(Dave, Art, Nathan, Johnny, Mike, Carlos, Tom & Scott)

Malawi Water Well Trip - Oct 2016 by Brian Hicks

October 21, 2016 By Brian Hicks, US RtH Team Leader

We’ve had some great days here in Malawi. Power is an issue in this country ;) Can never really rely on having power at any one given time. Makes you think about how reliable our power is in America.

We’ve installed 3 wells thus far and have one more to install today. Reading glasses fitting has been a huge success. To see people improve their reading for something that costs us less than 65-cents each is amazing.

Jesus film has been shown 3 times. Huge crowds join. I’m always amazed at how well the locals see in the dark. Hundreds of people sitting around in the pitch dark and no one seems to run into one another. We seem to be getting great response to the movie.

Connected with Pastor Hamilton yesterday and looking forward to spending the next few days with him.

We are blessed!