Prayers please ~

This is my beautiful friend, Roberta Peterson.  She works with Hope Africa Ministries in Kenya.  Our team is planning to travel to Nairobi in July (just weeks ahead!) to hold several women's clinics, minister to HIV/Aids patients and whoever else God brings in our path.  I am aware of the escalating violence in the northeastern part of Kenya, as well as Nairobi.  We will be in the Western region, after flying into Nairobi.   Please, please pray for all of us and especially for Roberta who lives there.  We will not take unnecessary risks and will keep a close watch on any warnings before we embark to travel.  What we need more than anything is PRAYER.  

Would you commit to praying for us?  That is all :)

Africa in July!! It's upon us!

Our travel to Africa is just about upon us!  We are partnering with another team from the Carolina's to join us in Kenya during July 2014!  We will be ministering with the http://www.hopeafricaministries.org/ organization and will be assisting in two Women's Health Seminars, as well as bringing assistance to AIDS patients in the difficult slum areas of Nairobi.  We are expecting as many as 300 women to show up for these and we need HELP!  Our primary need is finances!  Being in a different country, we have costs we have to pay just in order to do our seminars!  We must pay publicity, token gifts to the senior officials in the public service, transportation, bread and drinks for the participants (many of which travel a long distance to come!).  Our other needs are putting together small gift bags for the women.  This will entail "hotel-type" soaps, shampoos, plastic cups and/or pencils, notepads.  We are just trying to gather these supplies.  In addition, we are bringing children's "picture-type" books for the school.  Our hope is to educate and exhibit the love of Christ to all those we come in contact with.  I am very happy to say that Mission: Hope has thus far been able to donate $1000 check to Hope Africa Ministries already to help with the purchase of land, as they expand their ministry to the children and people there.  Our team has a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time!  Please consider donating to this awesome cause!  I anticipate that we will be taking further trips to this region.  I have already been in contact with another ministry that is asking for Bibles and our dear friends ("20-something" twins, Keri & Michelle O'Neil) have a boy's home in Nairobi that they've asked if we could please stop by!  http://grantabundantlife.org/

Everyone on our team has jobs!  We are all taking our vacation times to do these trips!  We are all raising our own funds!  Would you consider donating to this cause?  If so, please send a check to Mission: Hope, c/o Life Church, P. O. Box 1764, Jensen Beach, FL 34958  We still need funds to accomplish all this and more... and our timeframe is closing in on us!

You can scroll through our blog to learn more about this mission.  Our Mission Board is made of a physician, several attorneys, a missionary and a Mom (that's me... I also am a laboratory technologist :).  Our current Africa team is made up of myself, trained & educated midwives, a campus minister and others a part of the Carolina team.  Our Mission Team has been all over the world; Russia, Costa Rica, Haiti, China, South Korea, Cambodia, Lebanon, Thailand, India, Africa, and the inner-cities of America.  They are passionate about their faith and passionate about making a difference in this world.  Read more about our mission on this blog and please consider donating and praying for us!

Sharing more about our Team Board Members

Re-introducing one of our Team Board Members, Dr. Omar Hamada. Dr. Hamada is an extreme mover and shaker; has great insight on Arab culture and is accomplished in so many different ways. I'm excited to see what the future holds for this Mission!

Omar Hamada’s passion is advancing the Kingdom of Christ through discipleship and evangelism in all that he does.  Omar’s life is defined by the “5 Ms” – Marriage, Medicine, Military, Ministry, and Music.

Marriage - Omar is married to Dr. Tara Newton Hamada of Shelbyville, TN, who is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and works at Mercy Children’s Clinic in Franklin, TN.  They have 4 children – Gabriella (12), Annelise (9), Nicholas (7), and Josiah (3).  They live in Brentwood, Tennessee and are active members of Fellowship Bible Church.

Medicine – Omar is Board Certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and in Family & Sports Medicine.  He is also trained in Aerospace/High Altitude, Deep Sea/Hyperbaric, and Tropical Medicine.  He was previously Director of Predoctoral Affairs at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at StoneCrest Medical Center, and President and CEO of Cedar Medical Group.  He is currently an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, an Emergency Room Physician, maintains a private “concierge” medical practice (Brentwood Concierge Medicine and Fitness), and consults for various organizations.  He recently completed an MBA at Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management.  He is the Chief Medical Officer of Advon Healthcare (www.advonhealth.com) and the Medical Division President and Chairman of the Board for HumaniTV (www.humani.tv).

Military – Omar is a 14-year combat veteran of the United States Army.  Ten of those years were in the United States Army’s Special Forces as a paratrooper, diver, and Battalion Flight Surgeon and Diving Medical Officer of the 1/20^th Special Forces Group, (Airborne).  He is the recipient of many awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Medical Badge for actions in combat.  Omar is an accomplished outdoorsman and martial artist (Tae Kwon Do, HapKiDo, Judo).  He is the Principal of S3 – Security and Survival Solutions.   

Ministry – After graduating from Columbia Biblical Seminary (CBS) in South Carolina in 1988, Omar was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister.  He is also a graduate of Leighton Ford’s 2-year Arrow Leadership Program, and is currently completing a Masters of Theology at Columbia.  He is a delegate of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and over a span of 20 years, has worked closely with ministries such as OM, YWAM, Campus Crusade, the Zwemer Institute, and the US Center for World Mission in training Western believers as to the needs and methods of Muslim Evangelization.  Dr. Leighton Ford and the late Dr. Adrian Rogers were his mentors.  He is authoring two books under contract – “Warrior Faith: Spiritual Applications of Lessons Learned in Combat” and “a certain hope…:Living Victoriously in the Midst of Adversity”, and editing for republication “The Temperament and Character of the Arabs” by Sania Hamady, PhD. 

Music – Omar is a classically trained spinto tenor in the style of Mario Lanza.  He has studied operatic vocal performance in Memphis, New York, and Vienna, has had offers from the Julliard School and the New York Metropolitan Opera Company, and has performed for over 1 million people worldwide.  He also plays jazz and classical trumpet and is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Just a recap of all the great things that are occurring with Mission: Hope!  I want to thank all the Board Members and all the Team Members for being a part of the start-up of this Mission... for continuing to pray and considering trips for the future!  I also want to thank all the donors who have given to this Mission!  My heart is overwhelmed and excited about our start for this mission!  We're lining up tickets to Nairobi, Africa THIS week for our ministry in the slums of Nairobi with a home-based ministry called "Mumomatei Foundation", which serves HIV+ people in Nairobi, and our ministry to "Hope Africa Ministries" in Sakwa, Kenya.  Because of YOUR donations, we are able to send funds to Hope Africa Ministries to purchase uniforms for the kids and provide some school supplies.  How awesome is that?! We'll also be doing a Women's Medical Clinic, helping to bring education to these women in health care, childbirth and a medical condition known as "fissures", which makes it quit difficult for these women to live.  The community school we are helping was formed in February 2007 with 23 students.  Today it has grown to over 300 students, some of who are orphaned and some who are HIV positive.  We will go with a mindset to work.  Our 1st few days will be in Nairobi working in the slums and then travel 3-5 hours away to Sakwa.  Please pray for us!  We can still use support for some of our team members, if you'd like to help!  We are still collecting GIFT bag items for the women's clinic (shampoos, lotions, etc) and paperback picture books for the kids.

Wish List!

WISH LIST for Mission: Hope! www.missionhope1.blogspot.com
1. DSLR camera (Canon, since we have lenses for that) for Videography (that's a biggie!) :)
2. Your USED phones you want to throw out! We can get cash towards Mission: Hope.
3. Any easily-shipped, valuable :) Ebay-worthy items, that can be sold to raise funds.
4. Your hotel soaps/lotions to make gift bags for our Africa trip
5. Your nice, used paperback children's books :) THANK YOU for remembering us during this Christmas season!

Donations!

Please consider donating your clean, used PICTURE books to us, so we can bless the village children on our mission to Sakwa, Kenya (Africa).  We are also looking for donations for our Women's Medical & Informational Clinic there.  The type of things we are looking for are easily transported in our luggage (bandaids, toothbrushes, notepads, little soaps, small bottles lotion or any other small item like this).  Thank you so much!  Natalie Evans

In a Day

Circumstances can change in a day.  A single day.  When we are tempted to be discouraged, to wonder if God remembers us... or to wonder if we are doing the right thing - CHANGE can happen in a day.  As director of Mission: Hope, one of my jobs is to raise funds.  That's probably the least favorite activity I could do.  It involves work, and it involves asking for donations to a cause I believe is worthy.  Since no one on our mission board, including myself, receives any salary or compensation for this position, we do need to raise our individual funds for any mission trips we are a part of.  Since I launched this mission on January 1st, 2013 - we have been blessed to raise more than $2000 for Mission: Hope.  Since I put out my own personal fundraising letters, I've received gifts totaling $150.  Everyone on our team has a goal to raise $1000 towards their trip by the end of this month.  This was such an encouragement to me, especially since I became a bit incapacitated due to my cycling accident (which incidentally was planned to be a FUNDRAISER!).  

In moments, I asked God, "Lord, do you remember me?  Did you truly call me to do this?"  I tried not to be discouraged and God let me have moments of encouragement through other people!  Today, at our church, the Lord's prayer was taught.  Specifically, "give us this day our daily bread."  And it reminded me that I need not be concerned about the future, but only this day.  As I was leaving church, a friend gave me a check for $100 towards my personal trip!  And when I checked our P. O. Box, I found a check for $500 towards my personal trip!  I am at $750 of my $1000 goal!  Circumstances can change in a day and increase our faith!  I am overwhelmed and grateful... and full of hope & faith for what God is and will be doing in Africa July 2014.