Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 3/1/2010
I cannot blog too much on Vietnam specifically. Here is something I've written to describe this season I'm in with God. I heard a song that was saying I see a desert, but God sees something else and it inspired me to write this. HE is moving! He is doing things. He is preparing us for something GREAT!!!
It is not as it seems. What is beauty. Is is a garden or is it a wilderness. Is it a desert or is it a beach. Is it a place with luscious fruit trees or a place of dead dried up trees. Is beauty in the eye of the beholder. Is it in the maker. Is it in His plans and seasons for you. What if His darkest season for you was His idea of beauty. Or your driest time was His idea to mold and shape you. What if I said the desert was a garden. The wilderness was a place of luscious fruit trees. That the beach was a desert and the garden a wilderness. What if when no one else seemed to be around was a time of refreshment not a time of dryness. What if your driest time was His most refreshing time for you. When nothing seems to satisfy like it once did was actually a time to lead you to a holy frustration. To get you to a point of going to the one true source. To run to Him for your everything. To allow Him to quench the deepening thirst and desires. When everywhere and everything you once looked to for affirmation and wholeness was gone. And what if that wasn't the end of hope, but the birthing of something new. An inside core, the roots of a new tree that will be drawing its life from pure true uncontaminated water. What if your loneliest time was in fact His design to rid you of the shifting sand you try to stand on and cause you to look to the solid foundation. To the only one left standing. To produce a foundation of acceptance built on the true life giver. A core that will produce a confidence, a strength like never before. That will enable the ability to fly, to soar. What if what you thought was death was actually a birth. And what looks like the end was actually the beginning. Where night was actually day. Because His darkness for you is actually His light being brought forth. For in the desert will be found the one source of water, Him. He wants to be your IT. You're hello, your hug, your answer to your need for love and affirmation. This desert is actually your garden. Where life will be birthed. And your wilderness filled with loneliness is actually where a constant companion will be found. Where the trees that once produced the wrong kind of fruit are withering up and dying to make way for the fruit trees of the kingdom. Where the smell of death, old things passing away, is actually the smell of life, freedom and newness. It is not as it seems. Look again through the eyes of your loving Father. Peer in the hole with His heart. See what He sees. For it is not as it seems. Beauty is darkness. Beauty is His hand moving no matter what it may look like.
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 2/11/2010
On our last night at the orphanage we had an ice-cream and soda party for them. Oh, the joy they had. I do not know how often they get treats, but they sure soaked it all up. Even to the point of taking the empty tubs of ice-cream and licking them dry. It was so much fun to watch them! But, eventually they found out that it was our last night. They asked me, "come back tomorrow?" They would ask us every day, "see you tomorrow?" Normally I could say excitedly, "YES!" But, this time I had to look them in the eyes and say no, "I don't come back tomorrow." As soon as they all found out, crying erupted from almost all 65 of them. And then from us.
There we all were, gathered together in the outside church, sitting on the floor with them clinging to us crying. The boy that had the anger issues who I had wondered whether or not cried, was sobbing in my arms. I did not know what to do. I felt helpless, powerless as these boys hung on to me so tightly. My heart ached, I felt torn apart. I wanted to take them all and give them a home. I didn't know how to just say okay, they are yours God. Please take care of them. They have been left by parents, they have had their very foundations torn out from under them. A child is supposed to just know love, to be loved. That is their calling, not to be orphaned. 65 of them, so few compared to the world, but so many compared to my world.
You can have all the theological questions answered by religion until you come face to face with things that rock your once solid foundation. We started to make our way out to the gate, but they would not let go. I just kept hugging them and saying I love you. I knelt down to Peap and Reach and communicated that I would always remember them in my heart and that I would pray for them. We got in our vehicles and began to pull away and I'll never forget Peap and Reach running after me with their arms stretched out trying to reach me. All my God answers went out the window as I saw the looks on their faces. When you aren't around it, it is easy to say the right answers. But, I didn't have any answers after pulling away. And at first that was frustratingly scary. But, as we got home and spent the next 24 hours digesting and processing, I became even more aware that God wants us to wrestle with Him. To ask why. To tell Him what's on your heart, what you are frustrated about. I want my own answers, not just what I've been told all along. I need my own answers. My own foundation from His anwers to me.
I asked God why are their orphans, why does a little boy have to be given away, abandoned, in this world he's supposed to know love, to have his back scratched, to be held by mommy, to show off for mommy, to see his daddy's eyes of acceptance and love. Why did God allow me to love them and for them to love me, only to eventually say goodbye. What about their hearts. They've already been broken once, sliced open to the core. How do we leave them after they've been left before? Am I hurting them? Is this worth it? Will they build more walls up because of what we did, and that is such the opposite of my intentions of this trip. But, is it possible to inflict more pain in the name of doing good? God, do you honestly have them? Did I truly do what I was supposed to do? I wrestled and I got answers.
God spoke to me, and showed me His heart. I saw Him, what He looks like as a child is given up or abandoned and He was on His knees, crying out, saying No. His heart was torn out too. He does not want there to be orphans. I may have known that in my mind , but I needed to know it in my heart. I needed God to truly show me His heart. And He's okay with that. If you need an answer and not just the textbook answer, ask Him. He wants to hear you, your heart. He wants to tell you the truth so that from that place of truth, life can grow and not anger and bitterness. He told me, do you see the holes in my hands, the scars, those were for them too, I want so desperately to be reconciled to them too. I did that for them. He said He does have these orphans, that He has chosen them and He is after them. He will see them through. Each time these children receive the kind of love our team gave them for a month, their hearts are being watered. He will add. He will INCREASE. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I showed them God's love, LOVE. They know, they have tasted, they see what they were meant for, it is real, LOVE is real. They KNOW and they will keep KNOWING because He will not relent on them.
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 2/5/2010
When we first pulled up to the orphanage, all the children ran to greet us with no reservations. They embraced us as if they had known as forever. They called us sister or brother. There were no hindrances to the love they quickly showed us. I was surprised at the love. Their love unleashed something in me, a childlikeness that I had so quickly tried to get rid of when I was younger. Yet, these children, orphans, who could erase their childlikeness as well, have not, and they helped bring mine back.
They are orphans. 65 of them; ages 3 to 20. They are beautiful. They are special. They are loved. This orphanage, the Cambodia Hope Association, was started about two years ago by a man named Ritti who was an orphan himself. His family left him on the streets of Cambodia and he had to survive on his own, roaming the streets in search of food and shelter from the time he was 3. How he survived is God and His plans for his life. He became a Christian, and decided when he grew older he would start his own orphanage. God is alive there, He is moving. He is shaken things, He is raising up a generation from these children. They have been rescued from the street, from broken families who can no longer care for them, and from the child slave industry. If you've seen Slumdog Millionaire you know what I'm talking about. Ritti has big dreams for this place and for his children that call him dad. So does God. He has rescued these children. They truly live by faith. Ritti and the orphanage pray for God to provide the food for everyone. They go through pounds and pounds of rice a day. Sometimes they barely have enough. But, even if they are running low and you find yourself inside while they are eating, you will be offered rice multiple times. They are givers, they love with all that's inside them. I found myself wondering how when they are orphans, when they've been given up, how do they still love? I'm still pondering, but part of me knows it's God and their family of each other. They are learning community, just like my squad is.
From the moment I got there, I loved being around them. They are eager to play, eager to hug on you, eager to say God bless you in their cute accents. We would play ball, from basketball to volleyball to soccer. We would play a game pretending to be ninjas and the goal is to hit each other's hand before they try to yank it out of range. Or, my favorite, playing chase and pretending to be the tickle monster to a group of about 5 girls. Oh how they loved it, how they giggled and screamed, and made me giggle and scream as they would turn the tables, attack and tickle me. They could play it for hours. I would try to relax and take a break from the hot sun, from being out of breath, and they would say, "sister, sister play game," and act like they were going to tickle me. I would relent and begin again.
Part of my time there was also spent teaching class, English and a Bible study to about 20 kids ages 8 to 12. I have never wanted to be a teacher and this thought at first frightened me, pictures of children running around screaming and throwing things in a classroom has been my idea of what it might look like if I teach. Not true! I came to love it. Most of the time they were so excited to learn. I loved teaching them English, such as "What is your favorite color?" and watching them repeat it and then respond with a color. It was awesome when they would repeat the things I had taught them outside of class as we played together. One class, I told them God cares about their dreams and desires. That with Him ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE so to tell Him their hopes, to bring them before Him, because He cares and wants to hear. To pray and talk to God about what's in their hearts, even the small things, like I want to go to the ocean and swim, tell Him, ask Him for it. My heart ached because I just wanted them to know so badly how God loves them so much and how He gives good gifts to his children.
Two boys in particular hung on to me from the beginning, Peap and Reach. They were both left by their fathers and then eventually their mothers could no longer afford to take care of them. I love these two little boys. They loved me back. One, I could tell had some anger issues, he started acting out and being somewhat aggressive more towards the end of our time there. I wanted so desperately to be able to really talk to him, for him to tell me what is going on inside. I had to wonder what was going on in his heart, what pain was there? I can only imagine. I decided to pursue him more than I had been and make sure to give him physical touch and extra attention. I noticed this helped. He just wanted attention and love. The only other thing I could do was pray for him. I have prayed healing over his heart, a melting of his heart, a forgiveness over his heart, for God's love to come and just grab him and not let him go, even if he kicks and screams at first, because ultimately that's what he needs and wants. God IS after him. He already has begun His pursuit. And HE WON'T RELENT.
Eventually all the children went from calling us sister to mommy. At first it was a sort of lighthearted joke, but somewhere it eventually took a more serious tone. Just like our leaving every day. It was always a 10 minute exit with all the children hanging on to you saying goodbye multiple times as we tried to make our way to the tuk tuk (a fun form of transportation). At first they would simply say goodbye to us at the orphanage gate and then wave goodbye from there as we rode away. As time passed they began to go a little farther, running alongside us down the road shouting and waving goodbye. Then they would run all the way to the end of the street waving until we finally made another turn and they and we were out of sight. They would even run close enough to still be holding your hand as we slowly drove away. Their goodbyes would melt your heart. I kept thinking one day we will be saying goodbye and not coming back the next day. Your heart falls in love and breaks, their hearts fell in love and would they break too? Would they be okay when we left for good?
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 1/28/2010
Cambodia, wow, what a place.I have fallen in love!My
thoughts about it ahead of time, honestly were hesitant.Our border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia
was our craziest one yet.However, once
here, it is truly amazing what I sense, what I see, and what I feel.
God is on the move here after years of atrocities committed
by the Pol Pot regime. Unbelievable things
happened here: From roughly 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of
Pol Pot, executed at least 200,000 people and their policies resulted in the death
and starvation of another 1-2 million people.They would target those that were intellectuals, leaders, doctors,
etc.They would trick them as they
rounded up groups of people; they would say who is a doctor, a teacher, etc.
and the person would raise their hand, not knowing what was about to
happen.But, once the Khmer Rouge knew,
they would execute them.They also would
execute entire families, children, babies as well.They believed family members, as they grew
up, would take revenge on them, so they needed to eliminate the entire
family.The devastation that occurred is
beyond my imagination.We visited an
area of the Killing Fields, where execution and death occurred.It was a very powerful moment, to be on the
grounds where such abuse occurred. I saw
gravesites, I saw skulls, bones, victim's clothes, a tree that was used to
crush heads, and another tree that was used to hang a loudspeaker from, which
played music to drown out the cries.To
know where this country has come from, what is a part of its history, is
heartbreaking.My heart cries out for
the Cambodian people and everything they went through.But, to also know Cambodia's history and then
to see with my own eyes the hope and redemption that surrounds this nation, is
awesome! The people here are recovering.This country is on the rise.Signs of redemption and hope are in the air.You can feel it, I can feel it.
I see and have declared this country is rising, this country
is bursting forth with so much it will overflow onto the other Asian
nations.Cambodia will be a leader in
Asia, this country will be a light for all to see.God is getting ready to explode on this
country, to bring forth so much of Himself, His spirit, revival will happen, it
is happening.I watch the people worship
and sing to God and there is so much passion.Cambodia is rising and God is pouring out His spirit.I see the country with purple, blue and white
flags surrounding it.God is
working!He is delivering hope to this
nation.He is restoring!God is on the move.
At the Killing Fields, I saw a newly planted tree.In that moment, of seeing a new tree on
ground that once bore such death and destruction, I could feel God saying I am
doing a new thing in Cambodia: I am birthing forth newness and life here.He has planted hope and restoration and it is
beginning to burst forth.From soil that
once was drenched in death to soil that is good, open and ready for the
planting of hope and newness. Come Lord, come with your power and love.May this country never be the same. He is healing this nation. He is encountering them. They will have an encounter with Him, His presence, His blessings, His love is hovering over this nation. And I'm a part of what He's doing, thank you Lord for using me, allowing me to witness your redemption. The love you have for Cambodia is amazing. I see the country with HOPE written all over it, that's what He's bringing. It is being rooted in this country. HOPE!
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 1/16/2010
Hey everyone,
This is a video one of my squad members, Jessica, made. She had an amazing idea for this, God was so present as we were doing it. It's filmed on the street in Thailand were we prayer walked and went out to bars at night. God loves these people and this street. He is a part of it and He is moving on Bangla Road!
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 1/8/2010
This month in Phuket, Thailand has been a roller coaster ride. It has been by far the most challenging month, but the most rewarding. God is on the move, towards me and in and through me. He is on the move with the streets of Patong, Bangla Road, where we walk daily in prayer, covering the area and seeking the Lord before the night time ministry. I have come to realize the POWER in prayer, it's not a joke, it's not just words. They are words that are sharper than any double-edged sword, they cut through the enemy. And I have realized this from month three: that I have the power and the authority to call it out, to pray against it, to ask for it, to plead, to beg, to cry out and SOMETHING does happen. Things are changed. I can feel the spiritual realm shift and listen. Satan would like for me and the rest of us to believe that nothing happens.
I am stepping into a new world. It is strange and beautiful, uncomfortable and desired at the same time. After going to the bars for the first few nights, I felt like God wanted me to stay back and intercede. Now I know why, he began birthing something in me that is His power. The prayer walks and nightly intercessions for the bars has led to me being broken and surrendered, telling God one night during prayer, when I couldn't explain this thing inside me, this loud voice, prayers trying to get out, this rage, this fury, this fire, this heartache, OKAY Lord, I do not understand what you're doing to me, I feel out of control, I feel a voice rising in me bursting forth to the surface, BUT OKAY, whatever you want to do, I'm willing Lord, I'm willing. I'm willing to sound crazy, to look crazy while I pray, to no longer be trying to hide myself. I feel the prayers and the declarations are like walking on water. Staying quiet, ha, I'm finding God sort of lovingly smiling at me, saying this is for you and for them, a gift to you and a life preserver for them.
This thing God is doing I can best describe it as being like a dam being rushed with water and the walls are about to burst wide open and there seems to be nothing that can be done about it; something is breaking forth. Praise God because I do truly want to embrace Him fully and I don't really want to escape this THING He's doing no matter how uncomfortable I feel at times. I feel compelled, like I must, I have to do this.
God wanted me to see this, to discover. I have walked the streets and have discovered the power in words, in declaration. I am broken for Patong, I'm torn up emotionally, but I am also on fire prayerfully. The afternoon prayer walks are surrounded by quiet as most of the bars are empty. Night-time is a whole different scene. I cried out one afternoon, these streets are yours lord, and I could feel his power. He is alive and working and the enemy may think he can win, but HE is on the move. I have cried out for these women and I have felt God's heart cry. One day while walking I could feel him and knew what he was saying, this is serious, I love these women and I am after them and I'm using you and your team of women to do this, I could feel his desperation, his urgency, his pleading, his violent and wreckless love for them, to get them, to take them back out of the enemy's hands. I could, I can, feel the war. This month God has opened my eyes to His love for me and for His people, slowly increasing intimacy in my life. I need Him, and I'm okay to tell Him that.
I could see Satan's lies tripping the girls up: that they have no other way, no other way to make money, that it's hopeless, dreams are gone, that this is only for a little while, I could sense the trap, even if they don't realize it. I was angry, I am angry. But, HE will not stop relenting. I can feel him saying through my prayers or through my actions to GO, NOW, DO IT, GET THEM BACK. I have prayed for them to come to know Him, for Him to slam them with His love, to have their eyes open to what they are doing and what's being done to them, to see there's so much more, there is real love, there is hope, there is a future for them, they can have it, it is possible! To WAKE UP, to look in the mirror and say NO, I'm WORTH MORE, what am I doing, to find HIM and for HIM to find them. One night when I went back to the bars for the first time since the beginning of the trip here, my team walked into this area with a ton of bars and as I walked, my eyes met a girl across the room, I heard God say, that one, go get her, I want her. So we walked and my team chose that area without me saying stop here. God was going to make it happen. We started talking to her and after finding out a little bit about her, I could hear God say NOW, DO IT. About that time, she said she needed to start dancing on the bar, and I said wait, and began to tell her how God led me to her and said her, tell her. So I told her He's after her and that He loves and wants a relationship with her. I felt like begging, saying please, I could feel God's heart, broken over her, she said how do you know this, this love for me, I said I just know, I can feel it. And she said I can feel it too. She couldn't understand what was going on, His presence was tangible, I could feel Him and she could feel Him, she kept rubbing her arms, saying what is going on, I said it's Him. Then I said can I pray with you and she said okay, so I did, and again, rubbing her arms she said, what is this feeling all over me, I said that's Him, that's His love for you, He's here! She just stared and smiled and seemed a bit excited yet nervous. She said I have to go dance now. So we said goodbye. I have never felt this rush of His power come through me to GO AFTER ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS. It was magnificent. And I pray that was a moment of seeds being planted in her, and I believe it was, and they will be watered.
It has been hard to see men, some so much older, inappropriately hanging on to 20 year olds in the bars, or walking down the street together as a lot of women are purchased for a two week stay by a foreigner. I won't lie. But, I have been led to pray for marriages to be restored, for men to return to their first loves or to just fall in love like never before with their wives, for God to slam them with His love and power, anointing and a holy brokenness to just fall on them. I passed by this one man at a bar during our afternoon prayer walk and I just wanted to pray for him, I prayed off to the side and as I was praying, I could sense this complete lack of love he had as a child has led him to search and search and now he's in Patong, looking for it, I prayed that God would get him, that He would come in and heal those broken pieces and give him such a love, such a tender joyful encounter with our father that he would be forever changed. I hear many come to Patong because they hear about the FUN you can have, but often they find out, like Satan's traps, that it's not enough still and it's a vicious cycle, which often ends in suicides. I have learned, as I sat surrounded by men in a bar one night who were touching and looking, how not to fall into the trap of personal anger and instead I went on the offense and prayed for them, cried out for them, asked for God's love and mercy to come. The search, I know the search, trying to find something to make it better, but it's Him. There's so much more, He's so much more than we can imagine. He is better than all the things that seem fun. I cry out for this revelation to come, for a hunger for something more to come across the streets of Patong. I cry out, I pray for eyes to be opened, for blindness to be lifted, for people to come to know the creator, their creator. I pray for His presence to fall on that place so thick, I pray for people to turn away, to fall to their knees and turn to Him, for love encounters who are searching, He's real, He's alive and He will stop at nothing.
We have the power, you have the power, cry out, call it out, declare it, claim it, lose it on earth and you will lose it in heaven, let it down. WE can do war, we can fight!
I'm so grateful for month three and what God showed me, the revelation of His heart, his love, and the power in prayer. He's moving, partner with Him in what He's doing and you will forever be changed. He's calling, He wants you. Are you listening...
We are off to Cambodia for month four. It's exciting and a little nerve wracking as God keeps chipping away and moving into my heart. I love you all and miss you! I pray as you read, God talks. He loves you and calls you by name.
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 1/6/2010
This is for me, for you, for the women of Patong, Thailand, who daily work in bars making a living. God is alive and He won't relent with His love. He is pursuing, this I know, I'm discovering His love is wreckless, desparate. He's coming for you, for me and for them. He's on the move. He says: I wont relent, I won't stop until I have all of you, for then, only then is your heart free. Lose yourself to me and you will find the freedom you seek. For whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Freedom is here
It's in the atmosphere
I can taste it
I can smell it
It's here
It's calling
It's in His voice
It's in His face
It's in His hands
I know it's near
It's breaking the surface
It's starting to penetrate
What shall I do
His love is coming
I want to run and flee
I want to run and embrace
Because its for my life
That He's penetrating these walls
I want to lay it all down
To move completely out of the way
I want to give Him my all
He's breaking the walls down
He's storming the fortress
He's lowering the drawbridge
He's removing the troops
His love is coming
It's here
To pentrate
To bring life
To bring freedom
To a once stone-walled fortress
Able to have guests of love and intimacy
but never permanent residents
Always dreamt of but never held
Love and intimacy are here
It is time for the princess to understand her castle
To realize it's for her
To come into her destiny
Her design from the beginning of time
His love is coming
It's here
To penetrate
To bring life
It's time for the long awaited guests to arrive
To come inside and eventually reside
To never part company
But to be just a memory of how the princess and the two
Were once complete strangers
And to marvel at the work of His hand and heart
At bringing the strangers together forever
Love and intimacy are here to forever be her company
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 12/19/2009
I'm currently in Thailand.However, I wanted to post an interview story from my month in
Nicaragua.I will post on Thailand soon!
Instead of "how are you" as the natural greeting among men
in a village in Nicaragua, the common greeting is "how is your (creatine)
level?"Men greet each other with this
question awaiting a response which shows how sick they are from working at a
local sugar cane field, the largest in Central America.Renal Kidney Failure Disease is what
typically awaits the limited job option population in this area. To them it is
normal, to me it is sad.I had the honor
of interviewing a former worker at the sugar cane plantation, Jose Matamoro.He worked there for 37 years.We sat down with a translator.The one thing I could not quite get over was
how grateful he seemed about his job.This job has left him sick, most likely shortening his life, but he
maintains a grateful heart that he even had a job.In such a poverty stricken and jobless
society, any job is well liked regardless of its consequences of an early death.I do believe awareness needs to be brought
to how poverty results in desperation on behalf of the worker and exploitation
on behalf of the employers.Proverbs
says: "To the hungry even something bitter tastes sweet;" To those desperate
for a job even something that kills them early is good.
In Candelaria, before the 1980s, jobs were more available to
men and women.Privately owned
plantations employed people in areas of cotton, bananas, plantains, etc.However, in the 1980s, the government took
over these plantations and sold a train that went from the north to Granada
that provided jobs for many.After these
government actions, jobs were scarce, forcing people to work at the sugar cane
plantation.Even before the government takeover
of jobs, the sugar cane company would go to these other areas of work and
present the people with an offer that was hard to resist.The company offered to pay more than what
their current job was paying and also give them the basics in food to feed them
and their family.The company no longer
provides food for its workers, since now it's almost the only job option for
people, it does not have to try hard to get workers.
Jose worked in certain areas that caused him to get
sick.He was fortunate in that since he
had worked there a long time, he was moved to a different area, where one does
not get sick.His job was secure.However, most are not as fortunate.Once they find out you are sick, you are
typically fired and the company just hires new workers and the cycle
continues.Often, once one person from
the family gets sick, younger members of the family will go and get a job
there, and so from generation to generation family members are getting sick and
then dying.Families are without
fathers, brothers, sons.Poverty and the
absence of males devastate this society.During the interview, I found myself wondering why do people get jobs
there when they know working there makes them sick and why would families send
sons there as well? But, living in a society without any jobs available, any
money to provide food for you is worth it; you will risk it to eat, to live,
even if your means to living will eventually result in your death.
The company tests the workers every year, for each safra,
which is the time period where they plant the sugar cane. If a worker's results are positive for sickness, termination occurs. Once fired, workers barely receive any
compensation.For those that do receive
compensation it is not enough to live off of.The minimum amount of time
required to have worked at the company before employees receive compensation
used to be 150 weeks, now it is 700 weeks.Therefore, a lot of workers do not receive any kind of insurance or
compensation because they have already become sick before 700 weeks time.
Currently in the Candelaria area over 2000 men are without
work because they are sick and jobs are scarce.Thus the cycle of poverty begins and hopelessness sets in.Jose says a lot of people begin to live life
with the attitude of "I'm going to die anyway so I might as well..."Alcoholism, drug abuse, partying begins, which results in a quicker
death. Also, due to being without jobs,
there is less money to buy food and not eating well results in a quicker death. Others
find ways to make money in any way they can to provide for themselves and
families.One-hundred to two-hundred men
die every year in the village of Candelaria.While I was in Nicaragua, a family my team had grown close to,
lost a brother, a son, an uncle.We
watched their grief as he lay dying before our eyes from renal kidney failure. Just about each week, this village sees a death from this disease.As people are dying they vomit yellow bile,
their stool is green or yellow due to the chemicals used at the plantation.
The workers work from 6:00 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. They get paid based on how much they plant,
cut, etc.So that's an incentive for
them to work really hard and take virtually no breaks to eat or even drink
water.They race with each other to get
the most done.How do they get sick? Because
of the chemicals used to fumigate, to kill plagues, and insects that are
preventing the sugar cane from growing. In the 1980s, the company started to
use different chemicals and in particular a chemical called gramoson used by
airplanes to fumigate.The company
prohibits them from drinking water or taking showers for any reason because of
the polluted water caused by fumigation in the morning.By the afternoon, plantain trees and fish in
the river would be dead.Leaves on trees
were all dry.The airplane chemicals
contaminate the ground for 20 to 30 years after being sprayed, leaking into the
water and food supplies of the people.
Awareness is limited.There is a group trying to help the people get insurance and
compensation.The company produces
millions for the government and is, as mentioned, one of the only jobs available,
so the government does not say anything and neither do the people.I hope and pray more awareness comes and the
cycle of job, job loss, poverty, sickness and then death can end.
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 12/19/2009
God has power to restore in miraculous ways. He can redeem even
the most lost people. Let us tell you about a man who defines God's
grace. His name is Benjamin and he has a great need for his ministry in
Panajachel, Guatemala. We are inviting you to be a part of this. He
now pastors a church named Mi-Reto (Ministry of Total Restoration) and
lives his life by complete faith. He serves the community to the
extent that he sacrifices all he has to share Jesus with the people
around him. He does this not only with words but with his actions. Ben
has been building homes, putting in plumbing, wiring electricity, and
been an overall handy man for Pana. He has been doing all his projects
with broken borrowed tools and transporting everything with a borrowed
motorcycle. He carts everything around in wheel barrows which triples
the time of each project compared to how easy it would be in the states
to do with a truck. Ben would be able to serve his community and reach
multitudes of people if he had a truck.
Ben has not always lived a life of sacrifice. The testimony that comes
from him is one that has a great impact on anyone who comes in contact
with him. It was only 7 years ago that Ben went from a drug and alcohol
addicted member of the occult to a radical lover of Jesus. Ben used to
own a tattoo shop and a discotech. He was of the verge of suicide when
a woman asked him to give God one more chance, and if God didn't come
through he could kill himself. With his wife and kids rejecting him,
and nowhere to go Ben decided to give God one last chance, but he
wanted to prove God wrong. Instead Ben was proven wrong, and his life
was radically changed. Ben was immediately freed of his dependency on
drugs and alcohol and from that day forward has lived a completely
transformed life. Little did he know that God was also doing a work in
his wife's life as well. She also gave her life to Christ.
Together they started the ministry Mi-Reto. They give all that they
have to serving. They don't even have a steady income. They live month
by month, and God has provided
for every month for 7 years and will continue to provide for them. All
the money that goes into the church goes toward ministry or the church.
They do not take any salary out of the church. This family is changing
not only the community that they live in but the people that they come
in contact with.
They have made a great impact on our lives over the month that we were
there. They are family that we will never forget. While there we saw
the need for the truck and what a blessing it would be to Ben's
ministry. It takes Ben at least a year to pay for a power tool, imagine what a truck would be for him.
Even though we can't be there we know God is changing lives through
Ben. We hope that you consider being a part of this ministry and
reaching out to the people that are making a difference.
A truck would bring:
-a way to transport materials
-a way to move families into new homes
- a way to transport missions teams
- a way to get to the city (Ben is trying to get his
residency and has to make trips to the city)
- a service that may not be provided otherwise
- a symbol of God's provision
For the program drop down menu, choose Support a World Race Project.
In the box to fill in which project, enter "L Ministry Project."
If you wish to send a donation by mail, please make your check payable to Adventures In Missions and mail it to:
Adventures In Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Please indicate "World Race L Ministry Project" in the memo section of the check.
The last day to donate to this project is January 11, 2010. Any donations received after this date will go toward the overall ministry of the World Race program.
I want to stress this so there is no confusion - donors should not
give to this fund via your personal world race blog page. If they do,
it goes into your support account, not into the ministry fund.
Posted in General Posts by Maryanne Yeary on 12/8/2009
Where to begin with this past month.Our contacts at New Song are amazing.To see people that came to
Nicaragua for completely different reasons, and then God said this is where I
want you and they fulfilled this calling is truly amazing.
We lived at the ministry; the site contained the housing as
well as the church, basketball court and huge field for sports and corn.Basically it is the one big hangout for the
entire village.When I first got there,
we were told this ministry is about relationship, building it with the people
that flock to New Song everyday all day, just basically hanging out.Give me a task and I'll do it, but to just
casually be and begin relationships with people is a little bit harder for me.So to be honest, I was a little nervous.God told me I will send to you who I want you
to connect with this month and I felt a peace.
As soon as the youth and children knew we were there they
would begin to be at our doors early ready for us to come out and play, have
fun, or talk. They are starving, most of their homes are full of abuse,
neglect, lack of love, be it because fathers or mothers are absent all together
or just not there for their children.I
ventured outside and tried to leave the rest up to God.Over the weeks he led me to a few people in
particular.I want to talk about
Esther.
I saw a group of ladies sewing graduation gowns for children
and youth and approached them to ask if they needed help and that is how I met
Esther and her daughter Cindy, who is 3, and then eventually the rest of her
family.Immediately Esther and I clicked
and I loved her.She invited me to her house
where I was surprised at the amount of conversation and laughter that occurred despite
the language barrier.Throughout the
weeks and thanks to a few translators I heard her testimony, prayed for her,
encouraged her in who God has made her to be, and went to her house a few more
times.The second time I went to her house
I was overcome with compassion for her family, particularly her husband, who
like most men in Nicaragua, has renal kidney failure due to working at a local
sugar cane plantation that causes its workers to become sick.I felt God say step out in faith and pray for
healing, so I did.I don't know what
happened, if he's been healed or not.I
almost didn't want to pray because then if nothing happened, what would my
faith and his faith be like, but what if I didn't pray, and with that I
couldn't not pray.
I was challenged this month with relationship, being,
resting and just with questions I did not know I had. God is still challenging
me with REST and just simply being in a relationship. He wants us to just be
with Him, to rest in Him.It is okay to
rest, there is no condemnation in REST.I
don't understand or get it yet.I
realized how much I feel like I have to do things for God or do things, my idea
of huge things, for people in order to believe I'm doing God's will or
accomplishing something.Throughout the
month I asked myself is just being at someone's house and talking enough?What about playing with a child or giving a
hug?Aren't I supposed to have some huge
prayer or healing moment? I actually
thought maybe I chose my course this month and so I could have done more.But, I came to realize God saying everyday
you stepped out of that door, I led you to the people I wanted you to be with
and I led you to do the things they needed; that He is in a hug, He is in a
smile, a moment playing with a child.That
a hug could be HUGE to someone who is starving for affection, maybe they needed
that more than a prayer.Maybe Esther
just needed a friend to sit with and laugh with, and then maybe her husband did
need someone to pray for healing for him.
As the month came to an end, I wrestled with another question, I began
to wonder why do we only connect to a few certain people, why did Jesus
only heal a few at some locations, when there are so many people that need
help.God chooses those He wants to
speak to at that particular time for reasons I may never know.God would help me through this and in His
answer I would find Him saying you did a good job, my work through you is
complete, I'm proud of you, leave the rest in my hands. I'm just trying to
learn to leave it all up to Him and walk forward, just like walking out of New
Song's door each day, God truly is in control and He knows, I don't.
Off to Thailand for month three. We are splitting from the guys and I'm going with ladies from two other teams to Phuket Thailand to She Ministries (shethailand.org). We will be going into bars to minister to God's daughters. How loving He is, He's already handpicked those He wants to encounter. Please pray for protection for us and for freedom to be unlocked in us as women and for the women we will meet. Love you guys! Thanks for your support. You are touching people's lives!