Category: Missions

2022-12-14 JKI Update – Hurricane Ian Recovery

2022-11-24 –  Trisha with a homeowner in Arcadia, FL

We recently returned from a 20-day trip serving as Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) Rapid Response Team Chaplain Coordinators. Along with our teams of chaplains, we were privileged to minister to dozens of home owners in the Punta Gorda area on the western coast of Florida.

The results of Hurricane Ian on homes, businesses and infrastructure were well documented by news organizations. What is less often reported is the devastating impact on the emotional and spiritual well-being of those who suffered loss. In the disaster chaplaincy is the saying, “They were already in a storm when the storm hit.”

We saw many elderly, lots of widows, and families whose homes were either unlivable or completely destroyed. Working alongside the dedicated Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief staff and dozens of volunteers from across the country, our chaplain teams provided much needed spiritual and emotional care to the volunteers and the residents. 

We prayed with hurting families and many people we met along the way who were already “in a storm” prior to the hurricane. Most were already struggling with the personal loss of a loved one, loss of income, divorce, or devastating medical conditions.

While offering words of comfort and simply being present for them, we shared the gospel with them. Many said “yes” to Christ for the first time.

Continue to pray for these hurting people, the Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers and the BGEA RRT Chaplains. They are still there in Punta Gorda as well as in Englewood and Fort Myers.

To get an idea of what we do, read these recent reports. Help is Here and RRT Responds

Samaritan’s Purse needs volunteers to serve in clearing debris and preparing homes for further repair. Checkout the opportunities here Samaritan’s Purse Volunteer Opportunities

Continuing in Ministry

While we are unable to travel to Nicaragua due to conditions there, we are ramping up our ministry in the U.S. There are so many opportunities that we are constantly praying for wisdom and discernment about each one.

We will continue to deploy to U.S. disasters as BGEA RRT Chaplain Coordinators as needed. Between road trips and flights, we are having lots of opportunity to preach and speak in various churches and conferences.

Our schedule includes some upcoming prison ministry with Behind the Walls (formerly Bill Glass Champions for Life). You can see opportunities to serve here: BehindtheWalls.com. The exciting news is that there are already two Texas events open for registration (Austin and Bonham). We will be serving at both of these. There are a dozen or so other Texas events in the works.

Some of our recent sermons can be found here: jodykennedy.org/home/sermons/

A Stake in the Ground

A Stake in the Ground

While deployed as chaplains with the BGEA Rapid Response Team, Jody and Trisha met a wonderful, young couple (practically newlyweds) who were victims of Hurricane Michael.

She had invited Christ into her life, but she had not gone very far beyond that in her walk with the Lord.  He had felt God’s presence as he suffered through a terrible childhood, but he had never surrendered to Christ.   As a young adult, he found himself embroiled in a life of drugs, alcohol and poor choices.  Through the tragedies they experienced together and separately, they were brought together and were married.  They began to build a life together with a new-found purpose.  They tried to put their pasts behind them and hoped for a new start.

They had been married for only two months when Hurricane Michael came and destroyed their family home just as it had thousands of others.  As if there was not already enough tragedy in their lives, the storm heaped loss on the newly married couple.  While their physical lives were spared, the life they were building together seemed to have been lost.

Three months after the hurricane, very little had changed.  The storm seemed to have intensified their misery as the memories of their pasts brought regret and pain.  Fear of the future and the uncertainties of rebuilding held them in chains of doubt and despair.  Looking out from their camper each morning revealed the unchanged landscape of their destroyed home and debris strewn property.

Then, a glimmer of hope came when he landed a job at a nearby factory.  Some optimism began to creep in, but there was still the destroyed home and littered properly that reminded them daily of the hurricane.

She was one of the first to request help from Samaritan’s Purse when the disaster relief headquarters had been established in Panama City.  Yet it would be weeks before the team would arrive to start the demolition of their home.  Her anxiety grew as the day approached for the Samaritan’s Purse team to come.  The memories of life in that home were vivid and she felt like she was losing her home all over again.

The Samaritan’s Purse team arrived, along with Jody and Trisha, the chaplains from BGEA Rapid Response Team.  Rather than simply tearing into the work, the team gently spoke with the overwhelmed man and wife and then began the process of recovering what they could safely remove from the home.  The chaplains comforted the young couple and soon they both began to share their past, their fears about the future and the difficulties of facing tomorrow.

As the wife and Trisha stepped away to talk alone, the husband and Jody began a deeper conversation.    The young man picked up a long stick and jokingly commented on how straight it was and that it would make a good spear.  He then went on to say that he had acknowledged God and even prayed to God during his troubled past, yet he had never cried out to the Lord to come into his life or to forgive him.  His prayers up to now were requests to deliver him from difficult circumstances.

As the conversation moved from things of the past to the possibilities of the future, Jody asked the young man to read along as they walked together through Steps to Peace with God.  The young man read aloud along with Jody as they moved through each step.  As the final step lead to the prayer, the young man read the prayer aloud and with wet eyes he acknowledged his sincerity in repentance and trust in Christ through faith.

Jody commented that no matter what had happened in the past, the young man could view today as a stake in the ground, representing a turning point in his life.  At this, the young man took a step forward, raised the stick and forcefully plunged it into the wet ground at his feet and exclaimed, “Yes, just like this!”  What a beautiful picture of a new birth and symbol of a new life with Christ, marking today as a turning point, a stake in the ground.

New Year, New Perspective

by Joshua Easters from Tampa, FL (used with permission)

One hundred excuses and reasons not to go is what I started with when originally asked if I wanted to participate in a disaster relief trip up to Panama City over the new year. With many pending projects at work, I just didn’t think the timing was right, but I decided a few days before that I really felt like I needed to go, and I am so glad that I did.

I arrived on the first of the year to a team from my church that had been there since Sunday assisting Samaritan’s Purse with recovery efforts in the area. Samaritan’s Purse has been stationed in Panama City since November and will continue to be there until at least mid-March. I was in shock after arriving at just how much damage remains. Streets are lined with piles of debris and trash, businesses throughout the area are in ruins, and buildings all around are completely flattened. The fact that this much destruction remains just hours north of us in Tampa was eye-opening and shocking.

I was quickly integrated into one of the teams upon my arrival where we spent the day removing trees from the home of a man who weathered the storm on his property. The team was able to remove the trees from his home, remove countless loads of debris from his yard, and make the property a much safer place to reside. Days 2 and 3 contained more inside work where we removed walls and ceilings from homes that had been badly damaged and treated the homes for mold where the contamination had rendered the homes uninhabitable. The renewed hope on the faces of these homeowners as they saw the work that had been completed was humbling and empowering.

Serving does something within us that is hard to articulate with words. It grants new perspective and clarity not necessarily expected when deciding to go serve. Serving helps remove focus from our own work, our own problems, our own insufficiencies. It gives a greater view of the big picture, the significance that kindness and compassion can have, and the importance of loving people well. I came back tired and sore, but also refreshed and empowered. I returned to my own work with a renewed sense of vision, and a desire to find ways we can serve better in our own business. I highly recommend going and serving. You will have an impact that will change lives, and you might be surprised at how much it changes your life as a result.

Lastly, serving alongside other people, whether you know them or not, will result in new friendships made and old friendships strengthened. I cannot say enough what an incredible organization Samaritan’s Purse is. Samaritan’s Purse is providing hope to thousands of families throughout Panama City and the world by providing disaster relief completely free of charge. Their organization operates with the utmost of integrity, and their leaders are filled with love and compassion. Our team from Fishhawk Fellowship developed great friendships with the Samaritan’s Purse team, and other volunteers that joined from across the country.

There is much work to be done in Panama City, but there is hope in the midst of ruin. Seeing that hope gave me hope for 2019, and there is no place I would have rather been to start off the new year.

It’s a Twister!

That iconic, classic movie “The Wizard of Oz” yielded more than its fair share of memorable quotes. See if you can remember who said these and why*.

“Unusual weather we’re having, ain’t it?”
“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”
“I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”
“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too! ”
“I don’t know… But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking… don’t they?”
“…there’s no place like home! ”
“It’s a twister. It’s a twister.”

Trisha recently used that last quote to describe the many challenges, opportunities, and constant changes that we face as we continue in full-time ministry. Often, life’s events and situations swirl around us, kicking up dirt and debris that make it difficult to know what direction to take or where to put our feet for the next step.

Yet, God is our shelter in the storm. He hides us in the cleft of His hand, protecting us from destruction. We might get scratched. We might lose some possessions and maybe some relationships. Nonetheless we are protected and kept toward the work that He has in store for us.

God is also the lighthouse, drawing us into safe harbor where we can get about His business and deepen our relationship with Him.

No “twisters” are surprising to God. No matter how violent or unexpected in human terms, He raises His mighty hand and says, “Peace, be still.

 

*To check your answers at IMDB.COM (click here).

America’s Got Talent?

Trisha and some of her students (Novosibirsk,, Russia (Siberian Region)
Trisha and some of her students (Novosibirsk,, Russia (Siberian Region)

That popular TV series, “America’s Got Talent”, showcases the broad range of “talent” that people of all ages and backgrounds are willing to display before a national audience.  Some are amazingly entertaining while others are just plain weird, or worse.  Some of the least talented acts are there because someone, perhaps a friend or family member, told them they were talented.  Regardless, each participant came to the conclusion embodied by the phrase, “I can do that”.

As Christians, we all too often reach the opposite conclusion.  When faced with the opportunity to exercise our God given gifts and talents, we simply say, “I can’t do that”.  The reality is that God has given us gifts to be used in His service.  To say “I can’t do that” in response to God’s prompting is not only disobedient, but it calls God a liar.

Looking back on the times when I have said to God, “I can’t do that”, I wonder how many blessings I have forgone and how many blessings I have withheld from others.  We don’t have to exercise our talents before a national audience.  But, our heavenly audience is waiting to see us act in faith and say, “I can do that”.

Things turn out best…

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.” – Art Linkletter

Mission work is full of surprises, unexpected situations and challenging obstacles.  Yet, the result is always predictable when God is glorified and the gospel is clearly and directly presented.  God has His way with both the missionary and those touched by the missionary.  Below are some lessons that must be learned and re-learned when serving the Almighty God.

-Learn to be led by the One we are serving and adapt our priorities to meet His
-Learn how to cheerfully change your plans when unexpected conditions require it
-Do not be discouraged when faced with unexpected challenges.  God has already prepared a way to overcome them in a way that will glorify Him

God said, 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. 11 From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. (Isaiah 46:10-11 NIV)

Missions is about following God’s lead and trusting Him with the result.

Git-R-Done

“Git-R-Done!!!” This popular catch phrase has become part of the American lexicon thanks to the redneck styled comedian known as Larry the Cable Guy.  It is a simple and direct way to say, “Let’s make the task at hand our priority”, “”Let’s  get to work”, “Let’s finish the job”.

Think about it.    You’ve heard the many life-changing testimonies of those who have gone before.  You’ve wanted to be part of an effective mission.  Yet, you’ve put it off for any number of reasons.  You’re not getting any younger.  Time is getting shorter.

We have more invitations for our Practically Speaking English evangelism events than we can accept.  Our limitation is simply the number of volunteers that are willing to go with us.  Pastors tell us again and again, “Please come and help us!”  It breaks our heart to say “No” or “Maybe next year.”

Please, won’t you prayerfully consider joining us in one of the next opportunities?  You can join us in one of two practical ways (in addition to praying for us).  One way is to commit to going yourself.  Second is help us financially to sponsor someone else.

Finders Keepers. Losers weepers.

This old children’s adage has amazing application to the human condition.  Those who find (receive) Christ keep their life forever.  Those who do not receive Christ are eternally lost (losers).  The Bible is clear.  John 3:18 says:

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18 NIV)

Missions is about telling people how to enter into relationship with Jesus Christ.  The cool thing about the gospel is that Jesus is looking for the “weepers” so that He can turn them into “keepers”.  What a joy it is to be part of that process.