12.09.2010

Musicians on a Mission: Tour Update

A note from Silence O Israel while on tour (Members of GCC:  Nate Wong, Morgan Mitchel and Tyrone Bernal, and Kevin Caffee is traveling with them to help...)  For more info on their mission and what they're doing, click here...

Hey Everyone!



We are up in a Starbucks in Navado, CA hangin’ out and relaxing a little bit before we move on. Since we are sitting around, I thought, man, we haven’t talked to anyone really in a couple days.

The last couple of days have been very interesting…

Our first night was at Jerry's Pizza in Bakersfield; that night we were able to be a part of 2 miracles! The first was a healing! Our good friend E-Man, who helped us set up the show, prayed for this kid’s back, and he was healed! The second miracle was a financial miracle. We can’t really compare it to anything other than the story of Jesus paying taxes out of the mouths of fish and when the loaves of bread and fish were multiplied. We made double, almost triple, of what we "should have made.” The next day we headed up to Rocklin, CA and were totally blessed and brought in by an amazing family we met through a friend. The first night we were there, they made us a huge meal. Afterwards, they led us in a bible study that totally blessed us; it was right on!

From there, we went to Lancaster, CA to play a show at 10:00 p.m. We got to the venue at 9:30 only to be told we were too late and that we couldn't play because the venue closed at ten. But, then we were told we could play 2 songs. It was insane! Those few short seconds were incredible and we were able to make contact with a band from Phoenix, AZ and were able to love on them and minister to them a little bit individually. We know we were there for a reason and were blessed by it.

The next night we were able to play in Whittier, CA and that was an experience all on its own, haha! We got there and realized that we were going to play in a tiny dance studio and thought, "well, this will be fun :) ” Almost as soon as the time came around to get the show started up, the heavens opened and poured out more rain than I have seen in a while. We had to carry our gear over a miniature Nile river that cut us off from our trailer dividing the promise of a somewhat dry venue and us playing dry gear. We all got soaked, Eddy our vocalist tried to jump the gap and ate it on out trailer ramp and we had to dry off our gear before we plugged it in, it was fun! Once the show started, we were able to bring the presence of God into a dry and barren place and plant an uncountable amount of seeds.

Throughout this whole time, we have been constantly reminded of how much our Father loves us. His provision has been a little hard to comprehend, but the only thing we know is that the Lord loves us so much and He won’t stop showing us. Praise God!
Keep on prayin’ for us as we continue to move forward into the unknown.
Walk Victorious!
on the road


12.02.2010

Leadership Summit in Tanzania

Greetings in Jesus name,

We have all the reasons to thank God for what he has done to make The Global Leadership Summit happen in Tanzania for the first time. It was not easy job. We must admit that God was on our side. The oppositions were very high from the outside and more from within. There were many people discouraging than encouraging. There were many cursing than blessing. There were many to smash than to help.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”
-Romans 8:28

The above photos are some of leaders from different churches and organizations listening and writing teachings from the Summit.

The Summit took place on November 26 and 27 at City Christian Center Upanga D’salaam. In this summit, we had all kinds of leaders from various careers and backgrounds. We had Pastors, Bishops, managers from banks and other companies, some members of parliament, officials from human rights, World Bank, Government, business people, doctors, lawyers and many others. We had a great time getting together, learning and listening from the World-classic faculty.


During the session, there was a great time for leaders to share and exchange different experiences, and encouraging one another.  It was a good time for leaders to get to know one another and to develop new friendship. WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!!

People testified on how the conference has helped them. One of the directors from Human rights said the training has been very beneficial to her carrier. She was so moved with the quality of teachings she had received. I had an opportunity to speak with one of the great and famous respected judge from the government. He commented that he wished all the judges could be in this summit to experience what was going on for those two days. He made a commitment that the next summit he’ll fill the hall with judges and key people from his work. One bishop said it was amazing for him to sit with another bishop from a different denomination, which was considered like enemies. Now they sit together and share different experiences. A professor from one University here in Dar es salaam, said if people knew the secret of these teachings, they would have very little conflict and misunderstandings.

We had an opportunity to allow our hearts to respond to the teachings we were receiving. We prayed and committed to be better leaders so we can transform our working places as well as the whole World in general. People prayed for one another and asked God to unite us and make us one people for the glory of his kingdom.

In this training, we had leaders from different regions around the country, we also had people from Kenya, Uganda, DRC, and Nigeria who came all the way to attend.

We want to thank you very much for your prayers, and for all you have done to help make sure that this event took place.

God bless you!

In Christ ,
Mitimingi P

10.25.2010

Musicians on a Mission

Check out the latest in missions at GCC...

Bands in the mission field from Brandon West on Vimeo.

*Service Opportunity*

If you'd like to get involved with missions there is an opportunity to serve this weekend at the ROCK stuffing party.  It will be held in the GCC office building located at 2010 O Street this Saturday, October 30th, from 9:00am - 1:30pm.  We will be stuffing and sending out newsletters and calenders for ROCK ministries.  Please contact Rob Allison at the church office if you have any questions- 323-4162.  Hope to see you there!!

10.12.2010

Africa: A story from the mission field

Greetings in Jesus name.

We thank God we are doing well.  My wife and the kids are all doing fine. We thank God for that.

“Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill-country: and see the land, what it is; and the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds; and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. Be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land… So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.”

Numbers 13:17 -21

We did this same thing in villages that the Lord led us to go spy on the activities Satan is doing there. We prayed before we decided to go because in these villages there is a stronghold of Satan.

• The first mosque to be built in our country was in this village.

• The first Quran to arrive in Africa from Arab came in this village.

• That Quran was the third copy from the original Quran which Muhammad had.

• It was brought here in this village while Mohammad was still alive.

For many years since then, Christianity has been a challenge to bring to this village. Many pastors and missionaries have been trying to take the gospel in this place, but most of them have been stoned and killed before even they share the gospel. The people in the village have given human scarifies and vowed that Christianity will never enter their land, and they are very committed to make sure their vows stands firm.

We decided to listen and obey the voice of God to risk our lives and go in those places, which we clearly knew were a dangerous field for us to go.

Traveling to get into that place is a challenge, roads are very bad and in some places, we could not even take a car with us. We had to ride a bicycle for a long distance before we got in the place. The whole team had to change their names from our normal names like Peter to Ramadhan, Samson to Abdullah, etc, for us to be accepted in that village. We had to introduce ourselves with those Muslim names. We did not identify ourselves as preachers. Sometimes we had to introduce ourselves as the scientific researchers etc. to get through many barriers. We hired a small car, which was not strong enough to handle the kind of roads we were using.


When we arrived in that village as spies who wanted to learn all the strongholds of Satan, we wanted to see how we would attack his camp and bring destructions in the kingdom of Satan. We were able to penetrate in that village, and at first, we were warmly welcomed as researchers. As we were preparing to go for supper, the elders of the village came to us and said, each one of us will be given a girl to sleep with her for that night, because that is a custom of a village for any new comer who visits the village for the first time. They said, it is also a symbol of showing hospitality to the visitors and by doing that, they will be pleasing the ancestors. We said NO THANK YOU! But they insisted. They said, there is no way we can sleep in that village for the first time without sleeping with their girls. One old man said “don’t worry it is free, you don’t have to pay anything to have our girls”. Then we knew we were in the trap of Satan. We started praying silently and seriously.



The Lord gave wisdom to one of us. He told the elders, ok no problem, let us get some time to rest then, you will bring them later when it is dark. They elders were very happy because we accepted and they went. We left the place that night before they came, we drove to the next village to escape them and the temptation which was facing us. The next morning we came back to continue with our survey, but when the people in the village saw us, they were chased us with stones. We ran and left the village and we went to another village. We really need prayer to go back to this chronic village.



We went to other villages which have a little bit of Light. The above are churches from three different villages we surveyed. Among the 16 villages we surveyed, there is only 5 churches with less than 30 church members in total. The all district has 700,000 people. There is no ratio at all.

We have arrived this evening (our time) it is our prayer and desire to go back and put a prayer camp in those villages to cast all the power of Satan and with the villages for Christ.

“Then he said to them, "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest.”

Luke 10:2
Prayer needs:

1. Please Pray that God hear our cries and provide a car for us so as we will serve him more effectively.

2. Pray for our Training and prayer camp for our pastors who are serving God in rural areas. The training will cost $70 per person, which will be for Accommodation, meals, and transport for the pastors from the villages who will come to attend this training. Most of our pastors are from rural areas. They cannot afford to cover all $70 to attend this important training. We have asked each member to try to cover $20. We need to raise $50 for each person who will attend the training.


*If you would like to support this pastor’s camp or our Ministries, you may write a check payable to:

GCC (Garden Community Church)

 and mail it to:

GCC
2010 "0" Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301

*** Be sure to put a note that it is "for VHM Tanzania " in the memo section of checks.

God bless you!

In Christ,
Peter Mitimingi
VHM Executive Director.



Touching People’s lives!!!!


9.15.2010

Get involved in missions...

There are a lot of opportunities for you to get involved in GCC missions, and some don't even require leaving the country...

Romania Missions~
Come and join us for a 'stuffing party' for ROCK ministries (Romania Outreach to Christ's Kids) at the Gate on Saturday, September 18th from 9:30am to 2:30pm!  We will be preparing newsletter to mail out.  Lunch will be provided and the fellowship will be sweet, so come on out and get involved!!  Call Pastor Rob for more info- 323-4162 ex. 25.


Dennis, one of ROCK's kids!
Mexico Missions~
GCC is heading to Mexico from December 26th to the 31st.  For information contact Pastor Rob at the number above.


Skate ministry in Mexico 2008

If you have any questions or ideas for blog posts leave a comment!

Blessings...

8.23.2010

Mexico Needs

Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The following is a list of needs we have in Mexico currently. If you have any of the items that you care to share with us in Mexico please contact us.

A tax credit is available for full value of any of your donated items.

Spanish Bibles NIV


8 inside doors and frames


5 outside doors and frames


Rolls of electrical romax #12 & 14


Electrical boxes, plugs and switches (many)


Three electrical panels for the inside


8 windows 3x4 or close to that size


180 ft. # 4 electrical wire


900 ft. # 8 electrical wire


900 ft. # 10 electrical wire


3 30 amp electrical boxes for RV hook ups


500 Metal studs


180 Sheets of 7/16 obs (ply wood)


Door hardware for 13 doors


150 sheets of sheet rock


60 folding or stack chairs


10 folding tables


Two wheel chairs


Dry shelf life food items


Coats


150 ft. gray 1 ½” plastic electrical conduit


5 90% 1 ½” conduit sweeps


1 large cement mixer gas or electric driven


1 10 ft. step latter


1 20 ft extension latter


All types of hand tools and construction tools


1 glide rocking chair


1 reclining chair

Your Missionaries in Mexico,
Luther, Lolita and Mali

8.12.2010

Romania is Sinking... But God is Rising!

The following is an article written by ROCK Director, Mihaela (Miki) Iordache, and can be found in ROCK's latest monthly newsletter here.

By Mihaela (Miki) Iordache, ROCK Director, Bucharest, Romania

On January 1, 2010, Romania's population was 21.5 million people and descending, partly because most adults think that there is no future for them or their children and so why have children? ...and partly because the ones who do bring children to life, don't have the means to raise them or give them the minimum and they end up being sick, or even die! What's bad, is that from the adult population only 5.8 million are tax payers and half of them are employed by state-run institutions with salaries paid by the budget. With less than 3 million people contributing to the economy of the country, Romania paid by the budget. With less than 3 million people contributing to the economy of the country, Romania is sinking fast, in debt and despair! If you only consider that a medium wage is somewhere around $450/month, and gas is $6/gallon which makes all other living expenses so high that most people barely make it from paycheck to paycheck just paying bills and eating less and less, you may get an image of how life in Romania is. Quality of life is on a free fall starting with June 1, 2010 when all retired people will receive 15% less money and all state employees will receive a check with 25% less than May. Child support will suffer a 15% cut as well, as if it wasn't enough that a parent will receive less with the monthly paycheck, the state decided to take away a percentage of the money a child receives. The next "solution" to get Romania out of the crisis, will be a VAT (state tax) of 24%, VAT being now 19%. The rate of mortality is three times bigger than the rate of birth... we will end up disappearing as a nation if we continue in this way.

All of this is just a signal that we will see more and more children left in hospitals, abandoned by their desperate, depressed, hopeless parents. We will see more and more people committing suicide because of their inability to cope with the sudden changes!

This is where ROCK comes in as an instrument, a God-sent utensil, to soothe the pain and give a little hope to the ones in distress, and to bring a smile to the faces of these miracles God is giving us; babies and children, human beings whose only fault is to have been born in times like this, and in a country like this! So yes, Romania is sinking, but God is rising above all inequities, all circumstances, poverty, despair, or death! He is the answer to our crisis, and His love is more obvious and more real in times like this!

ROCK manages to offer God's love, and share Jesus as the only Savior and hope to families in distress, foster children and their foster parents, and most of all, abandoned children left in the children's hospital, Victor Gomoiu Hospital. The perseverance and devotion our employees have shown to the secular world makes Jesus more real, and makes Him the only refuge and the only light in the lives of the less fortunate. (Making an invisible God, visible!) On behalf of Romanian babies and children who are part of ROCK ministries, I personally want to thank you for your dedication, for answering God's calling and for being sensitive to the needs of the ones who will be able one day to thank you in person, maybe from the position of the person in charge of the well being of Romanian abandoned children! All is possible with the Lord! And yes, you are all part of this, through prayer, physical presence, or financial help! Be blessed and bathed in His riches!

“For the mountains may be taken away, and the hills
be moved out of their places, but My love will not be
taken from you, or My agreement of peace broken,
says the Lord, who has had mercy on you.”
~ Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)