~Happy Fourth of July 2013

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"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

- John Adams: Signer of the Declaration of Independence; One of the Two Signers of the Bill of Rights; Second President of the United States

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country  when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

- Thomas Jefferson: Signer and the Principal Author of the Declaration of Independence; Third President of the United States

"An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!...Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power...Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us...is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to b purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

- Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman

"Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine... Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other."

- James Wilson: Signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; Original Justice on the United States Supreme Court                    

"One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law... There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying at its foundations...I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society."

- Joseph Story: United States Supreme Court Justice; "Father of American Jurisprudence," Placed on the Court by President James Madison

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"

              - Psalm 33:12a

~H.O.M.E. International Orphanage - More Photos

~Construction continues on the Delissa Cox Administration Building...

~2013 Guatemala - H.O.M.E. International Orphanage

A picture depiction of the work being done at H.O.M.E. International Orphanage in Supango, Guatemala over the past week. This work was being done on the Delissa Cox Administration Building. ENJOY!

More photos coming soon...you don't want to miss seeing these pictures!

~Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas everyone! May God continue to bless and enrich your life as you serve Him!

Western District Global Missions Division

Mike Hanks, Director

John Thomas, Secretary

Jerry Powell, Promotion Director

Don Demyan, Director - Region 1

Clayton Brown, Director - Region 2

John Thomas, Director - Region 3

Morgan Underwood, Honorary

~The Tweet Before Christmas! - 2012

- by Raymond Woodward

 ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all across Twitter, Nimble digits did type, iPhone screens were a-glitter.

      The tweets they were flying with speed and delight, As each one made plans for a great winter's night.

 "I'm traveling," "I'm eating," “Winding up odds and ends,” "I just wrapped the presents,” “I'm visiting friends."

     When all of a sudden, to collective dismay, Every screen froze like ice. Twitter wouldn’t display!

One horrible moment silenced all of the chatter; I rebooted three times, then saw what was the matter.

     Away to their website I flew like a geek, Punched the URL in, then I started to shriek.

The dreaded “Fail Whale” that appeared on my laptop, Made my blood pressure soar and my heart do a flip-flop.

     I felt my pulse quicken, my complexion turned grey; If I can’t read some tweets, it will ruin Christmas Day!

I can’t live with my source of quotations in shambles, Can’t survive without jokes or those cynical rambles.

     But that’s not the worst! Now this tech-savvy pastor, Can’t find sermon thoughts – a colossal disaster!

No @TFTenney! No @JerryLDean! No @joelurshan! No @LukeLevine! No @clloydmitchell! No @jimmytoney! 

     No terryshock! No @pauldmooney!

Their tweets had all vanished and that made me nervous; In just a short while we’d start Christmas Eve service!

     I was counting on wisdom in tweets that inspire, But when Twitter goes down I profusely perspire.

And then in a twinkling it all became clear, And I felt holy boldness instead of my fear.

     With a swift revelation I knew what to do: I would simply preach Jesus, from Luke chapter two.

How He took upon flesh and was born in a stable, To redeem and invite us to mercy’s grand table.

     A burden of sin was placed on his back, The earth it did quake, and the Heavens turned black.

When at Calvary, this baby who now was a man, Cried out, “It is finished!” and sin’s gulf did span.

     Then just three days later some empty grave clothes, And a rolled-away stone made it clear - He arose!

As God’s Word became new, this confessed Apostolic, Realized with a jolt, “I’m a Twitter-aholic!”

     I can let it distract me from something far better – Spending quality time with my Savior’s Love Letter.

No more will God’s Book sit unused on a shelf, While I tweet one more quote from my ingenious self.

     Just then Twitter came up, what a beautiful sight! But my fingers held back, and the silence felt right.

For our hope’s not in websites, or Twitter, or things, But in Jesus, Emmanuel, King of all Kings.

     By the glow of my phone, like a dim winter moon, I just tweeted one time to say, “I’ll be back soon.”

Then I gathered my family and we started to leave, To be on time for church on this quiet Christmas Eve.

     But I turned my phone off, ‘ere we drove out of sight – Merry Christmas to all! I’ll skip Twitter tonight. :-)


- Courtesy of Raymond Woodward (used by permission)

~Philippines/One Year Later 2012 - Another Major Typhoon ...

1:07AM EST December 8. 2012 - NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — Search and rescue operations following a typhoon that killed nearly 600 people in the southern Philippines have been hampered in part because many residents of this ravaged farming community are too stunned to assist recovery efforts, an official said Saturday.

With nearly 600 other people missing after Typhoon Bopha struck on Tuesday, soldiers, police and volunteers from outside New Bataan have formed the bulk of the teams searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders that were swept down from steep hills surrounding the town, said municipal spokesman Marlon Esperanza.

"We are having a hard time finding guides," he told The Associated Press. "Entire families were killed and the survivors are still in shock. They appear dazed. They can't move."

He said the rocks, mud, tree trunks and other rubble that litter the town have destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood.

On Friday, bodies found jammed under fallen trees that could not be retrieved were marked with makeshift flags made of torn cloth so they can be easily spotted by properly equipped retrieval teams.

Government authorities have decided to bury unidentified bodies in a common grave after police forensic officers process them for future identification by relatives, Esperanza said.

He said heavy equipment, search dogs and chain saws had been brought in by volunteers from as far away as the capital, Manila, about 590 miles to the north.

Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental provinces, have lost their homes since Typhoon Bopha struck and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives, relying on food and emergency supplies being rushed in by government agencies and aid groups.

The typhoon plowed through the main southern island of Mindanao, crossed the central Philippines and headed to Vietnam, but it has lingered over the South China Sea for the past two days.

On Saturday, the weather bureau raised storm warnings over the western part of the main northern island of Luzon after the storm veered northeast. It said weather systems to the east and west had sandwiched Bopha, slowing it down and forcing it to make a U-turn and head toward the western part of the northern Philippines. Forecasters warned that the waters off Luzon would be "rough to very rough."

"I want to know how this tragedy happened and how to prevent a repeat," President Benigno Aquino III said during a visit Friday to New Bataan, ground zero of the disaster, with ferocious winds and rains lashing the area.

Officials say 276 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 155 in New Bataan, and 277 in Davao Oriental. About 40 people died elsewhere and nearly 600 are still missing, 411 from New Bataan alone.

Davao Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon told the AP that clean water and shelter were the biggest problem in three of the worst-hit towns in his province facing the Pacific Ocean, where the typhoon blew in from.

The economic losses began to emerge Friday after export banana growers reported that 34,600 acres of export banana plantations, equal to 18% of the total in Mindanao, were destroyed. The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying well-known brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte mainly to Japan and also to South Korea, China, New Zealand and the Middle East.

Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said losses had been conservatively estimated at $300 million, including $200 million in damaged fruits that had been ready for harvest, and the rest for the cost of rehabilitating farms, which will take about a year.

Please PRAY for those who have been affected and impacted by this 'Super Storm' (Bopha) which is one of the most powerful to have ever hit the Philippine Islands.

It has been confirmed that a UPCI pastor, Bonie Antiga and his 2 children are still missing. We received confirmation that his wife died. We have also been told that 15 other church members perished in the storm. There are 3  UPCI churches that were greatly damaged and in need of assistance. Make a CONTRIBUTION today too Compassion Services International to assist with the needs of those that have been severely affected by this storm.

~Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

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Thank you everyone for your faithfulness and support in every area of giving...working together with God we can and will accomplish the work He has given us to do.

God bless all of you today as you celebrate 'Thanksgiving' with your family and friends...may God's continued blessing be upon you and your household as you serve Him.

"In all things give thanks..." - it doesn't mean that every thing that happens in our lives is good but that no matter what happens we will continue to praise and worship God and give Him thanks for His goodness, mercy and truth. "For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endureth to all generations."

Western District Foreign Missions Department

Michael Hanks, Director

John Thomas, Secretary

Jerry Powell, Promotion Director

Don Demyan, Director - Region One

Clayton Brown - Director - Region Two

John Thomas - Director - Region Three

Morgan Underwood, Honorary Director