THE Thompson Family

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” –Ephesians 3:14-19

To my dear friends,

God bless you! How are you doing today? I am doing great! I haven’t written in a while, and much has happened! Not “much” as in “there have been wars fought, natural disasters, and numerous events of importance.” No, this time I mean “much” as in “God has been teaching me so many things, and has been taking me on adventures I never dreamed of going on!”

One such adventure has been the adventure of Waiting- of my prolonged mission to Thailand. Though I am ever ready to be on the eve of departure, God has been teaching me about waiting on Him and resting in Him. His timing is more perfect.

Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

And that is exactly it. God sets us up for growth, not failure. This season of preparation, like all other such seasons in my life, has been wonderful. Not the kind of wonderful that has me bubbling with joy and emotionally high all the time. More like the kind of wonderful where I am totally confident that God is teaching me. Like a Father with His child He is training me up in the way I should go, disciplining, chastening, teaching, guiding, instructing, and Loving. And that fact, that glorious perspective that God is getting me ready to be used for His glory in awesome ways and will not let me go forward unprepared and thus into failure, that fact is wonderful.

The other big unexpected adventure for me has been learning to set tile under a young man named Peter. Always ready to learn a trade and be helpful I have offered my help to this good friend of mine whenever he needs it. The result has been far beyond just “learning a trade”. We have formed a deep friendship, a relationship cultivated by mutual love for God and His Word, and passion to see His Kingdom come and souls reconciled to Him. I cannot express the blessing it has been to share, pray, and work with this passionate young man of God! Life really is all about relationships. In this time while I am still in Canada I have been going so much deeper in relationships within my family, church, and youth groups. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. God is So Good!

Now there are lots of other adventures that are not spoken of here, but you may read of them in the “Gems of Growth” Document that is attached. Also, please be certain to check out the New Website I have created and send me any feedback you have.
Thank you to all of you who have committed to pray for me on a regular basis. I really appreciate it and more than that, God hears!

Be blessed!
Matthew- hidden with Christ in God

Dear Friends,

God is my strength and my song.

We want to thank all of those who were praying for Carl’s trip to the Dominican Republic. It was a very quick trip but God filled it with many blessings and prospered it. He was able to visit with and encourage the churches and project leaders in the various areas where we have worked over the years.

In Jarabacoa he met with the Planting For Harvest team to update them and work through some of the final transition issues. It was very good to do this with the presence of national leaders so that things will continue with strong oversight into the future. It is great to see the various ministries continuing to grow and prosper. Carl was blessed to be able to see people who we had worked with long ago bringing teams and continuing to minister there.

In Elias Pina, Carl met with church leaders and then ministered to the congregations each night he was there. The Reboso church has remained strong and is continuing to disciple its young new believers to consistently take on new roles in leadership to keep the church strong as others leave the rural areas to continue their education or seek employment in the cities. This is a constant challenge and they are rising to meet it. While there he had a chance to show our farm to a new couple who are ministering in the area as a possible site for future expansion of their ministry. Despite the fact that in the middle of the showing a freak tornado hit the house and tore away a large piece of the porch roof and left it about 300 meters away (still intact), they were excited by the possibilities the farm offers. Please pray that we are all led by the Lord in our decisions regarding this Kingdom resource. (The repairs to the roof are being done.)

In Juan Dolio, Carl met with staff of the new YWAM base being established there. The base is working on long term housing for impoverished families in the area through “Homes of Hope”. He was able to encourage the leadership and share principles of community development that will encourage transformation of the lives of all involved in these projects. It was a key time for some who were becoming overwhelmed by the constant pressures in this type of ministry.

Carl was also able to share with many individuals and schools on the new ESL (English for Speakers of other Languages) program be offered through International Christian Online School (ICOS) which is a ministry of Kelowna Christian Center. It was well received and we hope to see this program benefit many in the future. www.icos.ca . If you wish to sign up, please include our affiliate #8021.

In Africa, the YWAM Agro-nutrition Trainers School (OATS) where Carl taught in April in Kitale, Kenya in cooperation with Organics for Orphans, has completed the lecture phase. They are currently in outreach phase where the students are putting into practice the techniques learned in the school to benefit communities in the area. They are working with several children homes to set up bio-intensive gardens to guarantee long-term sustainable nutrition for the children. They have also worked with communities where there are large percentages of HIV victims to bring real hope for more normal lives through proper nutrition to combat the symptoms of this debilitating disease.

Back in Kelowna we continue to help Kathy’s folks and minister through our local church. Carl and a great new friend, Pat Guerra, have started an evangelism and discipleship group for men which shows great potential for some radical ministry in the community. Please keep this in prayer as we seek the Lord for all He wants to do in and through this group.

Matt has been blessed with work with a friend doing tiling. He is enjoying great Christian fellowship while learning a valuable skill. He is still working on his support raising for his soon departure for Thailand.  

Amy Is currently volunteering at Gardom Lake Bible Camp for three weeks. She is working as support staff (kitchen, dishwashing, etc.). She ended her school year well making B honor roll. She wishes to find employment for the other weeks of her summer.  Please pray for her in this and her plans for the year to come.

May God continue to bless you all as you pray and encourage us. We are so grateful for all of you.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy and family

PS: As we continue to stay here in Canada, as seems necessary right now, please pray that we get guidance as to our work here and our finances. Much of our support has dropped off and Carl is seeking employment. We are trusting God for exactly what and where this should be. We thank you for joining with us in prayer.

Final day in Tanzania was great! The class time was cut short by my departure time but went really well. God gave me just the right stories and scriptures to share. It sealed our time together. Jenny was planning to follow up with the Hope for Africa presentation that I left with her. The pastor from Mozambique told me that he had come to TZ to go to the seminary but had instead come to the DTS. He said that he never would have received this kind of teaching in the seminary. He said that he would like to just come and be with me for about two years to glean all he could. His wife was weeping as she thanked me for what I shared. She said it had such an impact on her and her husband that nothing was going to be the same. She hugged me so tight.
Here in Kitale, Kenya the first week of the OATS school (Organic Agricultural Training School) has gone well. Although the numbers of students is still not full we are seeing more coming as we go on. We have three new students joining on Monday. We still have one staff member to arrive who is awaiting his passport from Zimbabwe. Since the government is almost totally non functional there, it is a great issue for prayer. (This passport has now arrived!)

We are really pleased with the students we have. They are very open and are asking very good questions so we know they are really getting challenged. We see real understanding in them as well so it gives us real hope for the outcomes of the school. We have just begun Biblical Worldview teaching and already one student has come and said how what he has heard has changed the way he thinks and encourages him in his views of the value of church. He had been quite critical of what he had seen and now feels he understands and wants to give the whole thing another try.

God continues to show himself faithful in providing for the students as well. We have had several testimonies this first week about His miraculous provision. Praise Him.
I am excited to be able to participate in seeing communities transformed as these students return to share Biblical truth that can allow families to experience God's abundance.

Carl will be returning to North America on May 2nd to join the rest of the family in Detroit, Michigan for son Chris's wedding!

Carl Thompson

Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. -1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Dear Friends,

On Sunday the 15th of May 2011 I will arrive in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Thank you to each of you who have supported me financially for this trip, and for those who have committed to pray for me. But thanks be to God most of all, for it is truly He who provides. All these good things proceed out of His hand!

I can’t express my excitement for this upcoming journey of discovery and ministry in Thailand. I have made a three year commitment to be on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Chiang Rai, and I’m just stoked about the whole thing! I plan to spend the first 7 months of this time working with the Discipleship Training School (DTS) that they will be running there. This is the school I participated in as a student when I was in Thailand for 6 months last year. I look forward to connecting with the ministries, churches, and people that were such an important part of my life during that time.

• Please pray for my language studies during these months as I press on towards fluency in speaking, reading, and writing the Thai language.
• I wrote an email to the DTS director today in which I responded to her question of how much monthly financial support I currently have pledged with the simple response: “None”. Please pray that we would see real breakthrough in this area. I know God will provide!
  

Why Thailand?
Last July, near the end of my time in Thailand, God spoke to me saying “I am calling you to Thailand.” Since then He has shown me different ways to move towards that: in prayer, in language study, and in working at a Thai Restaurant. Now you understand my excitement for this step. My calling is being realized!

What is my calling?
In short, I believe God has called me to the area of discipleship. I passionately desire to see people understand their callings in the light of their God-given passions, gifts, and talents. I am eager to see people realizing the fullness of their purpose in God, and then helping others do the same. I don’t want my influence to be limited by me, I want to see multiplication. And working with YWAM in Thailand is an excellent place in which to realize this discipleship!

My last weeks in Kelowna were a true blessing. I was able to connect with and spend time with so many wonderful people and just could not get out of my head the words “It’s all about relationship.” Thank you, for being a part of my life. I cherish our relationship.

Love,
Matthew Thompson – servant and son of his Heavenly Father

Matthewt.dr@gmail.com – Matt2Thailand.blogspot.com

Isa 61:11  For as the earth puts out buds, and as the garden gives growth to the seeds which are planted in it, so the Lord will make righteousness and praise to be flowering before all the nations.

As the Spring buds push forth and the ground brings forth crocuses and daffodils in front of our house, the Lord is bringing forth His praise.

We have been rejoicing this month as we have been very much involved in the Kelowna Christian Center (KCC) Month of Missions. This year’s theme has been “the missional church”. We have encouraged the entire congregation to be involved in missions whether to their neighbors, fellow workers, the homeless, the elderly – wherever Christ has placed them. We have seen people touched and miracles occur as people have reached out. Our family especially had a wonderful time ministering to the homeless and drug addicts of our city. Bryan did a film to help promote mentoring ministry with them and it won an award. We thank God for the opportunities He opens for us.

We were challenged yesterday with the fact that in the US military, there are seven workers behind each front line combat soldier keeping the supply lines open so that they can be ready for whatever comes their way and be able to maximize their work. As those who are often on the front lines we want to thank all of you who are part of our supply line.

Whether serving with us short-term, praying for us, procuring things that we need, or supplying the finances to keep our work going, our work simply couldn’t be done without you.

In our last letter (too long ago, forgive us), Kathy was on her way to Kenya to carry over supplies, provide support for our field workers there, and to teach at a women’s conference. It was a dusty, dirty time with many cultural challenges, but overall she had a great experience and her efforts were buoyed up by God to have a powerful impact. Thank you all for your prayers for her.

Carl has tried to follow orders to rest and has felt the difference, and though maybe not fully ready, he is leaving for Africa on April 2. He will be teaching in two Discipleship Training Schools in Tanzania and then returning to Kitale, Kenya to begin an Organic Agriculture Training School (OATS) sponsored by YWAM and Organics 4 Orphans. This will be a three month school with emphasis on the Biblical basis for: farming and development, nutrition, natural medicine and environmental stewardship. Please pray for him and the students that the Lord will open their heart and mind to all God wants to share with them.

Carl will also be working with KCC’s field coordinators in the Kitale area, working with orphans and displaced people. He is pleased to be able to offer the assistance of the OATS students and staff for furthering the work with these people by doing on-site training to help them become more self-sustaining. We ask your prayers for these efforts as well. We have faced many roadblocks but are now seeing God’s hand open the doors for a great future.

All of this comes just ahead of our son Chris’s wedding in Michigan on May 7. Carl will return just in time to join the family there before returning to Kelowna.

We ask for your prayers for our future ministry as well. Kathy’s folks are getting along well but we are still working through what the future holds for them and our part in it. It has been a pleasure to serve them these past months. We do have invitations to teach and train in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Thailand, and back in Africa in the coming months. We need discernment as to which of these opportunities He wants us to take and the timing of each. Pray that God will open and shut the doors as He wills.

Again, we thank you so much for working on the supply line of our ministry. May He give back to you in abundance for all you have done.

Many blessings,
Carl and Kathy Thompson

It has been one year since the earthquake in Haiti that altered the lives of so many including us. Although the roadblocks of bureaucracy and corruption have made it very difficult to get anything really meaningful accomplished in many areas, we are happy to report that through a great cooperative effort, the Delmas 6 camp where we worked still remains cholera free. Land and new temporary shelters from Samaritans Purse have been given to move them into a much better situation. Please continue to pray that God will open the doors for permanent housing to begin.

So what are we doing right now? We are in Canada. It is a time of sharpening the axe – taking the time to make ourselves ready for the work to which God is calling us. Carl has been working hard to rest. That sounds a bit strange but it is very hard for him to not be in the middle of things so it is an effort to take the time to rest that is required at this point. We were not aware of how exhausted we were and how much post traumatic stress had taken its toll. He is doing much better and would love to be back in the middle of things. He will wait though as Kathy goes to Kenya this week with a group from KCC. She will be working with Larry and Francine and teach in a women’s conference. Please pray for her. This is definitely a walk of faith for her.

Bryan is studying and considering pioneering a new school with YWAM. More on that in the future. Matt has been blessed with work at a local Thai restaurant where he can continue working on proficiency with the language while serving. Amy is busy with school at HCS, doing worship in chapel, and practicing for the Spring drama presentation of The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. She has two parts.

It has been wonderful to reconnect with the church here in Kelowna. This week's unified week of prayer has been fantastic and we are sure will change the city.

We thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. Your continued financial help during this time has also been a blessing. We really appreciate your sacrifice on our behalf.

Many blessings,
Carl, Kathy, Bryan Matthew, Amy

 

No cholera. That’s the report from the tent camp of around 1000 people where we spent days going tent to tent teaching on cholera prevention. In Port au Prince that is racked with a severe cholera epidemic this is a great credit to the diligence of those of the camp to learn and carry out the preventative measures. Pray that they will continue and that 
things can be worked out for them to move to new locations soon that will be a more permanent solution to their long term needs.

The people of Haiti have shown great restraint and hope during their election process. It was only when it became very obvious that the current government wasn’t going to release control to the will of the people that the anger welled into street violence. There is relative calm again as they await a forced recount. Please pray that this time truth will prevail.

It has been an emotional and difficult time as Carl worked to transition out of our location in Elias Pina in the Dominican Republic and pull back more from our work in Port au Prince to allow nationals to take up the work and move forward. We are so pleased with our little church in Reboso that is thriving and maturing as they grow in faith. We are so proud of them and trust God that He will lead them on.

Our house is now empty and on the market. Please pray that it will soon be occupied by others with a vision to move the community forward. There is still much potential beyond where we have laid foundations.

Our family is currently reuniting in Kelowna, BC where we will all be gathered for Christmas. Carl returned last week after attending a fantastic tropical agricultural conference at Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization in Florida. He learned much and was able to meet many from around the world who share the passion to see the poor of the world released in God’s potential for them. Bryan returned from Belize a few days later after a stop in Michigan to recover some of his possessions. Chris and his fiancé, Lisa, will arrive next week. What a joy to be all together to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

So what’s next? That will have to be the subject of a future letter. For now, Carl has been instructed to rest. He is exhausted after so many months of travel, trauma and work, even though he has seen so much progress and the work of God in it all. This is not easy for him so please pray that the needed rest time will do its work and during this time God will make plain the future.

We thank you all for making this time so profitable through your prayers, encouraging words and financial support. Together we can do much.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy, Bryan, Matthew and Amy

Please note new contact info below.

Mailing Address:
#2-220 Prior Rd S
Kelowna, BC, Canada V1X 2Y4

Telephone: 250-491-0269

 

Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good! It is good to praise His Holy Name!

What an awesome God we serve!

It is Canadian Thanksgiving day and it is good to give thanks. It has been a wonderful month for our family. I don’t know how it could get much better.

Carl spent the last three weeks in Africa. His week in Kenya was filled with wonderful times of seeing God minister to friends old and new through him. He had a wonderful time with Larry and Francine Carruthers as they began to settle in for their ten month stint in Kitale. God brought clarity in so many areas while there.

His time in Tanzania, teaching in a Foundations of Community Development School in Morogoro and a Discipleship Training School was a time of revelation and reflection on Jesus’ call to be disciples by loving one another and obeying His commands. It brought a new and deeper fear of the Lord. It also renewed his call to make disciples and disciple nations.

Kathy is loving getting reconnected with the body of Christ at Kelowna Christian Center. She is sitting in on courses in the Global Ministry Training Center, volunteering in the office at Heritage Christian School, participating in Life groups, exercising regularly at Curves, and enjoying seeing her parents thriving under her care.

Amy is enjoying being in Heritage Christian School though struggling a bit with the newness of regular schedules and unexpected quizzes and tests. She is working very part-time at Wendy’s, reconnecting with friends and making many new ones, biking and enjoying the first colored Autumn of her life. It is a joy to see her growing so much.

Matt returned to the Dominican Republic last Friday to take a Conference Management Seminar in preparation for the 50th anniversary celebration for YWAM Caribbean next month. He had a great time working with a good friend here in Kelowna over the past month and attending youth groups at several different churches to connect with all of his friends and participating in a men’s Life group. He is excited to be back with friends in the DR and looking forward to what God is calling him to next.

Bryan continues His work with YWAM Belize and will be joining us for the celebration conference in November in the DR. He is enjoying working with his skills in sustainable agriculture and is happy for the opportunity to speak into the lives of the DTS students. His commitment in Belize is up December 9. Please pray as he seeks his next step.

Chris is working hard at his job in Michigan. He has several businesses on the side mostly involving buying and selling tools and car parts. He is also leading a small group focusing on relationships. Preparations for a wedding in May are also very much on his mind. We look forward to having him visit at Christmas with his fiancé, Lisa.

 We want to thank all of you so much for standing with us in these times. Your prayers have been very effective. Please continue as we seek God for each step.

Carl returns to the Dominican Republic and Haiti this coming weekend. He will be teaching in the Discipleship Training School there and continuing the exit strategy from our work in Elias Pina. He will also be continuing his support and consulting work for the relief work in Haiti. Please pray for wisdom in all of these areas. Amy and Kathy will also be joining him for the conference in November.

We thank God for each one of you. May He be blessing you richly.

Carl, Kathy, Matt and Amy

Dear Friends,

I really need to get you all up to date on what is happening with our family and ministry. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride the last couple of months.

In our last letter we mentioned that we hoped for the beginning of building on our first communities in Haiti. We thought things were in place and we could begin right away only to find out that the government was going to take between two and six months to get the titles for the land transferred so that we can actually get small plots of land to the people with each home that is built. This delay was disappointing but it came at a good time for us as a family.

As you may know, Kathy’s dad had two strokes in June so she had to return to Canada to take care of him and her mother. We are happy to say that both are doing well but the strokes did leave him with much less mobility. It was during this time that God clearly reminded me of His word to “honor your father and mother”. I feel that much of that is a call to make their latter days the best they can be. With the delay in building, Amy and I also took the opportunity to return to Canada to help.

Before leaving the Dominican Republic we downsized our belongings substantially and also put our farm up for sale. Although we don’t have clear direction for what the long-term future holds, we feel that our work in that area of the DR is winding down and it is time we left it to grow on its own.

So what does the immediate future hold? We are currently in Kelowna, British Columbia taking care of the folks and plugging in as best we can to the ministries and church that we have long been connected with here. Matt returned from Thailand two weeks ago and is working for a stucco and painting contractor earning money for his next steps. Amy starts work part-time tomorrow at Wendy’s and is already into her homeschooling. Carl has a busy schedule ahead. That we will detail in the prayer requests.

We had a great family time together just after Matt arrived by doing a road trip down through Washington and Montana. It was a great time of reconnecting with family and friends and reliving some of our early years as we shared with our children our early life stories as we passed through areas where we grew up. A highlight was a reunion of West Yellowstone High School students where Carl taught for three years in the early ‘70s. It was a wonderful time and held many memories. It is so important to value the relationships we make through life. We so value our relationships with each of you.

Please pray for us in this time as God prepares us for what He has in store ahead and as we continue to minister on His behalf wherever we find ourselves.

Please pray for God to use us fully while here in Kelowna.
Please pray for us as we travel to minister over the next several months.

The schedule follows:

• Sept 10- 19  Carl in Kitale, Kenya teaching on leadership and training in organic agriculture for sustainable food supplies for orphans.
• Sept 20-Oct 1 Carl in Morogoro, Tanzania teaching in Foundations of Community Development School and Discipleship Training School.
• Oct 9-Nov 13  Matthew in Dominican Republic in Conference Management Seminar training
• Oct 16-22 Carl teaching in Discipleship Training School in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic
• Oct 24-Nov 6 Carl in Elias Pina, D.R. and Haiti
• Nov 7-13 Carl, Kathy, Bryan, Matt and Amy in Puerto Plata, D. R. for the YWAM Caribbean Conference
• Nov 14-Dec 6 Carl and Bryan in Elias Pina and Haiti leading preparatory outreach teams
• Dec 7-9 Carl and Bryan participate in Educational Concerns For Hunger Organization Agricultural Conference, Ft Meyers, FL

As you can see we have a busy time ahead. Please be praying for travel mercies and that God’s hand will be present with us in all of our ministry.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy, Matt and Amy

“We need to get started so we will donate one house.” This was the response of the manager of the company producing the material for the houses we are working to use to house the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. He was excited to hear that we had secured the land for over one hundred homes just on the edge of Port au Prince. This opens the door. We hope to be able to start construction in about two weeks.  These are permanent homes that are earthquake, hurricane and fire resistant. They are also insulated against the tropical heat and the reception of the Haitian people to the simple design is excellent. Much site preparation must be done to be ready for not just the first three homes but to continue building throughout the piece of land. Schools and church and market buildings will also be constructed. Please continue to pray. The doors are opening!

Kathy’s dad had two strokes in recent weeks. He is home and walking and gaining strength but Kathy has had to return to Canada to help her mother and watch over the both of them for a period of time. We would appreciate your prayers for her, her family and for Amy and I as we carry on here over the next six weeks. Amy has really done a great job of taking charge of the home front.

Amy and I return to Haiti today to complete electrical and plumbing work on a church that has generously donated the use of their facility to house teams for the next few months for YWAM Port au Prince. We were able to get a lot of work done with a great group of helpers on our last trip. The first teams arrive in a week so please pray that we can get this done between meetings this week.

Last visit I had the privilege to share with the staff and volunteers. They were greatly encouraged through the time. Realize that most are and have been living in tents for months just like the people they are helping. They face the same situations when the rains pour down. Please keep them in prayer and pray for release of the finances that are needed to get some permanent housing for them as well.

We are delighted to report that the church here is really stepping up as we see the young people really taking ownership. They are working to complete the new kitchen/classroom addition to the church building and have planted trees and flowers around the building and are fencing the property. Now that school is out, there are a number of them there on a daily basis working. They are also spending several days a week visiting people in the community and helping those in need. We are so proud of them.

We really wish to thank all of you for your prayers and financial provision over these last months. It is a constant battle to keep vehicles on the road for work in Haiti and balance that with the work here. We had to spend over a thousand dollars to repair the undercarriage of the van recently. The Haitian roads beat them to pieces. The work is not complete but we hope to be able to finish it as finances allow.

Thanks again for standing with us. Please know that you are essential to seeing this work go forth. May God bless you.
Carl

Dear Friends,
We want to thank God for His wonderful grace over us as we have worked these last few weeks to get started on the building of houses and communities for those who have suffered so much in Haiti. We have seen some breakthroughs and we are very close to beginning the first construction. There have been some things that I can only consider miracles. I want to share some of these with you.
Even with all of the destruction of government buildings and records and with so little actual leadership by the government, the paperwork to legalize Youth With A Mission Port au Prince has happened in an amazingly short time. With the first stage complete and the second almost done, YWAM has been recognized for its progressive thinking and its tireless efforts at relief by being given property by the mayor of a district of Port au Price on which to construct the first community. The first parcel is fourteen acres, of which ten will be for houses and the other part for YWAM to build their base. There is promise of adjoining land as the first phase is completed. There may be another eighteen acres in the next parcel and more to follow. We are extremely excited. As we went to walk the land and pray over it, the people from the neighboring community came out and joined in the praise and worship. They seemed as excited as we, about what was to come. Please continue to pray for the final paperwork to be in place so that in our next time there we can actually begin construction.
We are now working on paperwork for the housing trust that will be overseeing the financing of the homes. It is our desire to see true ownership take place of not only the homes but the community as a whole. The housing trust will make low cost loans available for those who desire homes that will allow many people the opportunity of actual ownership for the first time in their lives. Please pray for guidance as we seek those who will oversee this housing trust and for the paperwork to put it in place.
We went to see the 150 acre property in Jacmel that has been designated for community construction as well. It is a beautiful area and with proper planning could be a model for future communities. While there Carl met with a committee from the area and was extremely pleased with their desire to see real change come. They are ready to embrace a new future. The first thing they desire is the expanded reconstruction of the preschool that operates there. This is a sign of future thinking. Please pray for the group that is heading up this project. The layout of this community will be more involved as the area is quite hilly. This, to me, is a great opportunity to show what can be done.
We want to express our thanks to God for the teams and individuals, who over the last months have sacrificed so much to come and work long days in very poor conditions, to see relief come to the Haitian people. We have had the privilege to work alongside many of these and it has been a real blessing, We also praise God for those who have given so much to cover the costs of these relief efforts. Many receiving this letter have been among those and we personally thank you. Please pray that this sacrifice and giving does not stop now that Haiti is little in the news.
To answer some things from previous news, the youth that robbed our house were freed on technicalities. It was a great disappointment to the police and prosecutors since they had been trying to catch these youth for some time because it was well known that they were involved in multiple crimes and drugs. We just trust that God knows what is happening and will bring a change in them. Very little of what was stolen was recovered. Most had already been sold to support drug habits.
Carl is off to Mexico this week to teach in the Foundations of Community Development School in Guadalajara. Please pray for safe travel and for God to move in the hearts of the students as they learn ways of true development. Pray also for Kathy and Amy as they keep up the ministry in the DR while he is away.
Thank you again for your prayers and support for us as a family and for the Haitian and Dominican people to whom we minister.
Blessings,

 

Dear Friends,

I returned from Haiti yesterday morning after an extremely encouraging week. Your prayers are prevailing.

While in Gonaives, I received word that one of the organizations we had talked to about the housing projects had succeeded in obtaining 150 acres of land outside Jacmel to construct 1500 homes. What wonderful news. We are moving ahead immediately with plans. We hope to do a pilot project beginning the 19th of this month. Please pray for all of the logistics that are involved. Pray especially for an open border to bring in the materials. This has been promised but we need to see it happen.

The next morning as I was waiting to meet with the Gonaives mayor about a land donation there, I got a call saying that the mayor of Port au Prince has given 14 acres to YWAM PAP to construct a base and an additional 18 acres to do the first housing project there. This should facilitate about 180 homes.

I'm sorry to say that our meeting with the mayor in Gonaives was postponed. We met with the administrator there but his first question may give you the tone of our time. "What will the government get out of this?" We walked out a few minutes later. I hope our eventual meeting with the mayor is more fruitful.

We also toured a project being done by a group from Ireland. They are building 20'x20' duplexes at a cost of $5600 each (two apartments). They are ok but not what we want to see the Haitians move into. Our homes ($4000 each) are three bedrooms (20'x24'). We hope to be able to give them real hope for their future. Our communities will also include schools, clinics, churches, sports facilities and parks. Please pray for quick response for seeing these begin.

Please pray also for the sale of our home here so we can be more onsite in Haiti. The travel time and finding someone to take care of our home each time we travel is too much. We have someone coming on Monday who is interested in making our property into a fish farm. It would be excellent for this.Please pray for this to happen.

Thanks so much for all your prayers. They are working. Thanks also for the financial support which has been such a blessing during this time. The Haitian people are being blessed through your generation.

Blessings,
Carl

Dear Friends,

As I sat on the porch swing of Oceanview house at Stone's Hope in Jamaica doing my devotions, I looked across a very familiar scene. We had spent several years here in the 80's and much looked the same except for the roofs that are still not repaired after the wrath of hurricane Ivan. It was a good reunion with some of the staff that were there when we were directing the work in Jamaica. We spent a week here while I taught in the Crossroads Discipleship Training School and Kathy encouraged staff, students and families. We also had a great chance to renew friendships with many who we had known during our time there.

We then traveled to Orlando, FL to meet with YWAM leadership there to talk about their plans both for the future of their ministry there but also their desire to plant a work in the Dominican Republic. Yes, there is still plenty of room for more to be done in this country.

I must admit that though it was a good and restful time for us, I was constantly thinking and talking about Haiti. I even met with members of a Jamaican company who are beginning work in Haiti as well, with the possibility of linking on some projects.

We are hoping to be back to Haiti next week following court tomorrow to deal with the robbery suspects and a YWAM national retreat this weekend. I had meetings earlier this week to get plans for particular house designs and costs and also to work toward particular areas of the nation where we can build communities. I was excited to find quality Haitian leadership who want to be involved. They understand the need for them, as Haitians, to take the lead. Please pray that doors will open to see these projects go ahead.

I hope to meet with key leaders next week to work toward accessing aid dollars for the purpose of land purchase and start up loans for businesses in the new communities. It is our desire to have people own their own land and build their own homes so that they take full ownership of their communities and seek the best for everyone there. This will be key in seeing transformation come to the nation. Please be praying that we can reach the right people to see these doors opened.

Please also pray as I have been asked to teach in the Foundation of Community Development School in Guadalajara, MX the end of May. I just need to hear God's heart to know whether I am to take this time out form our work in Haiti to make this trip. Also if anyone has Continental or American Airmiles that they are not planning to use that they could transfer to us for trips like this, we would be happy to facilitate this. Thanks.

I again want to thank those who have been so good to give toward our projects and our relief efforts. It has been a joy to serve you in bringing hope to so many who, in any other place, would have lost hope. You are all loved and appreciated.

Please pray also for our court date tomorrow. I would like to get this whole thing behind us so that we can be free to press ahead with the development in Haiti. Please note that though the perpetrators are in custody and the evidence is strong against them, many times the justice system here work in favor of the accused. Also, though they found a few of our things in their hands, the vast majority of what was taken was not recovered and probably never will be. Our loss is around $1800US. Pray that those involved will see their wrong and desire to repent and find God's grace.

Many blessings,
Carl & the Family

Dear friends,
This morning I’m sitting in the courtroom waiting for an audience with the judge in the pending case of four youth who were involved in the robbery in our house while we were working in Haiti. It was an interesting process as the police located each one. One was a neighbor who had worked for me in the past but I had to let go because he stole from us. He had apparently gotten mixed up with a band of thieves from town and had been involved in several subsequent robberies. He led the police to others that they had been trying to find evidence against for some time, because they know they had been involved in several other robberies. They found things belonging to us in each of their houses and now they are in jail awaiting trial. Pray that we do the right thing and the judge will do what is necessary to bring them to a change in their lives.
Yesterday we sent away our group of midshipmen from the US Naval Academy. They were a fantastic team and had a great week working alongside the youth of the church building a new addition to the church building to function in the future as bathroom, kitchen and Sunday school class space. The fellowship during the building process was precious and all had a great time. It ended with a wonderful fiesta in our home with the church and the team sharing experiences and talents with one another. Experiencing God’s family in its purest sense is a wonderful thing.
During the week we also did ministry times in several schools. The children were very receptive and it was fun to see them acting out the story of David and Goliath. Pray that the seeds planted during this time will grow to bear much fruit.
This week we are working on many of the logistical areas to begin the building process in Haiti. I hope to meet this week with owners and engineers of a company that makes Styrofoam building panels that would be a wonderful way to build new homes and buildings in Haiti. These structures are supposed to be hurricane, earthquake and fire proof. My hope is to reach an accord to actually build a factory for these in Haiti so as to not only supply the material but also jobs. Please pray that I can find open doors to these plans.
Amy is preparing to participate in NIKO (an outdoor leadership training) next week. She will be participating with many other youth. It will be a definite stretch for her but we look forward to the growth that will come from it. Please pray that she rise to the challenge.
We continue the process of downsizing. We have not found another ministry as yet to take over our work so please pray that this will occur in God’s perfect time. We really feel the need to be released for the next ministry that God is preparing.
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support as we seek to do all that God has in mind for the people here and in Haiti. We are so pleased with the doors he has opened and really feel His leading in a substantial role in Haiti over the foreseeable future. Please pray that the relationships which have come to be stay strong and grow as we press forward in this work.
Blessings,
Carl, Kathy and Amy

 

Dear friends and partners in mission,

It has been good to have a few days at home to regroup and formulate plans for the future. We returned Saturday from Haiti. A group from Rutland United church had gone in with us and had been a real blessing working at Mision Rescate in the Central Police Station across from the Presidential Palace. Although the government has tried to remove the people living on the street there several times, there is really nowhere for them to go. There are around 1500 living in makeshift shelters and tents now in the pouring rains. We saw over 400 people a day in the clinic and distributed food to even more. Mision Rescate had given away all but two broken tents so we salvaged those for sleeping accommodations for our team.

It was a sad ending when we returned home to find that our house had been broken into and over $800US of our relief funds were gone as well as one computer and other household things. Please pray for us to know who we can have watch our place while we go to Haiti again this coming week. Please pray that we can either sell or turn over our property here in the Dominican Republic so that we can be fully released to pursue God’s direction in Haiti and beyond.

We are encouraged by what we see happening in Haiti. It is amazing the resilience of the Haitian people and their ability to get by with so little. It is a point of great hope knowing that they have the ability to rebuild their lives if given just the very basic resources.
That brings us to our vision for the time ahead. The Lord has laid it on our hearts to work toward establishing permanent communities for the refugees outside of Port au Prince. It is our desire to be able to provide the basics for them and allow them to rebuild their lives and their own communities. It would be tragic to see these resourceful and gifted people placed in refugee camps for the next five years while waiting to return to a city that is really not their own. Our desire is to be able to give them a start on building a hope and an inheritance for their families.

Please pray as we seek to partner with various organizations and even the international aid community to begin something truly transformational. It all begins with finding a location that is big enough to allow each family to have their own plot of land to begin again. We are looking at beginning communities of about 200 families (2000 people) perhaps gathered in groups of communities to create a town that can support its own economy.

Please pray specifically that we can find the right people to access the land and resources needed.

Please pray that God will give us wisdom in partnerships.

Please pray that we will know exactly what part our family is to have.

Please pray for continued safety as we travel throughout Haiti.

Please pray that the Haitian government will remove some of the red tape that is holding up so many of the relief supplies.

Please pray also as we prepare to host a team of midshipmen from the US Naval academy March 13-22.

Thank you so much for your continued partnership with us. Many have been so generous with gifts for our work in Haiti. It is this partnership that makes it all possible. We thank God for each of you.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy, and Amy

 

Dear Friends,

Sorry about the lack of communication lately. We have been running and to get my mind around writing a coherent report has been something of a dream. We have had a great couple of weeks though.

Just after my last reported trip to Port au Prince we received a team of students and staff from YWAM Orlando’s Discipleship Training School. This had been planned for some time and though it took us from our Haiti work for a bit, it was a thing from God. They pitched right in and caught up on a lot of work on the farm that had not been touched for several weeks. They mowed grass, pulled sweet potatoes, dug ditches, cleaned as well as put in a pump at the school, a basketball hoop, played with kids, did children’s programs and prayed a lot. We all felt an emptiness in the house and van when they left.

I had to take the van in for overdue repairs before I could make another trip to Haiti. The road has been taking its toll. While it was in the mechanic, I went for an overdue CAT scan on my back to try to determine why it is so sore. I don’t have the results yet.

As soon as the repairs were done we made a rush trip to PAP with some urgently needed supplies. We delivered them to Mission Rescate run by YWAM DR in front of the collapsed presidential palace which many of you have seen on TV. It is an amazing work and is still treating between 400 and 600 patients daily. Every patient receives the best treatment possible. They have found great favor and have referral access to Miami University hospital and three local hospitals for follow up care and more major surgical procedures. I worked in the general surgery and met a friend there that I hadn’t seen for 16 years. It was amazing that as we worked almost everything that I had brought in was called for and wouldn’t have been available except for God providing those things at that time. Every patient was prayed for and left with a bag of much needed food items. It is amazing to see what God has done. That day there were 98 people working from every type of background and everyone was working to their fullest and in unity. There were people packing food bags, sorting pharmaceuticals, unloading arriving supplies, cooking as well as running the triage center, the OB GYN center, the pediatrics room, the general surgery, and the vaccination and dental area. Please pray that God will continue to supply every need as it arises. Pray for a continuing flow of volunteers and supplies and that the government will release the supplies that are sitting on the docks..

While we were there they began cleaning rubble from a nearby block. In the first hour it was reported that they found fifteen bodies. The death toll is so great. So many people have lost family and loved ones. The amount of post trauma stress is huge. A wonderful thing was happening in the tent community in front of our makeshift clinic. There were songs of worship going forth for several hours each night. People are looking for hope and finding comfort in Christ. Please continue to pray for these struggling people.

Upon return, as I was preparing to move two teams across the border, I was called back to Beladere, just across the Haitian border to check on a patient there in the hospital. When we arrived we found a man with an open broken femur. They had stopped most of the bleeding but had no way to really treat him there. We made a makeshift splint for his leg and transported him to two hospitals to fulfill protocol before finally sending him on to Santo Domingo about midnight to surgery. Praise God that he is doing well and is undergoing his second surgery as I type. We did manage to get both teams to their respective locations with much help from friends.

We are now trying to catch up and rest before the next group arrives on Sunday.  Please pray for continued strength and God’s guidance as we move ahead. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We have been able to offer so much more than we ever thought possible because of your generous giving to the people of Haiti.

May god bless you richly.
Carl

 

“I can’t do it. I won’t let them do that to my baby!” This was the response through tears to our presentation about abortion this week in a local school. This meant that the life of at least one baby had been saved. The presentation dealt with laying a foundation for a good marriage by waiting till matrimony to have sexual relations, purity of our minds (freedom from pornography) as well as abortion. In all, we did 14 programs in seven school reaching more than 2000 youth and teachers. Everywhere we went, the response was tremendous. Most of the teachers and administrators were asking us to come back to do more. It also led to 24 young people from Guanito coming with us for Sunday school this morning. Lots of follow up work to be done.

I must apologize for not getting an update out sooner. Our life continues to be very busy.

Two weeks back we had the pleasure of hosting a team of six couples from our home church in Kelowna, BC, Canada. They were so much fun and worked really hard. While here they put a new bathroom on the Reboso church, painted three classrooms in a local Christian school, poured a floor for a widow and her family, taught 12 art classes in local schools, taught a class on worship, and shared messages in church. We also had a chance to take some of them to Haiti to see a small corner of that country and everyone had a chance to shop in the Haitian market. It was a busy and wonderful week. We were so blessed to have them in our home and community and enjoy wonderful fellowship in Him. The kids were shocked at how quiet it was here when they left.

During these times we have managed to keep up with our regular teaching times and Bible studies. We did miss a couple of meetings in
the community but were blessed by the response of neighbors saying they knew that we were too busy at the time.

So what lies ahead? Tomorrow Carl travels to San Juan as part of a commission to work out some of the problems in the irrigation canals
in the area. Please pray that the meetings go well and that the proposals put forth will meet with a positive response.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Carl travels to Las Matas to participate in a conference on organic agriculture. We are hoping that this conference will signal a change in many of the farming practices that are detrimental, not only to the environment, but also to the health and welfare of the farming families. So many of the practices here are 20 years behind.

Some of you know that there has been a stirring going on indicating that there may be some changes coming in our families’ ministry. We are praying to get clear direction and as of yet have nothing solid. Please pray with us that we will be in God’s perfect will in all that
we do and that our own desires won’t impede what He has prepared for us.

Our truck engine went out on the way to the airport with the KCC team. Please pray for wisdom as we decide what we should do to resolve this.

We thank you so much for your prayers and financial support for us. You are directly involved in each part of our ministry though these gifts. We appreciate each one of you.

May the Lord’s richest blessings be yours!
Carl, Kathy, Amy and Matthew

Dear friends, 
It seems that being busy is not too hard. Having time to catch up with family and catch up with work around the house is not so easy.

Today for example, began with a ride up to meet with the mayor of Guanito District, to arrange for the use of the district dump truck to haul some sand for a project that the church is doing in Reboso. While there, enjoying the mandatory morning coffee, we had a discussion over the hillside across the road that has been deforested and is eroding tremendously. The deforestation which took place about twenty years ago also led to the drying up of the river that used to flow there. We concluded with a plan to restore a small part of it as a demonstration plot for the community. The land belongs to the state but is available to anyone who wants to work it. If they work it for seven years it is theirs. In seven years this hillside could produce up to a million pesos ($30,000 US) of forest products besides the crops that could be grown on it in the meantime. This would benefit just about anyone with very little investment besides work.

After this visit I went to church with my family and enjoyed wonderful fellowship with the growing congregation there. It is wonderful seeing the growth in the youth as they assume leadership in various parts of the church and the community.

Following lunch, Matt and I went up to have our regular Bible study in Las Lajitas. There were a couple of new youth involved today and they enjoyed being able to participate from their first visits. This is a great advantage of the format that we use. People can feel immediately included.

I went directly from there to a meeting to form a new "Junta de vecinos" (neighbors association) in the Reboso area. They elected their directors today and are off to a good start. They are so thankful for the support that we can offer them on how to get things started. It is actually little more than giving them the confidence to actually act on their own ideas. This is one of the most important things we can do. God has given each person gifts and talents to use for Him. We simply need to be encouraged to use them. And this is our day of rest.

We have also been busy preparing for the coming of several groups, the first of which is to arrive next week from Kelowna, BC. Our goal with each one is to have them come alongside things that are already underway in the communities so that we are not doing things "for" people but "with" them. In this way we again encourage the use of existing resources. This builds communities and builds faith.

We are also preparing for the soon departure of our third son, Matthew, as he graduates in December and goes on to a Discipleship Training School in Chaing Rai, Thailand. He definitely feels the call of God to go on in missions. This is a great way to start.

We covet your prayers during this time to make sure that we are continually open to the leading of the Holy Spririt with everything we do. Our goal is not just to build our communities but to build His Kingdom. The desire to see each person we meet released in all that God has for them. The first step in this is, as we work alongside them, to help them realize their need for Christ and then to see them grow in their relationship with Him as they realize the changes He calls them to.

As always, the enemy doesn't want this so he tends to do all he can to frustrate our work. This last week our only computer with internet access went down. This has left us again driving to either Comendador or El Llano to try to access the internet to communicate with those coming. This not only takes extra time but is also dependant in whether the internet is actually working when we get there ( which is about a 50/50 chance). Our computer is dead. Please pray that we can get something to replace it soon.

We thank you again for your prayers and your financial support as we continue to move ahead with His work. May God bless you richly.

Carl, Kathy, Matthew, and Amy

-- 
Carl & Kathy Thompson
Planting for Harvest
Youth With A Mission 
Dominican Republic

Dear friends,

Although I have not arrived home yet, at least I am with my family again. What a blessing after more than three weeks in Africa.

I have to say that my time away was one of the most fulfilling times of my life. There was never a slack moment in the entire time and the presence of God was amazing.

I began at a conference in Egypt where I met with over 400 delegates from 56 nations. It was a time of sharing and vision for our mission as a whole and for some very particular areas as well.  It was wonderful to hear how God is moving in the middle-east and around the world. I was particularly interested to hear of the way God is making himself known to the Muslim community.  Sometimes we think that this just couldn’t happen but what we heard was just the opposite – a tremendous hunger for truth in this region.

I had many invitations to share in a number of these nations. We must just wait and see what the Lord opens up. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as to how we can serve this region more fully.

I went from there to Kenya to visit many of the projects that I worked with last year. Most are doing very well and were even more open this year to learn techniques that can make them more sustainable long term. I was running most days visiting up to four sites per day. I had a chance to teach many the principles of agriculture God’s way. Most were extremely receptive. I was most encouraged when a leader of one of the foremost agricultural colleges in the area accompanied me and realized that he needed to be teaching these same principles at the college. I also taught in several church settings and the leaders of a number of projects sharing with them on developing a Biblical attitude toward their work and toward those they are serving.

From there I went on to Uganda where they used me well. I averaged over seven hours a day of teaching time and an additional three to four hours of counseling. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit teaching through me so much that sometimes afterward I had to review, myself, what I had taught and try to take notes. I’m sure I learned as much as the students. It was such an important time in these student’s lives. Every one of them came from a strong animistic cultural background although all were Christians.  They represented eight nations. It took a long time before they could actually come to grips with what had to be eliminated form their thinking patterns to come to a point of being able to live and share the truth of Kingdom. It was so gratifying to see them get free. Please pray for these students as they go on in their school. They will be a powerful force for the future.

It was wonderful to be with my family again when they arrived in Santo Domingo to meet me. We have been working through our residency process again and now are in Jarabacoa for our semi-annual retreat with the national staff. We are in charge so it is going to be a very busy time.

Kathy, Amy and Matthew did a great job of keeping the farm going and doing all of our Bible studies. I’m sure that the people will be sorry to see me back since they love having them do the studies. They are far more creative than I. Kathy has begun reading lessons with Santo and Josefina again, pray that they will be able to advance quickly and retain all that they are learning. Matthew has been asked to preach at church on Saturday, November 10th in the evening service. This will be his first time preaching and he would appreciate your prayers. As we write this today, he is celebrating his 17th birthday!

We are also preparing for a team that will arrive from Kelowna Christian Center in early November. We are very much looking forward to their time with us and there are some wonderful things coming together for their time here. Please pray that we will be able to get everything together for their projects and that the Lord will direct every part of this time.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers and for the financial support that we received that made all of this ministry possible. We appreciate each one who sacrificed with us for this time.

Blessings,

Carl, Kathy, Matt and Amy

Dear friends and prayer team,

I am in the final days of preparation for my trip to Africa. I finally have all of the tickets in place and have most of my contacts worked out and teaching dates. Please pray for me as I prepare my heart to be a vessel for what God wants shared in each and every situation that I encounter during this time.

I know that it is prayer that I need and each of us needs everyday. It is the only way that we can hope to be in God's will and doing His work daily. I thank you for your prayers for all of us.

I will begin my time outside of Cairo, Egypt participating with others from many nations seeking God's will for His work all over the world. This is part of a four part strategy time in four locations at the same time (Switzerland, Ukraine, Egypt and South Africa). I will then be going to Kenya to serve various orphanages and agricultural ministries. From there I go to Uganda to teach in a Discipleship Training School and a Foundations of Community Development School.

It is important as well for you to be praying for Kathy and Matt and Amy as they continue to carry on the ministry here while I am away.

Matt and Amy have been very active recently teaching dramas and choreography to the youth in the church. The youth did a program at the local secondary school in which Matt and Amy and even Kathy were in dramas. It is great to see these young people reaching out to their peers. There were close to two hundred students who came voluntarily to the program. Praise God as His Word goes forth.

We had a good turnout for our neighborhood meeting this week and had the local mayor share with us on what the role of the organization should be in the community and how he can aid in the activities that they choose to take on. It was a very positive meeting with many realizing for the first time that the local officials actually want the people to decide what is to happen and that they will do what they can to help.

Last week school began in the newly renovated school. The students came back excited to be in a place that they can be proud of. The well is giving the water to make their daily "meal". This is saving them a more than one km trip to the spring to get the water. Many days last year they didn't get this supplement because it was raining or other things that prevented them from having the water. Now it is there.

We started using our new solar/ crank/ac powered "Proclaimer" in our Bible studies. This unit has the entire New Testament in an audio, dramatized, easy to understand Spanish version. They love it. They listen to it every night and have almost completed the whole thing the first time through. They like to play a portion and then repeat it several times until they are sure they understand everything. We hope to get others going on this very soon. Please be praying because we had six of them shipped to us and they got into the country but then disappeared. We would love to have them back so that we can place them in more communities.

Thank you for your prayers for our health issues. My feet are working pretty good now though it is still hard to be on them for more than four hours at a stretch. Kathy's leg is healing well. You can imagine that after twenty eight stitches, it takes some time.

Bryan is settled in Michigan with Chris and starts his new job working in computer systems for a large department/grocery store in Michigan. He will be starting his university courses in mid September. Chris is also starting a new job managing an office and computer system for an auto recycling company. He is looking forward to the change and new challenges.

We all thank you for your prayers and support and for being part of our team.

Carl for Kathy, Matt, Amy and the Michigan boys, Chris and Bryan.

Dear Friends and prayer partners,

It looks like tropical storm Ana is on a direct course for us and should hit sometime around Tuesday morning. There have already been heavy rains and flooding in the capital in front of this storm. Please pray for mercy on our country and on Cuba and Haiti as well. It is always the poorest who are affected the most by these storms.

We also ask for your prayers for Kathy. She had a motorcycle accident and cut herself pretty deeply. Lots of stitches. It is healing but is still very uncomfortable. Pray against any infection.

In light of this we should let you know that Carl is out of the country right now helping Bryan get settled in Michigan with Chris to continue his university. He will be mostly studying at home and taking CLEP ( College Level Examination Program) exams to get through his second and maybe third year of university. It looks like he already has a part-time job. Please pray that this comes through and that his hours work out with his studies. He has already found a wonderful church to be a part of.

The last few weeks have been exciting as we have finally seen the beginnings of a breakthrough on the canal water issues. Carl called a meeting of our local users and more people showed up than at any other meeting. It looked like the whole thing would break down when people started by saying that we didn't have the right people in attendance but before the meeting formally got started, the president of the users association and the mayor arrived. Carl opened with a simple apology for not being able to get in touch with all that he should have and asking that only solutions be brought to the table. He then sat down and didn't say any more until he excused himself for another commitment that he had. The reports the next day were tremendous. They had taken positive steps and had the full support of all of the officials. In fact, four days later the regional director of INDHRI (the government canal authority) came for a meeting and added his support for all that was suggested. We praise God that He is working things out. There are peaceful solutions to most situations if we can only take time to communicate.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek to bring God's Kingdom principles to bear in every area of our community.

Please pray for Bryan as he settles into a new stage of his life.

Please pray as Carl prepares for his teaching time in Africa.

Please pray for Kathy, Matthew and Amy as they take on the responsibility of the ministry while Carl is away.

We appreciate each of you so much. It is so comforting knowing that you are partnering with us in our ministry. We could do so little without you.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy and family
Planting for Harvest
Youth With A Mission 
Dominican Republic

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers. Carl is up and around. His feet get tired and swolen after a few hours but that too will pass. We are just happy to be mobile.

Carl just returned from our third meeting of the "Junta de vecinos" (organization of neighbors) for Venancio, our community. Even on a rainy afternoon, 16 adults and 9 youth and children were there and were motivated to see their community organized and unified. It was very encouraging. There is so much that can be done when people begin to cooperate. Please pray that we can begin to see people interested in things beyond themselves and working together for the mutual good of all.

The inauguration of the Palo Seco Community Center ten days ago, turned into quite an opportunity. Although we had little to do with the construction of the center, Carl participates in meetings there on a regular basis. At the inauguration, many political figures from the area used it as a time to kick off their campaigns for next May's elections. It was a chance for them to be in front of their constituents. One of the community leaders pointed out Carl as one of those who was working directly in the community for change. This led to discussions with the Senator of the province, the Ambassador to Venezuela, the local administrator for the Ministry of Sport, the head of Ministry of Environment and the local news reporter. It ended with all of them, and the entourage that travelled with them, coming to the house to discuss changes that could be made to farming, schools and environmental practices. There was an amazing openness to the ideas that we presented. God was opening doors. There is much follow-up to be done and we ask for your prayers to see God guide us as we prepare presentations for the various proposals.

The Reboso church is growing. We have been asked to share to bring a better structure to the church as well as giving Biblical insight into what the church should actually be in respect to one another and the community. Please pray for guidance as we seek to bring true Biblical understanding. They are eager to learn. It would be easy to just give a"normal" order to things, but will that really serve their particular congregation and community?

It is a different time for us as well with Bryan preparing to go to Michigan to continue his university studies, and Matt in Peru and completely out of contact. It is giving us a feeling of what it may be like in just a few months with Matt completing his high school and going off to do his DTS. Our nest won't be empty, but will certainly be a lot less full. It will be very different for all of us.

Carl will be going to Africa again in September. He will begin with a University of the Nations conference in Cairo, Egypt, then to Kenya for a week to offer assistance in several ministries there and then a week of teaching in the Discipleship Training School and the Foundations of Community Development School in Ginja, Uganda. He has also been asked to share in several different conferences while in Uganda. Please pray for guidance and insight to be able to share exactly what God has on His heart in each of these situations. Please also pray for finances for this trip. The airfare is only the beginning of the costs for a trip of this nature.

Carl has also been asked to teach in the Foundations of Community Development school in Recife, Brazil later this year. We need God's guidance and provision for this opportunity as well.

Kathy and Amy have begun the homeschool year. Amy is settling in well to the routine. Kathy's increasing involvement in things in the community offers lots of opportunity for interruption. Please pray for balance and sensitivity as they work through the adjustments.

We so appreciate your prayers and support for us. It is wonderful to have you partnering with us to see things transformed.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy and family

Dear friends,

I guess it is time to let everyone know that I am up and walking now. It took almost two weeks before I could get a decent x-ray and reading. It turns out that I fractured bones in both feet. At this point they seem to be healing fine but more slowly because I didn't have them casted from the beginning. I can't be on them for more than a couple of hours at a time without getting bad cramping. I'm so glad to have two strong sons around right now to do the things that I can't. It is also great to have my wife and daughter back. Family is a wonderful blessing.

Amy is actually away this week on an outreach along the Dominican-Haitian border. A group of nine started on the north coast and are following the international "Highway " from north to south. They are actually to arrive here tomorrow evening for two nights and three ministry times with local churches. They will then continue on to the southern most point on the island in Pedernales. We are looking forward to all God is going to do through them here and further on and hearing great reports on what He has already done.

Matt is preparing for his outreach to Peru coming up in ten days. He and a group of seven others will be traveling twenty four hours up the Amazon River from Iquitos to the Candoshi people group. They will be working with missionaries there preparing them to go to other tribal peoples in the nearby area.

We had a wonderful day last week as we saw ten young men and seven young women baptized. They are part of a wonderful time of growth in the Assembly of God church in the nearby community of Reboso. It is an answer to prayer as we have seen the relatively new church go through several devastating crises over the past two years. It is a pleasure to see great fruit coming out of the midst of the storm. As a family we are dedicating the next six months to work very closely with this church to see solid foundations laid for a great future.

The rainy season has ended and with the dry times come all the complications and arguments over canal water. Carl met today with local leaders to work out ways in which the water can be distributed fairly throughout the area. It is a complicated and emotional process but no one has been willing to take it on for the past fifteen years and it has resulted in bitter fights and strife. Please pray that we can find fair and equitable solutions and that peace can be maintained as we put new systems in place.

Bryan has been putting in our new drip irrigation system to eliminate our need for flooding and the tremendous waste of water that comes by it. We hope that more people will see the value of this system and move in this direction.

Kathy continues her work with the widows. She is working with one to start a small business to support her family. It is not an easy thing to find something that fills a need and can also be profitable. Please pray with her for wisdom in these enterprises.

We again thank you for your part in all of this. We couldn't be here doing what we do without your encouragement, prayers and financial support. We don't take the sacrifices you make for this lightly. We pray God's richest blessing on you as we partner together to see a better future.

Blessings,
Carl

Dear friends and family,

Where do we begin? It has been a whirlwind here for the last two months. Let us try to catch you up briefly.

We have just had a very busy January working to launch various community projects in a month when no one really wants to do anything (the schools only had five schooldays in January due to all of the saint’s days and national holidays). We were successful in getting a lot of organization done on the canals in the area and getting them cleaned.

On February 7 Kathy’s mom had a heart attack and Kathy left on the 13th to be with her through the recovery and reorganization of their lives. On the morning of the 15th Carl was moving a toilet at the church and had severe chest pain radiating to his shoulder. He took the rest of the day resting and feeling exhausted. On Monday he saw the local cardiologist who after tests said that Carl had a blockage to the heart and put him on treatment. We immediately got our Dominican staff praying. We’re sorry that others were not included but Carl didn’t want to worry Kathy while she was away, so kept it quiet.

Upon Kathy’s return, and after hosting our Dominican staff for a day of prayer at our home, Carl went into the capital to see a cardiologist. He was immediately scheduled for heart surgery to do a catheterization and stents. During the surgery the doctor was amazed to find that Carl’s heart was in great condition with no blockages and no signs of damage. Praise God for His miracles.

Two days after the surgery, Carl picked up a team of 16 Midshipmen from Officer’s Christian Fellowship of that US Naval Academy. They came to serve our ministry during their Spring break. They initially had planned to put in a small concrete play area at our local primary school. Carl had been in contact with the school district to get all of the permissions and also to get some help with some materials. The day we were to begin the district, an engineer arrived to inform us that they were going to do a major overhaul of the school. Our project had changed from a small play area to a full half court basketball court, and new chain link fence and new bathrooms and water system including a pump and cistern for the well we put in last December. This is all fantastic news but after three or four false starts on the footings for the court, and waiting for the inspector, we did some other smaller projects in the community and did children’s programs in several schools and communities. It was a wonderful and fulfilling week even with some of the frustration of working with bureaucracy.

The day we took the midshipmen to the airport we picked up friends from Exeter, Ontario who were with us for a week working with us in Elias Piña and then treating us to a few days at the beach. During their time we did have our first community meeting and were able to select the board for the community and get a list of needs. There were 31 people who came to the meeting and everyone was quite excited to have something together after many years of division and strife. Our next meeting is next Tuesday. Please be praying for more attendance and a desire for unity.

Please also pray for the school project. It seems that Carl is still heavily involved as the local source for the engineers and contractors. Carl has also been involved in the negotiations with neighbors, other government departments, and the provincial government. He has been asked to meet the president of the Dominican Republic on May 17th during an inauguration ceremony for projects in our area. Please pray that if this happens that he will have the right words to share.

Monday afternoon we had a wonderful visit from some dear friends who are directors of Kid’s Alive ministries here on the island. They brought along house parents and thirty children from their orphanages in Constanza and Jarabacoa. We took them through the Haitian market in Comendador, to the Haitian border, and then for a cookout and swim at the river. They camped the night on our front lawn and in the living room and two bedrooms, and left the next day for an adventure in a national park in the south. It was crazy and fun.

On our agenda before we go is the completion of the school project and the Las Lajitas water project. These both done with much community involvement so coordination is a big issue.

Our Farming God’s Way corn demonstration plot is doing very well and we have had much inquiry over how to do it. We are pleased and hope to do another plot on a neighbor’s place before we go. We are praying for the Spring rains which are due to start next week. This will be key for these plots. We have had five months with little significant rain. The canal water is in very limited supply, many of the springs and
wells in the area are dry. Our own well has only water for the hand pump. Please pray for the rain.

Please pray for Bryan in his last month of his internship in Hawaii and for Chris in his last month of university. We hope to go to his
graduation in May. We also hope to visit BC and Montana.

Thank you all again for your prayers and emotional and financial support for all we do. It is with tremendous gratitude to God and all of you that we can participate in bringing about His Kingdom in people’s lives.

Blessings,
Carl, Kathy, Matthew and Amy Thompson
Planting for Harvest, YWAM Dominican Republic

2008 was a year of motivation and change for our ministry in the Dominican Republic. After getting started and doing much survey work and getting to know our community and their ways, we began to press in to see change occur in areas where we felt strongly that the Lord was leading us. Part of this came as a result of frustration and disappointment in what we had tried up to this point, and a need to reassess with God’s leading, our role in the communities to which He has called us.

It began when the community of Las Lajitas where we were doing a Bible study group, came to us with their need for a clean water source for their community.  This was a direct result of people who had visited the Bible study, realizing that we were seeking to apply God’s Word to every area of life, not just church. Through meetings with the community, encouraging them and teaching them God’s Word, the people came to see that they had all of the basic resources, especially the creativity and imagination, to design and build a water system. They began by developing a spring by cleaning it, enlarging it, and sealing it with a concrete top. They also constructed a diversion wall to protect it from filling with mud during the rainy season. There have been discouraging times as well when they found that though everyone was willing to say that they would pay and work their part, only a few actually followed through. This is something that they are beginning to face about their own culture and the reason that so little progress is made. A dependency on outsiders (government, NGO’s, politicians, etc) has left them in poverty and manipulated by these outsiders. We are beginning to see them awakening to this, as the Christians we are discipling there, are taking leadership and truly bringing about change.

As we began to see the importance of the developmental approach in missions, we felt led to accept an invitation tohelpstaff a Foundations of Community development School with YWAM Montana. Our desire was to see reproduction and expansion of a holistic approach in missions. This is even more important when facing a post-modern society that has lost much of the Biblical worldview of past generations. Our time in Montana proved to be extremely valuable both in being able to share our experience with staff and students from nine nations and in receiving valuable input for future ministry.

We took a brief time in Kelowna following the school to reconnect with KCC and her daughter churches, and visit family. We were very blessed during this time and only regret that with people’s summer schedules, we didn’t get to spend more time with people.
Upon our return to the Dominican Republic, things went into high gear. We immediately began to participate in the various groups in the community. Carl began meeting with the farmer’s association and was elected to the directors of the irrigation association that had been non-functional for over two years. Kathy became involved in the ladies meetings and we worked to restart the parents and friends of the school. We also began to work to establish neighbors associations to create a voice for the different communities. Because of the Biblical reasoning that was the foundation for all of our input into the different groups, we are usually asked at each meeting to share something from the Bible that may be pertinent to the discussions of the day. It has given a tremendous forum to bring Biblical input to areas that need to be redeemed. We thank God for opening these doors and we pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we seek to serve the various communities.

Carl has been teaching in several churches a series on the Kingdom of God.  He began in the Mennonite church in Comendador, and followed with teaching in the Mennonite church in El Llano. 

In September and October we had the privilege to host a Philipino student and his family from the Montana FCD for his outreach phase. He was a great blessing to us as well as to the community. While he was here we were able to get a lot done on the farm in experimenting with various crops and methodology. He introduced us to various plants and methods from the Philippines that we were able to introduce to the community. We also did seminars on making rocket stoves which provide an inexpensive, fuel efficient and less smoky alternative to the fire kitchens used by most families here.

Gabe and Carl taught a leadership seminar in the Reboso Assemblies of God over a four week period. This is a church that had gone throughsome very difficult leadership problems.  Gabe also worked with some of the youth from this church to show them how to make the rocket stoves, so that they could possibly start a business doing this.

Carl and Gabe also organized the Parents and Friends of the school to do a major cleanup of the school and grounds.  With much parent and student participation, they cleaned up a great deal of building debris, cleaned up the weeds in the yard, put in a small garden, and organized for the drilling of a well in the school yard to give clean water, not only to the school but to the surrounding community. It was a disappointment that the promised pump for the well has been delayed due to budget shortfalls in the government.
Carl had an opportunity to join Larry Carruthers on a trip to Kenya. There he was able to access various projects being looked at by KCC for future involvement and share some Biblical agricultural principles with people in various areas. He also had a chance to do some training with the Love Mercy staff on Kingdom stewardship and Biblical work ethic.

From Kenya, Carl went on to Jinja, Uganda where he taught Biblical Christian Worldview to both The Discipleship Training School and the Foundations of Community Development School at the University of the Nations campus there. It was a fantastic week. He taught 37 hours in the five days there. There were also dinner and late night discussion groups that he led.

From there he went to Kampala, the capital city where he visited and studied withthefinancialofficerfor one of the largest HIV/AIDShospitals in Africa. It was an amazing time of bringing Biblical principles to bear on one of the greatestproblem areas of this continent.
He also shared in a wonderful orphanage where all of the orphans are actually adopted into the familyand raised in a loving home. It is a wonderful example of God’s love at work.

Upon returning to the Dominican Republic, and our son Bryan’s return from his Discipleship TrainingSchool, Carl and Bryan worked together to completely redesign the farm. The idea is to make everything work together as God had intended it from the beginning. It requires a great deal of prayer and inspiration to look at things through God’s eyes. It is hard to change old patterns and be willing to have things be very different.

In December, Carl and Kathy participated in the Annual ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) Agricultural Conference in Ft Meyers, FL. ECHO is dedicated to networking global hunger solutions. The conference brought together over 300 people from more than 25 nations, from five continents, from many denominations and mission agencies. It was a tremendous time of sharing and learning. We came home full of hope for being able to see things in all areas of life brought into line with God’s intentions. We were encouraged that much of what we were doing to change the farm, was very much in line with what others are seeing as well. We desire to be able to see these things implemented by those around us, who have seen their yields falling year after year, while their cost of production rises. The poverty that results is worse each year. We must see God’s principles put in place if we are going to meet the challenges of hunger and poverty.
Kathy continues to work with local widows to find ways to better their situations through micro enterprise and Biblical training. One of our Bible Study families has taken on the training for two orphans in their area. Carl continues his discipling of local youth, some orphaned, others living in fatherless homes. Most work several mornings a week with him on the farm, learning about how God wants life to be lived and His world to be stewarded.

We want to thank the KCC Mission board and all of those who have supported us this year financially and in prayer as we continue to seek to bring Christ’s love to bear in all we do and with all we meet. May God richly bless each one of you.

Carl and Kathy Thompson
Youth With A Mission/ Planting for Harvest
Dominican Republic

 

Dear friends,

We are a bit late this year again with our greetings for the season. We were without internet for more than three weeks. I believe the quantity of cell phone traffic over the holidays just about brought the system to a halt so our cell phone email took last priority on the system.

We did enjoy celebrating the wonderful birth of our Savior and Lord. It again became very clear that He is the only true answer. Politicians and kings will come and go but His Kingdom is forever. We give thanks to our God that He was willing to come to earth to not just teach us how to live but show us through His example what He desires of us and for us. May we all trust Him to show us our individual parts in His glorious Kingdom.

We enjoyed having Chris with us for two weeks and Bryan with us for a couple of months. Chris returned to Cornerstone University for his last semester and Bryan headed off for a four month internship with the dean of the College of Science and Technology at University of the Nation. We are back to four at home and Matt and Amy are back to homeschooling.

Carl continues his work in the communities. We added another Bible study in a new community just after Christmas. They came asking for it. We have had up to 25 in attendance. Please pray for God’s guidance with this new group.

We are beginning a demonstration plot for “Farming God’s Way” and already have people asking to have teaching on this for their communities. With all of the Biblical teaching that goes into preparing and planting, it is a great way to open people’s hearts to the truths that God has shared with us through His Word. We are excited to be using this tool.

We wish everyone a very prosperous year in the Lord. There is no financial crisis in His Kingdom. He has plans to prosper His people. May your lives be abundant in Him.

Blessings and peace,
Carl, Kathy, Chris, Bryan, Matthew, Amy Thompson

First, I thought that it might be good to include on the website the web address for our ministry in the Dominican Republic. If it was there as a link, it could give an overview of the ministry to those who want to take a look. Our son, Matt is trying to keep it fairly up to date. It is: www.ywamconnect.com/umultcontent.jsp?siteid=31413&pageid=409398

We will be finishing our staffing of the foundations of Community Development School at the Lakeside, MT base on June 21. Our students are heading to various locations for field experience at that time. Three (from Zimbabwe, Korea and the US) are going to Nepal, two to Sierra Leone in West Africa, and one family (from the Philippines) will be joining us in September in the Dominican Republic.

We will be doing some traveling to visit family, supporters and sharing in various churches for a few weeks and then returning to Kelowna to be with our KCC family for a few weeks before returning to the Dominican Republic.

We have had communication from there and our water project in Guanito (near our home) is progressing well. The Bible studies we started are doing well in our absence and are showing signs of being ready to turn over to local leadership to a great degree. Please pray that this progress continue.

As you know the world food shortage is a major issue in the news. Our efforts with local agriculture are getting a lot more inquiries at this point. That will be a focus of our discipleship time when we return. If the Christians can play a major role in helping the farmers with raising better and more saleable crops, it will bring a greater prosperity to the area and the church will be seen as a valuable asset to the communities. Please pray for wisdom as we disciple the churches in this.

We have been invited to teach in schools in Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique. We are praying about how we can fulfill this in the next year. We have other inquiries as well so please pray with us as God seems to be opening many doors at this point to share what He has given us with a much larger sphere.

Thank you for being with us as we seek to do God's will wherever He calls us.

Blessings,
Carl Thompson