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News - August 2010
Terry fishing on a Michigan lake Dear Friends, Greetings from a very rainy Costa Rica. We are in the middle of one of the wettest rainy seasons in recent history. It has rained almost every day since late April and we still have a couple months to go. If you are planning to visit here, an umbrella, a good raincoat and some waterproof shoes is a must since everything is pretty soggy. In the last newsletter, I mentioned that our January schools would be going on outreach in April. Well, the DTS went to Nicaragua where they worked with a local pastor. They even got to build a couple water cisterns, which they learned how to make in their school. The EARS school split up into two groups. One group went to work at an orphanage on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. They did organic gardening and ministered to the kids there. After their time in Nicaragua, the went to Haiti and did some earthquake relief work where they taught health and hygiene in the refugee camps. The other team went to Kenya to work with Don and Nancy Richards doing environmental education. In June, everyone traveled back to Costa Rica for their graduation. In July our summer teams began to arrive. The first team came from a church in Alberta, Canada. They have come down every summer for several years and have established some good relationships in a poor community they have chosen to work in. Three years ago, they took on a construction project, which was to build an annex to the community center to serve as an education center. The project should be completed by next year. We appreciate the long-term commitment they have made to bring lasting change to this community. The week after our summer teams left, we celebrated YWAM's 50th Anniversary at the San Jose base with our founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham. There were about 300 people in attendance from all over Central America. After the three day celebrations, we had two days of meetings for all the base leaders of Central America. It was a good week, but also a very exhausting one. We began the July DTS with four wonderful students. We realized that the quality in them is far more important than the number of students we receive. This DTS has a Creative focus, so they want to use creativity of all kinds to share the Gospel. They are praying about possibly going to India for their outreach, but I will have more on that later. In mid May, Donna and I traveled to the states to visit our families and to do some support raising. We didn't have any transportation for the trip, but through a miraculous series of events we were able to purchase a 15-passenger van for the base to replace the one that was stolen over a year ago. We drove over 6000 miles during our stay and we were able to see our parents, 8 of our 10 grandkids, and many of our friends and supporters. We ended up in Florida where we put the van on a ship bound for Costa Rica. It finally arrived last week, but we still need to pay $1600 for import taxes before we can use it. We also had a good time visiting with Donna's Dad, her brother Kevin and family and reconnecting with some of her cousins as well. It had been many years since she's seen many of them. We felt it was especially important to see her dad again, as his health is fading. He is in his 90's now. Just a few days ago he was rushed to the hospital with clots in both legs and lungs. They gave him blood thinners and kept him quiet, because of concerns about them traveling to his heart. We prayed for him while at the conference and the very next day he was released from the hospital. We thank God for this answered prayer! While we were in Florida we were also able to go by and visit my Mom and Dad. My Dad has been having some health problems related to diabetes and we knew it was important to spend some time with him too. On the night of the 15th, my brother called me to say that my Dad had been rushed to the hospital, but had died before he got there. We will be traveling this week to Florida to attend the funeral with the rest of my family. I am so glad that we got to see him this past June. His commitment to God, his family and the people of Peru where he served as a missionary for almost 30 years has been an example for all of us. We will miss him. There is so much more I could share, but will save some of that for another letter. We are still going through one of the most difficult years we have faced. We desperately need your prayers and your financial support. Please let us know how we can also pray for your needs and any struggles you might be in as well! We serve a mighty God! May He bless you all abundantly . . . He is faithful! In His Service, Terry & Donna Keith Online link to pay: https://www.meigiving.com/mei.php You can send a tax-deductible gift to: Mission Enablers International, (MEI), P.O. Box 1311, Fayetteville, AR 72702 A check must be made out to MEI; please include a note saying your donation is for Terry & Donna Keith
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