DANGER ZONE!!

Poor Pippin has to go through such an obstacle course in our yard.  And I thought I just had to guard him from predators like owls and foxes.

Hmmm...guess I'll have to ask Wesley about this!

Our Gracious Host

During our time in Walls, MS, we (that included Pippin) and the Lambs (that included Harrison); Brad Gautney; Martin Staelens and his two boys, Alberto and Charlie; and David Woodside all stayed at Norm's sister's, Yuvonia, place.  

What a heart of hospitality!!  Lovely, lovely lady....thanks, Yuvonia!

MGM Conference

It was great to see so many who have championed the Manna ministries be there and to dream along with us as we step onward in what the Lord has placed before us. 

 

May Conference Agenda
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Laura Beth Lamb - MC
 
Welcome - Brian Wallace

Introduction - Who is MGM? 

Section I: Why we do what We do
Wrapped in Love & Relationship - Brian Wallace 
Passion for God/A Place for You - Brad Gautney 
Community of Believers - Norm Curington

BREAK FOR LUNCH (11:15ish - 12:15)
Section II: Our (BIG) Dream Jobs
MannaDR 
MannaHaiti
MannaAfrica 

BREAK

Section III: Join the Path - Ways to Serve
Join the Path in the Field 
Join the Path through Local Program Champions
Join the Path through Volunteering with MGM 
Section IV: Admin/Wrap-up 
Section V: Feedback/Q &A/Connection Time (all involved)

We want to thank you for your participation in the May MGM Conference, all those who were able to attend, and those who have been lifting us up in prayer.

Pippin Meets Harrison

Second TIme Around!

Aunt Jojo's peach cobbler is still um, um, good even the next day! Yesterday we celebrated our liberty and honored the men and women who've helped make that possible for Memorial's Day.

We had a spread set before us...

Pippin loved hanging out with everyone...

And Momma dusted off the piano fingers. Nothing better than time spent with family!

Excited

It's amazing how "things" continue to reaffirm what God has laid on our hearts.

The excitement we feel when we share what's happening with the ministry with others and their positive responses.

Doors that open up to people and places to help the ministry "grow".

In a week we and the MGM staff will be having our first conference in Walls, MS. There are several who have notified us of their attendence....and that excites us!!

See you there!

Rain

Rain has finally come to our neck of the woods in Florida. A VERY welcome relief.

Brian tells me how much he's enjoying it, and the line I can always expect to hear when we get rain..."This'll really make things green". He goes on to tell me how much he misses the DR rains.

I think he's forgotten!!!

Introducing.....!!!!!

After sifting through some really "great" (?) names:

Mel
Taco
Samson
Wallace
Tootsie Roll
Joaquin
Socrates
Cutie
Bobita
Wallie


the most fitting for my little guy is............PIPPIN!

Same But Different

Brian has a garden he started, and I wanted to get some herbs and some flowers going myself.

Okay, I follow instructions well. I do the steps, the order and the instructions to a T, do it the same as Brian. So why are the results so different?!

BRIAN'S RESULTS

TAMMIE'S RESULTS

"I've Been Everywhere, Man"

9Brian's back from his road trip that took him from central Florida to Texas, across to Arkansas, up to the Kansas/Missouri border, back to Arkansas and then down to Florida again...and he loved it!! There's talk of doing all his trips by driving instead of flying. He said he loves seeing all the different terrains of this country.

He was able to connect with many that have done service projects in the DR as well as meeting new folks all very interested in the expansion of the outreach work of Manna Global Ministries (MGM). He enjoyed his time at the Levy Youth Retreat and was able to chaperone quite a few of the sessions.

It's nice to have him home for a little bit!!

Not a Replacement

Here's a gift from God to help my aching heart. What a joy he is and I'm reminded all over again of being a new "mommy"!!

Now the part I'm not good at...naming! Any ideas?

Springbok

The Springbok is an antelope, the national animal of South Africa, which the South African rugby team has been named after.

Brian got a Springbok uniform for grandson, Liam, when he last visited his family.

Furture player?

Proud Pops

Where, oh Where, has My Little Dog Gone...?

...oh where, oh where, can he be?

When I wake in the morning and look over at his bed, he's not peeking out of his covers at me.

When I work in the kitchen and turn to give a morsel of cheese to him, he's not there.

When I turn around and he's not doing his silent ninja appearance, I miss him.

Gone 4 days now.

Our Busy Schedule

Brian's back from his DR trip. All went really well and he enjoyed reconnecting with the team down there. The only mishap was a terribly sprained tendon while (you guessed it) playing soccer. He is supposed to do some PT at home, but do you think he's got time for that!

His upcoming trips are across the USA. He'll head to Texas with some belongings of Shawnean's and Jono's on a trailer that he's pulling behind his truck, (having the extra benefit of being able to see the grand kids while there!!), then to Arkansas to share "his story" at a youth retreat in Levy, then to Little Rock to see students at Harding, (still pulling the trailer behind him), as well as one of our favorite peops, Tom Martin. From there he'll go to Missouri (yep, the trailers still ther), to meet with fellow mission minded brother in Christ, Brad Gautney, to continue to work and plan on MGM (Manna Global Ministries).

Me? Yeah, I've been busy too. Being Brian's co-worker keeps me hopping, but Shawnean and I made a road trip to TX with her two dogs.

It was great spending that time with her and to see Wesley, Ashleigh and the grand kids, Kaiya and Liam.

My Momma's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Momma!!

Present: Aunt Joanne, Shawnean, Helen (Birthday Girl) Tammie and Brian
Wow....70!!! Looking good! Love you, Momma.

Brian's Back from the DR

Brian's back from the DR and had a great trip. Cory and Laura Beth Lamb's transition of their 2 years coming to an end has gone well, and their replacements the Cordobas, Porfirio and Carlas and family, are adjusting very well.

The two new missionary couples, Rich and Audrey Amy and Kyle and Vicki Graham, that arrived in January 2008 are going full swing and are being a blessing to the DR work. See their updates at the "similar links".

The Children's Home boys' house mom, Belqui, turned in her notice and there's now new house parents, Nicolas and Virginia Casimero, that have been a God send.

Of course Brian took in several soccer matches with the home kids and neighborhood kids as well as with the group. It was during one of these matches that he heard a snap and when he hit the ground and couldn't get back up realized the sound had come from his leg. Once back in the states the Lord blessed us with someone to x-ray it and were relieved to find out it was not a snapped tendon but a very bad sprain. He's got physically therapy exercises that he's been instructed to do and hopefully will be up and running like new.

Continue to Pray

Brian went to the DR for the FHU team this week and will be returning to the States next week.

It was a year ago that one of the FHU team members, Shane Ruiz, went missing at sea in a tragic accident and Brian wanted to be there for the group and the DR staff. The same group members that had come a year ago returned this week as well as Shane's older brother, Michael, and had a memorial service at the beach. Please continue to keep the Ruiz family and friends in your prayers.

For more MannaDR happenings, visit:
http://mannadr.org/

Sighting of the Wallaces

Hopefully there's some of you that faithfully checked out the blog hoping to find an update, any update that would clue you in to what's been going on with us. Well, we're back. In order to avoid writing a novel of what's been going on since our last entry, I'll note a few of the notable personal happenings since our last entry.

September:
Birth of our grandson, Liam, blessed our lives.

October:
Tammie spent the month in TX with the grand kids and in FL with her parents.

November:
My dad, known as "the cutest Grandad in the world", breathed his last breathe of this earthly air and inhaled deeply of the presence of our heavenly Father.

December:
Went to New Zealand for the graduation and wedding of our daughter, Shawnean.

2009
January:
Moved to the US to be a help to my mom.
Brian went to help his mom and dad in SA after complications arose when his dad fell and required back surgery.

February:
Doors opening for us to remain involved in mission work.
Daughter, Shawnean returned to the US, when her NZ visa expired.
Tammie turned 50!!!

March:
Son-in-law, Jono, joins Shawnean with his USA visa.

This month, Beacon Light Ministries will be changing it’s name to Manna Global Ministries, which will be an expansion of the current work in the Dominican Republic through MannaDR as well as work in Haiti and other countries. Directing the Manna Global Ministries’ efforts while trailblazing a new missionary training program are Brian, founder of MannaDR, and Norm Curington, current missionary in Rio San Juan, DR and former director of Beacon Light Ministries. Brian will serve as the president of Manna Global Ministries. These combined endeavors will give vast new opportunities through missions, discipleship, worldwide relief efforts and simple everyday Christian fellowship. The goal with this new organization is to mirror the example of Christ’s love for His people on earth.

SO...exciting things are ahead and I'll try to keep you posted!

Is it possible?

Is it possible to sum up how much someone has meant in your life in a blog post. I don't think so.

Cory and Laura Beth did a great job of throwing a farewell party with a video and memory book to express how much the McClouds have meant to all of us here in the DR.

Father, thank you for blessing us with Tj and Holly!

GROUPS 2008

Thanking you all for your hard work and giving up so much of the year in planning and prepping for this trip of service to the DR. God be praised!!

Pre-Summer Medical Team

Levy, AR

Highland View, TN

Fairfax, VA Youth
Maricamp, FL

Cloverdale, AR

Lake Cities, TX

Westminister, MD

FairFax, VA Adult

How do you spell Intern?

With gusto!
These guys have been dedicated to the summer program from day one onward. We thank them for giving up their whole summer to be such a blessing to us, the teams and the people in the DR.
Thanks, Luke, Jamie, Felicia, Daniel, Chad, and Catherine!

Summer with Catherine

Catherine is my returnee intern and basically has been my right-hand "man". She's done summer tutoring for the kids in the homes, English with Jarisa, Sunday Bible class for the young kids and Weds nights with the older girls, organized the home files, the home storage, the group storage, and been respite "mom" for a week while house mom, Ada, went on vacation. She's been a wonderful mentor to the kids in the homes, and she's been a joy to have here!!

Anticipation

OK...nothing deep here. But for 5 years I've looked across our yard, checked the growth of
trees that began as seedlings, seen them weather tropical storms when mighty trees in the area twisted and snapped, and this year the long awaited fruit have appeared. I love avocadoes.


OK...now I'm starting to think deep. Is this a tad bit of how God anticipates and looks forward to our growth?

DR History

The interns spent part of their last break in the DR capital, Santo Domingo, getting a bit of the island's history.

Shhhhh!!!!!

We sent for Jarisa's mom and sisters to come spend the weekend.... ...and to participate in a "farewell" suprise party for Jarisa. It was a success!!
We'll miss you, Jarisa!!!

If all goes well, Jarisa will be departing from the Dominican Republic this Tuesday the 15th of July. She'll be traveling with the Cloverdale Team, who'll help her get through all those obstacles that one faces when traveling abroad.

What a hike!

Cloverdale (as well as Levy) hiked (any where from 3 -5 hours) up the mountain to El Morito. This involves carrying a backpack with overnight needs, sheet, food, and water.

Activities upon the mountain involve work projects (painting, roofing, or cementing local villager's homes), a gospel meeting, and a movie. Those with a bit of energy left over take an additional hike to a nearby water fall.

Count Down

Normally "count downs" are things one happily looks forward to....Christmas, birthdays, summer vacations just to name a few. Specifically, we eagerly anticipate several count downs before the year's end...a new grandbaby, daughter's graduation and marriage.

One count down is difficult to see approaching. Tj and Holly's 2 year commitment with MannaDR ends this August. We know God has awesome things planned for them and us; we just hope that it involves our paths continuing to cross!!

In Rememberance of Him

This Sunday we gathered around to "commune" and remember what the Lord did for all.

Brian led our thoughts to use this time as:

• A memorial of Christ Jesus
• An occasion of thanksgiving
• A public proclamation
• Expression of confident expectation
• Time of self-examination
• Time of sharing with Christ
• A demonstration of unity

As we "supped" together, we shared what this time means to us, shared passages that touch our hearts, sang songs that praised and thanked our Father for what he did.

We did as families do around a table of love and appreciation, we enjoyed each other and were encouraged by one another, knowing we had a Father who loved us so very, very much!!

VBS

The groups have done a great job planning and presenting their VBSs this summer.

So far:
"Courage" (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; Ester) presented by Levy
"Fruits of the Spirit" presented by Highland View
"Trust" (David and Goliath) presented by Fairfax

Still to come:

"Creation" presented by Maricamp
"Faith" (Noah's Ark; Daniel and the Lion's Den) presented by Cloverdale
"The Power of God" presented by Lake Cities
"Amigos de Dios" (Apostles being called) presented by Westminister