April Update from TWAW

Happy Spring from The Word at Work Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Forward to a Friend A message from Tim Tam Dear friends,      I want to give you all a personal update on how prayers are being answered and how our status has changed since the accident.  The date of the accident was Feb. 27, just over 5 weeks ago. Lisa and I are in a long-term acute care hospital, just three rooms apart from each other.      Lisa has overcome so much ... 6 vertebrae fused in her back, broken wrist and multiple ribs, injured sternum and heart, pneumonia and major brain trauma.  About 10 days ago she started breathing on her own. Tubes were removed and she began talking but not always making sense or recognizing family.   Five days ago they were encouraging us to look into specialized brain trauma facilities in Denver, Dallas, and Houston.  Then, three days ago, it was as if a switch had been flipped. They wheeled Lisa into my room sitting up in a wheelchair. She is back!!!!!!!!! Talking, joking, remembering everyone and almost everything.  She had been flat on her back for over five weeks and now she is all smiles and every day her mind is sharper. Therapy folks today said they notice positive improvement not only from one day to the next but even as the day progresses.  Today we did physical therapy at the same time - she was pedaling a bicycle type machine. While she was taking a break I put her on the phone with her mother; their first time to talk since the accident.  Her mom has been worried sick and we were only able to give her assurances for weeks since Lisa had not been conscious or coherent. But today and from this day forward they can chat with each other any time. Also today they gave her liquids and a cracker to test her swallowing. She did extremely well so it won't be long before she is back on solid food and the feeding tube to her abdomen removed.      As for me, changes with Lisa have done great things for my attitude.  Still healing up from breaks in wrist, ribs, and leg.  The big issue with me is infection at the surgery sight on my leg.  After my surgery I had been to physical rehab and back to my house thinking I was literally home free.  But twice since then they have had to re-open the leg in order to clean out infection.  Now I am receiving aggressive antibiotic treatment (4 - 6 weeks) praying that infection does't return.  As for mending the leg, I have to keep off weight for at least four more weeks. I am doing physical therapy daily and will expand on that once I am able to put weight on my leg.      Kenny Logan's wife, Tina, has also had a remarkable recovery from her auto accident in Belize which occurred just eight days after ours.  A little over a week ago it looked almost certain that her arm would need to be removed.  But all of that has changed. New flesh was generated. 95% of skin grafts took immediately.  Yesterday she left the hospital and she and Kenny will be staying with friends here in Amarillo.  She will be under observation for a couple of weeks to be certain all is well before returning with Kenny to Belize.      We are so grateful to God and to so many Doctors, Nurses, friends and family members.  I can't imagine how to adequately express our gratitude and indebtedness.  But I dare to ask, your prayers have gotten us this far, please continue to pray for:  Tina's arm; Lisa's mind and body; me to overcome this infection; Godly insight for each of us through this ordeal. Tt Editors Note:  Lisa's recovery has been miraculous -  keep up with her progress at www.caringbridge.com, visit the page: lisatimtam.  While there you may also visit Tina's page, tinalogan1 for updates on her progress. TWAW Board Members David Mullin, Chairman  Ron Allen  Paul Cunningham Gene Day Dan Gallo Cindy Wall Ben Whittenburg Geoff Wright It's easy to become a monthly supporter of The Word at Work!  Simply download this form and FAX it back to our office:  806.342.3603.  Mollie Fields is happy to answer any questions! Fantastic Spring Break Despite Hardships      I will admit that boarding the plane in Amarillo on March 7, after just receiving news of Tina Logan's car accident, was a challenge.  It had already been an exhausting week since the Tam's accident.  Tim Hagen, Kenny and I were preparing to handle the leadership of three teams in Belize without Tim Tam.  In one phone call, it became Hagen and I coordinating them.  Over and over I heard God's spirit whisper, "Do you trust me?"      There was so much to thank Him for as he provided everything we needed to do His work.  While we prayed and were hopeful for our friends health and progress in the USA, God made sure we were covered in Belize.  Long-term volunteer Kent Sappenfield was already in Belize and was able to take lead with the group from Arlington and their work at Youth Enhancement Services (YES) and at the new mission center at 8-Mile.  Long-term volunteer Marilyn Stewart answered every call and request we made to facilitate our WPC Lubbock, TX and Crosswinds Hobbs, NM teams desire to go deeper and meet more of our Belizean partners.  Short-term volunteer Kjell Redal had one answer to every question (well, two), "Sure I can" and "What else can I do to help?"  Our team members (from Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee, representing many denominations) were incredibly understanding and ready to help us in any way as we navigated those 12 days.       John & Caroline Carr and the wonderful staff at Banana Bank, one of our favorite team lodging locations, took awesome care of us; over and over I heard it was like being in paradise.  John Woods and his family and staff along with Kenny Logan's family made sure we had everything we needed at Old Belize, an establishment where we lodge our teams while working near Belize City, and they opened doors for our music ministry to minister at the prison.  Richard Smith and his staff provided resources, guidance, and spiritual support for the musicians and coordinators of the Belize Gospel Expo 2013.  Maria & Pedro Perez led groups through the Belize Sewing Partners locations; they even opened their home to a large group of us for refreshments and to hear more about this vital outreach.  Jose Valencia humbly stepped in and helped lead the construction team in the Valley of Peace that put an addition on Marynella's home.      At each and every turn, God provided the right people, resources, wisdom, and guidance to make Spring Break 2013 an amazing time in Belize.  And laughter - He made sure we were able to enjoy His presence!  The people in Belize are welcoming, loving, and kind.  So many asked about Tim, Lisa and Tina - they offered their prayers and their love.  Thank you, Father, for providing so many reasons to trust you.             --Mollie Fields The team from First Presbyterian Arlington spent time with the gals at YES, tye-dying shirts, doing crafts, laughing, and getting to know each other better.  The team also worked on a construction project at the YES compound.  Evenings were spent with the young people at 8-mile, worshiping, playing basketball, making kites, and deepening relationships. Team members pray over the main stage area before the Belize Gospel Expo 2013 begins.  Roughly 25 musicians from the USA came together in Belize for the first time to perform Bluegrass Gospel and Praise & Worship music - the group Durant also shared their unique acapella style throughout Belize and everyone loved it!  The groups performed in schools, churches, children's homes, the prison, at a park in Belize City, and at the Expo in Belmopan where many Belizean churches gathered in a first-of-its-kind ecumenical meeting.  Belizean performers led worship, and we were even treated to a presentation by the King's Children's Home Singers!  Speaker Steve Sexton and special guest artist DJ Nicholas were also featured, encouraging churches in Belize to work together for God's glory.  John Carr and Richard Smith's team from My Refuge did an incredible job bringing the Expo together. Pictured  here are several of Marynella's children outside their home in the Valley of Peace.  We are grateful to an Amarillo group who provided the funds for this much needed addition to their home.  Work was also completed on Santiago's house in the VoP, with the installation of windows, doors, and more. There was something for everyone to get involved in each day.  Here, volunteers sort through donations  -  the last step in the Redemptive Recycling process, as items are prepared for distribution throughout Belize.  The completion of the mission center at 8-mile will allow TWAW to have a central storage and distribution location. See and share more photos from spring break 2013 at the Belize Sojourn Facebook Page. Christian Sewing Partners of Belize - Music School Expansion      Our Business Development Coordinators, Pedro and Maria Perez, have been extremely busy opening new centers and expanding existing ones where women learn skills which will enable them to take care of their families.  Particularly encouraging is a potential contract with an organization from the US called peepods.  This company provides washable period and incontinence pads for women.  Their mission also seeks to empower women in the manufacture of the pads, and the director, Amber Givens, was recently in Belize to inspect the seamstresses work and to further work out the logistics of having the pods made in Belize.  It was especially exciting to have Ms. Givens there when two US Embassy personnel were touring the Christian Sewing Partners facilities as they consider a grant for which the organization has applied.  If awarded, the grant would pay for the purchase of industrial machines for 6 - 8 centers, leading to the commercialization of the products created by the women there.  This would be a great step forward for all involved!      One group in San Ignacio has also begun an outreach to husbands of the women who are learning to sew.  The men are learning how to grow food to feed the children in their village - including rabbits, chickens, and the like.  This program could feed 86 children, 35 of whom are fatherless or orphans.        Additionally, the Partners are pleased to see the seeds of a Music School continue to grow!  In it's second year, there are 19 young and not-so-young musicians who are developing their gifts.  The vision is for this group to become a true worship orchestra to play at Belize events and to help cultivate worship leaders.  Donated musical instruments are making their way to Belize, and we hope to continue to bring musicians to help lead and develop this group - along with others as an outreach from the existing sewing centers.  forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 The Word at Work, All rights reserved. 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Fw: Thank you for your continued prayers!

Friends,

Kenny Logan asked me to share his deep gratitude for your continued prayers for his wife, Tina.  Today we are praising God for the good report from her surgeon as he sees more signs of healing.  Specifically, please pray that Tina's body will continue to grow new tissue, and that she will be protected from infection.  The next week is critical for her recovery.  

Tim Tam has been readmitted to the hospital this evening with an extremely high fever and other signs of infection; please pray that the medications being administered will heal his body completely.  Continue to surround their family as this set back is hard; pray that their spirits will remain lifted, and that God will make his presence known in moments of discouragement.

Lisa Tam was moved to an extended care facility this evening.  She continues to make positive progress and we are praising God for how far she has come!  Your prayers matter!  There is power in His name - thank you so much for your steadfast petitions to God on our TWAW family's behalf.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.  Eph. 3:20-21

Blessings from Belize,

--
Mollie Fields

Final Belize prayer update

Everyone is back in the metroplex! Praise God! (And now some of our team members will continue their travel back to their homes in Kansas and North Carolina). But we are just thankful for your prayers and a successful trip!

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.Colossians 1:28-29

Belize prayer update 7

4:45 PM Sunday
We had a great last few days in Belize, a wonderful time of Debrief. It was incredibly hard to say good bye to the people of Belize we have built relationships with over the years.

Please continue praying for Tina and Lisa. The doctors did a second surgery on Tina's arm but the status of how it is going to heal is still up in the air.

We are in various stages of travel back. 15 of us are in Houston, one short flight away from being back in DFW. Scott, Lew, Jim, and Zach L got bumped from our flight to Houston because it was overbooked. They are enroute to Texas right now. Please be praying for them as I know they are anxious to see their families and their families are anxious to see them.

Thank you for your prayers,

7:16 PM Sunday
Our whole group is state side! The majority of us are back at DFW and Jim, Zach L, and Scott have made it to Houston. Please continue to pray for their safe travel, and we will update y'all when they arrive back to the Metroplex.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,  now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3

Belize prayer update 7

How is it already Fri?! This week flew by!

Today our YES construction crew finished the building they were working on, including the tin roof. Starting Monday the girls will be able to use it!

Our accounting/Quickbooks team spent the whole day with Ms Karen (with no distractions, because half our group took the girls out on a field trip), and was able to get her all set up so she's able to manage her accounts and run reports from her computer.

We had a blast with the girls on the bus/field trip. It was great to have the day away from school, to keep building relationships with them that have been built over the years. Please join us in praying for them even as we venture back to the States. Many have them huge struggles ahead of them. We will continue to share their names and pictures as we return home and have a chance to talk to you and share more. But please pray for Heidi, a second year student who has some mental handicaps. She lives in a homeless shelter, so she has no one to depend on. The school has already decided to have her back to keep learning and building skills even after she graduates, so she has somewhere to learn and can continue to grow.

And pray for Jennifer, whose father died when she was a toddler, and whose mother has nothing to do with her. She wakes up at 3 every morning to support herself by working in the market, and to overcome some serious obstacles that are before her.

Pray for Yency, the president of the 8-Mile youth group, the oldest of the children at her house, and at 17 has an amazing amount of poise and organization.

Pray for Ms. Karen, Pastor Ruth, Oscar and Yolanda, all the staff and students of YES, and the community of 8-Mile

We are so thankful to have been here in Belize this past week, and are so thankful for your prayers. Tomorrow we are scheduled for some debrief, and then we begin our journey back to Texas on Sun.

Pray the team will leave Belize having been changed by God and not just through the experience, but that they would desire to know Him more after this week of serving. Pray for their debrief time as a group.
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He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

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. Eph. 3:14-19

Belize prayer update 6

A few updates on Tina:
Her surgery went well, in that they were able to set the bones from the break.  But there was a long gash from her wrist to above her elbow that they were not able to close, and will have to remain open until a later date.  But, doctors said that if she had stayed in Belize one more day she would have lost her arm.

Tim Tam has returned home from the rehab, but Lisa Tam is still struggling in the ICU. They have had to move to a tracheotomy from a breathing tube because of some MRSA in her lungs.  Please continue to pray for her as she is still in critical condition.

Down in Belize we are having a great day.  All of our group is at YES, as the concrete at the 8 Mile site needs some time to set.  We've had a great day with the girls so far, really getting to know them on an even deeper level.  Having even more hands/people here, we've been able to make good strides with the YES building we're working on. 

Please be praying for our time with the girls the rest of the day, our time with the 8 mile Youth tonight, safety in travel, safety on the construction site, that our hearts would be open to learn from them.

Pray for group unity again as they pass the halfway point, that everyone would get along and love each other as Christ loves. Pray for endurance and good health.


Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.  2 Cor. 8:11

Belize prayer update 5

Tuesday was another full, but wonderful day.

 Tina and Kenny got all their paperwork together and left for the states in the morning so that Tina could have her arm treated.  They made it to Amarillo though it was a painful trip for Tina. They went straight to the home of the surgeon who is working on tina's arm. Surgery is scheduled for Wed. morning.

 The construction team went out to 8-Mile again on Tuesday and had a successful day.  A cloudy day also helped!  They were so productive that they are going to be able to pour concrete today. 

 We started at YES on Tuesday, and it was sooo good to see some of the same girls and to be greeted by hugs.  We started the day with a time of devotion, worship, and prayer.  And then we launched into classes.  the "juniors" (it's a two-year program, so they are either juniors or seniors), took a computer class from some of our youth, while the seniors did a variety of craft projects, including crocheting.  We are teaching a wide variety of crafts, some that will help equip them for skills that they can use later in life, and a few just for fun.   We also had a construction team at YES that demoed a building (that had fallen into a state of disrepair) on Tuesday so we can spend the rest of the week rebuilding it.  

 We also had a few team members working with the YES director to set up a computer based accounting system for her.  There was a big hiccup though because none of the computers seemed to have enough memory to load software like that.  Thankfully that obstacle was overcome, and things seem to be working well.  

 We went over to 8-Mile in the evening, played games with the kids we had met Monday, built a bonfire and roasted s'mores, spent a good amount of time worshiping with them, and studying God's Word together.  It was an amazing time with them, and we hated to leave, but we had to find food for dinner before everything closed!

 Today the 8-Mile construction crew is yet again hard at work, the YES construction crew is rebuilding a building, we are teaching more accounting to the director, crocheting, and new crafts.  We started the morning again with worship, devotion, and a fun time again with the girls.  

 Thanks for your prayers.  We appreciate them so much, and each one of you!

 

 

Please pray

·         * that team members would learn from the people of Belize; from their love, their pain, their suffering, their joy, and their faith.

·         * that team members would serve compassionately and lovingly.

·        * for safety and protection in driving and all the varied activities.

·       *   for continued relationship-building.

·       *   for Tina’s continued recovery and for Kenny who is supporting and encouraging her.

 Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150

  In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,  they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.  And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.  So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 2 Cor. 8:2-6