Truth Travelers- New Beginnings

On March 11, 2009 the Truth Travelers program changed looks and has now become a ministry that challenges and encourages growth in knowledge, service, prayer, and love. As a child becomes part of the Truth Travelers they instantly become a Private in the F.E.D. (Find Encourage Deliver) team. From this level they can grow as far as they would like. It is at this level though they learn the basic steps to becoming a servant. First you must find a person needing encouraged. Second you need to figure out a way that would really encourage them specifically. Third, in order to really encourage someone you must deliver your encouragement. Whether that means it is through face to face, mail, or some other form. The delivery is often times the hardest part.

Each rank and level means that a child desires to be a true servant and to put what they learn into action. They earn their rankings by sharing their cards with others, learning memory verses, and serving others without wanting recognition in return.

On 5th Wednesdays we will take time to recognize the children who want to excel by promoting them in ranks and levels. Our first promotion Wednesday will be April 29th!

More information will be coming soon about the other ranks and levels that involve the Secret Service and the CIA (Christ in Action).

Stay tuned! I can't wait to see these unbelievable children in action as they grow and learn as Truth Travelers!!!

Back from Liberia

The Liberia mission trip was an amazing journey. We saw God work in so many different ways. From the flights, to individual attitudes, to the seperate parts of the big mission it was truly carried by God the entire time. All the moments the Truth Travelers spent preparing for the trip and all the lessons we learned paled in comparison to what the team experienced. Here is a glimpse of this incredible adventure...

At Vacation Bible School there were more than 400 children each day. I don't think Cowboy was prepared for what 400 kids looks like. To the VBS team it felt like they were holding the children back from seeing Jesus. Each day they were greeted with excited, energetic, smiling children. The children came for the best food and nourishment offered, the food and water from God. As we taught them each day about God, His purpose for them, His plans for their life, and that He can't break His promises we learned more and more about the lives they live. Surrounding their smiling faces and joyful spirits is a heartbreaking life. The children live on the streets, they drink the worst water immaginable, and they struggle each day to find enough food for that day. Still they were filled with so much love!

The Medical Clinic was very humbling for everyone involved. Each day the team arrived there were several hundred people waiting in line. People with starving babies, diseases that were eating their skin, or pain they had been dealing with for a very long time. It was clear from the beginning that the medical team would have to rely solely on God's power because the knowledge and supplies they brought with them wouldn't be enough. They were able to see close to 400 patients in those few short days, but the greatest thing they did was point people to God. As each patient would exit they would meet with an individual from the team who would pray with them. At the end of the day the team was forced to close and lock the gate in front of a large crowd of people still waiting. Many of them who had waited all day and some all night just to see the doctors and nurses.

The Water Project was such a blessing for the Liberians and the team. Travis trained several groups of people how to install and operate these large filtering contraptions. By the end of the week they had put 3 of the 5 systems into different locations. As they arrived back at the church on one occasion they received a call thanking them for their efforts. They were told that there was a line of people already waiting for clean water.

The Building Project was small in staff, but not in effects. Two of the men spent the entire week training 5 Liberians to be welders. Through a lot of hard work and long days they gave these 5 men an occupation that will change their lives.

The Women's Conference went very well and was a huge hit with more than 140 Liberian women. The team was able to share and pray with these ladies as they lifted their spirits.

For me, the leader of the Truth Travelers, one of the best things was the opportunity to see, hold, love on, kiss on, feed, and put to bed my wife and I's two little babies, Onah and Marie. They are still in Liberia but we are hoping to bring them home soon.

The journey ended with long flights and a terrific adventure on an African Safari in Kenya. One thing I pray for is that one day more Truth Travelers will be going to share life with our family in Liberia by truly traveling to Liberia.

Liberia: Encouraging the Missionaries

As I write this post I am only three days away from leaving for Liberia, Africa. Where instead of directing the Truth Travelers I have an amazing opportunity to share and love hopefully more than 400 Liberian children at VBS! This mission has been bathed in prayer by almost every age and every person at our church and beyond. The team has planned, held fund raisers, sent letters, celebrated, and now prepare to depart. But before they departed we couldn't help getting a little more involved with a mission we have come to love at Truth Travelers. Instead of learning more about the country of Liberia this time we spent the month learning about what the mission team was going to be doing in Liberia. Unfortunately, our month was covered in snow and nasty weather, but we were able to squeeze in three very important nights with some great Mission Team friends.

The first night Cowboy shared about the Vacation Bible School. He shared with the children about the plans and why it was important for the Liberian children to learn that God has a purpose, plan, and promise for their lives. The team will be doing skits, puppet shows, and many activities through the story of Noah's Ark! As I mentioned above we are planning for more than 400 children to be in attendance. WOW!

The second night we heard about the building the team will be working on from Maximum Classics dad, Jon. He shared with us many pictures about the buildings they have right now and why it is so important for us to help build a building for worship, school, and community. Thanks Jon for sharing. Then, it was time for a Doctors perspective. Dr. Roy Miner came and shared about his involvement and the plans for the medical clinic the team will be putting together. Roy has been working really hard to make sure we get the supplies we need for the clinic as well as another doctor to travel with us.

The third night Blue Lightning's mom, Gina, and her friend Jami came to share about the women's conference the team is hosting on a Sunday afternoon. This will be an amazing time to share with more than 100 women about how beautiful they are to God. The two ladies even helped us make "Beauty Bracelets" for the beutiful ladies in our lives. These are the same bracelets the ladies at the conference will make. They are awesome!

Tonight is the Water systems night! Our friend, Travis will be coming to share about the need for clean water and how important it is for the systems to be working properly. All together the team is hoping to put up 5 different systems around Liberia.

Hopefully, we will hear more about this amazing blessing when the team returns! Stay tuned I am sure that God is going to move in major ways. For now though, I'm "GONE!"

Truth Travelers Encourage The Abused

December at Truth Travelers was a month of learning about and serving our new friends at the YWCA. During the month we took a look at the life of children and women from abused lives that live directly in Muncie. As we talked and challenged each other to be an encouragement to these children we also prayed for them and for the upcoming Christmas. While we prayed we tied blankets together using "Knot prayers." The Truth Travelers did a great job of making these blankets. The final week was a field trip to a battered women's shelter in our area, but it wasn't just the Truth Travelers. The entire high school group (CRASH), middle school group (Connect), and families joined together to make dinner, deliver gifts, and share an evening of encouragement with the children and mothers at the home. For many this experience really opened their eyes to what some people go through each day, for others it challenged them to get more involved to think of ways to continue this ministry opportunity. At the time of this posting ideas are being designed so we will see where it goes from here.

Outreach Magazine Arrives

Our friend Scott Marshall at Outreach Magazine kindly sent us four copies of the article that was written about our team. We were very honored to be featured and happy to share our story with the world. Here is the article just in case you weren't able to get a copy...

Truth Travelers Live and Share God's Word
Wearing tattered clothes groups of children begged door to door and tried to sell goods for money to buy food. At some houses they found generosity; at others, rejection.
For Joseph Tempest, 10, the experience was difficult, but his survival did not depend on it. Instead, it taught him about how orphans in Liberia live every day.
"They're just really poor, and they don't have much stuff at all," says Tempest, a member of the Truth Travelers minister at 200 attendee Harvest Christian Fellowship (www.hcfmuncie.org) in Muncie, Indiana.
Tempest is one of about 20 kids who participate in Truth Travelers. The ministry's teaching emphases include putting God first, serving others, praying and evangelizing.
"If we can catch them before they get too old and too cool, it's our hope that maybe we'll catch them for a lifetime to be missionaries ant that they'll change the face of their schools, their families, their neighborhoods, the state, the country, and keep going." Children's Minister Matt Lee says.
The Truth Travelers spent a month learning about life in Liberia, including eating Liberian food and walking 10 laps up and down stairs at the church to simulate what Liberians must do just to get a drink of fresh water. The church then notified area residents that the children would be out begging to experience life like a Liberian orphan but were not needy themselves. Residents gave the kids $169, which they sent to help real Liberian orphans.
The students also are urged to share their faith by giving people business cards that read: "Smile! Jesus Loves You!"
Last school year, Sarah McDowell, 8, gave away cards to all 24 kids in her class. "I want to give away as many as I can," McDowell says.

Truth Travelers Encourage Harvest

During the month of October, the Truth Travelers spent time encouraging people around Harvest. We began the month choosing people from the church directory at random. With the great leadership of Jellyfish the kids made cookies for each person while Matt helped the children make small picture postcards. Then the treats and cards were placed into a paper bag and delivered to the person. The kids spent time praying for the person they were encouraging.

The next week, Jellyfish led the team in praying for and encouraging the college ministry. Great job on the notes kids.

Week three was a work week as we prayed for and secretly encouraged the members of the cleaning ministry. Each of the kids had different jobs to do throughout the building. At each location the kids were challenged to stop, thank God for the person that usually completes that task, and then complete the task. The Truth Travelers did an amazing job with this challenge and had a lot of fun in the process. Pictures were taken, so I will get them uploaded to here soon.

Week Four was a night for encouraging the Harvest Leadership team. A video is coming your way soon, fellas so stay tuned! We also drew pictures of each of the people on the team, learned what a leader looks like (Thanks Jesus!) and prayed for them individually.

Finally, the fifth and last Wednesday of October was spent encouraging one another. We had a small task to do beforehand though (see the pictures above.) What i thought would take us a few minutes ended up taking most of the time. The main reason...the Truth Travelers were working like a true team and everyone was pitching in and encouraging one another. I couldn't stop this teachable time from continuing so the kids just kept working. Afterwards we went inside and played Cheery O's as a group.

The month of November is all about encouraging our Families and showing gratitude to everyone. Philippians 1:3 says, "I thank my God every time I remember you." See you at Truth Travelers on Wednesday!!


Oops...I almost forgot...the article featuring the Truth Travelers from Outreach Magazine should be coming out soon. Stay tuned!!!

Have You Met A Truth Traveler??

Hello,
Are you visiting this site because you have met a Truth Traveler? Please take a minute to share your story with us by sending an email, thoughts, or ideas to truthtravelers@yahoo.com

Thanks for visiting. There is a video for you to enjoy as well as music to listen to as you read our story. Check in often and see what we are up to.

Truth Travelers and Outreach Magazine

It looks weird for a title but its true. About three weeks ago we received a message at the Truth Traveler front office that Outreach Magazine wanted to do an article about the Truth Travelers. Matt emailed back and forth with an editor at the magazine and they set up a couple phone interviews. The first interview was with Matt about the history of the Truth Travelers. The second interview was with Saree and Hot Shot about their experiences as a Truth Traveler. The magazine was very excited about the Liberia Live Drama and wanted to get pictures and the kids responses to being beggars for a day. Saree and Hot Shot did an amazing job with the interview and gave Outreach lots of terrific information and thoughts. Great job, Truth Travelers. Several of the other members answered a few other questions and their thoughts were emailed to Outreach. The article should be appearing in the November-December issue of Outreach Magazine. We are really excited to see how God uses this experience to share His love with others.

Mohammed "Big Mo" and Haba visit Truth Travelers

What an experience and wonderful time we had with Mohammed and his wife Haba! Mohammed shared his life story with the children about life as a Malian orphan. He talked about the history of his home, his family, and what he does now. Did you know that one man can lead a line of more than 100 camels at one time? Mohammed played the drums for us, taught us some Malian games, showed us many cool things while Haba taught us to dance and helped Mohammed with his stories. It was such a terrific time. In the pictures above is a game we played that is like Doggy, Doggy Where's Your Bone. See if you can figure out which one is a pillow and which one is a Malian wallet! Thank you Mohammed and Haba for visiting the Truth Travelers. Eso Hereek! (I hope I spelled that right!)

Encounter visits the Truth Travelers

A special thank you to our friends Arnold and Gigi from Encounter Philipines and Pete from Encounter Illinois State for visiting with us last night at the Truth Travelers. We had a lot of fun learning more about Encounter. God is doing some really amazing things all around us right now and it is so cool to see that he is working in great ways with our missionary friends as well.

Since they took the time to come and visit we decided we should make them honorary Truth Travelers so that they can take Jesus love to more people around the world. That means they each had to come up with a code name to go by. Keep reading...

Pete (Fumatumaafala) shared how he met Arnold (Spiderman) and Gigi (Kikay) and why Encounter's role with college students is so important. Then, while Pete was setting up for a cool slide show, Arnold took some time to show some little American kids how to play a game called "Long and Short" with basketball. Did you know that the favorite sport of the Philippines is by far basketball? There is a hoop on almost every street corner.

After the basketball Arnold shared with us some great pictures and about life in the Philipines. He of course had some family photos to share as well. The place they live looked really beautiful. Most of the kids though wanted to go visit during the rainy season.

The rest of the time with them we spent praying for them, giving them a couple special cards, and taking different pictures.

Thanks again for visiting with us Arnold, Gigi, and Pete. You are some really cool Truth Travelers!!

Liberia Live Drama

What an incredible evening it was as the Truth Travelers presented their Liberia Live Drama to the people of Hamilton Village. The children and adults came dressed in costume and ready to experience for two short hours what an orphan experiences for a lifetime. Before we left we spent some time thinking about who we were and what the drama was all about. We also prayed for God use this drama to do something cool. We just had to take a quick family picture as well.


We walked from house to house asking, begging, and selling goods so that we could survive just one more night. We met many friendly neighbors and some that treated us like the parts we were playing. Some people gave generously while others gave nothing at all and sent us on our way. The children celebrated their victories when a person blessed them with a gift. They also learned what rejection feels like as they walked away often times empty handed. All in all our drama raised $163.96 to go directly to an orphan in Liberia, Africa. Great job kids. Thanks again for being TRUTH TRAVELERs for Jesus!!!



Hey Kids,
Special challenge. Please write a note or letter about your experience as a beggar last night and bring it to Truth Travelers next Wednesday.


Stay tuned for pictures of our Liberia experience this month.

Next week we have a couple real life missionaries coming to see us. Our friend Pete from Encounter Illinois and another friend Arnold from the Philippines. We are very excited about their visit.

Discovering Liberia

All during the month of April we have been discovering life in Liberia. We started the month by walking to get a drink of water. We walked up and down the steps outside the church for ten laps just to get a drink of fresh water.
Before week two "Need for Speed," his sister, and myself built a hut for us to live in outside. Sadly though after just a couple days of the Indiana wind our hut was blown over and crushed. We rebuilt our home and that is what you see in the pictures. It was much more sturdy and was better protected by the church building.
We also relocated the well so that we didn't have to walk up and down stairs. Instead we had to walk five laps around the inside of our playground area in one direction to get the water, then back the other way to get back home.
The kids really enjoyed making a couple Liberian toys (balls on a string) and playing a game called roll the hoop. You simply roll the hoop using a stick as far as you can.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the best part...the Liberian dinners. Each week we have given up eating a normal American meal so that we can enjoy rice and whatever else gets mixed with it. Here is a picture of one our dinners. Very yummy, right Truth Travelers??

Have You Met A Truth Traveler?

Hey neighbor from around the world. If you are reading this then you probably recieved a card inviting you to say hello to us and to stop by and tell us your story. Believe it or not...we are praying for you. We are praying that you will meet our best friend Jesus one day and start a great relationship with Him. We are praying that God will bless you and that you will know how much HE loves you. We are praying that you will be encouraged. Please take some time to post a comment about your experience with a Truth Traveler! This space is especially for you!!

Christ in Youth

The month of March brought a month of filming and editing a video for our friends at Christ in Youth. As a church we love going to CIY events at different locations and experiencing God's hand in our lives as we take time to be alone with HIM! This month we decided to get creative and do something a little different. We decided to try our hand at making a video to encourage the whole staff at one time. We spent a lot of time praying for the upcoming events CIY was doing, but whenever we had free time we were taping. Unfortunately, the sound quality in the first video didn't work out. We had a blast on a Sunday afternoon retaping the new video and making it final before sending it on to Joplin, Missouri before the end of March.

The biggest highlight though was our big phone conference with Patrick Snow. Patrick is the director of an event called SuperStart! Many of our youth have enjoyed SuperStart! for the past three years so calling the main speaker and talking to him live was like talking to a big time celebrity. The kids wrote down different questions and Patrick answered each one. The kids asked some really great questions and we had a lot of fun. Thanks, Patrick for taking time to chat with the Truth Travelers.

Right now the Truth Traveler team is still working to encourage the people at CIY as we prepare to send a huge card to them along with a couple other cards. Thanks CIY for spending time encouraging us at the different events. Stay focused on Jesus and Never forget... Smile! Jesus Loves You!!!

Encounter

The month of February was filled with experiencing the college life. We ate pizza, played corn hole, watched a couple videos, took some funny pictures and spent a lot of time praying. We made cards for our friends at Encounter Illinois and sent a care package and encouragement notes their way at the end of the month. It was really fun packing up the box that was full of so many goodies. Cookies, popcorn, ramen noodles, and prayers. Lots and lots of prayers. After we sealed the box we prayed over it one more time to be a blessing to the students. Matt took the box to the post office and off it went. We love you Encounter and we are praying for you!

What an awesome group these Truth Travelers are. Tonight was my birthday and Hot Shot had called all the kids for a surprise party for me. We still tried to focus on our mission for the night but it didn't take long before we were partying together. Thanks Truth Travelers for being an example to me as encouragers and servants.