NEW WEBSITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who were not aware - this site is no longer the active site of C.C. Philadelphia's Missions department. Please go to http://missions.ccphilly.org/ or just click HERE

This site will remain open for a couple more months and then will be shut down. For those of you who have not been on the new site.......... ENJOY !

Russian Outreach

Igor Shepyeta and Paul Berzin

Hello everyone, I wanted to make you all aware of an outreach in Northern Russia that some brothers from our church will be leading in early August. Please keep them in prayer as they reach out to the Russian youth through evangelistic concerts, and camps.

The following is a tentative itinerary so that you can pray for them while they are in various locations throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Maldova.

- August 2nd, the whole team is gathering in Odessa. This team consists of volunteers from Ukraine and Moldova.
- August 3rd, the team will be leaving Odessa for Moscow on a 24 hour train ride.
- August 4th, taking the train from Moscow to Labytnangi (this will be a 46-48 hour train ride). Labytnangi is the place where the railroad actually ends. Across the river, in the next city which is Salekhard, Yamal, we will arrive at the local baptist church. For the following 2-3 weeks, we will be working in different locations up and down the Ob' river. During this time, we are going to host at least 2 children's day camps and we will also will hold concerts and fellowship for the local youth and adults.

After we are finished in Yamal, we will take the 2 trains back to Odessa, Ukraine. Once there, we will host several youth-focused concerts and outreaches. We will also hold the same concerts and outreaches in Kishenyov, Moldova.

Keep checking back for more updates from Igor and Paul.

Blessings,

Carlos

Missions Conference messages now online

The conference went great. If you weren't able to make it out, you can now listen or download the messages by logging on to our website here. Pass them on to your friends and family as these messages were such an awesome encouragement to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and to continue to spread the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to those who still need to hear.

Enjoy.


Carlos

Come on out !

2010 Missions Conference from Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia on Vimeo.

Missions Conference is Coming Up!

Hello everyone. The Missions Conference is just around the corner, and I'm starting to get really excited about all that the Lord is going to do over that weekend. Here is a link to go to if you want to listen to a short interview that I did about the conference on 90.5 Hope F.M. In it I share a little bit more about our speakers, and more about the conference in general. Are you coming? We have them every two years, so don't miss this one! Register by calling our church office at 215-969-1520, or by logging on to www.ccphilly.org

See you there.

Carlos

2010 Missions Conference !

Hello everyone! We are fast approaching our Missions Conference here at C.C. Philly. The dates are Friday night, May 21st starting at 6:30 P.M., and all day Saturday May 22nd starting at 9:00 A.M. The conference is FREE and all are welcome to attend. We have invited all of the Calvary Chapel fellowships in the surrounding States, but are also welcoming any missions minded believers to come and attend from any church in the area. The only thing we are asking is that you first register so we can get an idea of how many people to expect. You can do that by filling this FORM out online (it only works if you are using internet explorer). If you don't have a computer, or your only using safari on your mac, just call our church office and register with one of the secretaries. The number for C.C. Philadelphia is 215-969-1520. For more information, and to read more about our speakers, you can download the brochure by clicking HERE.

Speaking of our speakers, I just wanted to write a little about some of them, and where they are coming from. Dr. John Dekker and his wife Helen were working in Irian Jaya since the 60's with the remote Dani people who had no written language and no knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Lord used the Dekkers in incredible ways to not only translate the Bible into their language, but to also start many various churches throughout the valley they lived in. Today there are 79 churches among them totaling some 13,000 baptized believers. These Dani have such a heart for missions themselves, they have now sent out over 65 couples from amongst themselves to other people groups in the surrounding area that need to hear about Jesus!

Pastor Serge Poteau is the pastor at C.C. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He will be sharing with us on what the Lord has been doing there in Haiti since the devastating earthquake hit in January. He is a Haitian national and will have information that we have not and will not get on our national news stations. I'm really looking forward to hearing him and all that the Lord is doing there in PAP.

Some of our other speakers will include David Guzik who is the director of the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Siegen, Germany, and has also written many commetaries that are available for free on Blue Letter Bible. Phil Metzger will aslo be sharing with us. He is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Budapest, Hungary which I believe is the largest Calvary outside the United States, and has been on the field for over 12 years. He also oversees the Bible College in Vajta, Hungary, and the Calvary Church plants throughout Eastern Europe. He will be sharing about the great things that the Lord is doing in Eastern Europe, as well as the great needs that still exist in that area.

We will also be hearing from Bill Gallatin, Jeff Jackson (former missionary to the Philippines, and founder of Shepherd's Staff Mission Facilitators), Chuck Walton (Wycliffe Bible translator among the Sama people in the Philippines for over 30 years), and some others!

So, as you can read, we have a strong line up of speakers that will not only tell us what the Lord is doing around the world, but will also challenge us on what our part should be in the midst of it all. Pray for the conference, that the Lord would do a mighty work over those two days, and that many would sense the Lord calling them out to this great harvest! Invite your friends, sign up online (or by calling the church office), and continue to pray that the Lord would use this time for His glory.

Blessings,

Carlos

We're Alive !

Hi everyone, well, it seems like the only place that has reliable power, and any type of internet in Zambia is here in the capital Lusaka. We're getting ready to leave tomorrow morning and I used the little time I had to run over to the internet cafe to let you all know that we're still alive, and that we're all doing great! No sickness, no injuries, and we're all filled with all of the Lord's abundant blessings! All the construction jobs got done, and then some. The guys worked hard, and the lord blessed the work of their hands. The teachings went well, and all the 150 pastors at the conference on Saturday we're blessed. The time at Kafue National Park over the last 2 days were wonderful, I'll have to tell you another time about the elephant that decided to invade the lodge and walk all around our chalets! Anyway, everyone is doing great, being blessed, and we'll all have lots to talk about when we get home. Pray for our 2 flights tomorrow, and that we can all return to our families quickly. Thanks for all your prayers this past week, the Lord moved and I believe that Jesus was glorified. When I get back to the states, I'll write more.

Blessings,
Carlos

We made it!

Hi everyone, it's around 10:30 A.M. Lusaka, Zambia time, and we're right about ready to start our two day drive North to Kasempa. We'll be stopping in Ndola tonight. The past two days of flying have been uneventful, but really tiring! Thanks for your prayers for our safety, our flights were very smooth and all on time. All of our bags got here as well, which is another answer to prayer. Please continue to pray for our travels by van now and for the remainder of the trip. Everyone is doing fine, tired, but also excited to be here. I don't know how often I'll be able to update this when we get to Kasempa, but I'll try to do it when I can. Thanks again for your prayers, we feel them, and are so encouraged by them - please keep it up!

Blessings,
Carlos

Zambia, here we come!

Hello everyone, well, in little over a week a team from C.C. Philly will be heading to Kasempa, Zambia to visit our missionaries Ron and Bridget Wint with Lumba Christian Ministries. The trip is going to serve a coupe of different purposes, the main one being construction needs. Nine out of the eleven people going have a construction/ electrical background and will be working on various projects that are in dire need of repair. Please pray that they would be able to fix what needs to be fixed using the VERY limited tools that will be available. There are no Home Depots in the country, and the closest town that may have materials is a six hour round trip drive. So please pray that what the Lord would want fixed, gets fixed/built, and that the problems that will no doubt come - will just be little diversions met with creative Holy Spirit guided solutions! While the rest of the team will be working on these various projects, myself and Brian Weed will be teaching at various churches throughout the area. It's a always a joy to spend time with the pastors there, and we are praying that the Lord would be glorified in our teaching, as well as in our fellowship with these men of God. Also, on Saturday, March 20th we will be hosting a Pastors Conference where all the different pastors in the area from different denominations and backgrounds will be invited to attend. Typically we can expect a couple hundred people to be in attendance. Please be praying for this time, as Brian and I teach through the first 8 chapters of the book of Romans. Pray that the Lord would address any questions on doctrine that needs to be addressed, and most of all that the Pastors would leave encouraged in the Word, and in the work that the Lord has called them to. Lastly, we will spend some time visiting and hanging out with the orphans there in Kasempa, that are supported through donors Stateside under Lumba Christian Ministries.

As I have written in the past, this is the kind of trip that has many unknown variables, and anything could go wrong at anytime, ie. transportation, sickness, snake bites, severe rain etc etc. So I do really mean it when I am asking you guys to be praying for our safety and for the Lord to bless this trip beyond what I can even ask or think. Our team feels it when the saints are praying for them, so please be praying for us - the trip dates are March 11th - 25th. I will try to update this site with pictures while there in Zambia but because of the extremely poor communication where we are in Northern Zambia, I can't make any promises!

Lastly, I wanted to present an opportunity to anyone in the Philadelphia area that may be reading this regarding ministering to Muslim Refugees from Chad. We have some opportunities available to minister to Muslim Refugees that have been relocated from their home countries to the Philadelphia area. If you have a heart to minister to Muslims from another culture and have been praying about opportunities to do that, please send me an email and I will give you some more information.

Blessings,
Carlos

Stories from Haiti ..........

Hi everyone. I'm not sure how many of you know that there are at leas two Calvary Chapel churches in Haiti. One of them is in Porta-au-Prince, and the other in Caneille. Praise the Lord that both pastors and their families are safe and being used by the Lord in a great way right now. The church and orphanage in PAP though not totally destroyed still suffered some pretty severe damage structurally - enough so that nobody is staying at either facility. The church in Caneille didn't suffer any damages and is being used currently. Pastor Bastia and his wife Betty from C.C. Caneille have a great testimony of how the Lord protected them during the earthquake last week. Below is an email that we received from them the day after it took place.

Hi everyone,

We are writing this e mail to the many who have written and asked how we are in light of yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti. Short answer – Yes, Bastia and I are both safe and unharmed due to nothing short of a miracle of God..

Bastia and I were both in Port au Prince when the earthquake took place. Bastia dropped me off at a grocery store to do some shopping while he and our friend TiJean went across the street to get their hair cut. Within 10 minutes of being in the grocery store, I felt the floor start to tremble. I remember thinking, “This feels like an earthquake, but Haiti doesn’t have earthquakes”. As I looked up, the ceiling tiles were trembling. Underneath me, the trembling increased where I could not stand, so I knelt down on the floor, covered my head, and prayed. The trembling increased and the lights went out. It was pitch black everywhere. I heard people screaming and the sound of people trying to run to get out of the building as ceiling tiles fell and things fell off the shelves. All around me, I was aware that things were falling, but nothing touched me. The tremors stopped, and the first thing I tried to do was try to call Bastia from my cell phone. No answer, just a recorded message in Creole. Same thing the second attempt. I was aware that there was a woman behind me. “Are you OK?” I asked. “Yes”. I said, “Don’t be afraid, Jesus is with us.” I told her to follow me, and with the light of my cell phone, we carefully and slowly began crossing the debris to exit the building. As I exited, I looked everywhere for Bastia. And then, right there in front of me, there he was along with TiJean. I cannot explain the relief and joy to see his face.

Bastia had a more harrowing experience. It was a huge cement building and he and TiJean were sitting in the barber chairs when the tremors began. TiJean fell on the way out, but got out before the building collapsed. Bastia was not able to get out and a huge slab of cement fell down right above him and stopped right above his head. I personally believe Gods’ angels were holding up the cement to not crush him. He saw no way to get out, but then found a hole to crawl through and escaped. This morning, when we drove by the same barber shop, it had totally collapsed, and Bastia would have died if that had happened while he was in the building. Once out, he and TiJean came immediately to find me.

We are praising God continuously for His protection and deliverance. Thank you for all who pray for us. God has a plan and nothing will stop it. The situation in PAP is severe. Many people are trapped in buildings of which almost all are made of cement. This morning there were wounded, bleeding people everywhere, and dead people on the streets who were covered with a shirt or sheet. There was little vehicle traffic and literally thousands of people walked the streets looking at the damage and searching for their loved ones. One hospital was completely destroyed. We took a truckload of injured people to the hospital. There was hardly a place left on the hospital grounds to even put them. The hospital was full and there were no medical personnel seen outside. One beautiful young girl was dying before my very eyes as the young man with her looked at me and said, “She’s dying.” There were cries and wails of pain everywhere.

Schools throughout the entire country are closed till further notice. The presidents’ house has been destroyed as well as the police station, hospital, schools, many businesses, homes,etc. No one here ever recalls Haiti having had a severe earthquake like this. In Caneille and Hinche, light tremors were felt, but no damage. The light tremors hit Caneille and Hinche before PAP, and the people of Caneille said they were praying for us fervently and relentlessly. We arrived back in Hinche this afternoon and are trying to stock up on food, gas, and culligan water. Everything originates from PAP and we expect prices to skyrocket and things to be unavailable.

C.C. Philly is now working with these two churches, and we are currently praying on what the best way is to help them in the long term. Regarding trips there, this will probablly be a reality in the next couple of months. Keep an eye on our website , or this site for more information on short-term trips.

You can go to these sites if you would like some more information regarding the two churches mentioned above.

Calvary Chapel Canielle - http://www.cccaneille.org/
Calvary Chapel Port-Au-Prince - http://ccpap.blogspot.com/
Calvary Chapel Orphanage in PAP - http://calvarychapelinthecity.com/ccf-orphanage/

First Communion on Aniwa

As mentioned in my last post, I waned to write a little about John G. Paton and the impact that he had in the New Hebrides in the mid to late 1800's. Instead of quoting bits and pieces from one of my favorite chapters, I figured I would just post the entire chapter - yes, it's that good! Without ruining the story (because you guys have to get this book and read it), I will briefly write that John G. Paton left Tanna after 4 years, and after a series of events landed on the island if Aniwa not to far from Tanna. There he would spend over 40 years ministering to the cannibals, and over time, basically the entire isalnd gets saved, radically saved. The following talks about the first communion that was held at the church with local Aniwa believers participating. My prayer is that the Lord would impress on your heart those that still today have not heard about Jesus, but yet so need Him to deliver them from their bondage to sin. That we would be praying for the Lord to thrust out laborers into this harvest field of unreached peoples - all 1.8 billion of them!

And this leads me to relate the story of our First Communion on Aniwa. It was Sabbath, 24th October, 1869; and surely the Angels of God and the Church of the Redeemed in Glory were amongst the gieat cloud of witnesses who eagerly " peered" down upon the scene,—when we sat around the Lord's Table and partook of His body and blood with those few souls rescued out of the Heathen World. My Communicants' Class had occupied me now a considerable time. The conditions of attendance at this early stage were explicit, and had to be made very severe, and only twenty were admitted to the roll. At the final examination only twelve gave evidence of understanding what they were doing, and of having given their hearts to the service of the Lord Jesus. At their own urgent desire, and after every care in examining and instructing, they were solemnly dedicated in prayer to be baptized and admitted to the Holy Table• On that Lord's Day, after the usual opening Service, I gave a short and careful exposition of the Ten Commandments and of the Way of Salvation according to the Gospel. The twelve Candidates then stood up before all the inhabitants there assembled ; and, after a brief exhortation to them as Converts, I put to them the two questions that follow, and each gave an affirmative reply," Do you, in accordance with your profession of the Christian Faith, and your promises before God and the people, wish me now to baptize you ? And,—"Will you live henceforth for Jesus only, hating all sin and trying to love and serve your Saviour ? "

Then, beginning with the old Chief, the twelve came forward, and I baptized them one by one according to the Presbyterian usage. Two of them had also little children, and they were at the same time baptized, and received as the lambs of the flock. Solemn prayer was then offered, and in the name of the Holy Trinity the Church of Christ on Aniwa was formally constituted. I addressed them on the words of the Holy Institution—I Corinthians xi. 23—and then, after the prayer of Thanksgiving and Consecration, administered the Lord's Supper,—the first time since the Island of Aniwa was heaved out of its coral depths ! Mrs. McNair, my wife, and myself along with six Aneityumese Teachers, communicated with the newly baptized twelve. And I think, if ever in all my earthly experience, on that day I might truly add the blessed words—Jesus " in the midst"
The whole Service occupied nearly three hours. The Islanders looked on with a wonder whose unwonted silence was almost painful to bear. Many were led to inquire carefully about everything they saw, so new and strange. For the first time the Dorcas Street Sabbath School Teachers' gift from South Melbourne Presbyterian Church was put to use—a new Communion Service of silver. They gave it in faith that we would require it, and in such we received it And now the day had come and gone! For three years we had toiled and prayed and taught for this. At the moment when I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of Cannibalism, now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer's love, I had a foretaste of the joy of Glory that well nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss, till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus Himself.

On the afternoon of that Communion Day, an open-air Prayer Meeting was held under the shade of the great banyan tree in front of our Church. Seven of the new Church members there led the people in prayer to Jesus, a hymn being sung betwixt each. My heart was so full of joy that I could do little else but weep. Oh, I wonder, I wonder, when I see so many good Ministers at home, crowding each other and treading on each other's heels, whether they would not part with all their home privileges, and go out to the Heathen World and reap a joy like this— " the joy of the Lord."

The New Year is fast approaching......

Hello everyone. I'm not going to make any excuses on my blog tardiness. I will say however that I stared a Twitter account to hopefully offset my delay of long blog posts with shorter missions minded tweets. If you want to follow along, go over to the right of this blog, and click the link.

I recently finished reading the autobiography of John G. Paton. I must tell you that if you have never read it, I would consider it a must read, as well as one of my top 3 favorite missionary biography's. John Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides (the modern day islands of Vanuatu) in the South Pacific. Around 1862 John Paton had been on the island of Tana for 4 years trying to teach the cannibals about the love of Jesus. At that point he had lost his wife and newborn son, some of his missionary friends had been killed and eaten, and he himself was daily trying to save his life from the hands of the Tannese who waned to kill him. One night while trying to run away from an angry mob that was chasing him, he climbed up a tall tree and hid in the darkness of the jungle. He writes,

I climbed into the tree and was left there alone in the bush. The hours I spent there live all before me as if it were but yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul, then when the moonlight flickered among those chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Saviour's spiritual presence, to enjoy His counseling fellowship. If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all, all alone, in the midnight, in the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then?

Wow, what a quote! Some of you may have seen a recent show on the travel channel called "Meet the Natives" where a group of tribal Indians from the island of Tanna (sound familiar) come to the US to experience it's customs and culture (and also give a message of stopping violence and war - how ironic right) ? It's very interesting, but to me what's more interesting is the history behind these people, and the gospel that had reached them 147 years before hand through John G. Paton! I think I'm going to share about the life on John G. Paton at our Missions Conference here at C.C. Philly on Saturday, May 22nd - that's right, mark your calendars. I'm sure I'll write some more about his life. The book was an absolute blessing in my life, I'm sure it will be the same for you.

Missions wise, 2010 has a lot of awesome stuff already lined up. Construction trip/ pastors conferences in Kasempa, Zambia. Two trips to help out the small church plants in the mountains of El Salvador, a trip to Israel and Jordan, as well as some other surprises. Keep checking back for some more updates. Lastly, pray for me as I attend the annual Calvary Chapel Missions Conference in Murrieta, California in a couple of weeks. Pray that the Lord would impart in me more of His heart for all peoples to know Him and declare His glory. Pray that I could be an encouragement to any missionary that needs it, and also for divine appointments set up by our Saviour. Thanks guys!

Blessings,
Carlos