Since my return from Tanzania on September 4, I've often recalled the events from the vision trip—the different churches we visited and the wonderful people we joined in worship and song. While still very fresh in my mind, I find the experience hard to translate into words. How can one describe the indescribable? You simply can't. I will try my best, however, to give you a glimpse of the experiences most meaningful to me.

First, I was struck by the easygoing attitude of the African people as they talked about "African Time". Suffice to say, an African minute and a New York minute are not equal. Secondly, I was stunned by the beauty of God's creation in the land and people of Tanzania. As we met many believers during our travels, I saw their inner beauty reflected through their deep and unshakable commitment to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, though many had faced persecution.

While en route to churches, I had the privilege of hearing several of the pastors’ testimonies. As I listened to their stories, I stood in awe of the redemptive power of the Cross. What a mighty, loving God we serve! The more time we spent with our African brothers and sisters, the more I came to realize that while there were great differences in our cultures and life experiences, there was also a common bond that brought us together in a very personal way, and that unity came through the love of Jesus.

For me, the trip was a perfect example of the Proverb, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another". It was through our cultural differences that a more refined edge was developed in our faith, and I, for one, came away much richer from the experience.

~Ron Scott, ICM Area Director for the Midwest

Sporting their new shirts, gifts from one of the churches we visited! Shown here with choir members and our ministry partner, Pastor Raymond Muniss.
Dan Cunning , Iowa
Ron Scott , Iowa
Mark Fanning, Texas
Ralph Doudera, Virginia
Brad Orchard, ICM Field Director for Africa

The ladies of the team wearing our gifts from one of the churches we visited!
L to R:
Mary Collins from Virginia Beach, Virginia
Tiffany Doudera from Virginia Beach, Virginia
Sarah Fanning from Houston, Texas
Tanzanian Pastor's wife
Janice Allen from Virginia
Judy Cunning from Mt. Ayr, Iowa

The trip has been wonderful thus far. Tonight we had a special dinner with the board of Tanzania Assemblies of God....one of the women made African clothes for each of the team.....they are incredibly warm and special folks and extraordinarily grateful for the partnership with ICM. There is clear evidence that God is using ICM for this indigenous ministry; to reach their goal: TANZANIA FOR JESUS!!!" We hear this cheered at every church we visit. The team has connected extremely well and each are having a memorable time. We worshipped in a church of 1000 yesterday located in the slums of Dar Es Salaam...Manzese B Church. Our team participated in dedicating a medical clinic they are opening close by. All of the doctors and nurses are members of the church. The congregation is so proud and it was exactly what we long to see....the local church taking the initiative to impact their communities for Jesus Christ. Now we are off to Zanzibar.

~Janice

The team arrived safe and sound in Tanzania! We were greeted warmly by our ministry partners and had had two incredibly full and rich days. Yesterday we had the joy of worshiping in two Spirit filled churches...the rhythmic music and synchronized dancing in praise to our Father was an experience we will never forget. The service was followed by a delicious feast prepared by the ladies of the congregation....we all enjoyed sampling Tanzanian "cake"...roasted goat! The joy of the Lord was evident on everyone's faces. It’s a gift to be here!

~Janice

A team of 13 ICM Vision Trip travelers from all over the U.S. are on the verge of departure to the exotic African nation of Tanzania! We leave Tuesday August 25 and will arrive at the airport closest to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the continent's highest and most famous mountain. While we won't be scaling the heights of this dormant volcano, we do expect God to take us to grand spiritual heights as we get a bird's eye view of what He's doing in Tanzania. Our journey will take us to many rural churches deep in the villages of the African Bush. These churches were built through a ministry partnership with ICM. We expect our hearts will be touched as we see first hand how God is nurturing His flock in Africa. Later, we'll board a boat to cross a portion of the Indian Ocean headed for the ancient island of Zanzibar. With it's slave trade history and 90+ % Muslim population, Zanzibar is still home to 14 rural churches built in partnership with ICM. Our team will worship with the brothers and sisters on Zanzibar and witness the mighty work of God as He calls this island nation to Himself! Please pray for our team as we prepare for departure to Africa this Tuesday. We also invite you to return to this site for frequent updates as we get a glimpse of God's vision for Africa on this latest ICM Vision Trip!

We just received news from the pictured church orphanage in India that we visited on the most recent Vision Trip. They reported that the mayor has visited the orphanage three times to thank the pastor and his congregation for taking in the children that were at risk in the community!
Praise God!

Greetings from Haiti! As I write this from a hotel on the Carribbean in the former capitol city of Cap Haitian, a voodoo festival has begun. The event lasts throughout the months of June and July making hotel rooms scarce. One of our ICM ministry partners here struggled to reserve rooms for us. Part of the rituals of the voodoo festival include self mutilation, fire dancing and the consumption of animal blood. Recognized as the world capitol of voodoo, Haiti continues to be steeped in this bizarre false religion. Nonetheless, God continues to work as "wherever sin abounds, grace abounds all the more." Through our partners, The Lord has permitted ICM to construct many churches in Haiti and part of the task this week is to explore opportunities to build even more. As with most ICM Partnered churches, we find the congregations substantially increasing once the church building is complete. Especially in Haiti, these churches become a beacon of grace and truth in the midst of a dark and lost society. While working here in Haiti, we are also beginning the process of implementing the use of TMBC (Targeted Mini Bible College) which is partially available in Creole, the native language. Please pray for ICM's work in Haiti always thanking Him for the privilege.


For ICM,
Brad Orchard

There are four girls in this picture who had been saved from death. In one district of southern India, it is considered a bad omen to have a baby girl at certain times of the year. Just after birth, Drops of poison are given to these babies by their parents. A pastor from one of the ICM churches will go into the hospital and ask to buy these babies from their parents—he saves them from death and brings them to the family-style orphanage to be raised in a loving church home.

The final day of a powerful experience!  The last week has been an overwhelming adventure full of God’s power…..enjoying a day of rest today after a delayed flight back to the US.  The people of India, men, women and children have been so gracious and giving.  It has truly been a sensory overload…from the spicy yet yummy foods, to the beautiful colors of women’s and girl’s sarees, to the uplifting praising of God at the churches.  The last night we celebrated at a church & orphanage dedication.  Sarah’s Covenant Home for children with special needs was such a blessing…..need to run now, to catch our flight to the US…just a quick note…

 

Leslie

So, here we are in Mumbai a bit longer than expected. J Last night we had a flight delayed from Chennai to Mumbai so we missed our international flight home. But, God being the incredible provider that He is turned what looked like a massive disappointment into a wonderful time of rest and a chance to start to absorb all that we’ve seen and experienced in the past week.

I know I’ll be processing all that has taken place for a long while to come. God IS moving in India, and I’m truly humbled to be allowed to be a part of it. And you too can get involved by helping ICM continue their work in this country. The last couple days were spent with Pastor James and his amazing wife Sarah. Their calling for the people, the children, of India has definitely found favor in the eyes of God. James, a gifted church planter, has seen God turn 50 churches into 2000 in less than 10 years! The church orphanages we visited were filled with not only the smiling, hopeful faces of the children that live there, but entire communities that have been transformed by Christ’s love. I can’t wait to fill you in on all God’s doing in India and what He’s taught me through it. But, for now I’m off to catch my flight … hopefully! J  More pics to come, enjoy!

~ Sterling

It is hard to believe that for 6 team members our time in India is coming to end. The opportunites to see Jesus in the faces of the believers at each church we visited will be forever seared into our hearts and minds. I consider this vision trip a "journey of stories"....we heard stories of courage, sacrifice, love and God's tender mercy at every church and orphanage we visited. We heard stories of young children saved from probable death on the streets because a loving pastor and his wife were called to love and nurture them in the church-based orphanage. We heard stories of faithful parents creating a generational legacy of ministers amongst their children and grandshildren-- many years ago they laid a foundation for strong leaders for ministry in India today. We heard stories of God orchestrating every detail of the permits which have allowed two young British Pediatricians to work alongside our partner in Kerala caring for the 900 orphans in the "Mercy Homes" there. We heard stories of the church planting movement absolutely exploding near Ongole and we heard the singing and worship of the 700 pastors ministering in those church plants. ByGod's grace, He allowed us the opportunity to participate in the new stories being created as we dedicated recently completed church-orphanages and saw the faces of the young boys and girls who will be lovingly cared for in those homes--faces full of hope and expectation--life stories which will be dramatically altered because
the work of God through the partnership of ICM and our partners in India. As a result of this trip, I feel God will be writing His story in the hearts of each one of us.
Praise the Lord of the dance of life in all of its diversity and color and beauty~~Janice

Another day, another coke??? It's true, yesterday was a lovely day for Coca-Cola. We spent time with Pastor Joy, an ICM partner, and his family, and not only were we greeted with necklaces of fragrant sandalwood, but ice cold glasses of coke! It was an amazing day...not because of the familiar taste of soda, but thanks to the wonderful work God is doing here. It is evident in the joyful faces of the 40 girls in the orphanage as they danced and sang praise to Jesus for us...in the hopeful, tearful faces of the older women when they asked for prayer...and in the love that was shown for these children saved from death at the hands of their parents at only 1 day old. I am falling in love with the people of India. Their faith is enviable, and their commitment to service has stirred something inside of me....pushing me to a greater level of sacrifice. I wish you were here to see and experience the movement of Christ here. It would change your life. It certainly has mine.
~ Sterling

What a trip. The people of India have a great gentleness. The women are so beautiful. The women on our team (a high school teacher, a crisis pregnancy counselor, a radio celebrity (Sterling rocks!), two former nurses [currently in intriguing positions], and one lawyer) marvel at the beautiful sarees the women wear here, in the face of significant heat and humidity. Yards of silk, in the colors of the rainbow, to the ground in length. The faces- women, men and children- take one's breath away. The second most populated country in the world- riddled with poverty, malnutrition, child labor. If you could see what we see....

The pastor/leader with whom ICM works in one Indian state- who has 900 church plants already and whose churches house more than 900 orphans with stories as described by Sterling below, said yesterday "We need to find out what God is doing, and get under it." I've heard that truth before- from my pastor, back on the other side of the world. So often we say "God, this is what I want to do/want to have happen. Will you please bless it?" We should be saving, "God, what is on your heart? What do you want us to do for you?"

It is clear that God is up to great things in India and ICM has caught His vision in working here to build churches and orphanges. ICM is helping to bring the kingdom of God to this place, teeming with beautiful sons and daughters of the living God. We are honored to be witnesses to what God is doing here.

Where do I even begin? The last couple days have been a blur of curry, sweat, and the sweet presence of the Lord. To see what God is doing here in India is nothing short of incredible. We've been spending time with Pastor Daniel, an ICM partner here and visiting his Mercy Homes in Kerala. Mercy Home is a church where the Pastor who leads there and his wife take in 10 beautiful desperate children and raise them as part of their family. We met 2 young brothers yesterday at the Vellaparra Mercy Home who had watched their father crush their mother's head and then burn her alive. So, to see them in a home full of hope and healing, for them to be brought up with Jesus, in complete love was truly the work of God. It was an emotional day yesterday, I cried a lot...I worshipped...and I prayed. I am so grateful to have the ability and resources we do in America, and so determined to make sure everyone there knows what God is doing here in India, and how easy it is to be a part of it. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

I have no idea how God is going to use these restored children, but I KNOW he will and I'm excited for the chance to help. Thank you for your prayers for this team and please pray for God's work in India and the children He is raising up.

Love you, In His service~ Sterling

From Janice:
The last two days have been full of wonderful adventures seeing the God of hand at work.
We rise early and head out in our "cozy" bus (Americans are far too pampered with our individual SUV's and not quite used to piling it in--we can hope this is a wonderful team builder!)
The first partner we've traveled and met with exudes the joy of the Lord. His stories of God's faithfulness and the sacrifice of the believers are inspiring. What a blessing to be here!

Post from Sterling, Air One DJ:

Whew! I made it! I cant' believe I'm in India!! What a journey- 3 1/2 hours fro Sacramento to Houston then another 4 hours to Newark, to wait for a couple hours and finally hop aboard this massive plane-seriously, 3 rows of 3 seats wide-for the 15 hour jaunt to Mumbai. It was awesome- I had all 3 seats to myself. so how did I spend my time?

Well, I started and finished "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young, munched some delicious Indian rice, stared at a cube of what looked like orange jello with coconut and seeds inside for probably 10 minutes before I decided -Nah, its not worth it, had my black gel pen explode all over my hand , spent some wonderful time with God in His Word, had eggs and a brownie and slept ALOT!!!

The next thing I know I'm walking outside the airport and into a whole new world. It's 10 pm but this city is happening! The streets are lined with shops and people, the occasional dog and cat and the smell of sandlewood incense. I'm greeted at the hotel with a tiny glass of what tastes like orange Fanta --i think I'm going to love this place!!!

Part of our team began their travels at 6am from California to meet up with everyone in Newark, New Jersey......planes were all on time and the skys were sunny. Spirits high! We departed from Newark at 8 pm for our 15 hour direct flight to Mumbai-everyone mangaged to sleep and a few tested the waters of "Bollywood" as their in-flight entertainment.

Already, there is a wonderful sense of expectation--looking forward to all that God has in store! Tomorrow we're off to the airport at 5:15 am for our flight to Cochin and the opportunity to visit our first church-orphanges.

Sterling has brought suitcases full of gifts for the children!!! We can't wait....

It's Sunday and we are off! Today, the ICM India Vision Trip team will meet face to face for the first time in Newark, New Jersey boarding our plane to Mumbai, India. Our team of 10 is made up of people from Nevada, California, Virginia, and North Carolina. The next 7 days will be spent in southern India visiting church-orphanges sponsored by ICM! What a joy to anticipate all that God has in store!