A Child is Born!

We ended the year at Adventure Learning Centre with an awesome Christmas Lights Drive-Thru.  Over 5 nights, we saw 3,544 visitors in almost 933 cars! Thousands of lights and a progressive skit blessed all who came out and saw the first Christmas from a shepherd’s perspective. Visitors drove past 16 different scenes with biblically clad actors telling the story.  As usual my favorite position was the final scene where I and another person shared a 30 second to one minuet gospel presentation with each car. I’ve included one that someone recorded and sent to me. 

Thank you for you for your prayer and support. If you would like to give a year-end gift or make adjustments for next year you can click on this Support Mark at ALC link or you can write a check to GO!Ministries and mail it to; 270 East Palais Road, Anaheim, CA 92850. Make sure to write my missionary #1273 in the memo space. 

Form Kim, Adam, Ava and myself we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Are we making a difference?

Eugene

Am I really making a difference... this is a question that I occasionally ask myself. I pray that I am. Last Tuesday the local news had a sad story that broke my heart and caused me to recall this question. A young man had shot and fatally wounded another young man during an inner city altercation. As this was going on an 8 year old, 3rd grade boy, Eugene Woodside was inside his bedroom doing his homework. Tragically a stray bullet from the shooting ripped through the wood frame house, killing Eugene. The little boy, pictured here on the first day of school, looks like thousands of other little boys that have visited the ALC over the years but as his mother lamented on the news, I wondered about where Eugene would spend the rest of eternity. I remembered just last year we hosted several classes from the same school that Eugene had been attending. I looked up the records and saw that we had hosted all three 2nd grade classes from Albury Sayle primary school last year and most likely Eugene had been to the ALC as a 2nd grader. If so I am assured that Eugene had been loved on by our staff, made to feel special, heard the greatest story about the greatest gift from our Great God ever made and possibly had believe in Jesus while here. Although I can't be sure if Eugene trusted in Jesus, I look forward to the day when we all will be with Christ in Glory and it is my hope that not only Eugene but thousands of other Bahamian boys, girls and adults will be together with you and I because of His great love for us. If you have ever asked the same question about making a difference, I can also assure you by reading this blog and supporting or praying for this ministry, you absolutely are making a difference in tens of thousands of Bahamian children and adults. Thank you!

Every August after a long hot summer camp at ALC and a busy year of running a demanding business for Kim, we look forward to visiting Mark’s family in upstate New York and spending time in the Adirondacks. It’s a wonderful time of rest and renewal for Kim and Mark in addition to a great time of family bonding while connecting with my mom and dad, brother and sisters and family. Adam and Ava especially enjoy their cousins. Fresh air combined with a change of scenery and weather are relished by all. We even had the opportunity to climb Bald Mountain in Old Forge and visit a zoo.

In September, after a week of preparing the ALC  and putting up shutters, we had a close call from hurricane Irma. For us it was only a week of windy weather as it passed to the south and then to the west Nassau. Although God spared us from any damage this time, we pray for those who were impacted by Irma and Maria in other Caribbean countries and  Florida. Over a million people are still without power, tens of thousands are  still homeless and lacking basic needs. I believe it is our responsibility as believers in Jesus to sacrificially pray and help those in need.

Albury Sayle Primary 3rd graders

We invited all the third graders from Albury Sayle (Eugene's classmates) to ALC for a free field trip over the last two days. The children and teachers were so appreciative and affectionate as they enjoyed a day of fun and learning. As we ministered to their hearts by speaking truth into their lives and sharing the love that Jesus has for them, they in turn ministered to us with an outpouring of love and thankfulness.  Please keep Eugene's family and these children in prayer .

Thank you for helping me share the love of Christ and the gospel with Bahamian children. Your financial support allows me to continue in this needed ministry and my life’s passion.  Donations are welcomed through GO! Ministries online at http://goinchrist.com/missionaries/entry/76/ or you can mail a check to:

GO! Ministries

270 East Palais Rd.

Anaheim, CA 92805

with my missionary account #1273 in the memo.

Final 2017 Semester Update

A full class!

It's been a great spring semester! This is the time of the year when 5th and 6th graders cover the solar system. Many teachers book an ALC planetarium field trip. This has resulted in thousands of students coming in the last few months.  I live for a classroom full of 50 to 60 children as I teach about God's incredible creation while sharing His amazing love for them.     

Fully honored!

Recently a fifth grade Government school class blessed me with an award. This is a first in almost 16 years. It's enough of a reward for me to see the children's joy as they get on the bus to come to ALC. I was so humbled and honored to accept a beautiful fruit basket and plaque from the teachers and students.

A full bus!

It is such a privilege and blessing to carry a class or two of Government school students to the ALC as they  sing Christian songs on the way. So many times over the past few months students have told me... "This is the best day ever!" As portrayed in the movie Chariots of Fire, Christian running star Eric Liddell once said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I can relate to this passion for performing God's will... God gave me a passion to tell people about Him, and when I do, I feel His pleasure! 

A full basket!

We had a great Easter Monday fun day. Almost 1,500 children and their parents came and enjoyed Easter Egg hunts, horse rides, train rides, carnival games, planetarium shows, rock climbing and food and drinks as they heard about the One whom we celebrate Easter. The Easter eggs had candy and scripture verses, the train ride had a skit that clearly presented the gospel and when they came to the planetarium, I had a captive audience to share with. Many were blessed with a fun family event while hearing of the resurrection story. The day is also an opportunity to raise much needed funds to run the school field trip programs that are highly supplemented by fun day events, donations, volunteer workers like myself and foreign mission groups coming to serve at Adventure Learning Camp.

Full of love!

Of course in The Bahamas, Easter Sunday also means putting on your best and going to church. Adam and Ava, and mommy and daddy (not pictured here) celebrated the resurrection day of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in style. It was 24 years ago while in Catholic church I heard the song “Hear Oh Lord the sound of my call” that I felt God calling me to a closer relationship with Him. Within a few weeks, one Saturday night as Billy Graham preached on tv, I trusted Jesus alone for the forgiveness of my sins, received Him as my Savior and became a child of God!

Half full boardwalk restoration

We are still rebuilding and restoring damage from Hurricane Matthew that hit us last October. Our maintenance crew along with a foreign mission team did a great job reconstructing one leg of our boardwalk. We can now access the wetlands observation tower. It has been a blessing to many students who come to learn about the importance of wetlands while immersed in a mangrove swamp. This time the concrete piles are anchored into the rock substrate and the boardwalk is anchored to the piles. We are holding to the truth that when we build on the Rock, we will weather the storms!

A full Summer!

We are coming upon the most challenging and most rewarding time of the year, SUMMER CAMP! We will soon have over 80 children a day from 9am to 4pm, participating in sports, crafts, animal care, dance, archery and of course bible classes. That’s just the morning, after lunch the campers go either to the beach, a field trip, on-site water games  or end of week awards ceremony. This goes on for 6 weeks! With average temperatures in the 90’s and humidity just about the same, the only way to make it through the summer is complete dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for the staff at ALC.  


Thank you to all who are a part of my ministry at Adventure Learning Centre. If you would like to have a part in helping me share the gospel with Bahamian children, my family and I would be truly blessed. You can donate by clicking on GO!Ministries or by copying http://goinchrist.com/missionaries/entry/76/ into your browser. This will take you directly to  my missionary account #1273.