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pedro_sahib
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Name: Pedro
Country: United States
State: Illinois
Metro: elgin
Interests: So, here we are about to embark on this year-long journey! Interested in joining me?? Check out www.adventrek.org... these trips are scheduled so far: March 9-19 Kenya, and July 3-13 or 20 Calcutta.
Adventrek can also work out other dates in countries
Sept-Oct: Thailand (mission of mercy- rescues girls off the streets from lives of prostitution)
Nov-Dec: Manila, Philippines
So, that's the plan... we desire to simply be a part of the larger picture of love being displayed all over this world, but specifically in these areas for now.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Expertise: Fundraising total so far: around 8,000
Needed still: around 14,000
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
MSN: prncslilia
Yahoo:  prncslilia
Member Since:
4/27/2005
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| to the coast and back again... adventures in Colombia continue!!!Hi friends! Well, there's a lot to say about what we were able
to do over the last 3 weeks, and more specifically, the past week and a
half. We were invited to partner with a pastor's conference in
what we thought was a very well-known, well-traveled tourist town on
the coast. I actually went to this town over Spring Break and rode
motorcycles all over, drank fresh fruit juice next to the clearest,
bluest water I'd ever seen. Well, we did some of those things,
but the town we were in ministry at was 45 minutes away. This town,
named Cienega, just 2 years ago was filled with the FARC, tanks rolling
down the streets, people running in fear for their lives. The pastor
would weekly get notes from FARC members, telling him what he was doing
wrong in the service, in the sermon, etc. He was threatened that if he
took an offering, there would be grave consequences for him and his
family. Crazy. God, t
hrough President Uribe and the American military, has helped clear out
the FARC from this town, and what is left is a LOT of poor people who
love Jesus with all of their hearts. We had an amazing time leading worship with them, celebrating with them, and just enjoyed being with them! BUT THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP HAPPENED ON ACCIDENT: Leo
and I were walking down the streets of another beach town one day, a
bit lost, and walked next to a school. We looked in the windows and
saw a class of English going on. I got excited and told Leo that I
wanted to talk to the kids in English. So, he knocked on the door of
the school and asked if we could come in (now, we were in our beach
clothes... totally unprofessional.. it's literally a miracle that we
were allowed in off the street). The woman who greeted us said that we
could start by talking to her 4th grade class. So, we walked in
and sang CRAZY songs (bananas, squeagie hunt, etc) and then I told the
gospel story in colors, black, red, white, green, gold. I was a bit
nervous, not knowing anything that the school believed or anything, but
Leo kept encouraging me. At the end, we sang some more and prayed with
the kids. Turns out the teacher is a christian, and the school wasn't
a christian school. She was so excited about us being there and
telling the gospel, that she worked it out for us to teach our english
class in 7 classes. In all, over 200 kids prayed to accept Jesus as their savior. It was absolutely beautiful! So,
we know that God had more for us on the coast than just kickin' it with
the locals!! What an amazing thing we stumbled on! God is good!!! On another note, I want to let you know about some other exciting things going on! We have decided to partner with 2 ministries for the year: Ciudad Bolivar, and now a ministry in Cienega. When
I say partner, I mean that we will be raising funds, and sending teams
to help with ministry and encourage the ones working their hearts out
day and night for the kids in these areas. I have made a website for the ministry in Cienega, and I really encourage you to check it out: web.mac.com/liliagriffin (Fundacion Canaan) oh... there's no www at the beginning Jeyson
and Lucesita Pacheco have a passion to reach out to the poorest
community in their town. Over 300 families live in cardboard/plastic
houses. They don't have running water, power, or access to much food.
This couple has dedicated the last 4 years to building relationships
with the people, as well as feeding as many kids as they can on
Saturday afternoons. Now, the community is a Christian community, and
they all give and help each other instead of rob, steal and hurt each
other. God has truly transformed their hearts! GIVE We are
asking 15 families/house-groups/couples/churches to be willing to
donate $25 a month to help feed 300 kids every saturday. Until now,
Jeyson and Lucesita have been buying $35/week of milk and bread, but it
only feeds 100 kids. They have to pick and choose which ones will get
the food. We are praying that if we can get additional funds, they can
not only have enough to feed the over 300 kids that need food, but also
save money to finish building a church for the people. I
already have been talking to some family and friends, and I have 3
people pledged to send $25. I only need 12 more! Praise God! When
you think about it, $25 is a family night out at McDonalds. When you
realize that it could feed 80 kids, it seems like a worthy sacrifice!! You
just simply send your check to Griffin Family Ministries, with
Fundacion Canaan in the memo, and we'll make sure it gets there!!! PRAY Please
pray for Jeyson and Lucesita's ministry to continue, and that they will
continued to have strength week after week. They have made so many
personal sacrifices in their lives to follow the call of God, and the
week we spent with them was priceless!!! They are so filled with joy,
in spite of all the hardships they have lived through. GO I
have been looking up plane tickets recently, because I was hoping to be
able to get home sometime soon to welcome my brother back from Iraq.
While I was looking, I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap it is to
get down here! I found tickets from Ft. Lauderdale to Bogota for only
$84 through Spirit Air!!! Amazing, huh!?!?!? So, here's my
request: We would love to have teams come down for Spring Break to
help us here with our ministry! We are also hoping to make the trek up
to Cienega in November to check in on the ministry, and encourage their
progress. So, keep us in mind, please, when you are planning trips
during those times. I think we will be heading to the States
next summer, so next summer isn't readily available, but let me know
when you might want to come down, and you are more than welcome! Also,
if any individual girls or guys want to come for a month or so (even
longer!) to see what kind of ministry is going on here, we would be
willing to house you for a small fee... SO, that's what's going on! Keep
praying for us here... school starts up next week, and in addition to
teaching music, I'll be teaching a 5th grade block of Language Arts and
Social Studies. (The exact same curriculum I used in Illinois as a 5th
grade teacher, crazy!) Continuing this crazy journey, Lilia Griffin Family Ministries PO Box 75 Sunbury, OH 43074
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| What amazing things you've done for us!!! Solo Cristo!!!Hey, So, I'm just now getting back from an amazing week of
ministry to the poorest of the poor in Bogota. I don't even know where
to begin. We painted murals, patched holes and totally
made-over a dilapedated building that is used to feed over 200 kids
everyday, and worshipped our hearts out everynight for hours on end.
We saw God move in mighty and powerful ways as we fell on our faces
before Him in adoration of all He is. The highlights of the
week were watching my students used by God to translate for powerful
sermons, ME translating for a woman from English-Spanish... yeah,
that's right... and goofing off with the mission team from Virginia.
We had a blast. Another highlight that I'd love to share
happened this past Sunday night. Leo and I were asked to play with a
band for a huge youth convention. We packed a bus from the church we
were at, and as soon as I got on the bus, I saw a little bo
y that I'd smiled at a lot the night before from the stage. He
immediately came over to me, took my hand and wouldn't let go. So, we
took him with us up front, and he just stood amazed as all the dancers
and rappers and worship teams rocked the night away. After
our set, Leo came down and gave the little one (8 years old) a
mid-sized candy bar. Ramiro's face lit up, and once he opened it up,
he broke it in 3 pieces to share with us. He was amazing. So,
after this incredible week, we have even more!!! We were just invited
tonight to accompany the pastor and his family's ministry up to the
coast to help lead worship for a pastor's conference. THIS IS A
HUGE ANSWER TO PRAYER FOR US!!!! We have really been praying for more
opportunities to minister together, but most importantly, we were
really hoping to get out of the city, on a kind-of vacation. The only
people we could find to go with us were Leo's cousins, who aren't
christians, and we didn't think would completely understand the
physical boundaries we have set up in our relationship. So, PRAISE GOD
that we are able to go to the OCEAN to do MINISTRY with an amazing
family!!!! oh... and did I mention that it's FREE!!!! When I went to
the coast over spring break, I spent around $300 for transport, housing
and food. It was really spendy for me. But, here is yet another
answer to prayer!!!! WE LEAVE TOMORROW. Ha!!! I just got home
to re-pack, get ready to lead worship at church tomorrow, and then
leave for another week. Please keep praying for our ministry,
that we continue to have eyes and ears open to what God is doing, and
that we have courage to jump in, no matter what it looks like!!! Continuing the journey, Lilia
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| Freedom days in ColombiaHey guys,
My heart is bursting with so many amazing stories, situations, and emotions that I don't even know where to begin.
I don't know how much GOOD news about Colombia gets up to you all in the US, but yesterday was a BANNER day for us here in the South.
There was a covert rescue mission yesterday where 15 people were liberated from the clutches of the FARC. I'm not sure of the time-table of these events, but there were people who infiltrated the ranks of the FARC, convinced them that certain captives needed to be placed together (one including Ingrid, a French reporter, and 3 Americans), convinced them that the captives needed to meet the "head-honcho" and that helicopters were coming to take them to meet him.
Once they were up in the air, the two FARC rebels were subdued, and this is the message the 15 captors heard
"This was not an exercise. We are the Colombian National Military. You are now free".
Can you IMAGINE!!!!! Most of the people that had been rescued were humiliated as captors for 8-10 years. They had to be chained up every night to ensure they wouldn't escape, and most of them had endured HORRIFIC torture. In her interview yesterday, Ingrid said that the helicopter was bouncing around in the air as the 15 were jumping up and down for joy.
There is so much to say about this situation, and what I saw on the television last night was incredible. They all gave glory and honor to God, and when asked to pray, Ingrid fell on her knees to pour out her heart of gratitude to the Lord. Beautiful.
This week, the US is celebrating freedom. Today, Colombia is celebrating yet another step towards the possible end of this war against the FARC.
This weekend, Leo, one of my students from ECA and I are all partnering with a church group from Virginia. We will be working in Ciudad Bolivar, a place you hear me speak of often. God has continued to press on my heart the need for spiritual freedom of these captives to addiction, violence and abuse.
Most of the families we work with have fled to Bogota because of the FARC. Kids have seen their parents or relatives killed or raped before their very eyes. There are many sad stories. But, God is creating an Oasis of Hope and healing through these various ministries.
I'm passing along 2 amazing links from the group in Virginia. They were here last year, and they have really put some amazing stuff together to make this trip life-changing for my kids!
One link is a video with photos of the kids, different schools and the streets I love. The band that is playing in some of the photos is Leo's band, Nuevo Vino. We're doing a youth rally in an outdoor park with the band this year, and are praying for many people to realize the love of Jesus, and dedicate their lives to following Him.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we truly followed Jesus' teachings, anyway? What would it be like if we learned to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?"
The second link is an article written for CBN about the pastor we will be working with. I am SO proud to say that we will continue partnering with his ministries after the group has left.
So, here you go.
To the one who binds up the broken-hearted and sets the captives FREE!!!
Lilia
http://coastlands-church.org/missions/columbia/promo.html
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/364432.aspx
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| June already...Hey friends,
Before I get into the amazing stories of this past month, I wanted to pass along some really cool things:
1st: Check out this song on Youtube… it’s amazing for Father’s Day. We’re singing it tomorrow for worship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY6kwOpFzds
2nd: Here are some pictures from this past month
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=122697&l=b8e61&id=741380214
3rd:
We’re hoping to start a little band/orchestra program at El Camino this
next school year. If anyone has instruments they’d be willing to
donate to the school, that would be wonderful!!! We’re especially
looking for trumpets, clarinets, flutes, violins and violas. There are
quite a few groups coming down, so we’d be able to get the instruments
here without too much trouble. PLEASE let me know if you can help.
4th:
If anyone is interested in teaching at El Camino Academy this coming
year, we’re still in need of a Kindergarden, 4th grade and High School
Social Science teacher. It’s an amazing place to work, and the
director of the school is in the States for the next month, so I can
put you in touch with her. She’s spending a lot of time in the Chicago
area. The main criteria is that you’ve graduated from college. We
like it if you’re certified, but we can work with you!
Where to begin…
EARTHQUAKE
I
lived through my first earthquake a few weeks ago. That was cool. My
worship team from church was eating out at a Mexican Restaurant on a
Saturday after practice, and all of a sudden, everything started
shaking. We all grabbed hands and started to pray. It lasted around
30 seconds, so it was pretty long, as far as earthquakes go. It was
4.5 on the Richter Scale. Only 6 people died in the whole country. I
guess a huge boulder was loosed from a mountainside, and tumbled down
onto a road and crushed a car.
It was amazing how it brought
about so many conversations. I always buy mango from this little old
man next to my bus stop, and I’d been trying to gather up the courage
to talk to him in Spanish for the past few weeks. We had a great
conversation, and every day since, we’ve talked a little more.
The
Tuesday afterwards, I went with a Southern Baptist missionary to visit
people in the hospital. He has a unique type of ministry, where he
tells Bible Stories to groups of people in the rooms, and then prays
with them. It just so happened that the story of the day was Paul and
Silas in prison, and the earthquake that happened as they were
worshipping the Lord. After we told the story, we had our own time of
worship, and it was so sweet to share time with the people. One
little boy had been bitten by a snake, and lost 2 fingers, and had to
have a skin graph because his arm got infected. He was a precious
little boy, and I’m glad we were able to pray for him!
LAST MONTH OF SCHOOL
Well,
summer is finally here, and I can’t be happier. Don’t get me wrong… I
love teaching, but I’m just glad for a bit of a break. We had a busy
month, finishing up the school year with class presentations, field
trips and service week. You can see the pictures in the album I
posted. We had such a blast!
I was able to go with the 9th
graders on their service trips to the south part of Bogota. We worked
in schools and helped with a ministry to drug-addicted families. It
was so fun to get to know these students better, and to see their
hearts for ministry. 5 of the 16 kids in the class are on my ministry
team, and we were able to teach all of our dramas and dances to the
rest of the class.
Leo and I were chaperones for the 3rd grade
class trip to the local amusement park… Salitre Magico. Oh my goodness
did we have a blast running around with the kids. Funny, though… there
is this HUGE, caged ferris wheel named “The Spirit of Chicago”. One of
my kids didn’t want to go on it because he was afraid that an
earthquake might happen… the next day is when the earthquake DID
happen. Crazy.
The last day of school, every class had a
presentation. Of course, every class had to sing a song as well. It
was absolutely adorable. 3 out of the 7 classes wrote brand new songs,
and they enjoyed performing them in front of the parents. Hopefully,
to start out the new year, we will record these songs and sell them as
a fundraiser for our partner schools in the south.
I think one
of the coolest things I’ve been a part of yet here in Colombia happened
a few weeks ago. One of the churches in the south that I’ve fallen in
love with invited Leo and I to take part in an evangelistic concert.
We showed up, and the sound was horrible, the place was cramped, and we
couldn’t hear ourselves… but it was such an amazing night!! There were
around 500 people there, and we had a great time of worship and
ministry together. Leo and I are so excited about doing more things
with this church. They do a lot of work on the streets with the kids
and youth, and that is our heart. So, we’ll see what we’ll be able to
do this next year.
SUMMER PLANS
Although “school” is over,
there is still PLENTY to do! I’m spread out between teaching summer
school, doing all the testing for in-coming students, teaching private
music lessons (I now have around 14 students), leading the worship at
church, working in South Bogota on Saturdays, and starting a new youth
group for ages 9-13. Oh, and I’m in a relationship with the greatest
guy ever, but that still takes time. : )
Thanks for your
continued prayers and support. I’m finally settling in here, feeling
confident, able to joke around in Spanish, and I’m loving it. I’m
really glad I’m here for the summer.
Continuing the journey,
Lilia
Griffin Family Ministries
PO Box 75
Sunbury, OH 43074
Skype name: prncslilia
www.cdbaby.com/liliagriffin3
www.xanga.com/pedro_sahib
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| April Update... a few days lateHey all,
I know I’m getting more and more behind with these updates, but it seems like every single day I’m learning more and more about the love of Christ, my weaknesses this beautiful and sometimes frustrating Colombian culture, and my place in it.
THIS SUMMER
Leo’s Visa denial was hard to deal with at first. We were so excited about coming to the States together, and he was ready for his “Gringo immersion”. But, the week after his visa was denied, we were invited to 3 different churches to lead the worship time and speak. We have already visited 2 of the churches, and it has been amazing! It’s been fun to work as a team, and see how our gifts completely compliment each other. Most of the invitations have been from churches that want to hear from the missionary, so it is a chance to tell my story of God’s faithfulness and the miracle of my healing in India. Leo knows me enough, and has heard my stories enough times to translate for me, and that’s really fun. Sometimes when he doesn’t understand something I say, I say it in Spanish, and the church laughs. It’s just really fun. We have been invited to a few other things, and Leo is eagerly looking for more opportunities to do ministry together this summer. We are looking at a variety of things…. music camps at poor schools, evangelistic outreaches with churches, etc. Please be in prayer that the doors keep opening up for us to partner with what God’s heart is for THIS city.
I’ll also be helping with summer school, the new church, and the kids’ ministry I work at on Saturdays. It will be diverse and fun. Leo has also made it his personal mission to make sure I am completely fluent in Spanish by the end of the summer. We’ll see….
MUSICAL
We have our first of two shows tonight. We have a cast of 12, 3 directors, and Leo has put together an amazing band of 4 guys from his University. We’re ready, but I think most of us are sick from the weather change, and to top it off, 4 of my students got robbed this week walking to the bus from rehearsals. The most that was taken was a cell phone, but it still shook them up a bit. I have been here 4 months, and these are the first of my students to get robbed since I’ve been here. So, please be in prayer for us here this week. We are really excited about the musical “Godspell”, and God has been working in our students’ hearts as they’ve learned about Jesus.
A senior girl and I talked for about 2 hours the other day, while they were setting up sound, about how she’s been living a rebellious life as long as she can remember. She has come to the realization that Jesus died for all of her sins, and as she keeps living the life that she wants, she is taking the pain he endured for granted. She decided this week that she wants to change. We had an amazing conversation, and I want to take time with her this summer to disciple her. So, this is obviously bigger than just singing and dancing. I’m excited that we are presenting the life of Jesus- the fun, loving, kind, forgiving life of Jesus- to the people of Bogota.
CHURCH
We started the new church 3 weeks ago, and it has been fun and frustrating for me all at the same time. I’m the worship leader and usually I have another girl singing with me. She reads a psalm at the beginning, prays during and after the worship time, and just helps when I’m not too sure about parts of a song. (The ones I know in English are harder to sing in Spanish, because the rhythm is different). This past Sunday, she wasn’t there. I had Pastor helping out with the prayers and reading, but the power-point was off, and the computer kept shutting down. When that happens in the States, I just simply say the lines before I have to sing them, or I say the lines and someone else sings them. Yep… it was all in Spanish, and I was alone. It was hard, and I was faced with the reality that one of the ways I LOVE to serve the church is one of the ways I am most ill-equipped down here. So, I’m learning a lot. Every week I learn more, and the lesson this past week was that I’m not ready to stand on my own two feet yet. That’s probably the way it’s supposed to be anyway….
SCHOOL
We are coming down to the last 3 weeks of school, and we are all excited. It’s been fun this year, but we are all ready for a break. I’ve recorded a CD with my Pre-K to 2nd graders of different worship songs I taught them this year that they will use in chapel next year. That’s been fun. My 3rd-5th graders are all writing songs/ dances for our class presentations the last day of school.
My 6th grade science class and I have started an experiment. I often bring up the needs of the poor on Mondays, after I’ve worked with them over the weekend, and we get into some interesting discussions. One of the main arguments my 6th graders have AGAINST helping the poor is that if they do something, somehow, the poor will buys drugs. So, I challenged my students with this thought: “Your parents give you money everyday, and all you do is spend it on your sugar and candy addiction, which isn’t good for you. What’s the difference???” So, we’ve decided to use the money we would spend on our sugar addiction (or in my case, my chocolate addiction), and save it up to buy milk and rice for the ministry of one of my student’s parents. It’s been a good lesson, and I’m excited to see what we’ll be able to buy at the end of this week.
I know this is a long one, but it’s been a while, and there’s been so much going on. Thanks again for your support and prayers for the ministry here. God has continued to provide friendships with both Colombians and missionaries here, so I’m not alone. It’s like we have family everywhere we go. Which, for those of you who know me well, know that’s the way I like it. : )
Continuing the journey,
Lilia
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