Every Generation Ministries

December EGM Mexico training trip.

2011-12-23T16:51:00.002-08:00

Francie Overstreet and Krysten Norkaitis recently returned from a weekend ministry trip to Ensenada, Mexico where they held a trainer of trainers seminar on level two lessons.
Francie had the privilege of preaching in two churches to remind the church members how VERY much God loves children. In one church, after she had finished her sermon, the pastor stood up and went through the EGM teaching model (based in Deut. 6) explaining why it is so important that we teach children this way! He challenged the church members, especially the parents, to take more of an interest in their children and make it a priority to teach them Biblical truths. Krysten had the opportunity to interview the Mexico-Baja director candidates. After receiving input from several wise Mexican leaders, she made a decision about who EGM wanted to hire. We are hoping this talented Mexican leader will be able to start working full time as the Mexico-Baja director in mid-February!! In addition, they were able to hand out Teacher Tool Kits and they proved to be an encouragement to local Sunday School teachers. Teacher Tool Kits are Ziploc bags filled with much needed teaching supplies. (The supplies are compiled by churches throughout the US who have hearts to help teachers in other countries.)

2011-12-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

Place your intro text here Place your full text here

Mexico Partnership Update!

2011-12-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

Partnership is defined by Webster as "joint principles in business activity." It is a term that has been worn out in Christianity and even though I use the term frequently, I find myself drawn to visions of televangelists! We have an emerging partnership in Mexico, and last week I was reminded of what that should really mean. For too many ministries, partnership means foreign entities providing funds and national Christian leaders doing the ministry work. Last week, I was reminded that real partnership means working together; giving our hearts to see Mexican boys and girls know Christ and the new life He has for them. Last week, two of our American staff members were in Mexico attending important meetings geared towards major ministry expansion in 2012. In two separate meetings, an offering was taken and Mexican Christians made a significant financial contribution to the Mexico ministry. Apparently, they believe that partnership means we are all giving of our material resources. Little did they know that their gift of $250 qualified for our matching grant in Latin America and will be matched and become a gift of $500. That’s the kind of partnership that I know pleases God. Please join me in praying for the additional $20,000 that we still need to meet our matching goal of $60,000. We are $250 closer!

Mexico Partnership

2011-12-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

We are very excited about the gracious manner in which God is giving us the opportunity to move our ministries forward in Latin America. We have a received a gracious $60,000 challenge grant for our emerging ministries in Argentina, Mexico and Peru. Every gift designated for these ministries will be matched 1-1, up to $60,000. We are well over half way as of December 6, 2011. One of these three countries is particularly significant to Every Generation Ministries; Mexico.

Certain countries around the world stand out as keys to entire regions. In the Middle East, Egypt occupies that position. In Eastern Europe, Ukraine is a gateway to impacting the former Soviet Union. Looking to the Spanish speaking countries in Central and South America, one can argue that Mexico is the key to impacting all of Latin America. With the largest Spanish speaking population in the world, a growing economy, the world’s largest city, close ties to the United States and significant growth in the Evangelical Church, Mexico is clearly a strategic key to the Latin American world. While Mexico seems to be a key to Latin America, certainly children are the key to impacting

Mexico

.

Over the last several years, amidst the widely publicized narcotics related violence, Mexico has experienced a widespread spiritual awakening leading to significant growth in the Evangelical Church. While the U.S. media has focused on the raging drug wars in border towns such as Juarez City, little attention has been given to the spiritual awakening in Mexico. In the southern part of the country there has been exciting evangelical church growth particularly among the indigenous peoples. In Mexico City and the north, thousands of people have confessed Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior. In an evolving world of mass media, internet communication, consumerism and the pressures of secular humanism, parents and families are looking for help in living a life of meaning and significance. As fear and frustration have gripped many in Mexico, people are searching for security, peace and hope. The cultural religiosity of traditional churches such as the Roman Catholic Church has left people searching. Most importantly, the Spirit of God seems to be stirring the hearts of people. Nowhere is this more evident than among children in

Mexico

In 2007, Every Generation Ministries met with church leaders from Mexico for the first time and we were invited to come and serve with them in ministry. We are now faced with the exciting opportunity to bring EGM’s unique children’s ministry model to Mexico. Nearly 30% of Mexico’s 107.5 million people are under the age of 14, and church leaders there are eagerly inviting us to partner with them to evangelize and disciple the children in their communities. We have established a growing network of contacts with pastors, children’s workers and teachers who fervently desire leadership development training and Bible teaching resources. Our friends in

Mexico

want EGM to partner with them and provide churches with innovative leadership development programs and creative, high-quality Bible teaching materials.

2012 will be a monumental year in our Mexico ministry! Thanks for praying, giving and joining us to see Mexican children transformed in Christ through His church!

2011-11-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

You cannot sit on a two legged stool; it is very unstable. Just a few years ago, EGM realized that we needed a third leg for our ministry stool. Since our founding, we have believed in establishing national ministries that are staffed and governed by national Christian leaders. Those were the two legs. God has led us through a spiritual journey bringing us to the understanding that a genuine national ministry should also be funded by national Christians. This is not some economic plan, but rather a desire to establish a genuine culturally relevant ministry that can be even more fruitful in transforming children in Christ through His church.

Last week, we took a significant step forward in launching the Titus Project, a ministry initiative that will lead to fully funded national ministries in Hungary and Romania. Our EGM team led five days of training and now our Hungary and Romania ministries are launching new fund development work in their own countries with the goal of becoming self-funded by 2015. Other countries are soon to follow.

I believe this to be one of the most significant developments in Every Generation Ministries' history. Please join me in praying for this important effort. Find out more about the Titus Project at www.egmworld.org.

Volunteer or Called

2011-08-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

At a recent three day conference in Peru, Daniel Watts president of EGM, finished the conference a little differently. It might look like your normal altar call, but this was nothing like that. After articulating the amazing task and challenge of ministering to children, Daniel gave a call to respond. This call was not like any other. He challenged all of the children’s workers in the room to not serve because of guilt, not because the children need someone to care for them, not because the pastor asked, but Daniel asked the group of children’s workers to come forward and be prayed for if they felt GOD was CALLING them to serve children. The response was remarkable. Ninety-five percent of the people were out of their seats and standing to be prayed for. God is moving in the lives of His people to bring children into His presence. This past weekend almost 200 teachers stood to say that God’s call on their lives was to do just that.

Agents of Change in DR Congo

2011-08-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

The pastor of the church rose to his feet and said, “I have never expressed love to children, even in my own home. I never saw the children as anything but a problem to solve. Through these brothers, I have seen the heart of God for the children and want to commit publicly to welcome them in my church.”

Not often are we given the privilege of being part of a seminal moment, one that influences the development of future events, but this was definitely such a moment. And these moments were repeated many times over.

Joe Cox and David Overstreet were the agents who gave the message of God’s heart and the Holy Spirit did the rest in this troubled northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are still Tutus and Hutsis killing each other. There is still profound poverty and illiteracy, but now the children no longer will only get to peep through the windowless frames in church walls. Now the children will hear Bible stories and learn of the God who transforms lives, forgives sin and gives hope for their future. Now the children will no longer be marginalized but included. Now teachers have learned how to teach the children instead of only singing for two hours. They have learned the Biblical model for working with the children from Deut. 6:4-9. Perhaps more will come to work with these leaders who often have hundreds of children with little or no help at all. In any case, the children now will know that God has a heart for them! That is a seminal change!

Romania Children's camp videos-2010

2011-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

July, 2010 - An American missions team partners with Every Generation Ministries (Part1)

Cross-Cultural Ministry Bliss…

2011-01-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

takes place when all participants have mutual respect for one another, share openly and honestly, and desire to learn from each other as they work together towards a common goal. This is exactly what was realized this weekend in Mexico and it was amazing!

The EGM-Mexico team has discovered a unique way to teach EGM’s biblical teaching model to children’s leaders. On January 13-15 the team of trainers in Mexico walked Francie Overstreet and Krysten Nortkaitis through their 3 day training course, explaining each step along the way. Francie and Krysten were like sponges trying to soak in every word because since they had observed many teachers who have completed their course and wanted to learn from their experience.

In turn, Francie and Krysten had the opportunity to share the new materials that EGM has recently developed with the Mexican leaders. They were more than receptive. Francie and Krysten shared the ideas, led them through hands-on activities and engaged in meaningful conversations.

When the weekend was over it was clear to see that God had orchestrated the time together. Both teams had enjoyed wonderful fellowship, gained an incredible amount of knowledge, and are anxiously looking forward to what God will do in the days ahead as a result.

Daniel’s Story

2010-10-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

Daniel Watts and Steve Delph just returned from a fantastic trip to Belarus and Ukraine. The Belarus ministry is nearly twelve years old and is bearing great fruit. This summer the national leaders in Belarus worked with churches to develop over 450 summer camps, serving over 20,000 children. Approximately 40% of those children were non-Christians. They trained children’s workers for camps and provided them with teaching materials based on the EGM Model Children Workers qualities in Deuteronomy 6:4-10. Nearly 7,000 children gave their life to Christ at the camps and Daniel heard numerous testimonies of the transformational work that God did in the lives of boys and girls.

The fall training programs have been launched with over 2,300 children’s workers involved. These workers are serving in over 1,200 local churches. Daniel and Steve had the opportunity to serve with our EGM-Belarus team last Friday and Saturday as they worked with 280 children’s workers from the Minsk region.

A real highlight was the opportunity to distribute Teacher Tool Kits at the conference. Donated by a children’s worker from a church here in the US, we were able to distribute these resource kits (glue sticks, scissors, colored pencils, pipe cleaners, etc.) to children’s workers in

Belarus

. The teachers were overjoyed, encouraged and excited to have a new bag of ministry tools! After passing out the kits, the leaders prayed with the teachers. Daniel said, “In that moment I realized that God had bound the hearts of children’s workers in Belarus and the US together in our common desire to see children transformed in Christ”.

Rancho Agua Viva training

2010-10-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

As we walked into the room where Eric, one of the trainers for EGM-Mexico, was reviewing the Model Children’s Worker elements (Deut.6:1-9), it was clear by the smiles and intensity of the thirty students that they were “getting it.” October 13-15, we (Krysten Norkaitis, David and Francie Overstreet) had the blessing of watching Mexico’s team in action as they trained students attending Agua Viva’s Biblical Institute. These students come from all over Mexico, its villages, towns, and cities, to this lovely camp just outside of Ensenada. They are sent by their churches because they are already young leaders who need more training. All of the students, no matter what level they were already on, eagerly took the training. They will go back to their churches understanding God’s priority for children to be transformed in Christ and knowing the Biblical process He mandated in Deuteronomy 6. They worked in small groups to plan a lesson. Then presented the lesson to their peers and, after evaluation, refined the lessons that were then presented to groups of children. The lessons were fantastic! The students will return to their churches highly motivated to act on God’s behalf for children.

For those of you who have prayed for EGM Mexico, we want you to know that this is an exceptional group of volunteer trainers who are completely committed to the MCW and training others. So much so that, Elva, one of the teacher trainers, worked with the others to train 45 of the children’s workers in her church, including the pastor! After hearing from each of them about how God had transformed them as teachers and as leaders, we also heard their strong call from the Lord to reach all those who work with the children of Mexico. We were encouraged and blessed.

Some of you were involved with the sending of the Teacher Tool Kits and we took many to the Mexico training. (See picture attached) Not only were they excited to receive these, but the team leader, Octavio, the country representative, said, “We can have our churches here in Mexico do this for other more needy churches in our own country.” That is what national ownership is about as they recognize what God wants done and then do it!

Mission Accomplished!

2010-03-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Rick finished strong. He ran it just under his goal time. Now we are enjoying breakfast with him and his family.

Mile 22

2010-03-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Just saw Rick Fortier at mile 22. He was looking really great and is ahead of his hoped pace. His son Will us joining him for the last 4.2 miles.

The race has begun

2010-03-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

The LA marathon has begun. Still no info from our great runner. We should have an update of where he is on the course soon!

Home safe and sound!

2010-03-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

We are safe at home, Praise the Lord. Our coworker, Krysten Norkaitis, is also back home here in Southern California.

The EGM Chile office was successfully moved and after all our US moving experiences, it was amazing to see how it is done in Chile. A couple of young men did most of the really heavy lifting but we were also able to make a significant contribution to the process. Working alongside our Chilean teammates through this crisis has given us a new love and appreciation for each one. There's too much to tell but our hearts are full.

Our departure from the Santiago airport was fascinating. They have come up with a very creative and relatively efficient way of taking care of thousands of passengers and are using only a small portion of the building to do it. Check in was in large tents outdoors with giant fans (it was hot!) and we waited in chairs set up under carports where rental cars were normally parked. There was lots of waiting in long lines (we arrived nearly 5 hours before our flight) but our flight was very close to being ontime.

As our airplane took off, we were looking forward to heading home but at the same time had the overwhelming sense that God had accomplished His purposes on the trip and we wouldn't have changed a thing. Even the earthquake itself was a big spiritual blessing to us as we experienced the power of God in a new way and felt His loving arms around us.

You, our praying family, have been a big way God has expressed His presence to us. "Thank you" falls so far short of the feelings in our hearts.

Joe and Julie

Update from Krysten

2010-03-02T20:48:00.001-08:00

I made it to CHILE!

I arrived this morning on one of the first International flights into Santiago after the devastating earthquake that struck early Saturday morning. My flight consisted of many Chileans who had been out of the country when the earthquake hit. Many people were desperate to get home as they had not seen their family members since the quake and did not know how damaged their houses were. Needless to say the mood was very somber and it was obvious that I had arrived in a country that was mourning.

The Santiago airport building is closed due to major damages. When we landed, the airport staff lined up our bags outside on the ground (see pictures). Once we found them, we had to pass through immigrations, which meant standing in line with our bags while dogs came through sniffing them. Then, we went through passport control where they reviewed our passports and entered the necessary information into their laptops, which were set up on tables outside of the main airport building. Finally, we got into busses that shuttled us to Santiago because the airport roads are closed. When I got off the bus in Santiago, the EGM-Chile director, Daniel Lagos was waiting for me. It was wonderful to see him and catch up on all that had transpired post earthquake.

The EGM-Chile office has a lot of structural damage so the ministry will have to move. At the moment, the ministry is meeting out of a room in the EGM-Chile Director’s church. I met up with the team this afternoon and they were all very excited to see me! I could tell that it meant a lot to them that I decided to come to Chile after the earthquake. I am so glad that I am here!!

I am staying with a dear family outside of Vina del Mar. We have electricity but we don’t have water and it looks like we might not have running water for days. I just took a “shower”. Even though water is a premium here, they heated up some of the water they had saved up so I could take a shower. They set me up with a bucket filled with warm water and a pitcher. They also bought me bottles of flavored sparkling water that I can drink and use to brush my teeth I am overwhelmed by their generosity and care!

As I shared in my last post, the EGM-Chile team decided not to cancel the meetings and activities that are scheduled for this week. Our itinerary is below.

Please pray that Joe, Julie and I will be an encouragement to the Chilean team as we stand beside them during this difficult time. This catastrophe has caused many people to reflect on their lives and consider what is truly important. Please join me in praying that many would come to the realization that having a relationship with the Lord is the most important thing!

Mar. 3- AM-City Tour, PM- Meeting with EGM-Chile leaders
Mar. 4- EGM-Chile Board Meeting
Mar. 5- EGM-Chile Board Retreat
Mar. 6- All day meeting with church pastors & Conference for Sunday school teachers
Mar. 7- Two Church Services: Sunday school teacher observations & Joe preaches
Mar. 8- Work with EGM-Chile team, possible Sightseeing in Santiago, Travel Home
Mar. 9- Arrive in US

Pictures From Chile

2010-03-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ministry in Chile continues (see previous post), yet all around there are reminders of the earthquake that has rocked this country. The news now tells us that this quake was so strong that it actually tilted the earths axis. Please continue to pray for this country, especially the church leaders who are responding to the hurts within their communities.

Damage in Vina Del Mar area

Damage part 2

Damage part 3

Lunch with church leaders after church on February 28th.

Pictures from Peru

2010-03-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

Enjoy these Pictures from Peru!

EGM's Poster on the church bulletin board.

Pastor of Betania church - a model children's ministry leader!

Kids at Betania church

Pastor of Betania Church participating in Children's Ministry! This man understands that Children's ministry is an important part of God's plan for the church!

Update from Daniel Lagos - EGM Chile Director

2010-03-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

The following was received in Spanish from our Director in Chile. The ministry is continuing to move forward!

Dear brothers and sisters of EGM:

Due to the earthquake, the building, “El Escorial” where EGM operates is collapsed (this is a literal translation, the building is still standing but is structurally unsound) and it has been prohibited to circulate by any people. There is no power or water. Due to the above, starting tomorrow Tuesday March 2, the Ministry will provisionally function in the facilities of the Church of Assemblies of God of Valparaiso, located in the Blanco Street one block away from the city’s government office, this office space has been graciously been provided by Pastor Arturo Leal Vega. From there our sister Maria Teresa, our secretary, will be attending the ministry from 9 AM to 1 PM.

The teaching conference of Sunday school teachers has been postponed to Saturday 6 of March between 9 AM and 5:30 PM in the same place, Blanco.

Blessings to all.

Pastor Lagos

Update from Krysten

2010-03-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

We just heard from Krysten, she has a flight early tomorrow morning (March 2) into Santiago. Please pray that she will be able to travel to Chile! Here is an update we received from her earlier today her time...
Thank you very much for all of your care, concern and prayers!! I feel so loved by you and I am very thankful for your involvement in my life and in this work.

All of the EGM-Chile staff, board members and leaders are doing well. The epicenter of the earthquake was a considerable distance from Vina del Mar, where the EGM-Chile office is located. There is damage in this area but nothing compared to the images that are being shown from the cities that were closer to the earthquake’s epicenter.

The country as a whole is struggling. Public transportation (subway, buses etc.) has been shut down and most business (large and small) are closed. Communication has been difficult as telephone lines are overloaded making it nearly impossible for people to get in touch with each other. The areas most affected by the earthquake are without electricity and are suffering from shortages of food & water. Many bridges have collapsed forcing main roads and highways to close. The airport in Santiago is still closed.

Joe and Julie Cox are currently with the EGM-Chile team and the team decided NOT to cancel the many activities and meetings that are scheduled for this coming week. Everything will go on as planned including a board retreat, board meeting and children’s workers training. Yesterday, Joe preached in a church that was attended by many church members. The church was without electricity but the building was intact with the exception of a few fallen lights and a wall that collapsed in a Sunday school classroom.

I am still in Peru. I am so thankful to be with the Chapman family. They are wonderful hosts and it has been great to have an extended time with them! I am planning to travel to Santiago as soon as the airport reopens and I can get my flight rescheduled.

EGM-Chile has asked us for our continued prayer regarding the numerous children, families and churches affected by the quake. Hundreds have lost loves ones and many have lost their homes. Please join us in prayer.

Much Love, Krystenen

Update from Joe and Julie

2010-02-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Praying Friends,

We finally have internet access! Hooray! We have missed not being able to keep you updated but have definitely felt your prayers and love. When I was finally able to connect to the internet, my inbox was full of good wishes and promises of prayer. We're thankful for our children and our coworkers who worked together to keep you updated with little pieces of information we passed to them in very brief phone calls here and there. Now you are able to get it "from the horse's mouth."

We are doing well and have so much to be thankful for and I want to let you know how God is answering your prayers and give you some more things to bring before God's throne. It's been interesting to follow the Lord through these days, but we are at complete peace and trusting Him.

Our EGM team here in Chile has responded to the challenges with real grace and strength. It seems that our EGM office did not sustain any structural damage, but our director has shared with me that most of what was on a flat surface is on the floor. Our meetings for tomorrow have been cancelled because of the damage to the office and because some of the team members are having difficulty with transportation. The buses are not running and bridge and road damage has resulted in road closures. Even commuter trains are not running due to power outages. The gas stations are packed with people trying to get gas so transportation is certainly in question. We will join the team at the office in the morning to assess the damage and do some initial clean up work.

As far as what is going on in the country is concerned, those of you in the United States are probably better informed than I am. Communication has been very bad within the country with cell phone systems overloaded, power outages, etc. Without internet until today, our only source of information has been word-of-mouth and watching Spanish news reports using a small Spanish-English dictionary to figure out the highlights.

I can tell you that our team and their families are safe and well and determined to keep working through all this. Though the ministry schedule changes continually, I can really see their hearts to remain faithful to the Lord in this time for the sake of the children, children's workers and churches that are looking to them for help with children's ministry. Our director, Daniel Lagos, told me today that "we MUST go forward with rescheduling the children's workers training because the churches are depending on us for help."

Our time in the church this morning was really great. The children's ministry program was cancelled because the aftershocks which still occur are causing people to keep their children at home. In addition, there was a wall in the children's classroom area that was damaged so there was no place for them to meet. The people arranged themselves in areas of the auditorium where there were no lights to fall upon them (several had fallen during the quake) and we were given evacuation instructions as the service began. We met without electricity so there were no lights or sound system, but GOD'S power was evident! I felt an unusual outpouring of God's Spirit upon me as I shared with the people from Matthew 17:1-20 that the God who can move the mountains wants to move in our lives as we serve Him reaching the lost all around us.

Some prayer needs:

Our co-worker, Krysten Norkaitis, is still trying to get to Chile from Peru in time for our board meetings Thursday and Friday. The airport is closed at this time and the date it will be re-opened keeps moving. While she waits, she is trying to be an encouragement and help to our Peru team, but is anxious to get to Chile if God is willing.
We still have not heard from our teammate Daniel Gonzales. When he left Vina del Mar for Santiago, he went to the place where the ground transportation could be organized and found a massive crowd of frustrated people. While he was standing there trying to decide what to do, someone drove by and said, "Do you want to go to Santiago? We will take you!" He jumped in the car and they left, but we have not heard if he arrived in Santiago. At this point, his only hope for getting home to his family in the South is by air from Santiago where the airports are closed.
We want to be a blessing to the team here and to the family that has opened their home to us. We originally planned to be in a hotel for at least part of the time, but that is now impossible and we are so thankful for our hosts. They have been very kind.
We are seeking God's direction for decisions regarding the ministry events that were planned. God knows.

At a time like this, we are counting on your prayers more than ever before. As we have more news, we will update you.

Joe and Julie

Update from Joe and Julie

2010-02-27T17:49:00.001-08:00

Dear Praying Friends,

You may have heard that there has been an earthquake in Chile. We know you have already been praying for us and we thank you. Before we go much further, we want to say that we are safe and are praising the Lord.

The epicenter of the earthquake was actually in the south of Chile and we are in central Chile. We definitely had the full earthquake experience in our area and it was a very scary thing to go through. The city of Vina del Mar and neighboring Valparaiso, where our EGM office is, has sustained considerable damage. The aftershocks continue every few minutes to remind us of God’s power.

The earthquake hit at about 3:30am and we were scheduled to conduct a children’s worker conference at 9:30am. Still reeling from the effects of the quake, we were encouraged by our Chilean director to come ahead to the conference location. So much preparation has gone into preparing for the conference; it was hard for the team here to cancel. When we arrived a few minutes late, we found three teachers waiting for us that had traveled three hours to come to the training. Just as they arrived at the church, a strong aftershock occurred but even that did not deter them. We couldn’t just send them home after such an effort so a mini-seminar was given for just them. What dedication!

In addition to praising God for His protection, here are a couple of prayer requests we would appreciate you remembering.

1. One of the EGM staff members, Daniel Gonzalez, lives very near the worst of the devastation. He had traveled up to meet us and is desperately trying to get home to his family. So many bridges are out that buses are not running and the airport is closed. He is also a pastor of a local church and is anxious to return to his home area so he can be a support to his church family.

2. We need wisdom regarding how to continue with our trip. God has us here at this time for a reason and we want to accomplish His purposes, whatever that might be. We are taking it an hour at a time at this point.

3. Our team member, Krysten, who was to arrive today will not be able to get here from Lima, so we are also trusting God for direction in that situation.

4. Pray that we can communicate well with the Chilean family with whom we are staying. They are amazing but we have had our challenges with the language barrier.

If we get internet again, we’ll try to update you. Thanks for praying!

Joe and Julie

Another update from Krysten

2010-02-27T11:16:00.001-08:00

Check out this link to connect to Krysten's personal updates.
http://krysten.whereareyou.net/index.php?page=message&id=78990

Update on Chile from Krysten

2010-02-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is a quick e-mail to let you know that we are all ok- The EGM-Chile staff, board and the Cox’s.

They all felt the quake & it was strong. There is damage to the infrastructure in Vina del Mar but everyone we know is ok.

I am in Lima and unable to travel to Santiago because the airport is closed and will be closed for days.

I will let you know when we have another update.

Joe and Julie

2010-02-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

Just had some news on Joe and Julie:

Joe and Julie will be in Chile until tomorrow. They are still planning on going to a church service.

Currently they are staying in a home where no one speaks great English. They do however have water and power. The only thing that they do not have right now is reliable internet access.

Update on Krysten Norkaitis

2010-02-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

We just received word from Joe (who is in Chile) that Krysten is in Lima Peru, most likely still at the airport. The airport in Santiago Chile is closed until March 2nd, so as of now, she is in Peru and will probably be making a decision of what to do next soon.

Where are they...

2010-02-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Early this morning EGM staff members Joe and Julie Cox were awakened by the 8.8 Richter scale earthquake in Chile. They had arrived the night before from Peru. Even though the epicenter was further to the south, Joe told me he felt like the entire building was going to collapse. When he stepped outside he was amazed that everything was not reduced to rubble. We thank God that our entire EGM-Chile staff was unhurt and safe. Krysten Norkaitis our Latin America Director was scheduled to fly to Chile from Lima this morning but the quake cancelled the flight.

Our EGM-Chile office is located about 50 miles west of Santiago in Valparaiso. Our team works with hundreds of churches and their children’s workers. Many of them are located in and around Concepcion, the city hit hardest by the quake. Our EGM-Chile team has asked us for prayer regarding the numerous children, families and churches affected by the quake. Please join me in praying for God to use this tragedy for good and that His church in Chile might be a beacon of loving care, especially to the boys and girls in Chile.

We will be posting updates regularly through our this blog as we receive news from Chile. We ask that you continue your prayer vigil for our staff, the church in Chile and the boys and girls we love so dearly.

Earthquake in Chile

2010-02-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

Keep checking here for up to the minute updates from our team in Chile...

Teacher Tool Kit

2010-02-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

Want to give a teacher the tools to help them transform children's lives? Click on to see how you can help!

March Training Conference

2010-01-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

Come Join Us! Click below to enlarge or click here to register online.

Making History

2009-11-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

It's pretty standard practice in the United States to have an offering for a particular ministry endeavor at a Christian event. But it was history in the making when it happened recently at the fourth annual Every Generation Ministries-Romanian national conference.

First, months before the conference, EGM staff members in Romania worked hard to raise funds from Romanian churches to bring Nabila, one of the EGM-Egypt staff members, to the conference as a guest speaker. This had never been done before! The Romanian people loved her.

Secondly, the offering was being taken to help children go to a camp not in Romania, but in Egypt.

Thirdly, the method used to raise the funds was cutting edge for Romania. In addition to the traditional offering, conference participants had been asked to contribute items for a silent auction. Women's shoes, a can of Coke, baby clothes and handicrafts were among the items donated.

Perhaps the most astounding thing was that the amount raised was an astronomical amount for this small group of less than 100 children's workers to give - enough to send 25 Egyptian children to camp for a week! Wow!

Throughout her visit Nabila was asked to share in three Romanian churches, participate in a radio program and shared in two "Egyptian Nights" where small groups met in homes to learn more about the ministry of EGM in Egypt. Offerings were collected and again the Romanian people responded generously. There will be a total of 45 children going to camp next summer in Egypt because of the love shown by the believers in Romania. Praise the Lord for what He has done and will ocntinue to do!

If you, too, have a heart for the children and children's workers in Egypt why not join our Romanian friends by making a gift to EGM today so that this important work might continue? Click here to join the team! >

A Little Child Will Lead Them

2009-10-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the Latest Legacy, click on the images to enlarge them.

Prayer Requests

2009-09-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Join us in prayer for the following.
Pray for Igor and Natasha to receive the necessary documents and to have all the funds they need for their upcoming trip to the States. They need $3600.

Pray for the right person to respond to the advertisement for an assistant to work in Alex Bruda’s office and for discernment to recognize it.

Praise the Lord for good partnership opportunities with individuals, churches and foundations recently. Pray that they will connect to the vision of EGM and desire to get involved.

Pray for the Mexico leadership team to have wisdom as they make plans for the future of the ministry.

Pray for the preparations of two training seminars in Ukraine on September 19 and 26. Praise the Lord for Bill and Mary who are traveling there to share with the children’s workers.

God Has another Idea

2009-08-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

God Has Another Idea!

In the world’s current economic predicament EGM is not looking for ministry expansion options. However, God has some other ideas.We had never heard about the people who speak Xhosa in South Africa. But God knew about them and their need of Him. He searched for people whose hearts would love these, the poorest of the poor, in Kayamandi, South Africa. Last year Terra Anders traveled with a team from her church to South Africa, working with the Xhosa people. They had planned to work with preschool children, but were also asked to train the adults how to teach!!! They quickly put something together, but felt that more needed to be done. They needed help!

This year Terra and her friend, Jen, came to an EGM Model Children’s Worker training where they received information on the Biblical approach to teaching. They also received curriculum to use with the preschoolers. What was the result of EGM’s contribution?

Here is a quote from Terra on her return home July 17, 2009.

“The format you taught us and reviews of my lesson plans was invaluable to our success there…..I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for your help, guidance and support on this new, evolving ministry project among SA poorest children. I am hoping to continue this project and pray about having it spread past the walls of Kayamandi into some of the other townships where crèche (preschool) training and God’s Word is essential for the future of these children. We simply could not have done it without you.”

God’s heart is for the children no matter where they are. We are blessed that EGM was able to participate in an unexpected way in the work that God is doing in South Africa. You can help us by donating to the leadership development program. Click Here! (Type "Leadership Development" in the memo field.)

Every Nation in Our Own Backyard

2009-07-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Lord has planned that people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will be in His forever family. God uses some amazing avenues to accomplish this and we are so blessed to be part of one right here in the US!

One of our outstanding volunteers, Rebecca Faubion, has had a connection to a growing Hispanic church in the El Toro area of California. This church is unusual in that it is not just populated by people from our neighbor to the south, Mexico, but people from Colombia, Nicaragua, and other countries all over Latin America. Rebecca and Krysten Norkaitis, our Regional Director for Latin America, have responded to a request from this church to teach their children’s workers how to effectively reach their increasing numbers of children. It was easy to say, “Yes!” to the need and the training is taking place right now!!! God has made it even more interesting by making it possible for our EGM-Mexico leadership development team to travel to the U.S. to lead a portion of the training, making it truly an international ministry.

We don’t know all that God will do as a result of this training, but we do know God is at work transforming the children through His church in El Toro and all around the world. Won’t you join us in this great venture?

PRAY
You can join in the effort by praying for those participating in the training.
See the schedule below

GO
If you live in the area and would like to attend one of the sessions contact
Krysten Norkaitis at knorkaitis@egmworld.org

GIVE
You can help keep these and other Spanish speaking children’s workers supplied with top quality Bible teaching materials by giving to the curriculum project. Click here.

El Toro Training Schedule:

Thursday - July 16
6-9pm
Review of the Model & Evaluation

Saturday - July 25
12-5pm
Teachers evaluate sample lesson, teach lesson to peers & are evaluated by peers

Sunday - July 26
5pm
Teachers teach lessons to children & are evaluated by trainers

Thursday - July 30
6-9pm
Teachers’ evaluation of course, and Questions & Answers

Sunday - August 2
5pm
Certificate Ceremony during church service

God's Healing in Romania

2009-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Click on to watch a video from one of our National Ministry Team, Leadership Development workers.Emese works to transform children in Christ through His church in Romania. Emese has battled cancer before and recently had a surgery that the doctors told her was to remove what looked like cancerous nodules from her neck. Here is her story.

Working Hard

2009-06-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

In Ukraine we have an amazing new director - Michael Lovzovoi. It is a blessing to see how Michael and his family are working hard for EGM. This is Michael’s daughter, Anya helping in the office that we’re praising the Lord for providing. Remember to pray for Michael, his wife, Tanya and Anya as Michael leads our newest work in Ukraine. We are asking God for great results as Michael and the newly formed team in Ukraine begin to train children's workers to help transform children's lives

Egyptian Opportunities

2009-06-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Egypt boasts some of the most amazing historical sites on earth. People flock to the Pyramids, seeking to learn about the rich history of the Pharaoh's. Yet millions of children in Egypt are still waiting to hear about the love of Jesus Christ.

David Overstreet is currently traveling in this amazing country, serving with EGM. As he speaks at trainings for children’s workers and at children's camp he made the following observation:
John writes in his third letter verse four, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."
While it is fun watching the children playing in the streets, seemingly not caring about the dirt, rubble and sand, it is sad knowing that most of them don't know that God loves them. I am grateful that the Egyptian EGM staff and many children's workers here do care and are commited to seeing the children in Egypt be transformed. This is their greatest joy, seeing this next generation know the truth and know Jesus.

Training, training, and more training!

2009-06-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

As EGM has expanded into other countries, we have often heard "when are you going to offer training for those of us here in the US??? Well, the answer is... NOW!

We are excited about two upcoming trainings. Both of these trainings will be on the Model Children's Worker found in Dueteronomy 6:1-9.
The first will be held over eight weeks in El Tora, CA. This training will be entirely held in spanish. God has provided the translation of materials from English to Spanish, for nearly nothing! Praise the Lord for amazing volunteers.
The second training will be held in the Temecula area on June 23rd and 24th from 8:30-1:00. There is still room in this training, e-mail us at mkirscher@egmworld.org for more information!

Healing in Chile!

2009-06-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

We praise the Lord that Pastor Daniel Lagos, our national director in Chile has experienced a miraculous healing! Read on to hear Krysten Norkaitis’ personal account of her visit with Pastor Lagos.
The doctors and specialists are stunned. When I was in Chile in April, I met with Daniel. He was in a very precarious state because for the past 4 months he had lost the ability to hear in both ears; he had become completely deaf. He was also experiencing vision problems and was unable to hear unless he could see you, was in a relatively quiet room and had his complex hearing aid in place. Daniel was regularly going to an audio specialist where he was learning how to hear all over again. He said our voices did not sound like they had before. He was also having problems with his equilibrium and showed me a huge bruise on his leg that he had acquired from one of his many falls. On May 14th, I had a video Skype call where I saw and spoke to Daniel. He could hear me perfectly and he turned his head to show me that he was NOT wearing any of his hearing aids! He told me one morning he got up and began to read the Bible. He was reading in Jeremiah and was specifically impacted by verse 17 in chapter 32 that states, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Daniel then prayed acknowledging that God is all powerful and asking him to restore his hearing. While he was praying, he heard his own prayer. From that moment forth, he has been able to hear without any problems! He now carries his Bible around and when people do not know how to respond to his improved condition, he opens it and reads to them from Jeremiah and explains that God is ALL Powerful and the Great Physician!!