Mission UpReach Newsletter - May 2016
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<strong>May</strong> <strong>2016</strong> Volume 9, Issue 5<br />
<strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong> <strong>Newsletter</strong><br />
Focus Edition:<br />
The Moses<br />
Project<br />
The Moses Project is our farm located<br />
on the outskirts of Santa Rosa de<br />
Copan. The project is a perfect example<br />
of the guiding hand that MUR has in<br />
the transformation of this region.<br />
We are The John 1010 Generation –<br />
developing local leaders to launch 1010<br />
self-led, self-sustaining, and selfreplicating<br />
congregations in and around<br />
Western Honduras in this generation.<br />
The farm has capacity to house and<br />
train 50 young men from surrounding<br />
towns. These youth are considered the<br />
rising stars and future leaders in their<br />
own communities. On completion<br />
of their spiritual, academic, and<br />
professional studies at The Moses<br />
Project, these young men will return<br />
to their towns and villages to become<br />
local, Christian leaders.<br />
The Moses Project is growing and<br />
changing rapidly since MUR received<br />
the project late last year. Those<br />
enrolled in the program are now fully<br />
integrated into their daily routines that<br />
include academic and spiritual studies<br />
as well as training in best-practice<br />
agricultural techniques. The young<br />
men will become experts in areas of<br />
fish farming, coffee production, dairy<br />
operations, and poultry.<br />
The students begin each day with a<br />
staff-led Bible study as well as physical<br />
training. A normal day includes many<br />
chores that contribute to the physical<br />
needs of the farm. In the afternoons,<br />
the boys attend local public school.<br />
Access to education is a blessing for<br />
these young men since public high<br />
schools do not exist in many areas.<br />
The young men are also enrolled<br />
in the CREO or CRESCO Bible and<br />
leadership training curriculum.<br />
They experience a healthy church<br />
community by regularly attending the<br />
largest congregation in Santa Rosa. This<br />
200-member church family provides<br />
the young men with a model of a strong<br />
and spiritual church. They also have the<br />
opportunity to socialize with friends of<br />
their own age. We observe these young<br />
men developing and it is clear that<br />
they will be contributors to planting<br />
self-led, self-sustaining, and selfreplicating<br />
congregations.<br />
There are currently 27 boys<br />
enrolled at The Moses Project. Three<br />
students chose to leave since January,<br />
finding that the program was too<br />
challenging and intense. MUR will<br />
gradually build enrollment numbers in<br />
the program to our capacity, especially<br />
as our relationships into other<br />
communities expand. It is beneficial<br />
if these youth come to us from towns<br />
where church planting efforts are<br />
ongoing and doors have been opened<br />
through projects such as medical<br />
brigades.<br />
Two more fish farm ponds were<br />
added this year bringing the total<br />
to eight. Our capacity is currently<br />
more than 180,000 fish, with the two<br />
harvests per year that we realize.<br />
We are raising Red Nile tilapia and<br />
anticipate our first major harvest<br />
within the next four weeks.<br />
The farm was donated to us with<br />
some coffee production and this winter<br />
we harvested our first 10,000 pounds<br />
of bean coffee. That coffee is now<br />
available for sale at the MUR brigade<br />
store in Santa Rosa. A few bags are<br />
making their way to the USA for sale.<br />
Ask one of our staff for a sample! You<br />
can also see our young coffee plants<br />
(over 200,000 seedlings) in our nursery<br />
that will yield over 100,000 pounds of<br />
coffee per year when they mature.<br />
Our next big capital expansion plan<br />
is for poultry operations to house over<br />
30,000 broiler chickens with an annual<br />
production of better than 180,000<br />
birds. That is more than 600,000 lbs<br />
of chicken per year that we anticipate<br />
producing.<br />
The above three projects serve as<br />
technical training fields for the boys<br />
– fish, coffee, and poultry – but they<br />
are also designed to generate revenue<br />
that will fund the sustainable operation<br />
of The Moses Project. Our financial<br />
projections even show sufficient<br />
revenue to help support other projects<br />
within the overall MUR family of<br />
projects. MUR’s long-term goal is to<br />
generate over one-third of the total<br />
funding requirement of our mission<br />
through revenue generating and jobtraining<br />
programs.<br />
In addition to the main revenue<br />
producing crops, The Moses Project<br />
has 26 head of cattle, both beef and<br />
dairy. It is home to 18 sheep, 100 laying<br />
hens, and vegetable gardens (carrots,<br />
onions, tomatoes – and, of course, chili<br />
peppers!). Although some of these<br />
products are sold, they primarily offset<br />
the cost of food purchases for the boys<br />
living at the farm.
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www.missionupreach.org<br />
Hugo Miranda of The Moses Project<br />
Hugo Miranda has an undeniably important role in<br />
The Moses Project. Hugo as the Director has oversight<br />
of the entire operation of the project. Two assistant<br />
directors assure that the actual agricultural areas run<br />
smoothly and efficiently. Hugo is directly responsible<br />
for the success of the academic and spiritual training of<br />
the young men.<br />
Hugo emphasizes that the most important purpose<br />
of the project is to create spiritual leaders that can<br />
return to their homes and transform their families<br />
and communities. These future leaders will also be<br />
equipped with a variety of agricultural technology and<br />
business skills that will bring jobs and income to their<br />
towns. It is easy to see how The Moses Project supports<br />
the MUR goals for over 1,010 self-led, self-sustaining,<br />
and self-replicating churches in this generation – The<br />
John 1010 Generation.<br />
The Moses Project producing “better people”<br />
Franklin Omar Rodríguez Ramírez<br />
Nickname - Pankin<br />
From San Andreas Minas, La<br />
Unión, Copán<br />
“I had finished the 9th grade in<br />
my home town when a former<br />
class mate told me about the Moses<br />
Project. I asked him for the contact<br />
information for the director and after<br />
calling him we set up an interview.<br />
The director came, interviewed me<br />
and offered me a spot in the project.<br />
I believe that this project has<br />
been a great help to not only myself<br />
but to all the boys here. The Moses<br />
Project helps us change into better<br />
people. It teaches us much about God<br />
and His word and that is the most<br />
important thing we learn here. We<br />
also learn how live and work with<br />
people from different towns and<br />
villages.<br />
I plan to graduate from college<br />
with a degree in Agricultural<br />
Engineering and my dream would<br />
be to work full-time with the Moses<br />
Project. Before coming to the project<br />
I had in my mind that graduating<br />
high school and findng a job was<br />
all that there was for me. I never<br />
even thought going to college would<br />
be a possibility! In my time here<br />
I have learned some carpentry<br />
and graduated high school but<br />
my biggest achievement is that I<br />
was baptized. That is my greatest<br />
achievement and the best decision I<br />
have ever made.<br />
I want to say “Thank you” to all<br />
those who make this project possible.<br />
It is a great opportunity and please<br />
continue your involvement so that<br />
the project can continue to grow. God<br />
bless you all!”<br />
Franklin was interviewed by<br />
our own Jon Stacy, and here is<br />
what Jon had to say after the<br />
interview:<br />
“I am writing this from out here<br />
at the project. I am sweaty, dirty,<br />
and tired and writing this brought<br />
tears to my eyes because hearing<br />
him say that “being baptized was<br />
the greatest achievement and best<br />
decision” he has ever made makes<br />
all the long hard days more than<br />
worth it!”
www.missionupreach.org Page 3<br />
Informational Tour: Five cities in five days<br />
Informational events were held in five different<br />
regions of the USA during the month of April. These<br />
gatherings intended to share stories with our current<br />
donors and volunteers, as well as introduce more<br />
people to MUR. Our mission has great needs for more<br />
stakeholder involvement; providing their “time,<br />
talents, or treasure” to realize success of The John<br />
1010 Generation. Almost one third of the 400 people<br />
attending the events learned about MUR for the first<br />
time. A number of people responded with specific<br />
ideas of how they pledged to become directly involved<br />
and support the mission. Participants also donated<br />
$30,000. Special thanks to our Site Coordinators, table<br />
hosts and congregations: Scott Bedichek (Southside,<br />
Ft. Worth, TX), Paul Brightwell (Legacy, Ft. Worth,<br />
TX), Jeri Wilkerson (Pine Tree, Longview, TX), Brad<br />
Russell (Tusculum, Nashville, TN), Brandon Moore<br />
(<strong>May</strong>fair, Huntsville, TN), Phillip Sodipo (Burnt<br />
Hickory, Marietta, GA). If you would like to host a<br />
similar event in your area or wish to know more about<br />
how to be involved with <strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong>, please<br />
contact us.<br />
Brigade highlights<br />
In early April, the North Atlanta Church of Christ<br />
brought down a group of 12 members to do 4 days of<br />
VBS. The Barrio Belén church building hosted over 500<br />
students from the DESEO program during the week, as<br />
the group’s VBS focused on the wedding parables that<br />
Jesus told. North Atlanta even brought down enough<br />
costumes that each child got to dress in Bible-times<br />
outfits for the wedding festivities. The DESEO team<br />
and all of the AIMers were critical in pulling off this<br />
awesome brigade effort.<br />
Don McLaughlin, pulpit minister at North Atlanta,<br />
and one of it’s elders, Fernando Nasmyth, came with<br />
the group and during the week Don offered an extensive<br />
course in preaching to our Church Planting team.<br />
Fernando, originally from Costa Rica, served as Don’s<br />
interpreter.<br />
Brief Updates<br />
• DESEO wrapped up their first<br />
basketball league of the year! We<br />
had tournaments every Saturday last<br />
month and finished with a banquet<br />
where the children celebrated their<br />
accomplishments. The values<br />
instruction, directly in the public<br />
classrooms continues.<br />
• CHURCH PLANTING: An<br />
evangelistic campaign is scheduled<br />
this month in the city of Las Flores,<br />
Lempira. The church planters<br />
and evangelists as well as many<br />
members from our church family<br />
in Belén will travel to support and<br />
teach the good news of Christ as<br />
another John 1010 Generation<br />
congregation moves forward.
Page 4<br />
www.missionupreach.org<br />
A note from Donna<br />
knowing about it, I am overwhelmed with gratitude<br />
to God and amazed that He is allowing us to steward<br />
such a blessing. When I encounter those young men<br />
at church or out at the project, I get really emotional,<br />
thinking about how their lives are being transformed<br />
and how the Moses Project has the potential to<br />
change them as well as their children, grandchildren,<br />
and many future generations. Join us in humbly<br />
thanking God for this opportunity and pray for us as<br />
we steward such a grand opportunity.<br />
It was an honor and privilege to be able to travel with<br />
Phil this past month and share along with him the<br />
vision for <strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong> as well as what God has<br />
done and is doing. It’s hard to express in words the<br />
encouragement we get from being able to testify to<br />
God’s mighty work here in western Honduras and<br />
then to see the enthusiasm that sharing generates in<br />
newcomers to <strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong> as well as veterans.<br />
As I read about the Moses Project, in spite of already<br />
<strong>2016</strong> Brigades/Visiting Teams<br />
February 27th- March 5th............Tusculum C of C<br />
March 5-12th..............................Pinetree C of C Youth<br />
March 12-19th............................Auburn Student Center<br />
March 12-19th............................Southside C of C<br />
April 2-9th.................................North Atlanta C of C<br />
April 9-16th...............................VCOM<br />
June 4-11th.................................Southside C of C<br />
June 4-11th.................................Columbiana C of C<br />
June 11-18th...............................Burnt Hickory C of C<br />
June 18-25th...............................Pinetree C of C<br />
July 9-16th.................................Lexington C of C<br />
July 9-16th.................................Snellville C of C<br />
July 16-23rd................................Disciple Trips<br />
October 1-8th.............................LaVergne C of C<br />
October 1 - 8th............................VCOM<br />
October 8 -15th...........................VCOM<br />
October 15 - 22nd........................Medical Brigade<br />
Board Members<br />
Darin Beakley, Longview, TX<br />
Scott Bedichek, Ft. Worth, TX<br />
Phil Berry, Coral Springs, FL<br />
Wayne Kellis, Gilbert, SC<br />
Moises Matos, Decatur, GA<br />
Matthew Schick, Powder Springs, GA<br />
Dorris Shelton, Dunwoody, GA<br />
Jeff Simpson, White Oak, TX<br />
Adam Spencer, Longview, TX<br />
Jon Stacy, Huntsville, AL<br />
Donna Waldron, Pendergrass, GA<br />
Phil Waldron, Pendergrass, GA<br />
Planned Giving<br />
Available<br />
Remember that with <strong>Mission</strong><br />
<strong>UpReach</strong> now having official IRS<br />
501(c)(3) status you can leave<br />
a bequest in your will that will<br />
bless future generations with<br />
new church plants in western<br />
Honduras. All you need to do is<br />
include <strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong>, Inc. in<br />
your will stating what size bequest<br />
you would like to make.<br />
Please contact us:<br />
Our mailing address is as follows:<br />
<strong>Mission</strong> <strong>UpReach</strong>, Inc.<br />
1809 W Loop 281<br />
Ste. 100, PMB 107<br />
Longview, TX 75604<br />
Please send all checks, donations and<br />
correspondence to this address.<br />
You can correspond directly with<br />
Phil and Donna at:<br />
Phil and Donna Waldron<br />
Apartado Postal #255<br />
Santa Rosa de Copán, Copán<br />
Honduras, Central America<br />
waldronfam@me.com<br />
Phone: 706-534-7060<br />
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