DON DEFIORE, MSF TEAM MEMBER - Peru - Jan. 2009

My trip to Lima '09
I can't get over the change I have been fortunate enough to witness first hand. Not only on the site of the Day Care Center in Manchay, but this general plot of land in Peru. The first time I saw the site all there was to look at was a lot of dirt and rock, and a couple of brick shells. As I left the site on this past Friday, there were almost 90 children waving goodbye, smiling and practicing their English. A far different picture than years ago.

These children now have a safe place to stay, learn and play while their parents work. A place with food, running water, and a working toilet! These are luxury items to most people who live in this area. During the week I had a chance to work on the orphanage in Pachacamac. Another amazing project that is well under way. I have grown as a person being part of a team from THE MITCHELL SWABACK FOUNDATION who is devoted to making a difference. It has been a pleasure and a life changing experience and I thank you!

Don DeFiore

Mitchell Swaback Foundation - Peru January 2009

PERU 2009
On Saturday morning, January 31st nine carpenters loaded the planes and headed to Lima, Peru. This group of men committed a week towards the construction of the day care center in Manchay and also the new orphanage that MSF is building in Pachacamac. Most of this year's team have made this same trip with MSF and look forward to returning each year.
Arriving in Lima, Peru at 11:30 pm we traveled about 50 minutes to the apartment that we would be living in the next week. Sunday morning we went to church followed by lunch and a visit to both job sites. The new orphanage in Pachacamac will have six new homes built by MSF. Each home will house eight children and a set of parents. Currently four of the houses are underway with the last two to follow. A couple of the men spent the week at this site installing ceramic floors throughout the home. The rest of the men spent the week in Manchay at the Cuna Daycare center which started four years ago. MSF has worked on this site for the last four years. This year we took an empty space that will be used for administration offices and performed the following work: ceramic tile floor, metal stud walls with drywall and taping, installation of five interior doors and three exterior doors, framed walls for cubical and built custom desks in each one. Once again time was short and our unfinished work was stretched to the last hour, but we were able to complete everything we set out to do!
The highlight of the week was when 95 kids performed a little program for us. They made cards for each one of the men and presented them along with a big hugs and smiles! On the front of the card was Matthew 25:40, "And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." One of the men in the group said that moment alone made it all worth being there. These kids have so little, but the Cuna Daycare Center provides hot meals, love and the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Special thanks to Mutual Sales who donated power tools and supplies and Just Rite Acoustics, Inc. for underwriting the entire trip.
Please read the stories from Tyler Foss construction coordinator for both the orphanage and daycare center and Don DeFiore one of the men that represented MSF. Read more about MSF and their work at: www.mitchellswabackfoundation.org

First Christian Reformed Church Team—June 7-15, 2008

For the first time in our 100-year existence, First Christian Reformed Church of Highland, Indiana, sent a mission team out of the country. From June 7-15, 2008, 12 of us from First Church were blessed to join in the wonderful ministry of Kids Alive in Guatemala. It was an experience we will never forget. Although it was our first mission trip abroad it most certainly will not be our last!

We enjoyed helping with various construction projects at The Oasis, the Kids Alive campus in Guatemala. We painted a house, poured a sidewalk, and transplanted sod, as well as doing other plumbing/construction/landscaping projects. Although it was gratifying to "leave our mark" in terms of the physical labor we provided, we counted it a greater blessing to be directly involved in the lives of the children Kids Alive serves. The faces of those little children at the Oasis and in the village of Zapote will forever be etched in our mind. We loved doing Bible lessons and crafts with the children but mostly appreciated the opportunity to connect with them in simple ways–pushing them on the swings, blowing bubbles, jumping rope, doing their nails, playing soccer. Love truly does transcend all language barriers.

Our team was greatly impressed with the Kids Alive organization. We were made to feel welcome, everything was organized well, and the staff all proved to be wonderful ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We look forward to serving with you again!

Thornapple Covenant Church Team - February 9-16, 2008

The Thornapple Covenant Church trip to Constanza was a great experience for the whole team– starting months ago with God leading individuals to commit a week of their lives to serve on the mission team. From the beginning, we felt that God would provide the right mix of team members and supply the talents and gifts necessary – from Spanish speakers to those that do not, to those experienced and inexperienced in construction, to those with big hearts for kids (all of us!) and those who just wanted to be true servants and do whatever needed to be done. Our week in Constanza will truly be a lifetime memory!

Here is a summary of our week, February 9-16, 2008:

1) First of all, we brought hope, joy, and love to the kids in the home and the barrios by spending time with them doing crafts and playing games.

2) We brought more than 600 pounds of much-needed children’s and adult medicines along with 200 pounds of athletic equipment.

3) We constructed concrete forms and poured columns that will support the roof over the enclosed water-storage tank. It will supply the compound with water when the electricity and public water system is turned off.

4) The Light Blue House - Three coats of varnish was applied to the cabinets and woodwork throughout; plumbing repairs made; cabinet hardware installed.

5) The bathroom next to the classroom building was made operable by finishing off the plumbing and setting the toilet.

6) Three separate projects in the barrio were completed: A small bedroom addition to one house along with a concrete block retaining wall needed to keep the rain water runoff out of the house; an outhouse for the use of four families; and a small outhouse addition for a third house.

Christian Haven Team - February 3-10, 2008

Working at the Caraballo Care Center

This was Christian Haven’s second trip to the Dominican Republic, only this year we visited the opposite side of the island working predominantly with Haitian refugees. Our team included four teenage boys and three adult team leaders. Our work project was very labor intensive this year and culminated in the pouring of two cement classroom floors to be used for preschool classes in the near future.

Our team had a very enjoyable week filled with many fun interactions with the children playing soccer, baseball, and even basketball. It was humbling to see the living conditions of some of the Haitian people and we were all challenged with finding gratitude in our own lives for what we many times take for granted; everything from hot water, to electricity, to a solid roof over our heads.

One of the most interesting and saddest parts of our week involved a walking tour through the Haitian side of the village. During this time we met the town witch doctor and got a firsthand look at the hold that he had on these people’s lives and the darkness that he kept them in. Incidentally, he was the only fat man in the village. Seeing the spiritual forces of evil at work in this village was a very uncomfortable and empty feeling, especially for our boys who wanted to leave and did not enjoy their visit with him.

We are truly thankful for the time that our hosts, Layne and Caitlyn Beller, spent with our team and the ways that they challenged our group spiritually throughout the week. Our guys really bonded with them and have many great memories of all the missionaries in that part of the Dominican that every day share the love of Jesus with the national people.

Mitchell Swaback Foundation Team - February 9-17, 2008

On the Road Again

On February 9, 2008 12 individuals from the Mitchell Swaback Foundation (MSF) from Elk Grove, Illinois loaded onto planes and headed to Lima, Peru to work for a week on the Cuna Daycare Center in Manchay, Peru. This year will mark the third consecutive year that MSF has sent a crew of skilled tradesmen. Work for the week consisted of completing the caretaker’s house–a family who watches over and protects the daycare center from unwelcomed guests. The team installed trim, soffits, and eaves on the exterior of their house, and also hung and taped drywall, installed doors, dropped ceilings. and ceramic tile in the interior. Other projects included 1,600 sq ft of ceramic tile in two classrooms, hanging additional exterior doors, and building window frames with screens from aluminum stock.

The crew worked Monday through Friday nine hours a day for a total of 540 man hours. On Friday afternoon the kids at the daycare put on a little program for our group. They sang songs and made a special gift for each worker to show their thanks and appreciation. The Cuna Daycare Center gives these kids a safe place to be while their parents work during the day. If this center didn’t exist, many of these kids would be left home alone.

Kids Alive International and their team of missionaries are doing an outstanding job caring for and making a difference in these kids’ lives. On Saturday we had a chance to visit the kids at the home in Lima, Peru.

We thank God for each individual that came on this trip to serve and for the opportunity He has given us to go and "look after the orphans in their distress." (James 1:27)

Are you looking to have an exciting overseas experience as you serve the Lord by caring for His children? Join us on a Kids Alive Service Team!

The service team program is designed to give teams an overseas experience that addresses the needs of children at risk and accomplishes the specific vision and mission of Kids Alive International. We encourage all service team members to come with a heart to serve the children, national workers, and missionaries on the field. Finally, our desire at Kids Alive International is to help the service team participants to hear and sense God’s leading in their lives.

In the coming weeks, Kids Alive will launch the Kids Alive Service Team blog. So, keep watching this space as we update this site with what is going on with service teams.