HiS PRINT Ministries Updates

Well, we have always said that our vision is in ink but our plans are in pencil. The vision is ink because no matter what happens and no matter what situation we are in we will always come to share the love of Christ and to share the gospel to all we have the opportunity to. That will never change, but the plans we make are written in pencil because we know that no matter how much planning we do and preparation we give ourselves those plans will often times change. Which is what is happening today and seems to happen more often than not and in some years it seems as if it is non stop. This is one of those years. We have had problem after problem when it comes to the construction projects to lost luggage, to dropped emails, and now to delayed team members.   The five that were due to arrive here today arrived so late to Paris that they missed their connection and now have to spend the night in Paris. This will delay their arrival untill tomorrow. We will miss them and wish the...

How to put today into words?  Today was such a beautiful day, an overwhelming day.  Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude for what God has been doing through our visits to the Orphanage and the Camp - it is just absolutely incredible. We went to the Orphanage today and taught them baseball.  We also took footballs and kicked field goals, and took some beach balls to play with. Rachel, Bethany & Maneula took some of the girls and taught them Line Dances.  It was just absolutely incredible to see the joy in some of these kids hearts.  It was wonderful. We just pray that we planted some seeds by using our steps to plant Christ's footsteps in their hearts and their lives. We handed out some Our Steps, His Print bracelets, and they just kept asking for more! We also handed out some gospel tracks, different cartoon gospel tracks to the kids. We have about ten different kinds, and took one of each. They would read them and...

Debbie, I am going to write this morning and give my voice a break. After camp yesterday my voice is a little  on the weak side. The allergies are hitting me pretty hard again this year and the combination will make it to difficult to spit the words out. If you would proof I would be grateful. Love to express myself through word but it takes me so long and not always sure I get my point across! Thanks so much for your wonderful help and dedication to helping us serve HIM! Hope all is well back in Houston. Things are fast and furious here! Great things are beginning to happen and slowly but surely we are getting things accomplished. The camp is going great and today we head back to the orphanage to do a baseball camp for them and play other games with them. Thanks for the prayers. Yesterday was another one of those wow days. Probably because it was the first day I actually got a chance to get on the field and spend some time with the campers. The past two sessions...

Thoughts from Rusty.... Catholic Church Charities As I approached planning for my Croatia trip, I gave myself several objectives.  I accomplished one of these objectives today.   I reached out to one of the Catholic charities in Sisak.  My Aunt Ruth (from Pearland) is a Catholic who contributed to our mission trip this year and wanted to do more for the Catholic churches in Sisak.  I met with Father Branko today (sp?) and explained how several Catholic families in Houston and Pearland wanted to contribute to God's work in Sisak.  My aunt's group wants to do more in the future to help the youth, unemployed and needy in Sisak by contributing to specific causes as suggested by Sisak's Catholic churches.  This will be a new effort for us, but I am faithful & hopeful that this new source of funds can assist with God's outreach.  I believe that new opportunities will come from this effort, and I will let you all know how this turns out.  Stay...

Thoughts from Shannon.... SOS Village Texas Carnival Today was an amazing day.  We went to the SOS Village to have a Texas Carnival.  We had five games set up with all of us girls, David, and 2 of the Storks to run the Carnival.  When the kids started coming over and playing the games, they had smiles from ear to ear!  I could see kids in the distance running to the field to see what was going on.   About 50 kids came to play the games, and they stayed around for the whole time - playing the same five games over and over!   They seemed as happy on the fifth time as they were on the first. For me personally, I had to keep choking back tears as I thought about how God has answered my prayers regarding the SOS Village.  Last year at this time we were not able to do what we did today.  Now we were able to glorify Him by playing games at this orphanage.  I think about how nervous I was in January - flying here by...

Notes from David... I don't have enough words to describe the blessings of today!  The joy would overwhelm me if it were even possible to fully express my joy!  Today was absolutely incredible.  Out the seven years we have been here, this has got to be in the top 10 days!  So many things that went on today that were used to glorify Him were incredible. The day started a little rough when we realized that the stage hole was a little too deep, and I had to run to 4 different places to get rebar, wood and other supplies.  Dalton, Chris & Rusty had to re-dig to straighten the site - it was a bit off.  Robert & Elvis were a great help this morning. We had a small lunch, and then Robert, Dalton & Chris headed back to the field to work more on the form and get the rebar & mesh worked out for the stage.  The first day of baseball camp was scheduled to start at 4:00, so they were also getting ready for the players.  ( Chris sen...

Here are some pictures to help those of us on this side of the 'pond' to see what is happening in Croatia! Igor Roksa - nice play! Safe!  Josip Coric Mario pitching at the Stork's play-off game Elvis catching Stefan Birac Bean Bag Toss  — with  Katie Welling Langehennig and  Kristina Hasprai . Ring Toss  — with  Marde Dawson  and  Rachel Elizabeth Payne . Football Throw  — with  Armin Mehinovic  and  Mario Đeferović . Shooting Gallery - with Bethany Moore & David Moss Sisak Fred! Ice Cream!!! Working the baseball field (that's Elvis mowing!) The pile of dirt is now moved, and the area is open for parking & activities The Stork's Field House & Batting Cage The site of the new Outfield Stage - now dug, filled & ready to build The pile of dirt that is now moved to the side of the property SOS Village Orphanage ...

Thoughts from Chris Hill after the first day of Baseball Camp... First Day of Camp. Today was the first day of Mission Croatia 2012 and we hit the ground running.  It was great to get out early and put in some good ol fashion manual labor.  The air was crisp and clear and made for easy working, if you call pushing dirt around easy.  But as it says in Corinthians, "in all you do, work as if you are working for the Lord."  Dalton, Robert, Rusty and myself worked to dig out and form the area for the stage that needed to be cemented so the "Rock" can do his thing when he gets here.   To be honest, from all indications I had a thought that we would have 5 or 6 kids show up for camp today. Camp was to begin at 4:00 and at 3:30 there were already kids showing up.  As soon as I saw this dad and his two boys that early  I said, "Thank you Lord."  I knew he was going to send the right kids and the right number of kids for us to work with. ...

Tuesday notes from David.... again, please forgive any spelling errors on the Croatian names!  It's the end of Tuesday, June 26th, and it's been another incredible day!  Shannon & I had devotions and time together this morning before we headed to the airport.  We got some things done & ready for the group to come, and have been thinking and praying about what God has in store for the group this year, and for the future.  I feel the need for more of a presence here in Croatia, and the opportunity seems to be presenting itself more and more Several of the Storks went with us to the airport (Elvis, Armon, Jeffa & Manuella) - I took Janko's car.  It was neat to see them all greet the group that came in.  We now have 7 more (six on the first flight, and Katie came in 2 hours later.)  Stefan and I stayed for Katie's flight, using that time to go through the video and talk about plans. Katie landed around 1:45, and everyone (and all of ...

Monday, June 25 notes from David... What an incredible day!  God answered so many prayers.  To see the response from the team was absolutely incredible. When I first came to the field this year and walked around, I was struck by how well the Storks have been taking care of the inside of the field.  They use the lawnmower that we bought last year to keep it up.  There are no weeds in any of the bases or around the pitchers mound, and everything is taken care of.  But, the weeds along the fence outside of the field and behind home plate & around the batting cages are absolutely horrible.  I know they just don't have the means to take care of it, and the city doesn't give them any help to do so.  You see it everywhere - even downtown between the medians and around the river... they just don't maintain like we do in public areas.   But, they responded this morning.  Janko and I went to the field early (he wanted to help.)  Ja...

This is transcribed audio from David...  please forgive the spelling of names! Debbie Page June 22 It is neat to see some new young ball players with the Storks.  Cascas, Armon and Junior being the new additions.  We had a good time at practice on Friday - we hit in the cage and did some infield/outfield work. After practice Stefan and I walked down to Rat Man downtown.   Stefan & I had a great talk on the way down there about what God is doing in his life and what God is doing here in the ministry.  We saw Rat Man and Mouse Man and had a great time.  Mouse Man was actually having a break and eating some pizza, and invited me to join him.  Getting the opportunity to share with Rat Man was very neat and incredible.  The opportunity to share with him for the last seven years has been a neat experience. _____ June 23 I woke up on my birthday, June 23, which was a Saturday.  I woke with more tiredness but did not have a ...

David got a chance to speak at church this morning.  He said it was a pleasure to share our mission and to ask them to pray for us as well.  Here is a picture from the service: He also said that Elvis was elected as one of the Assistant Coaches for the National Tournament! That is a huge privilege and honor. Everyone is very excited about this position for Elvis. Please pray for safe travel for the group leaving Monday for Croatia. Pray that all their luggage arrives with them, as they all have extra bags of equipment, etc. that will be used in the camps, carnivals and at the library.

From David while en route to Croatia... Croatia Mission 2012 - June 21.  We're heading to Croatia for our 7th trip.  We go to "Love 'em where they are, and love 'em 'till they ask why!" This is year #7, and through the years we have plowed a lot of soil, removed a lot of rocks, and planted a lot of seeds.  We've watered a lot of those seeds, and we've even seen a few fruits of that labor being harvested.  Our prayer this year is that through all of the dedication of serving Him and reflecting His love, we will see a bountiful harvest where the baskets are filled to capacity and lives will be changed by open and responsive minds and receptive hearts.   We feel God is busy preparing new rooms for many in His heavenly mansion. Please pray along with us that our hearts, action and words will continue to reflect Christ as more will begin to ask "Why."   God has grown this ministry in so many ways, and has opened so many doors to share h...