Keith and Cornelia Harrell on Mission!!!

Summer Update!

2011-07-13T08:30:00.000-04:00

We continued our summer feeding program yesterday. The number of kids that came for lunch was down abit. The kids, that were there, tell me that many are off doing other things or still going to summer school.

I also had a great morning spending time with Pastor Paul Ballard from Mountain Park FBC. He was eager to see the type if mission work that we are involved in. I was glade to show him around and discuss the impact our program is making on the internationals in that region of metro Atlanta. I look forward to his prayers and MPFBC's continued support for our work.

Keith

Please Pray!

2011-07-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

The summer has arrived with a vengeance. We have been busy over the last month hosting mission groups from all over the United States. People who are willing to travel many vast miles to share the Gospel with the lost and misinformed people groups of the International Community. One of the most important parts of the mission experience is the tour through the businesses and shops that line Buford Highway in Doraville, Georgia.

In this area you can purchase items that facilitate worship for some the the most false and dark religions on earth. Just about any form of religion practiced here is everything but Christianity.

The two photos above are Buddhist and Muslim worship. One which is located at I85 and Jimmy Carter Blvd. So if you are Christian and you believe that these types of religions will not effect you...you really need to think again because they are right at you back door and gaining strength each week. So Christian's pray that God will bring forth a mighty army that will go forth and share God's Word with people groups that are mislead and misguided. Also remember God has called us to love not hate.

Blessings, Rev. Keith

Its Just What We Do...

2011-07-02T09:39:00.003-04:00

May marked the beginning of our fourth year of sharing the Gospel with the immigrant population in Atlanta's international village. The population of people who are without Christ in this area is staggering. June began our time of year when mission groups descend on the international village from all over the United States. It is important to note that during this time the evangelistic impact is greater among the population than any other time of year. These groups are able to spread out and work locations that might remain dormant for most of the year.

I believe most Evangelicals fail to realize just how well organized these people groups are when it comes to business, culture, and religion. When you enter an Islamic neighborhood the cultural impact is just as though you were in the middle east.

First please pray for the souls of these people. And second, pray for God to provide resources of Christian people who are willing to go bravely into the field with the sword if truth. And finally financial resources are always an issue for missionaries. Please donate financially so we can continue the work Jesus has called us to do. It's just what we do!!!

Blessings...Rev. Keith

One Great Week

2011-07-02T00:38:00.000-04:00

We had one great week with our misson teams. It is truly a blessing having people on our sites that are willing to drive great distances to tell the Good News to people who are lost and dying.

Please pray as we minister to those who need to know the truth.

Groups on mission

2011-06-27T23:09:00.000-04:00

God has sent forth several mission groups this week One is the First Baptist Church Hattiesberg, MS. It is always a lot of fun to work with youth groups because of the energy and eagerness they have to share Christ with the lost.

We are looking forward to a week of sharing the "Good News" with the children whom God has in trusted us with.

Summer Is Here!!!!

2011-06-25T11:27:00.000-04:00

We are so thankful for the summer months when we can really get out and talk to people about the Lord. This summer we have had a surge in out of town groups coming to our missions and target neighborhoods. Praise God for all he has done so far. More to come!!!!

We Give Thanks

2010-11-25T21:51:00.004-05:00

We are so grateful that we had all our children under our roof today. We are proud of the adults they are becoming, yet it feels great to function as a complete family; even if it is just for a short time.

So today Thanksgiving day I am thankful for all God has given me. I am also thankful that God loves me. Pray that Cornelia and I will make a greater impact for the kingdom of God as we strive to share the Gospel with the lost.

Oh by the way we are also thankful for you our supporters.

An Ever Growing Need.

2010-11-20T12:19:00.003-05:00

If you were keeping track of us via our blog, we would like to apologize to you for the lack of communication over the past four months. The fact is, that we are still on the job and working hard for our Lord Jesus. Our mission base camp is still located in the Villa Nueava complex where we continue to work diligently to share the Gospel of Jesus with the community of over 90,000 Hispanic people. Our promise to you is that we will resume our blog on a weekly basis to keep you apprised on our work. And to familiarize you of God's progress within the Latin American groups in which we serve.

Stay tuned for more details beginning next week.

New Kids at the Mission and Back to School

2010-07-29T10:45:00.008-04:00

Summers are really great at the mission, because it allows us to work with smaller groups of kids. Like us, kids are distracted by the pool, vacations, theme parks and etc... so getting them to the mission is increasingly difficult. For the ones who choose to come we are able to share the love of Jesus one on one with out the usual distractions.

It's been a couple of weeks since we last posted. During that time we have been working hard to get ready to restart our after school programs. Yes its that time again. Teachers go back to school next week and the following week students too. That means we have to spend much of our time collecting school supplies for kids that cannot afford them. The average cost to supply one kid is about $100.00. If you would like to help approximately 30-40 needy kids by donating supplies or money, please contact us at keithandcornelia@gmail.com and we will provide instructions. Currently our physical donations are well below what we collected last year. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Older kids are harder to reach. Reasons are many, but the biggest is their love for soccer. They live for the sport. But recently we have found a solution to break the ice. "CHECKERS!"

Keith started a round-robin checker tournament with middle school boys that has turned into one huge draw. So huge, that they wait at the door for us to get there so the games can begin. Their manners are kind of bad (foul language) right now, but now we can begin to build relationships that will lead to sharing the Gospel.

Please pray for these Kids!!!!

www.thetablemissions.org

Brett and Maggie!!!!

2010-07-12T07:13:00.003-04:00

I had a great time catching up with my friends Brett and Maggie Barnes. they are Campus Outreach missionaries working in Indiana with college kids. Brett was a kid in one the youth groups I worked with back in to 90"s It such a blessing to see him become such a man of God. But better than that, I'm glad he married such a wonderful women than can keep him headed in the right direction.

Today is week two of Camp Discovery. This is our 12th year running this camp. Cornelia is the director and really does a great job with the fun aspect and sharing the Jesus message. Can't never start too young.

Stay tuned for further updates and pictures.

June and Other Musings

2010-07-06T08:57:00.014-04:00

June has been one crazy and busy month. We were privileged to have hosted mission groups from several areas of the country. One thing a missionary loves is... groups of people who give up their time, leave home, and travel great distances in the name of our Lord Jesus.

We were so blessed to have a great group of kids from Valley Ranch Baptist Church, who came here all the way from Dallas Texas. They were able to impact over twenty locations all across the International Community. They really worked very hard to develop new work in two apartment complexes that until now had no active work going on. All their efforts will be such a blessing to us as we use the data they provided to expand on their work.

Last year as part of our mission work we were invited to work with the prayer team at "Atlanta Fest." This event is the largest Christian festival of its type in the southeast. We were so blessed this year to be invited back. The founders of this event consider prayer to be the one most important elements of the whole show, and it is even written into every artist's contract.

Much of what we do is focused around the 'Prayer Tent." This is the site people are directed to during each invitation time. It is also a place to be alone with the Lord.

We also rotate the task of praying with every artist that performs on stage in a private secured area back stage.Each year at the Saturday night conclusion,candles are lit as a reminder to carry the light of Jesus into the world. This is a picture of my hands. I was the last person this year to receive the light. This picture was taken from the main stage. Beyond my hands you can see the thousands of candles. A very cool view uh? Can't wait until next year comes!

Changing Times...

2010-05-31T13:22:00.011-04:00

One thing about life is if you begin to become bored, just hang around a while and things will certainly change. That is kind of the path Cornelia and I find ourselves going down these days. Last Wednesday night our youngest, Kaitlyn," graduated from high school.
Kaitlyn is the tall one pictured with her best friend Vanessa.

So after 24 years of raising children, we will be sending our last child off to college this fall. Not that we are sad bout it. Actually we are very thrilled! She has earned this step in her life and we are very proud of her. But the reality is that it is going to be so strange without any children living in our home. Our house has always been the hang our for friends and thank the Lord he allowed us the opportunity to be a Godly influence on so many kids. Many we can now call our friends as well.

Some people perceive Kaitlyn to be shy and with-drawn. But honestly they really don't know her. So as I finish this article I would like for you to know my daughter. A very godly young woman who loves Jesus with all her heart. A person who has amazed me in so many ways through her art, photography, and music. She is one of the bravest people I know and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her life. Way to go Kaitlyn!!!

Mission Fair at First Baptist Atlanta

2010-04-19T20:26:00.015-04:00

Yesterday we had a blessed opportunity to help Kathy and Ashley Cummins man the "Whirlwind Missions" booth at the First Baptist Atlanta mission fair (Dr. Charles Stanley is the pastor).
For missionaries, this event is one of the largest opportunities for meeting huge volumes of people. To give you an idea of how large...the FBA sanctuary holds 5000 people times two services. Yesterday both service times were full. Well you can do the math.

The FBA mission fair always has such great networking and outreach potential. Before and after each service people streamed up and down the halls by the hundreds. Cornelia and I brought stacks of prayer cards, copies of our newsletter, and prayer bracelets. As we handed out these items God used it to open the door to many great discussions with wonderful people interested in local missions.

We also enjoyed the opportunity to network with other missionaries. It is so much fun to see the diversity of what the Lord has called his people to do in the advancement of His kingdom.

For example, Jack and Sharon, in the booth across from us, run a construction based ministry. She said when God called them to missions that they promised to do the work until the money ran out. They were recently offered the opportunity to move into the mission house at First Baptist Norcross and God continues to provide for their needs daily.

We also promised God when he called us into mission work, that we would serve as his labors for as long as He wanted us to.

Several Whirlwind team members were also present which made it really fun. We don't get to see each other very often, so it is always a treat to be in one place with many friends on our team.

Please pray for our ministry and the effort of yesterday labors be blessed and fruitful.

2010-03-29T22:41:00.005-04:00

Sharing the Easter Story!!!!

We have been so blessed by what God has been doing within our midst. As we complete our second year of ministry in the south Norcross area, we continue to be amazed by the miricles God continues to provide.

Saturday we were blessed to have group of middle school girls from Mountain Park Frirst Baptist host our anual Easter party and egg hunt,

These girls and adult chaperones really worked hard to make sure the event went smooth.

Most importantly the story of Easter was shared with children and adults,
The kids of Villa Nueava had a great time hunting Easter eggs. But most of all they really loved the candy inside.

Thanks MPFBC girls for a great event.

In The Swing of Things

2010-02-04T22:53:00.003-05:00

Today was early release day for Gwinnett Public Schools. The kids were really excited about going home early. I was also able to go home early as well. This gave Cornelia and I the opportunity to get into the mission field for a few extra hours today!

We went to Villa Nueva and opened the mission a little early. It was good to have the opportunity to spend extra time with the kids. Cornelia had planed and very creative bible study about Joseph and his coat of many colors. She incorporated a great craft project that the kids really loved.
I love how she uses her many years as a Christian teacher to spread the Gospel with these children.

We also went to one of the Huntington properties and distributed gloves to several kids. The kids there are really poor and appreciated the extra warmth for the bus stop on cold days.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Villa Nueva!!!!!!

2010-01-28T23:10:00.003-05:00

Cornelia and I had a great turnout at our Villa Nueva mission today. Sorry we don't have photos to share of the experience. May be we will have a camera up and running soon.

We Love working with the people there. They are so appreciative for everything we try to do for them. It is really fun having Cornelia working with me full time again. She had a great craft project for the kids to do today. The girls really love her.

I also worked with kids on their homework. Many struggle to understand written English words which makes it though for them to understand the point of the material.

Finally we distributed bread to the needy today. We have found an outlet that will sell us bread for $5.00 bucks a shopping cart load. It's good to get some sort of food on the table of very needy people. For more information contact us at keithandcornelia@gmail.com

We love you all!

God is Sooooo Good!!

2010-01-25T22:27:00.005-05:00

For weeks we have been struggling with the transition that is going on among the Latino people groups. It appears that so many people are on the move. I spoke with one lady not to long ago who told me her husband had gone to Nebraska to locate work in farmland regions. What does this mean to our ministry? It means that as many people move form our ministry field it puts us in a constant state of relearning people and regaining trust. Sort of a consistent state of restarting.

The bright side...God has placed us in a perfect position to spread the Gospel with many new families.

Also we have begun new work at Hunnington Terraces which is about a mile from Villa Nueve, just off Jimmy Carter Blvd. Currently another group is also ministering there as well. Our hope is that we can develop a partnership the will work for the good of the residents and not missionary egos. We were there last Thursday handing out coats and gloves to the kids. Most were very unprepared for the extreme cold of the past two weeks. Please pray that this partnership will work out.

Finally many of you know that we recently was able to start a Christian after school club at Lilburn Elementary School.Last week we had almost thirty kids in attendance. We were also able to gain support from two local churches...Lilburn First Baptist and Calvary Baptist Church. Both churches have agreed to help supply us with resources as we spread the Gospel in public school. Many of our students are openly proclaiming the Word to other kids. And we continue to teach the kids how to read the and study the Bible.

Please pray that God will bless our efforts as we "go" in the name of Jesus

Blessings.....Keith

It's Good To Be Back

2010-01-23T22:23:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone....its good to be back on the blog once again. Just to let you know we have been absent for so long because of a few issues we had to work through. But know we are back on by the grace of God.

Over the last few weeks we have been blessed to see God work in some very powerful ways. One of the biggest blessings has been to have Cornelia return to ministry service in the field. In the past she has served in an administrative role. But God has led her to give up an extra job and to return to a full time roll in the field with me. Last years crew has gone on to start their own ministry sites (praise the Lord), so it has been a natural progression for Cornelia to reenter field work.

God is good all the time.

Much Love,
Keith

Lack of Contact

2009-07-26T21:55:00.003-04:00

I am sorry for the lack of contact with you my faith full supporters. Our computer is still on the blink and we don't have the funds to get it repaired. If any one knows someone who can repair computers as a ministry please let me know. We sure are hand-cuffed with our it.

Please pray for our ministry as we begin to establish a new mission site soon. Also pray that God will also see fit to bless us financially.

We Love you all!

Computer Woes!!!

2009-07-07T10:21:00.003-04:00

Goood Morning! Well its good to be back online again. My high-powered Dell Computer decided, after three years of perfect operation, to crash. So now we had to go to the backup computer. About three months ago we received a donation of a Hewlett Packard PC. Praise the Lord that he knew we were going to need it. As for the Dell ... its in the hands of Doctor Jesse Cummins for evaluation. Jesse is really talented at this kind of tech stuff and I know what ever the remedy may be, he will be able to tell me soon.

Just to update you on the latest mission news...we have been working hard to reach the people of Villa Nueva and Huntington Village. To date we have led 20 people to Jesus, worked with 4 different churches, and handed out over 150 bibles to many adults. If you would like to be apart of our team we really need a donation of Spanish language bibles. We also could use volunteers to help on sight.

Lately Cornelia has been working her summer camp and also at a daycare center to help boost our financial situation. With the recession just about every missionary is experiencing a decline in giving. Unfortunately bills and mortgages still have to be paid etc..

Our summer missionary Kati McLean is doing an excellent job filling the gap where ever she is asked to serve. This week she is in Boston, but will be back in action next week.

Please pray for our work. We have faith in the direction by a powerful and loving God that will meet all our needs. If you have been blessed this month...please pray how you can help your missionaries.

We Love You All!!!

Internet woes!!!!

2009-07-03T23:22:00.002-04:00

I am sorry about not keeping my blog current. I have been having some major trouble with my modem over heating..I figured out if I put it in the refrigerator that it will make it work for a short time. Hopefully I will have the problem resolved soon and be current and updated soon.

Thanks for your patience.

2009-06-18T09:21:00.010-04:00

Hello Every One!

This week we have been working with a team from Petal Mississippi (Petal Harvey Baptist Church).

This group has been doing a terrific job working with over 160 kids between four different sites. We appreciate the efforts of Jason (right) and his group. Jason has been a youth minister for several years and really knows how to motivate his team.Feet really take a beating and get dirty during mission activities.

Kids and workers get hot and tired!

But the best thing is ...Kids have fun and learn about Jesus!
Over the past two weeks we have led seven people to Christ. We are greedy for the people of this world. Please pray that God will bind Satan and keep the flow coming.

Also...thanks to my summer missionary Kati for all her hard work. She is doing an outstanding job and is really called to do this kind of work.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Kids Club Thursday and Happenings

2009-06-13T12:22:00.007-04:00

Cornelia and I helped out Thursday and Friday morning with Vacation Bible School at my home church Mountain Park FBC. The attendance has ran close to 350 kids every day. Out children's pastor Debbie Braswell is one of the best and really knows how to throw a party for Jesus.

Later, I met up around noon with Ashley, Jesse, Tim and Marco Solano! Marco is another of our team members.

We met to discuss the field teams that will be working on my sights next week. The team will be a youth group from Mississippi. Their assignments will be Huntington Village, Huntington Ridge, Villa Nueva and Retreat at Arc Way. Also made a visit to the Beaver Ruin Baptist church to let them know about the work we’re doing in their area.

We also talked about a team from Florida coming up to work with us and also a group that might be transferring the to the Falls Apartments on Satellite Blvd.

Thursday evening we had our Kids Club program sponsored by Rock Bridge Baptist Church. We had a larger number of kids this week because of the good weather.

Hopefully we will be able to generate some interest in their Vacation Bible School coming in July. Please pray that kids will except Christ.

Week in Review!!!

2009-06-10T22:52:00.006-04:00

Just a quick update on this weeks activities. Monday started a week long Vacation Bible School at Mountain Park FBC, our home church. Cornelia, Kaitlyn, and I are all working in different capacities. Even though it has been very hot this week we have had tons of fun. One of my jobs has been directing traffic in the parking lot. Man some of the people coming into the parking lot drive way too fast. The best thing about this job is that I get to greet a lot of visitors and direct them to the right locations.

Monday afternoon...Cornelia, Kati (our summer missionary), and I went to Villa Nueva to check on the kids. School has only been out for three weeks and they are already bored. So Cornelia broke out a brand new box of side-walk chalk and began to draw pictures on the soccer court. Before long all the kids were engaged in art work. After that we drew a hop-scotch board on the ground and the kids played hop scotch. Good simple fun.

While all this was going on I was able to minister to one of the boys who's Dad is locked up in the GCDC. He was pulled over for running a red light and detained. This kid is really missing his dad. His dad is really a good man. I feel sorry for his family. Tomorrow night Rock Bridge Baptist Church will be back to continue their Kid Club Thursdays. Today we went back again and found five of our regular kids. We wanted to make sure that they remembered the event on Thursday night. We also asked them to remind the other kids to be there. I am really looking forward to working with RBBC again. Last week they led two kids to Jesus.

Please pray for their effectiveness as they share the Gospel with the children once again.

Great Summer Mission Kick Off!!!

2009-06-05T15:02:00.008-04:00

We had our first summer kick off event last night with Rock Bridge Baptist Church. This is the beginning of a five week Thursday night Kids Club designed to "Take the Church To the People" away from the church campus.

The event, scheduled for 6:30 pm, was meet with torrential rainfall which began just as we started. Even though the devil tried to stop us we just moved the event under the covered porch. We were sort perplexed as to why our many of our regular kids did not show up...after all they helped us pass out flyer's. Shows you can never second guess anything on the mission field.

Rock Bridge Baptist had many really talented people leading and teaching. The material centered around Hebrews 9:22b"and without shedding of blood is no remission".

After the lesson the kids were treated to songs and games. Oh yea! buy the way. an invitation was given after the lesson and we had three kids express an interest in knowing more about a relationship with Jesus.Awesome!!!

We were very excited to see many new kids that we had not made contact with before this event.

This morning I had the opportunity to go and speak with a class from Kid R Kids. Their summertime material centers around being a better person morally. Hey...we have the answer for that problem. Per the managers request I spoke on cooperation. It was good stuff and the kids really listened.

Summer Program Prep!!!!

2009-05-28T23:21:00.006-04:00

Cornelia and I spent Thursday and Friday getting ready for our summer mission work. We worked on plans for the mission kids and the preschool camp we do every year (Camp Discovery).

Thursday we cleaned up the mission...boy was it a mess. It has been a couple of months since we really cleaned up.

We tried to find some of our kids, but did not have much luck. The manager said they were on vacation. Not sure about that .

It's got be hard for 50 kids to go on vacation all at once. We are not worried we will track them down soon.

Tomorrow we will be working on the News Letter....yes it's that time again. We were very late getting the April update out last month. We are trying to get back on track this month. Thanks to all of you who support us with financial gifts and prayers! We sure do appreciate you all.

Much love to you all!!!

UNITE and Other Things

2009-05-23T15:43:00.008-04:00

Its good to be back to blogging again. Sorry we have not updated in a while, but we look forward to getting back on track again.

Thursday Cornelia and I attended the Unite meeting. Unite is a gathering of evangelical Church's' combining for one common goal; to share the gospel with the lost.

Chip Sweeney of Perimeter Church heads up Unite. This month we were discussing Compassion in Action Weekend which happens in October. It will be one of the largest outreach events of the year in Metro Atlanta

We always enjoy learning and hearing what other Christian believers are doing in various denominations and organization's. It was good to see our partner Matt Johns there as well.

Last Saturday we tried to have an end of the school year party. Unfortunately due to heavy rain the kids just did not turn out. Mama was probably not to crazy about the lighting associated with the rain.

We did manage to have a small turnout. That's not a bad thing in our eyes. It gives us time to get closer to the kids that did come.

Please pray as we begin to transition into our summer program. We are seeing a lot of new kids begin to move in, but sadly some of our regulars are moving out of Villa Nueva and on to various other places.

We have been meeting with various churches in our area and plan to combine forces to run three consecutive weeks of back-yard-bible clubs beginning in two weeks. We are very proud to be partnering with the new Rockbridge Baptist Church. Our goal is to reach the community as co- partners with one common effort.

Sadly we had to say good by to a very good and faithful friend. Sam, our one year old retriever mix, suddenly became ill and passed away last Saturday just after we arrived home from the mission. We are not really sure what was wrong with him and it happened so fast that we did not have time to take him to the emergency hospital.

He was a good dog and we sure are going to miss him!

We Love You All!!!

Team Work!!!

2009-05-05T23:16:00.003-04:00

Its really staggering how much the Lord really loves us. When Jesus said, "Oh, ye of little faith," He must have been speaking directly to me. As humans we have a natural built in ability to think that what we accomplish is driven by our own talents and abilities. But actually with out God's guidance and help we could not accomplish one single thing.

Yesterday I met up with Tim, Jesse, Terry and Ruthie and Ian North. We had a couple of cars donated to the ministry. I helped Tim figure out how to get to the DMV office. So all six of us rode over to Hapeville to transfer the titles of both cars from the previous owners to Whirlwind Missions. And then have a second transfer made to the missionaries that will actually be using the vehicles. Terry had a friend that donated a van to our ministry that she’s going to be able to use for her Burundian ladies, and the Norths will be using the other car for everyday transportation.

It is great to see how the Lord still provides even in bad economic conditions. The Lord never suffers from a bad economy... everything belongs to Him. To God be the glory.

MSC Gathering

2009-04-23T22:54:00.005-04:00

Today I went to the Georgia Baptist Convention for a gathering of MSC missionaries.

The building is really beautiful inside.
The atrium has several works of art that depict the ministry of Jesus.

This is a painting of Jesus and the 12 Disciples. It's really gorgeous. Most people never think of the disciples being this young.

It was good to see our partners Ruthie and Bennett there as well. Tim Cummins was the key note speaker. I could not get a shot of him because he would not hold still. If you know Tim, then you will understand what I mean. It was good to learn how others serve and work to reach the people for Christ.

Slowing Down abit!!!

2009-04-22T09:14:00.002-04:00

Well as the school year winds down, the kids are not having as much home work. For the past week the kids have been taking the CRCT test which results in no homework. So that has given us plenty of time to do recreation and more time to talk about Jesus. Monday we played a mean game of across the river. The kids love this game. We then feed them cookies and soft drinks, did art, and sent them home.

The only exception was Misiel who's teacher sent a practice CRCT test home for him to complete. We worked on it for the entire time and he still did not get finished. It was over 20 pages long....Ughhh!!!!

Our partners from Parkview Church have become a big part of our team. They send members on Monday and Saturdays to help with evangelism and recreation. Also we are looking forward to our friends from Mountain Park FBC returning to do a block party soon. Our funds are running really low right now which honestly restricts our ability to do basic ministry. Please pray for the Lord to provide financially so that we can continue to serve in this vitally important location.

Eggstravaganza!!!!

2009-04-11T22:07:00.010-04:00

We had a great time today celebrating Easter with our mission kids and families. Melinda, the manager of Villa Nueva, partnered with us to to sponsor an egg hunt for the children.

Several families came out to enjoy the festivities and refreshments.

It was time for the egg hunt! The kids and were really excited. The parents were excited too. Everyone was hunting...moms, dads, and kids.

Each egg had a surprise inside or candy.

Even the smallest hunters had a great time. Praise God for a risen Savior. Happy Easter!!!

How Do You Define a Frend?

2009-04-10T12:01:00.011-04:00

It is said in the Bible that everyone is appointed to die. Try as we may to keep this day from coming, we will all still face this point on the time line. I like to use the analogy of a hair. If you place the creation of the earth on the left and infinity on the the right, then place a single hair at some point on the line then one can see how really short life is. James, the writer of the New Testament book that bears his name, reminds us that life is like a vapor—here today and gone tomorrow. (James 4:14) It is quick!

So while we are on the subject...let me ask you a question, "How will you be remembered?" Or better than that, "How would you want to be remembered?" On the day you die what would be the one thing your minister would focus on as he speaks of the time between your birth and your death? I believe the greatest thing that could ever be told about anyone would be concerning their friendship and relationship with God. I would be honored if a minister could stand and say “Keith was a friend of God.” I have been told my whole life that I would be known by the company I keep. What a testimony if it could be known that I kept company with God!

If there was ever a man in the Bible it could be said was a friend of the Most High God, it would be Abraham. God always speaks from His perfect knowledge. God says, “Abraham was a friend of mine.” Friendship can be summed up in three words. The words which quickly come to mind are those that measure every friendship. A friend is loyal, trustworthy, and committed. It is that simple. Those words describe what it takes to be a friend to people and it takes the same three words in action to be a real friend of God.

By his willingness to trust God with his life, God held Abraham up as an example of a giant in the faith for us to follow. In other words, his legacy speaks volumes concerning his walk with God. That’s exactly what God desires for us. God’s desire for each of us is that our commitment to Him is more than just Sunday morning, but that it is 24/7. God desires that we live with such a holy passion that every single moment of each day be totally committed to Him.

Today ..."Good Friday," let us remember the friendship our Lord Jesus displayed for us. Despite his trial, harsh treatment, and crucifixion he remained a true friend of mankind to the end. He never once violated his word to die so that we could have a second chance. He remained loyal, trustworthy, and committed to the end.

Take a moment at 3:00 pm this afternoon to remember what he did just for you.

Thanks War Hill!

2009-04-05T15:20:00.007-04:00

We had a great time with War Hill Christian Fellowship yesterday. They came out to lead our Saturday program and to hang out with our kids. We really enjoyed having them!

They were really a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed playing with them. It was also good to have Victor from Youth Outreach United there as well. He has been on site several times and is always a blessing to have around.

War Hill's youth pastor Christi Garner says the church is trying of be outward focused and to loose the bad habit of being internal and comfortable.

Our partner and good friend Meghan Faircloth led the kids in the Evangi-egg presentation. Each egg is symbolic of one day of passion week. She really did an excellent job.

It was also good to have Cornelia there too! As our Saturday program develops it allows her to be involved. The kids really love her.

Please pray for our ministry. With the recession, we have suffered a 30 percent drop in our financial support. if you would like to donate you can click on to donate button on this page or you can visit our website at http://www.thetablemissions.org/. No amount is too small and every donation is tax deductible.

We love you all!!!

Catching Up On Things

2009-03-28T21:45:00.002-04:00

This past week was really a busy one. We worked on several fronts to advance the Gospel. In our business things are never cut and dried. Adjustments regularly have to be made at a minutes notice. Understand when you deal with different cultures like we do, it pays to have a patient attitude.

Last Monday we had 22 kids show up at the mission along with 7 volunteers. it was a mad house!! Praise the Lord for the extra help. Wednesday we virtually had the same numbers with only Meghan and I to handle the load. Looks like its time to do a little reorganizing.

On Wednesday several MSC Missionaries had the opportunity to meet with Jeff Hammond President of NAMB at Clarkston International Bible Church. We all had the opportunity to tell him about our individual missions etc...

The last half of the week has been rain, rain, rain. We really need it, but it makes it hard on ministry. People just don't come out of their homes in a deluge.

I am sorry about the lack of photos, but my photo storage site is down which makes it impossible to retrieve them. I'll truly to edit this post and ad photos later.

We really have the potential to make huge strives this year. Pleas pray for us on two fronts. One that we can mobilize our volunteer base with greater efficiency. And two...the Lord will provide us the resources we need in in this recession.

We love you All !!!

We Had Major Fun Today!!!!

2009-03-21T18:53:00.013-04:00

We spent most of our day in the mission field with great partners and good friends.

This is our future summer missionary Kati McLean. She is a good friend of the Harrell family and a former youth group kid. Cornelia, Kaitlyn and I took her on a tour of our mission area today.

After the tour we met up with Parkview Church to have a ton of fun with some of our complex kids. Weather permitting...we try to have someone in the complex every Saturday to be involved with the kids and share Jesus love. Parkview is one of our most faithful partners and we appreciate them for all they do.

Then every one sat down and had a snack and listened as the Gospel was shared.

Thumbs up on an awesome job!!!!

It was also good to have Cornelia with me today. Cornelia has not been able to join us because of her work schedule. It felt great to have her along.It also felt great to have Kaitlyn with us as well. Kati and Kaitlyn have been great friends for a long time. Kaitlyn is also considering becoming a summer missionary assistant as well.

The kids had a great time too.

Public School Ministry Update!!

2009-03-07T10:41:00.003-05:00

This week I have had the opportunity to engage several students with the word. Several of these students have been branded has hopeless or impossible kids. Some of these kids simply have a bad family life, and with the current economic problems it places extra strain on their parents.

Yesterday I worked with the intervention department. This is the schools equivalent of a police station. They bring all the kids that get into fights, disrupt class, harass the teacher, harass other students etc.. Policy states that no student shall violate another students right to learn.

I was called to pick up two kids from music class yesterday that got into a fist fight. It's funny how the aggressor is the one that always claims to be innocent. Just like our kids at church eh. Once brought in to IR you have to interview the student...and many times you find out that most of these kids have some major things going on in their lives. If you don't mind being branded as a cop then its really a great place to minister.

Sometimes I find my self really feeling troubled at all the obstacles facing these kids. Nevertheless many of the teachers feel that angels fly around this school. You know I agree.

Please pray for this school. I can't mention it by name,because I don't want to blow my cover. If you would like to know you can email me at keithandcornelia@gmail.com.

God bless you all!!!!!

We're Back!!!

2009-03-04T22:42:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone! Well it's been a while since we last blogged you. We have been so busy that we just have not had time to do the blog.

Since we last talked we were surprised with very cold weather and SNOW! Hey you know how unpredictable that March weather is here in Georgia.

This video was taken off my back porch. Man isn't that just beautiful?

This is our daughter Kaitlyn (pictured above)...She was really enjoying the snow. Just look how large the flakes are.

Unfortunately we were not able to visit our mission on Monday, but we did get there today.

Snow was a huge topic at homework help today. We herd all about it today as we returned to our regular schedule.

We were able to finally get our newsletter out today, so if you have been wondering what happened to it you should have in your box tomorrow.

I am going to try to get on track with the blogging thing, so stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Two Great Days!!!

2009-02-13T22:18:00.014-05:00

Man the last two days were great. I spent the bulk of Thursday riding with my partner-supervisor Tim Cummins. I always love it when I get the opportunity to spend time with him. His energy is so contagious it makes you tired. Friday I spent time in the field with my lovely wife Cornelia. Boy it sure was good to have her working with me.

Our first stop Thursday was at a pastors conference at Clarkston International Bible Church. All these international congregations serve the community from one common building. Scheduling is strict but organized. Lunch was provided by Chik-fil-a.We left Clarkston to meet up with our partner in the Peachtree Corners Matt Johns. Last Fall, with the help of our partners from Perimeter, Matt and Tim started new work at Sturbridge Square apartments off of Howell Bridge. Yesterday we met the apartment manager and her staff to firm up a start date for the new mission. They are really strong Christians and are fired up about getting the help. This place is loaded with potential and I am sure that Matt will really be able to advance the Gospel here.

We prayed for the manager and her staff and practically had church in the leasing office. It was really good stuff.

We ended up our day helping Ian and Ruthy North with legistic regarding their ministry site. They are our newest team and serve in one of the more dangerous areas inside the perimeter.

Yesterday Cornelia and I spent all day working in the field. Last Wednesday I was late arriving at the mission. I could hear kids in the mission room loud, wild, and out of control. As I approached the door it was closed and locked. That's never a good sign. I could hear kids saying put it in your book bag man!!!...so I began to bang on the door. The door opened and the look on the kid's faces was that of "we have been caught." The ring leader was a kid named Oscar. So after talking to him, I told him he could not come back to the mission for one week. Tough love I know, but with these kids you have to be tough sometimes. Unfortunately it looks like they had been coming in the room regularly on days we are not there. Most of our school supplies were gone along with toys and part of our library books. But let's be reminded the reason we are there is because kids and adults like this need Jesus!So Friday morning we went to Home Depot and bought a new dead bolt lock to install on the door. Now we can keep it permanently secured so they can not enter at their will. While I installed the lock and placed the room back in order, Cornelia reorganized our storage space and restocked the shelves with supplies that we store at home. We will try to get our books back, but it might take time to get the guilty kids to fess-up.

Today we have Youth Outreach United, one of our partner organizations, coming to do recreation ministry with the kids. One thing you learn quick in this business is that you can not do it alone. It takes many approaches to win a community to Jesus.

We appreciate all of you that continue to track our progress through this blog. Please pray for us as we continue to serve in a difficult community.

The Mission

2009-02-11T22:21:00.005-05:00

Monday we showed up at the mission a little late. The management had let the kids in to the mission room, and they were tearing the place up. We have a lock on the door, but the management wont give us a key. I had a great conversation with the kids about that being there room and how important it is to take good care of all God as in trusted us with. I ended up having to send Isaid home because he had gotten a chair and was handing out candy from the treasure box on the very top shelf of our storage shelves. I sent him home and told him he could not come back for one week. That's just the way it is with these kids. We love them,but occasionally we have to give them a little tough love as well. I'll let him come back next week.

We went by today to check on the kids. It was early release day from school, so most of the kids were already in their houses. We have an event scheduled for Saturday. Our partner, Meghan, will be bringing a group from Youth Outreach United to play games and share the Gospel with the kids.

Sunday me, Cornelia , Kaitlyn and friends went to the "Winter Jam" concert. I had the opportunity to go back stage and meet Toby Mac.

He seemed to be a very Godly man focused on getting the gospel message to the kids. It was a big thrill. Unfortunately Kaitlyn was a little upset because she has always dreamed of meeting him. Maybe one day she will get her opportunity. Unfortunately I left my camera behind with Cornelia and was not able to get the photographic proof.

I also had the opportunity to meet my hero "Toddie Funk" the bass player for the Diverse City Band (Toby Mac's bass player). From one bass player to another we talked about music styles, gear, and the types of bass guitars we like to play. It was a great conversation. Cornelia said that I was trying to relive the glory days back when I stood in Toddie's shoes. Hey and I did not forget my camera this time. Oh yeah...the photo is courtesy of Kaitlyn my daughter. She was excited too.

Tomorrow I get to to spend the day with my partner Tim Cummins. It's been awhile since we have seen each other and I am look forward to the days activities. I will blog again tomorrow to let you know what we did.

We Love You All!

Feeling Blessed

2009-02-05T22:04:00.005-05:00

It's good to know that our Lord is in total control of every aspect of our life.

Recently we have had great ministry happening at Villas Nueva. We continue to work hard to share Jesus. We also wanted you to know that we plan to expand our days of ministry to four or five days instead of two. Our homework help program is going well and we plan to expand the days of operation to Monday - Thursday. We have added an additional ministry. We are now providing art and craft lessons to the residents in combination with a bible study and sharing of the Gospel.

Our public school ministry continues to develop. Currently we have shared the Gospel with over 100 students. We have also built an allegiance with several teachers as well. So far we have not had any substantial objection from school administration and the Lord continues to shield us as we discreetly do our work.

Other items of interest is a Saturday rec programs provided by Youth Outreach United and Parkview Christian Church on alternating Saturdays. We are so grateful to have substantial partners to help us minister.

Please pray that the Lord will bless use spiritually and He will give us the go ahead to expand into the community.

Much Love

2009 and Beyond

2009-01-26T23:53:00.001-05:00

I hope you are doing well and dwelling in the love of our awesome God!

It’s easy these days to get caught up in all the trappings of negative thoughts. We are being virtually drowned by negativism, but bare in mind that despite everything we hear and read, our God is still in control. It's not uncommon for life's hard times to be portrayed in Scripture as storms. And that's appropriate because storms are often situations where you have no control over your outcome. Maybe like the situation you're in right now: medically, financially, or in your family, your business, maybe your ministry. It's "out-of-control" time. It's storm time.

This brings to mind a scripture from the Word of God in Nahum 1:3. It’s a wonderful anchor verse buried in one of those often-neglected Minor Prophet books in the Old Testament. "The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm." Out of control? Yours, yes. His, no.
Maybe the winds in your life are intensifying right now. You can't find the things that you've always navigated by and the flood of your frustration and fear is rising. Listen, everything is under control. If you relax and you let God navigate, you are in for a wonderful surprise when the storm passes. The storm that blew you around so violently was actually blowing you home.

We have had the opportunity to be involved with some really wonderful partners in 2008. Many individuals gave time to our ministry work. Sunday school classes, youth groups, college students, and adults came and ministered providing food, crafts, games, love and gifts. But above all they came in the name of Jesus to share His word. We received donations of Bibles and New Testaments. Over 40 families received God’s word into their home in their own language. We were blessed after speaking to a women's group, when they all gathered around us and laid hands on us and prayed for the Lord to bless our ministry. God sent us a donation of a car that we gave to a man who had no way to work except mass transit. He also sent us computers, toys, clothes, musical instruments and much needed school supplies as well as monetary gifts and most of all precious time.

Thank you partners for your support. Your notes of encouragement and interest in our ministry means so much to us. Please remember to pray for us in 2009 as we look past worldly fears and expand our ministry. We are relying on Him to provide even in the storm. What a blessing it is to know you will be praying for God to help us work out the details.

Family Day!!

2009-01-24T22:16:00.008-05:00

Today we made plans to have a family day outing. We have not done that in quite awhile. I decided to take Cornelia, Jaime, and Kaitlyn to Amicalola Falls hiking. Jaime and Kaitlyn had never been there before so it was fitting that we show them something new. Amicalola Falls is the highest water fall west of the Mississippi. It is also the approach point of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.

Jaime and Kaitlyn catching a little rest break as we approach the half way point of a really steep climb!Here is a picture of Jaime at the Half-way platform. And the picture below shows you the view that we saw.

Finally we made it back down to the bottom...boy the view was really something. We sure had a good time!!!

To update you on our ministry work. Lately we have basically been down to doing everyday ministry. The homework help outreach has been running around 15-20 kids and sometimes 25 kids and we have been able to share Jesus with several individuals.

We are working hard right now to plan for 2009. We want to do and be our best for you as we continue to build relationships with immigrants. Our goal is to share Jesus with the lost of all ages.

The public school ministry is going great. I had the opportunity to share Jesus with six older kids last week. The kids were really receptive and want to hear more. Unfortunately I just can't let my efforts disrupt school or they my ask me to leave. Please pray for people to be made ready by the Holy Spirit as we share the Gospel.

Thanks you for reading our blog. We appreciate you dropping by. Our news letter will be coming out soon with more detailed information.

We Love You All!

Prayer of Praise!

2009-01-16T00:04:00.006-05:00

We have had a bitter sweet experience this week. Our son Jaime was involved in a fairly serious auto accident. Praise the Lord he walked away relatively uninjured. As for the car it is going to be a total loss. It seems that Satan just continues to place road blocks in our path to derail us. This photo doesn't do justice to the severity of damage inflicted on this car. This is a loss we really could not have afforded to endure, but the most important thing is Jaime above any piece of metal.

We had a large group of kids at the mission on Monday for homework help. We were able to help many kids with homework and gave out school supplies donated by Peachtree Baptist Church.

We also had the opportunity to speak to their women's group last Saturday Morning. Thanks to Carol and the ladies for the opportunity! Cornelia and I really enjoyed telling you about our ministry work.

Wednesday we had to cancel our home help because we were locked out of the office. I guess they had to go to a meeting. It happen from time to time.

I have also been sub teaching several days this week. I had the opportunity to share Jesus with several kids. Its truly amazing how God keeps sending kids and adults alike who want to hear a word from the Lord.

Please pray for our family as we press on despite Satan's failed attempts to stop our work.

We Love You All!!!

Back on the Job!!!!

2009-01-05T22:58:00.006-05:00

It felt really good today to be back in the field after taking vacation time off last week. Cornelia and I really missed work, but we really needed the vacation time to recharge our batteries and spend time with our kids.

This morning we met with two new partner candidates from the Villa Nueva complex Mechelle and Carolyn. Both are praying about the possibility of working with us. We are glad that they are showing interest and both would be a great asset to our work there. We all met with Tim Cumnmins for lunch and had quite an extensive time of discussion regarding faith, outreach, and community involvement. We are praying that God reveals to us how to pug them in to our work

We left there and headed to Hunnington Ridge to meet up with our newest field team Edurado and Shelia Zamora. They are currently assigned to Hunnington Ridge in Norcross. We try to get to know as many missionaries as we can. They are really good people and we look forward to getting to know them. They will do a really good job there because of their background and their fluency in the Spanish language.

This is part of our team working in the Norcross area. We really have a lot to do up there.

It was good to be with the kids at Villa Nueva today. We are excited about the second part of the school year and getting back to helping with homework. But most importantly sharing Jesus with the lost.

This is our hand made attendance list. Please pray for the names on this list that these kids will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

God Bless and We Love you All!!!

Last Day of 2008

2008-12-31T19:33:00.006-05:00

I had a good time today meeting with one of my best friends from high school . We have not seen each other since 1996. It was really good getting reacquainted and sharing war stories about high school days and talking about our current lives and families. Its truly amazing how much our lives have paralleled over the years. It was great to see you again Terry.

We have a group coming from Campus Crusade for Christ tomorrow to distribute food boxes to needy people of our complex. Frankly they may not have enough to cover the current needs of the many that live there. Nevertheless we are so thankful that they are doing what they can to help.

Thanks for reading our blog and we hope you have a blessed New Year. Also to those of you who supported us prayerfully and financially this year...we could not have done it without you.

We Love You All!!!!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T22:54:00.002-05:00

Hey...we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We hope you all had a blessed day with family and friends. We are taking a little time off and won't be blogging for a while.Our December news letter went in the mail yesterday. We would like to invite you to read it so we can update you on the progress of our ministry. You can also visit our website at www.thetablemissions.org for additional information about our ministry. See you soon.

We Love You All!

It was a Great Day

2008-12-21T00:29:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the mission to check on the kids and to clean our mission up. Boy was it filthy from all the Christmas and homework activity last week. It took a good hour to get it back in shape. We sure had fun telling the kids about Jesus and sharing the meaning of the candy cane with them.

We are so blessed to have a Savior that is willing to give up everything in heaven to come to earth just because of His unconditional love for us. Yesterday we were ministering to families at one of our mission sites. One of the kids asked me if we had a Christmas tree. I told her yes. I asked her why? She said that her family could not afford a Christmas tree. It made me sad to know that many kids there may never have the joy of something as simple as a Christmas tree. The management company at this particular location has placed a beautifully decorated tree in the big window of the office. Kids are constantly hanging outside just to look in the window at the tree. The kids tell us this is our tree...see how beautiful it is!

Do you take for granite having something as simple as a tree in your home? Are you thankful how well God has blessed you? Would you be surprised to know how many people in your neighborhood are having to forgo gift giving this year because they can’t afford it any longer?

God sent his son (Jesus) into the world that he might save his beloved mankind from their sin. Jesus came here in the form of a baby. He grew into a man in stature and was set apart for one mission...to take all the sins of all men to a rugged cross as the ultimate gift for all mankind.

Today was my uncle and aunts 50th wedding anniversary party. My uncle Charles is my mothers brother. He is pictured here with my Aunt Louise. It was also good to see my cousins too! We don't see each other very much because of varied schedules. It was great to do a little catching up. By the way I am the oldest of the bunch. Praise the Lord i am the handsome one. My cousin Karen refused to get in the picture with us because she did not want to ruin her reputation.

This is a group shot of the Horton family. Boy don't they clean up good? I sure do wish we could get together more than we do.My dog Sam has been under the weather today. I don't really know whats wrong with him. He acts like he has a virus if a dog can get one. Two weeks ago Sam was a hero. Some one broke into one of our cars and then tried to get into our house through the side door. My daughter and one of her friends was here alone. My daughter said Sam barked hysterically and ran the intruder off. Sam is our hero!!! He is still just a 10 month old puppy but he has a big dog bark.

We love you all and are praying for you during this season of peace.

Merry Christmas!!

Mission Update!

2008-12-19T23:07:00.002-05:00

The kids at the mission got out of school today. They will be on Christmas break until after the first of the year. We will probably swing in a couple of times over the break just check on them.

Parkview Church is coming tomorrow for a little outreach event. Kind of a mini backyard bible club.We will swing in there tomorrow to pray with them. They have been there before so they really don't need to be supervised. We appreciate their partnership.

Please pray for families that are doing without things for Christmas. Many people are even hurting for basic food needs.. I sure wish we had the financial resources to help them. A few 50 dollar gift cards would really help out.

We plan to be at the mission on Monday at regular time to see the kids one last time before Christmas. After that we plan to take a little time off the be with family and celebrate Jesus' birthday. We have had a busy fall and need to recharge the batteries.

Thank you to all who have donated to our mission work this year. We really appreciate what you do for us more than we could ever express. Please pray for us as we begin a new year.

We will be sending our newsletter out early due to the holidays. Please read it and tell us what you think.

We Love You All!

Ministry Full Speed Ahead!!

2008-12-17T22:23:00.002-05:00

To those who count it joy when they meet trials of various kinds...

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Praise be to God in the Highest. Worked on administrative items this morning and caught up on email. Began thinking of articles for the newsletter.

This afternoon we did homework help at Villas Nueva. We had about 20 kids show up. Megan Faircloth did a lesson on the symbolic meaning of the candy cane. We hung out with the kids for a while. Two girls were having a disagreement for the bus ride home...we got all that straightened out. Now they are friends again.

School will be out starting next week. We decided to go back on Monday to check up on the kids. We have a couple of adults that need counseling. We plan to check up on them as well.

We Love You All!

Jacksonville Brothers!!!!

2008-12-16T16:51:00.010-05:00

Sorry its been so long since our last blog. Ten days to be precise. It sure is wonderful to be getting closer to the birthday of our Savior Jesus. We are so blessed that we have a Savior that loves us so much. The reason we exist and is to love people like Jesus did.

Today me Tim and Jesse met with two brothers from Jacksonville, Fl. Paul Bowman and his partner Ira. These men feel called to connect Church's with missions. I was happy that we had the opportunity to get to know them and establish a partnership as well. Paul is familiar with a family that lives in Villa Nueva. It turns our the we have been helping their kids with home work. I was able to learn a few things about the complex that I didn't know.
We took them to one of our favorite Thai restaurants just down the street from V.N. We all had a really good time!
While we were in the area we visited a grocery store geared to accommodate Muslims. It is always a real eye opener to go into places like this. Much more for people that visit here to see the community.
We also took them over to the Hindu Temple to see the largest of its kind in the southeast. This is one impressive structures inside and out.
All the detail work inside and out was done by hand in India and shipped to the US.
The custodian of the complex told us that it took seven years to do all the intricacy and detailed work the surrounds the entire temple.

It was a fun day!

Just to update you...our home work help program continues to grow. We have also been able to share Jesus with several kids. We are so grateful that God is opening door to families there.

Please pray for us this week as we continue to reach out to lost and gang influenced kids.

We Love You All!!!

Christmas Party!!! WooHoo!!!

2008-12-06T18:17:00.012-05:00

Today we had a Christmas Party for the kids at Villa Nueva. It was sponsored by our good friends and partners Mark and Ginger Whitley's Sunday school class from Mountain Park FBC.We are so excited that they came in full force bearing gifts, games and food for our kids. They brought so much stuff that we were able to lavish the kids with all sorts of goodies and still have stuff left over that we can use in the future. For some of the kids we work with this may be the biggest part of their Christmas.
Ginger shared a story with the kids.

The kids were also treated to a craft center where they made Christmas cards for their families and also had the opportunity to get their faces paint pictures on there cheeks.

They had several games to share with the kids including the highly popular bean-bag toss.Isaid was good at it.

All the kids ended up leaving with gifts, candy and a piece of happy birthday Jesus cake. They had a great time.

This is me with my longtime friend Mark Whitley. Thanks Mark and team for all you guys did to share Jesus with the kids at this mission. We really enjoyed having you and your class as our partners. See more photos at www.thetablemissions.org.

We Love YOU All!

20+ kids...Homework Help!!!!

2008-12-01T20:56:00.010-05:00

Our homework help program is really beginning to take off. We had 20 kids today come to seek help with their homework. It looks like the word is out with the parents. More and more kids are coming in for help. Praise the Lord! We decided to not only offer homework help but to also let the kids come for board games and art.. the catch is that homework must be finished before art and games can begin. We are thinking about the possibility of increasing our homework help from two days to 4 days each week. We have prayed a long time for this to happen and the Lord is finally blessing our work and helping us to move forward.This is Genesis pictured above. She is one of our regular friends. She saw our chain decoration around the and decided to create her own chain for her bedroom. She is a good girl.The best part of having the kids come for homework help is that we get to share the Gospel. This is my partner Meghan pictured below sharing a word from the Bible with the kids. They really listened to the study closely. This Saturday we will be having a Christmas Party for the kids. We really got out and played it up today. Mark Whitley's Sunday school class from Mountain Park FBC will be hosting the party. We are really excited and blessed that they are coming and the kids can hardly wait. We are so blessed to be able to work with such beautiful and eager children.

We hope those of you who read this blog will get a sense of just how diverse God's family really is, and how His love abounds for all his people. I often wonder what language we will be speaking in heaven.

Please pray for our party this Saturday that we will be a reflection of Christ in the lives of all who come.

We Love You All!

Public School Ministry

2008-11-26T09:20:00.004-05:00

This week I had the opportunity to work two full days as a sub-teacher at one of the local public schools. Many of the teachers are astounded that the kids, I have worked with, have liked me so quickly. As a matter of fact they care for me so much that it is a little disruptive sometimes. But I do really try to be kind as possible so as to reflect Jesus to them. Even though we are not supposed to directly witness unless asked, the model of Christ can be reflected in our personal lifestyles. My consistent theme is always "be good" and "do your absolute best."

Cornelia works daily in a local church preschool as a teacher and as mentioned in an earlier post she also works at a daycare center in the after school program working for Hindi speaking Indian nationals. She has likewise developed her own little ministry. Basically doing the same thing that I do in public school. She also really tries to reflect Jesus to the different cultures she encounters everyday.

Our after school homework help continues to do well and we also have a Christmas Party planned for December 6th at Villa Nueva. Please pray for these two ministries as we continue to share the Love of our Lord and if you feel led maybe even donate resources.

We are thankful for you all!!!

The End of The Bridge!!!

2008-11-24T08:13:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a sad day for our family. It was the last day for "The Bridge Ministry." We were one of the original core group families that stepped out of the traditional service three years ago to help start this service, so you might say that it was close to our hearts.

The service was designed to reach out to people that were disgruntled with church, had been hurt in church, or just simply wanted to have a low impact come as you are place to attend. It's hard,humanly, to understand why it had to go.

To be in the service yesterday and hear testimonies of the lives that were changed by this ministry was deeply touching. Many of these people were wounded at some point in the lives and were renewed by the overwhelming acceptance for all people who came to "The Bridge." Some one said yesterday that over 50 people had joined the church through this ministry in just under three years. Missionary types like us have a hard time seeing program cuts to mission based programs. We generally base success on one life led to Christ at a time.

Thanks to Bob and Rachel Bochat for all their hard work and weekly dedication. It took a lot of hours and sacrifice to pull this service off each week and with out a doubt you were called to this place just for that specific purpose. Also thanks to all of you who volunteered every week with the Lord's purpose in mind. We love you guys very much!

Parkview Chistian Church @ Villa Nueva

2008-11-22T22:51:00.012-05:00

We had a great time today working with Parkview Christian Church! They were a lot of fun. We love to have groups come to the mission to help share Jesus with the kids.God sends many people to work with us from various denominations and Parkview has been a long term partner with Whirlwind Missions. They had originally thought of doing a block party, but due to the blustery weather conditions they decided to do a backyard bible club instead.

We were expecting a few kids and ended up with over 40. Praise the Lord! You wouldn't think kids would come out this time of year...but like all kids you just can't keep them pent-up in the house for long.Tim lead out today with the story of Daniel and the Lions Den. He told them how even though Daniel was thrown in with the Lions to be eaten, God saved him and would not allow the Lions to harm Daniel. In the same way when we are in danger God will protect us if we know him.

We had snacks and then Tim lined the kids up for a candy throw. This prevents mass chaos...if you know what I mean.

Thanks to Dan Boots and the P.C.C. mission team for a job well done.

We Love You All !!!

The Need is Great...The Workers are Few!!!

2008-11-20T22:19:00.003-05:00

It's good to be alive in the Lord.

How many of you are keeping up with the News Media Buzz regarding the economy? Well if you are like me you might choose to just cut the TV off rather that listen to all the negative hype. Even when we think we are poor, for most of us who live in the U.S. when it all boils down to it we are still rich far above the worlds standards. A friend of mine said if you own more that one computer then you are rich.

Recently I mentioned that I had started sub-teaching at Lilburn Elementary School. This school is greater than 90% immigrants. Working there has turned out to be a vastly greater mission field than I could have ever imagined. Its so strange to think that directly north of the Rail Road tracks in our town of Lilburn one can go from one of the most effluent neighborhoods in the county to one of day to day living and struggling just to survive. Before God called Cornelia and I to missions, I found it easy to turn my head and look the other way. But now after seven months working with families from all over the world we can tell you that our hearts have been changed. When we used to see intruders...now we see people that merely want the same things for their children that we take for granite as a birth-right.

At school each day we have morning announcements. Just after announcements we say the pledge of allegiance to the flag and then sing a patriotic song followed by a moment of silence. Yesterday my heart was moved listening to the kids with brown and tan faces say the "pledge" with more gusto than any native born kid. Then the kids then sang God Bless the USA with all their hearts. WOW! one of the kids exclaimed. I love my new country.

Just to let you know...since I have been sub teaching I have been able to minister to dozens of kids and faculty. It's amazing to see God at work. What I looked at as a part-time job, God intended for it to be a misson field for sharing His Word with many people from everywhere in the world. So when you start thinking that you are poor, remember the opportunity God has placed in our path to minister to people from all over the world.

Please pray for our us and our public school ministry as we deal with dire situations of families. In many cases all we can do is pray! Also think about how you can help us in partnership.

We Love You All!!!

We are Back!!!

2008-11-19T09:07:00.002-05:00

We are sorry for neglecting our blog update. Our Internet has been down for several days...so we have not had access to the Internet. This day and time that is liken to not having food or water ( at least that's the way my kids felt about it). Man what an experience dealing with the "new" AT&T no customer service. I guess its such a mammoth company that departmental communication is difficult. After two inadvertently canceled work orders and much anguish its full steam ahead again. The bottom line is we're back. More to come later!!!! Thanks for viewing our blog.

New Testaments and the Christmas Story

2008-11-11T21:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I spent a lot of time in the Singleton Road area looking for problem areas. Also looking into starting another mission site in a different Apartment Complex. Went over to Villas Nueva to meet Meghan and the kids for homework help. When I got there I noticed a couple of Mormon missionaries were standing at the bus drop off point. Fortunately for us most of the kids were warned by their parent to stay away from these guys. I spoke to them and asked them if they were missionaries. They replied yes.

Just as the bus came and the kids started getting off. They ran straight over to us to say hello. You see we have spent the past months building relationships, so they know we care about them. The other guys have little time invested so the kids wont have anything to do with them. We had about six kids for home work help. I see why Tim Cummins has taught us to homework help as a spring board for relationship building. Many of these kids would probably fail school of we didn't tutor them, so they treat us like heros.We always try to make Jesus the hero.

We had 3 cases of New Testaments donated by our partner Matt Johns. We started distributing them yesterday and today. The kids are virtually fighting over them. Hardly anyone seems to have their own Bible. We are thrilled that we can get them in the hands of people who really desire to have a copy of the Word.

After homework help we had a Bible study. Many of the kids are Catholic so they have been taught the Word. We are really glad that the children have been so eager to learn. We read the Christmas story to them from Luke Chapter 2. The kids were really into it! They knew a lot. Meghan did a fantastic Job helping them understand. We were proud to have the opportunity to share with them.

Today I worked on fund raising and administrative details. I am trying to figure out a way to raise support on line. We recently launched our new website. We also need to find a way to advertise the site. . If you are reading this please feel free to forward our web address to your friends and family. Or place us as a link on your site. http://www.thetablemissions.org/.

The manager wants to have a health fair.. I will need to work on that and see advice for my elders.

Have a great day tomorrow. We love you all!

Kid's Zone

2008-11-08T13:28:00.010-05:00

I went to the mission yesterday to check on the kids and to hand out fliers for our new Saturday "Kid Zone" program which is being directed by our partner Meghan Faircloth. I went back today to do a survey of the area to see how many other organization are evangelizing the neighborhood. I found out that the new building across from the Kroger, on Singleton, is a Universalism Church. Noticed that they are really blitzing the area with their flyer's and other propaganda. Looking at their material it looks like they are some sort of charismatic prosperity/healing organization. I plan to investigate in greater detail. This is the building in the photo below.

The sign translated in English to say, "Stop the Suffering." The sign below translates into "Jesus Christ is Lord." Like I said...we plan to investigate. I saw people handing out literature on the sidewalk of Old Norcross-Tucker. They looked like Jehovah's Witness foot solders.This is just an example of the competition we face among the cults. They like to work exceptionally hard with Latinos and, unfortunately, have made some headway deceiving people. Notice the sign below is bilingual. This Kingdom Hall is only one half mile from our mission base. This congregation is larger than most JW facilities.

They really have a lot of manpower on the street. Please pray that we can keep the people we are working to influence headed in the right direction.

Kaitlyn practiced her driving this afternoon. She should be able to get her regular license soon if she can conquer dreaded parallel parking. Thanks for stopping by. We love you all!

Lilburn Dazs

2008-11-06T22:19:00.003-05:00

This week I have been substitute teaching at a local elementary school. This school is one of the largest in the county. It is also the most ethnically diverse as well. The older kids had a chorus concert yesterday morning. All the non-participating students came. Looking over the crowd...I think every ethnic group on earth was represented there. I might have seen three or four white kids in the crowd. It is so amazing to see what God has placed right here in our back yard in Lilburn. I feel God has given me this opportunity to not only earn some extra support money, but to also work in a school as an expansion of my mission field. Missionary work takes real creativity and this is just another way to build relationships with a different ministry technique. I really do approach this as part of my ministry.

One of the administrators asked me today why I was there? I think beads of sweat broke out on my forehead. After all I am a 50 year old man working with very small children. I thought "OK God" here we go. So I was straight up with her and told her that I was a missionary looking to make some extra income, then I waited for her reaction. To my surprise she began to tell me about her church and how proud she was of all the teachers in her school who are Christian. Honestly I have been very surprised to find so many Christian teachers there. It is almost like God has strategically placed these teachers in this place for this time for one common purpose. The attitude of the staff there is tremendously upbeat!

Yesterday one little girl named Marta came to me crying. I asked her, "Whats wrong honey?" She said in a broken voice, "Phillip says that God doesn't really live in heaven. Phillip is a Muslim kid. I bent down and told her, "Don't worry! I promise God is still in his heaven." She smiled and wiped here tear and said, "I knew he was wrong." Wow what a moment.

One of the blessings of serving the Lord as your missionary, is getting to meet and know so many people. If you know me personally...you know that I have no trouble expounding on the issues. Cornelia always says I came from my mother talking at birth. She is probably right.

Cornelia and I would like to invite you to keep praying for our ministry work. The Youth Outreach United team will be back at Villa Nueva on Saturday morning for their biweekly outreach. Please pray for my partner Meghan and her team as they work to reach the children with games, snacks, and the Word of our Lord. Also pray how you can become a partner in our ministry.

We Love You All!

Election Day!!!!!

2008-11-04T17:36:00.003-05:00

As many of you know this is a very historical day in the life of our country. The Bible tells us that God gives certain people the authority to rule. He has also given us the freedom in our country to vote. We had a very special time voting early this morning as the Harrell's voted as a family minus Kaitlyn (see is only seventeen). Man what a tremendous feeling it is to have such God given opportunity as we have in the United States of America to vote. I hope you exercised your opportunity as well.

You know sometimes we get all hyped up when it comes to elections, but let us remember that God is sovereign and He is really in control despite the outcome. Jesus also tells us in Luke 12 not to worry, so whatever the outcome, as Christians we know who really controls things. Jesus! So don't worry.

If you are reading our blog...we want to thank you for taking interest in our ministry and our family. We love you all!

Sunday heading toward Monday

2008-11-02T22:26:00.002-05:00

I want to update you with the progress we are making at our mission. On Wednesday we had about 15-18 for homework help. Not bad for a program that was almost dead two weeks ago. The power of prayer is amazing.

We give thanks to the Lord for sending Meghan Faircloth to us to help with our homework program. She is really doing an amazing job.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had gotten my substitute teaching certificate. I finally started receiving calls last week. This will be a grand opportunity to get a Christian influence into public school, while making extra income. My plans are to do this two or three days a week as time permits. I still have to keep our field programs running...they come first.

The entire Harrell family went to church a North Point Community Church today. Andy Stanley is beginning a new series on "Not Worrying." He really has a unique ability to preach to the heart. We have a regular home church, but we like to visit there once every other month or so.

If you are reading our blog...Cornelia and I want to say thank you. We will be back in the field tomorrow. Please pray for us!!!

Kindest Regards...we love you all!

Catching You Up on Things

2008-10-26T21:07:00.002-04:00

Were back!
I am sorry for the lack of blogging the past few days. Friday was a miserable rainy day! I met the youth pastor of Parkview Christian Church and his team. We left their church and drove up to look at mission sites. They plan to do a block party for us November 22. They wanted to personally look at sites. I hope its not too cold then. Sorry for not having photos of the group..the camera was acting up.

After lunch I was back at the office working on administrative stuff. We also started on our news letter gathering supplies, postage, and working on layout design etc... I have a lot to tell you about in the next news letter. If you would like to be on our mail-out list send your email address to keithandcornelia@gmail.com. God has kept us busy this month with great ministry.

Saturday morning we met a team from Youth United. They came to do a party for the kids along with Bible stories at three different complexes. They were able to round up a few kids at each location. Several kids are Catholic and were at confirmation class, while others were attending Saturday school (for kids who need help keeping up). Later in the day I took Kaitlyn and her friend Vanessa back to Six Flags (yes we went back again!). We hit a few rides and came back home. It was fairly crowded.

Today we attended church at MPFBC "Bridge" service. We had a Tex-Mex lunch with our friends afterwards. We met a new family that we did not know. It was fun getting to know them. We really enjoyed Pastor Bob's sermon on "Why Come to Church."

Love you all!

Round Two

2008-10-22T22:11:00.005-04:00

This morning started off with language classes. Learning Spanish is not really easy for me. Still I do believe that if I keep at it I just may get conversational by the time i turn 60.

Today was round two of homework help. We had approximately 10 kids. We love helping them because many of them have to go to Saturday school because they have already fallen behind this semester. It's our goal to instill success into the lives of these kids. As Truitt Cathy said...it's easier to mold a boy than to treat a man. Lord let us me molders of these kids so that we don't have to treat them later in life.This is Meghan Faircloth our new partner. She is doing a great job with the kids and has a huge heart for the lost. thank you Lord for sending Meghan to us. Meghan is a part of Youth United. They are coming Saturday to run a small fall party with costumes and lots of candy. Please pray that we will be able to share Jesus with someone.

Tomorrow I meet with two different potential partners.Tim is leaving for an out of town trip so I guess I will be running the ship. i love working with new people that are willing to move outside of the four wall. Praise God for them we need all the help we can get.

Love you all.

Home Work Help!

2008-10-21T22:43:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a great day because we finally were able to get our homework help program started. Praise the Lord we had 10 kids and we were able to help everybody with math, reading, and science. I left the camera at home so I wasn't able to get pictures. I'll try to take pictures tomorrow. Meghan and I also played games and gave them snacks and drink after all the homework assignments were completed..

We also got a chance to minister to the Lopez family. The mother recently underwent surgery and is still in the recuperation process. Please pray for her. Her name is Maria. Also pray for a new partnership we are trying to develop with Parkview Christian Church. They are interested in working on site with us. We pray the Lord works out all the details so we can have more boots on the ground for Jesus.

Today I worked on a group email list. We are trying to get up to speed on technology in order to be a little more high tech when it comes to fund raising. We actually spend very little time worrying about fund raising because we know the Lord will provide. We prefer to focus our energy on helping people and sharing the Gospel. I sent the first email today. If any of you received it your feed back would be most appreciated.

We also have a new website. We would like to invite you to take a look at it http://www.thetablemissions.org/.

We love you all!!!

Commissioning Service!

2008-10-20T09:12:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was a blessed day for Cornelia and I as we were commissioned as NAMB missionaries.

Pictured below is my good friend Mike Talent on the right. He moved to Alabama several years ago. Its always good to see him. He was a major partner in our youth ministry days.

Our partner Tim Cummins lead the charge for us with a chorus of "Take the Church to the People." Then asked people to come forward to place hands on us a to pray for God to use us.

I received my certification certificate from NAMB. Cornelia is still in the process of approval, but we expect that to be finished soon. Then she will receiver hers as well.

Tim's daughter Ashley Cummins was commissioned as well. She is the youngest MSC missionary in North America. We all love what we do!

Saturday we went back to Six Flags. Boy was it crowded! I guess everyone is trying to get the good out of their season passes.

We were there to meet up with some of Kaitlyn's Christian friends from Alabama. They all met each other a few years ago at Atlanta Fest and are still really good friends. Usually long distance relationships don't last, but they have stuck together!

This is Christiana on the left...she made Kaitlyn a huge birthday card. They really have great times together.

Saturday night the girls had a costume party. From left to right Irene, Janna, Kaitlyn, and Sarah. They had the Peter Pan theme going on.

This is Kaitlyn and her good friend Vanessa. They recently did a couple of YouTube videos on black screen. It makes them look suspended in mid-air. Both of them are aspiring to be photographers. They sure can find different ways to have fun.

We Love You all!

Home Work Help and Birthdays

2008-10-15T23:28:00.005-04:00

Meghan Faircloth and I met the school buses today to hand out flyer's for home help which will star on Monday. Just a week and a half ago we thought the program was cancelled until God sent us Meghan. Its good to have the program back on track. God is good.

Also went to Lawrenceville to look at a couple of complexes. Hopefully after the first of the year we will have two additional missions on line staffed by FBC Lawrencevile. Pray for a good end result.

Today is a special day in our house. It is Kaitlyn's 17 birthday. She is so special that she even got two cakes.

This one was baked and decorated by her life-long friend Cathy.

Kaitlyn blowing out the candles. I was teasing her about catching the house on fire.

We took her out to Chic-fil-a for dinner after church tonight. We all had so much fun!!

Being the man behind the camera, I always get left out of the pictures. So I thought a self portrait would be in order.

Its hard to believe that she is already seventeen. We love her so much!!!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn.

Day Off

2008-10-14T12:29:00.010-04:00

I took the day off yesterday to recoup. The past three weeks have been virtually non-stop. Nevertheless I still took time to work on a couple of ministry things. I met with Megan Faircloth. She is going to come on board to help with our after school homework program which we will start to advertise this Wednesday.
Kaitlyn and her friend Vanessa coaxed Cornelia and me into taking them to the Mall of Georgia. Shopping is one of my least favorite things to do...so you know I really love my daughter if she can get me to go shopping.

Late yesterday afternoon we also went and climbed Stone Mountain. Today I feel like I need to take another day off. Fat chance!!! My legs are a little sore , but the view was worth the climb to say nothing of the aerobic value. Well... we finally made it to the top.The breeze felt awesome.

I had fun taking pictures of the girls and watching them clown around. Looks dangerous don't it? Look at the upper right hand corner of the photo!!!

It takes nerves of steel to look over the steep side of the mountain directly above the memorial carving. No fear Kaitlyn. This photo made her mother brake into a sweat.

Wish I could jump like this!!! We had a great time.

This is me and Kaitlyn at sunset. If you look real close you can see Atlanta just behind Kaitlyn's arm.

Love You All!!!

Impact Atlanta

2008-10-12T18:45:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was really a great day. Whirlwind Missions in partnership with First Baptist Atlanta sponsored the annual Impact Atlanta outreach event 2008. This is their seventh year. It gets better every year. Derrick Posten (pictured) and Tim Cummins where partner for this project. They did a terrific job!

Several teams moved out a ton of supplies which included food, evangelistic materials, art supplies, and big hearts ready to share Jesus.

My partner Tim Cummins and I visited several apartment communities to help with groups. We worked to get kids and adults headed to the fiestas!!

We really enjoy working with families. We especially like the children...they always seem to have such a great time!

This is my good friend Gregg. He is a staff member at FBA and a class mate of mine. His family has been one of our biggest supporters. We had 18 of 26 groups report that over 70 people accepted Christ.

Love You All!!

Good to See Rain Today...Fields of Faith

2008-10-08T22:57:00.005-04:00

I sure was glad to see rain today. It was the first time it had rained in several weeks and I am praising the Lord for it. It's been great to have the beautiful fall weather, but it sure don't do anything for drought relief.

Today I worked on administrative stuff and my new web site. I think I'm zoning in on completing the home page. If you would like to check it out you can go to http://www.thetablemissions.org/.

Tonight I attended the Fields of Faith event at Parkview High school This is a Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsored event. It's good for missionaries like me to show up at these events to keep in touch with the community and to also meet people.

The student leadership were having fun with the people coming into the event. Sort of a take on on a Centrifuge entrance.One of the students from the Mountain FBC youth group gave his personal testimony. He did an outstanding job.The kids came out of the stands to hear a message from a former student and college athlete.

At the end many students accepted Christ. Its sometimes hard to believe that there can be this many lost people at a Christian event, but when people are made aware of their sinful nature ...it don't surprise me.

I also had a conversation with my good friend Bill Gifford. He is the head of FCA in Gwinnett County. Its amazing how God works sometimes. I was discussing a point with Cornelia this morning that someone needed to come in and explore the possibility of starting a rec league soccer association in the Latino communities. As I was talking to Bill one of his partners came up and overheard our conversation. Turns out the he used to be a missionary to Brazil and he has a real passion for the trying to reach Latinos through soccer. Wow what a Jesus thing. I'm supposed to call Bill tomorrow and schedule a time to get together to talk about the possibilities. In the mean time I am going to do some exploratory work in advance of our meeting. Pray for a good result.

Love You All!

A Day of Prayer!

2008-10-07T20:14:00.003-04:00

Spent the biggest part of the morning in study of the Word and prayer. Seeking God's guidance for the future and provision of resources needed to run our ministry. God is good and faithful, and just and he knows what we need when we need it.I have been studying the book of Romans. It's one of my favorite Epistles in the New Testament. Verse 10: 11b says, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.' As defenders we must learn to abide in the word and rejoice in this fact...we will never be put to shame. In other words the things we do in the name of Jesus well only serve to honor God. Wow! That's good stuff

I worked the rest of the day on our new web site. Cornelia and I had originally decided not to do one, but we found a free website page that works for us so we are going-for-it. I will give you the web address as soon as we get it up and running.

Even though we are exclusively NAMB missionaries and work with our partner Tim Cummins of Whirlwind Missions...for identity sake we are calling it The Table Missions. The biblical base for the name comes for the parable of Jesus in the book of Luke Chapter 15:12-23...The Great Banquet.

Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." The Parable of the Great Banquet When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

Stay tuned for further information.

Love you all!

CIA part 2

2008-10-06T10:58:00.013-04:00

Yesterday at VN our mission group was a no show. About thirty kids had came with their parents and were excited about the fiesta!!! But as time passed no one came and we began to wonder WHY? I had left my cell phone at home so I had no way of calling any to see why. We were all kind of sad. Sampson my dog was sad too.

So to pass the time we decided to play games with the kids (the parents bugged out and went back home). One of the kids had a wiffle ball kit left over from the summer program. He said ...do you want me to go get it? I said yes go get it.

So we played unorganized baseball for a while and then some soccer. Cornelia decided to go back home to retrieve my cell phone and when she came back she told me the group was not coming. Bummer!!! No one was smiling...SOOO we decided to just hang out with our kids and be open to anything they wanted to do. Of course the older boys decided to play hardcore soccer while the younger kids wanted to take pictures with my camera. Here are some of the photos we took.Then all sat down on the ground and we told them about Jesus and how much he loves them. We talked for a good thirty minutes!! It was truly a blessing.

This is Carlos...he was the only one that was happy because he had survived a Bermuda bike ride (see the t-shirt). I doubt seriously that he has been anywhere near Bermuda in his life time.

We got the word from our partner Tim Cummins that we had to go to Huntington Ridge to another block party.

This made Kaitlyn happy because she wanted to drive on Jimmy Carter Blvd.

Her mom was not so happy. A little buttering up never hurts.

We left there met up with our other partners Tim and Kathy Palmer (Kathy is pictured on the right above).

We got there just in time to see a karate exhibition. Everybody was braking boards in the name of Jesus. Kidding aside, the kids really loved the board breaking. CIA TV even got in on the act.

At the end they had a terrific and blessed gospel presentation that was performed in English and Spanish. Followed by an invitation to accept Christ and a closing prayer.

It was a great day in the name of Jesus.

We love you all!

Compassion in Action

2008-10-05T07:39:00.005-04:00

Saturday morning was such a beautiful fall morning. Cornelia and I headed out to Lawrenceville to 12 Stone Church to participated in CIA weekend. Our partner and mentor Tim Cummins was instrumental in providing several project locations in Lawrencevillle. We spent our morning visiting around loving the volunteers and people of three different apartment complexes

These are just a few of the 12 Stone people that gave their time and heart to make this event possible. You could see the love of Chris in them as they ministered to the people. Even Spider Man got on the act!!!!

In case you didn't know...a block party is a tremendous and low risk way to share the Gospel through plain old fashioned love for people. Many of the churches we work with sponsor these events several times each year.

Today we will be hosting a group from Perimeter Church at Villas Nueve. We are soooo excited that our primary site, as well as, other sites in our area will be apart of CIA weekend. I will post more pictures later today. It's time t get ready to do one of my favorite things and that is WORSHIP!

Corrections and Other Stuff

2008-10-02T07:37:00.004-04:00

For those of you who might not know one of the things we love to do most is work with kids. Cornelia's passion is preschool aged kids and mine is youth kids. It's so rewarding to impact lives at such a critical age.

Since leaving Calvary Baptist Church, I have been helping my good friend Richard King with his youth group on Wednesday nights. The number of kids coming to MPFBC Youth has really increased this year. I estimated the attendance to be around 75 last night. It's really good for me to continue to work with youth as it was my passion for almost 20 years. Correction still is a passion of mine!!

Yesterday I was back over at Villas Nueva talking with Michelle the manager about upcoming plans for our work there. We were blessed to find out that we might have an intern coming to work with us. If it works out we will be able to do our homework help program after all. For safety and other reasons we are mandated to have two people while working with children. One can never be too careful these days if you know what I mean.

I had mentioned to you previously about CIA weekend and church groups coming to do a block party for us this Saturday. That information was wrong. The day they are coming is actually this Sunday for 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Sorry for the mis-communication. Also we were trying to nail down a date for a Christmas party for the kids.

Finally it was good to know that Tim Cummins finally got GAS yesterday! NOT all of us can afford to run premium in our cars. God is good...AMEN?

We love you all!

Tuesday Part 2

2008-09-30T20:37:00.003-04:00

This Saturday we will be hosting CIA weekend at Villas Nueva. Churches In Action is an outreach effort of several denominations of evangelicals designed to operate as a blitz. This event is sponsored by Unite! an organization geared toward bringing churches of all denominations together for the greater good. The time for this event will be 1:30 to 4:30.

Saturday the Asian Rice Festival will be held at Carter Oaks Shopping Center. This event will pull in several hundred Asians for different Far East countries. If you are the evangelistic type this would probably be a great witnessing event.

One of our partners agreed to host a Christmas Party for our families at Villas. They will come in to work and will supply everything including gifts for the kids. We sure do appreciate them.

This evening we had a Chile cook off oat our house. It was a great time with the family.

We mailed out our "news letter" today. We hope all of you that is on our mail-out list will enjoy it. If you would like to be included in our mail-out, please email us at keithandcornelia@gmail.com. Include you name, address, and email address.

We Love You All!!!

Monday...News Letter Day

2008-09-30T09:32:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was news letter day. We have to design, print, fold and stuff around 200 copies for distribution. I know that for some of you corporate marketing types you are saying, whats the big deal? Well being a fledgling new ministry we don't have the luxury of a support team to do all the manual stuff. We have to take it on ourselves to accomplish each segment of the process. But I want you all to know that we consider it a labor of love because as we accomplish each task we are reminded of your support. Cornelia and I check and see your individual name and we are reminded of your friendship and confidence in our ability to serve Jesus. We consider ourselves truly blessed to have you as our friends.

More to come later today!!!!

Norcross Work

2008-09-25T11:32:00.004-04:00

Tim and I had a great meeting yesterday to brain storm more effective ways to reach out. We are having trouble getting volunteers for homework help, so we have decided to pursue other options for now. We are looking at more of a sport oriented track or offering other alternatives such as guitar lessons for all ages.

We have a policy that no one is allowed to work with kids alone. So You understand why we Will need to put the brakes on the the "homework help" for now.

If any one fells led to come in to help us two days a week for 3:30 to 5:00 pm please contact us at keithandcornelia@gmail.com .

Cornelia is still working an extra job for now. As soon as we can get our ministry fully funded she will be able to resume her regular missionary duties. If you would like to give you can do so by clicking on the donate button located to the left of this text.

We appreciate you team!

Community Development

2008-09-23T23:12:00.003-04:00

We believe that Community Development, next to sharing Jesus, is one of the very most important aspects of missionary work. We are constantly trying to improve all aspects of neighborhoods were we work. This can be a tough job at times because in many cases the people who live there really don't want to improve. But we do.

We have been working this week to get programs re-established at Villas Nueva. With all the renovations and restructuring that is going on it's been quite difficult to get the management motivated behind our programs. They want us there, but they are really very busy with all the changes they are making.

Tomorrow Tim and I will be meeting to work on our strategy and maybe also work with the management to back our programs. This will only benefit them in the long run.

Lastly, we are still facing challenges in our family. Please pray that God will help us work through a few things and come out the better for it on the other side.

We love you all!!!

Wow what a Weekend!!!

2008-09-21T22:56:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to catch you all up. Friday Cornelia had lunch with our partners David Crews. If you don't know David he is not only one of my good friends, but he is also a great accountability partner for Cornelia and I. We also appreciate his support to our ministry as well.

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing administrative work.

Jars of Clay

Saturday afternoon we attended the Music Builds Tour with guest stars Jars of Clay, Robert Randolff and the Family Band, Swithfoot, and Third Day. We acquired these tickets six months ago and considered selling them several times. We are sure glad we didn't! This was probably one of the best concerts that I've been to in years. All the groups really glorified Jesus through music and personal testimony. The proceeds are going to "Habitat for Humanity."

John Forman of Switchfoot

Kaitlyn got the thrill of her life and got to shake hands with one of her very favorite singers John Forman of Switchfoot. She was so excited!!!

This morning we attended North Point Community Church. Andy Stanley is the pastor there. Andy preached the last sermon of a series that he has been working through this quarter. His message was on "Pivotal Circumstances" in each Christian's life. He used the passage out of Mark about Jesus raising Lazurus from the dead and the pivotal reaction of each characters in the scripture. Andy is really a great communicator and has a God given talent for making his points simple to understand and relational to life. I think each of us in the Harrell family saw ourselves in the words of the characters in the scripture.

UNITE!!!!

2008-09-18T20:57:00.006-04:00

This morning I meet with one of my good friends Mark Whitley. Mark is the athletic director for Parkview H.S. where my daughter attends. He leads the largest SS Class at our church. We discussed how his class could get involves in outreach in my mission territory. I asked him to do a Christmas party for the kids at Villas Nueva in December (never to early to get started). He agreed in part but wanted to discuss the possibilities with his class. I have a sneaky suspicion that they will agree to do it. We also discuss other outreach projects and methods that would get the church at large more involved in reaching out. That's "good stuff."

I attended my first Unite meeting and had the opportunity to sit with one of our partners Matt Johns. Matt is director of the mission work in Peach Tree Corners. We don't see each other very often and it was good to get to know each other better and also compare notes about mission work. Sorry I didn't get a photo of him.

Today's topic was geared toward "disaster preparedness." In light of this years hurricane season, floods, and tornadoes it was good to brush up on agencies and mission organizations called by good to help people in time of need.

One of our speakers was Kathy Haworth from the American Red Cross. She spoke of Hurricane Katrina and how touched the American public was during the disaster and the pouring out of donations, resources, and time. In contrast, she also spoke of the events at Galveston, Texas last week and the almost callous reaction by people. Kathy also told us that the agency is broke and has no money to respond. Currently the RC is involved in an aggressive campaign to raise money and volunteers. Kathy also spoke of the need for shelter operators and explained how we could get involved in training and leadership.

We also heard from Harvey Anderson director of Home Repair Ministries. His organization has been instrumental in replacing hundreds of homes in Bay Saint Louis Mississippi. He continually tries to reproduce himself with other people who have a passion like his.

Unite is a good concept designed to link churches form all denominations together for the greater good of our Lord Jesus. Don't shoot me...but its good to know that the Southern Baptist are not the only show in town.

Late this afternoon I went with Kaitlyn to help pick out her Senior Class ring. She was sooooo excited and I was too.

We Love You all!!!

Home Work Help

2008-09-17T09:12:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we tried to begin our homework help program. We did all the prep and advanced advertising. We met them at the bus, talked to the Mamma's and no one came.

But never say never and never give up. That's my motto. So we got our goodies box loaded with bags if chips and took to the streets and the playgrounds. As we walked through the complex the kids would run over to us and as us when the next party is going to be. It's fun to be known as the people that bring parties to the neighborhood. I told them that we had one coming up in October. They were excited. Them they asked whats in the box? I said...chips. They said...can we have some. I said sure that will be $2.00. One of the boys yelled out, "Man what a ripoff. I responded back, not really there free (I really enjoyed getting some mileage out of that kid because he is a bit of a trouble maker).

I asked them, "have you done your homework yet? All of them agreed like any other any other kids that they hate homework. I told them that if they were going to ever be smart and successful then they had to do their homework. Then I told them that if they ever needed homework help, then they needed to come to the mission room and we would help them. They said OK, but one of the girls yelled out I still hate homework.

Laying all the fun aside, when these kids come home from school usually middle school and older these kids are charged with either helping mom cook, clean, and are typically made to take care of the younger siblings. When we have events unusually the older kids come with the little ones in toe. Some as young as two years old. Its a lot of responsibility!

Like I said we never give up. So now we come up with a different approach for the home work help program. It's called kids recreation time. We will create a kids recreation program geared to have fun along with homework help. The trick is if you don't get the homework done you can't participate in recreation.

Pray for us that we are able to make an impact for Jesus no matter what methods we use to reach these children.

We Love You All!!!

Bill On Wheels

2008-09-12T18:01:00.006-04:00

As Missionaries we are always looking for ways to help people out. God has commanded us to take care of those who he has entrusted us to our care.

Recently our good friends and fellow church members John and Annette Strietlemeier offered to donate a car to our ministry. We are so grateful for their kind gesture and wanted to really utilize their gift to the glory God. As a non-prophet we new that we could not sell the car for money so we set out to discern the best use for the vehicle.

Then God spoke in his gentle voice and said give the car to Bill!!! Bill Hickey is one of our partners that lives on site at Huntington Ridge,one of Whirlwinds mission sites. So with out hesitation we offered the car to our partner Bill. Bill has been riding the bus or one of his bicycle for quite some time, so we offered to him.

So this afternoon Bill, Tim, and myself set out to make ownership a reality for our brother Bill. We made a trek down to the Georgia Tittle office which is down by the airport. Tim was skeptical that the government transaction would go smooth. I reassured him that things would go well. So when they called our number (government operation) three of us went to the window to complete a five part transaction. Things went just like clockwork...I knew it would. Tim was amazed.

Now Bill is the proud owner of a new (used) car. He will be able to work without having to rely on mass transit to get around. It will allow him more flexibility. Much thanks to our friends and partners John and Annette Strietilmeier for making it all possible.

Love you all !!!

After School Programs and Site Improvments

2008-09-11T09:44:00.008-04:00

We had quite a day yesterday in the mission field! As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, we have been negotiating with management on a time slot for our after school programs. Good News! We have come to terms on running the program form 3:30 to 5:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thanks for your prayers team.

Also we received a donation of two additional computers which gives us a total of three. I spent a large part of my day installing computers and rearranging the class room to ready it for next week.

I spoke with Michelle, the manager of Villas Nueva, and she is so glad that we are are there. She has done a great job under a stressful situation. The owners continue to improve conditions for the tenants and renovations continue around the entire complex. Please pray for her as she continues to improve living conditions and upgrade the standard of living there.

The renovations are not only external, but inside the units as well. They maintenance guys are ripping out all of the old toilets and it looks like they are replacing them with low-flow units. This should save the owners thousands of dollars on water bills that hopefully they will use for additional improvements.

Other renovations include replacing rotted retaining walls and other landscape improvements as well. It looks like they are really trying to improve the place.

I was approached by a big muscle-bound Mexican man yesterday. Sometimes when an adult approaches, you can never tell what the reason or motive is. As he approached I gave my usual smile and Hola...como esta greeting. He wasted no time! Thrusting his hand forward toward me, he stuck a cell phone in my face and said in very broken English. You talk!!! I took the phone from his hand and said hello. It was a agent from a temporary service. Evidently he was trying to get a day labor job through a very large communication gap. Finally I was able to gather the name of the hiring contractor, a cell phone number, and address. Alfrado was very thankful and I was relieved that he was just desperate for work.

It was a great start to building a relationship with the adult population at Villas Nueva. Please pray that God will continue to lead us to ministry opportunities, and that we will allow the Holy Spirit to teach us to be patient as we work to share the Gospel with all God's people.

One more thing...Cornelia has gone to work full time to help support our family as I continue to grow the ministry. Pray for her as she is feeling very disconnected from the ministry process. Hopefully we will have our ministry funded soon. She will continue to work on weekends and evening as her schedule allows.

We Love You All!!!

Not Feeling Well Today

2008-09-09T22:18:00.003-04:00

Went by the mission today to catch the kids when they were getting off the bus. They sure are full of energy and always tell me how much they hate school. They really don't look that sad to me. I really have fun cutting up with them and listening to their crazy stories.

Went over to Bill Hickey's mission last night to pick up two donated computers. I can't wait to get them hooked up and running so that we can begin to teach computer literacy to the adults and kids who live at Villas Nueva. Bill was showing me a table he made for the kids to work off of. Bill is a really tallented carpenter. A coworker of Cornelia is donating a care to our ministry. We are planing to give it to Bill Hickey so that he will have more reliable transportation.

One of Tim's partners donated to 4 cases of Lay's Chips. I spent part of the afternoon sorting chips and delivering two cases to Tim's house so that he and Ashley could have chips for their kids.

Please pray for me...I have been a little under the weather today. I had lots of plans for today but just couldn't quite get it done.

Cornelia is working an extra to try to help us along until we can complete our funding.

Also my best friend from high school contacted me today. I haven't herd from him since 1998. Its so strange because I was just talking about him to Cornelia last week and low-and-behold...there he was on my Facebook this morning requesting to be my friend. JESUS THING??? You be the judge.

Still working with the people at FBC Lawrenceville to potentially get a new mission started that would be manned by their volunteers. Also hoping to make contact with Central Baptist soon.

We Love You All!

Thank God for Our Supporters

2008-09-08T08:20:00.006-04:00

God continues to bless us each month with additional supporters. We are so thankful for them. Thank you all for being part of our team!!! You know who you are.

We are sorry for not blogging for a few days...we sometimes get blogged down (LOL) in the administrative end of ministry and really don't have a lot to tell you or update you on. Unlike the Cummins family we have a mundane life.

So with that said let us update you on the latest. We are still in the process of getting our after school programs up and running. One thing that has hindered us is the management at Villas Nueava. The office hours have changed since the new management company bought the place. Old office hours closed the office at 6:00 p.m. and the new closing time is 5:00 p.m. The problem is that we need to be in there from 5:00 to 6:00 which means that we have a need to be issued a door key. Without going into a lot of detail on the specifics...as of now they are not willing to issue us a key. I don't think its a lack of trust. Please pray that the Lord would resolve this issue.

Also, on a positive note, I have been approached by two retired teachers about the possibility that they may come to help. Praise the Lord!!!.

Yesterday we attended church at the "Bridge." Cornelia and I are apart of the core group that started it two years ago. Wow..where the that time get off too??? For those of you who may be seeking a place to worship in a non traditional context, would like to invite you to come. You can get directions a http://www.mpfbc.org/.

Also please pray for Melissa, Carlos, and Fernando. Their mother (Maria) had surgery last Friday. They were unclear why..but please pray for this family.

We are meeting with the Community Improvement District of the Gwinnett Village in an attempt to create a partnership. to lower crime and better target areas that need cleaning up. The meeting is September 22.

We love you all. Thanks for caring.

Holiday Break...Celebrate Freedom

2008-09-02T21:37:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that we have been taking a little break the weekend. We have really been working hard to make new contacts and increased our partnership base. Also we have dealt with a few spiritual warfare things as well.

Kaitlyn and Best Friend Vanessa

One of the things we did this weekend was attended the Celebrate Freedom event at the Conyers GA Olympic horse park. This event headlined several big name christian bands. Sort of like an abbreviated Atlanta Fest event.

Two of our favorite bands were there Third Day performing a rare acoustic set and high energy Hawk Nelson.

Third Day Performing an unplugged set.

Kaitlyn and Vanessa where thrilled to have the opportunity to meet their favorite Christian artist. The musicians were gracious and made themselves very accessible. Seated is Hawk Nelson

Jason Dunn in concert. This photo was taken by Kaitlyn. I am sure glad that I was not in that mass of humanity.

Kaitlyn and her best friend Vanessa weaved their usual magic and managed to get photos with Mac of Third Day and Jason Dunn of Hawk Nelson. We were all envious.

Kaitlyn with Mac!!!!

Kaitlyn with Jason Dunn of Hawk Nelson!!!!

One of our other favorite bands which performed was Mercy Me. They are one of the best worship groups I have ever seen. We had a great time despite the heeeeeeat!!!!

New Partnerships

2008-08-28T15:42:00.002-04:00

Its really easy to doubt God. Many lost people doubt that God is real. Christians sometime doubt God is concerned and cares about us. Others might not even think that there is a God running things up there. That he just kind of put things in motion and let it all work out for the common good or bad. Which ever way you look at it.

This week I have been working on building new partnerships for the ministry. Yesterday I met with Inman Houston the pastor of Lawrenceville FBC. Inman is thirty-two, smart as a whip and has a tremendous pasiion for reaching the lost.

We are constantly looking for new avenues to share the Gospel with the lost. Inman is interested in what we do because he sees a need for community development in Lawrenceville. FBC currently has an ESL class on-going at their church, that is doing quite well. Nevertheless Inman sees the value in taking the church to the people. He has been pasturing in the community long enough to understand that many immigrants are not going to come to traditional church. but he will have to go to where they live.

Very soon we will meet with Pastor Houston again hoping to establish a new work in Lawrnceville.

I have been working to make contact with the Gwinnett Community Improvement District. today I received an email from Chuck Warbington (Chairman). We are in the process planning an introductory get together so that we can mesh our two organization together and make the "Village"a safer place. Please pray that God will open the door of progress between us.

New Partner

2008-08-25T06:51:00.003-04:00

We are always praying for Godly people to be placed in our lives. We need people like this to guide us and to keep us held accountable to our calling and ministry goals. Recently I told you about my partner, David Crews, and how God placed him in my life. Saturday Cornelia and I was blessed to have a new partner come on board. His name is David McCleskey. David is the Chairman of the deacons of FBC Lawrenceville and is Christian leader with a big picture approach. David also works for the Gwinnett County Board of Education reporting directly to Alvin Willbanks. He will be helping us work on our fund raising.

Today I will be working on a submitted report as part of the requirements for a grant. Also I will also be working to get our August news letter out to our supporters

We Love You All.

Introductions

2008-08-21T09:12:00.003-04:00

Cornelia and I had lunch with Mike Griffin the Missions Travel Coordinator for First Baptist Church Lilburn. Mike is in charge of missions as well as various other structures. He has extensive experience in his field and has a great passion for the middle east. We are looking forward to working with Mike and forming a partnership to provide opportunities and information as he continues to evangelize the Muslim community.

Our goal is to get to know as many front line people as we possibly can so we can share information about our mission field and partner to share the gospel in a strategic approach.

Last night I worked with the youth program at Mountain Park First Baptist by request of Richard King youth pastor. Richard and I have a burden to see youth aged kids rediscover God's Word. Most youth these days read their bible very little and rarely even bring a bible to church.

Richard is going through a study with his group called UnChristian which basically brings out into the open immoral acts that youth take as acceptable in today culture in their language, the way they view sex, drinking, and specifically the way they relate to each other as Christians.

I believe this will make a big impact within their culture if they decide to buy into it. I hope so for their sake.

Please pray for Cornelia and I as we are wading through some rather big issues with our family at this time.

Love You All!!!

Mountain Park FBC Youth

2008-08-19T09:35:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the Mountain Park FBC youth group for coming this past Saturday to Villas Nueva. They did an outstanding job cleaning the playground and ministering to the children. They also helped distribute school supplies.

The kids here really need the help when it comes to getting their supplies. It's even more important than ever before because of the economy. A school teacher friend of ours was telling us that people paying school dues is way off this year. I guess people just can not afford it.

Mountain Park also brought the kids coloring books which was a big hit. And as usual face painting was also very popular.

I received a You Tube video via email last night that was railing on immigrants. Like I said before if we are followers of Christ, then we need to have compassion for the lost no matter what the popular census says. Jesus did not worry about the political status of a person. He was concerned about their eternal status. Like Jesus we are the same. We only worry about the place in eternity the people we minister too will be when Jesus returns.

We Love You All

School Supplies Distribution

2008-08-14T09:08:00.007-04:00

We collect school supplies from churches each year to give out the first week or two of school. We give them to kids that live in impoverished conditions. This year we ran short on these supplies because of the increased demand and the decrease in donations. It's extremely hard for us to turn kids away because we ran out. So one of our partners made the decision to buy almost a $1000.00 dollars of school supplies out of his own pocket and divide them between two of our missions. Me in my on shallowness said to him are you sure you want to do that? He said its got to be done. Man what faith!!! For the first time God revealed to me the reason he has placed us here on earth.

School supplies for one of our missions.

Many people are experiencing "hard economic conditions" for the first time in their lives. Those of us who grew up in the Jimmy Carter era know what its like to feel the pinch. Young adults and students have never experienced a recession. Most are used to having most everything they desire given to them by their parents (personal opinion). So many people are worried that they are going to have to give up hard earned personal possessions or maybe even loose their homes.

My dad used to say that we go through times such as these as a wake-up-call so that we don't get to proud of ourselves. Even though he was not a Christian when he made this statement, the bottom line is that we have for gotten that everything we have belongs to God.

God tells us specifically not to store up treasures on earth. He tells us that we should be about the business of giving our money and possessions away. When we get this concept down then we begin to understand why Jesus told us not to store up treasures on earth. It all belongs to God!!! We are supposed to pay it forward not store it in Barnes. So first and foremost if we are not giving our 10 percent to the church then we are not in fellowship with God and we out-right disobey his instructions.

If we hold back form giving to missionaries, ministers, and others who do God's work to benefit mankind, then we are disobeying God. This is not meant to guilt any of you who may read this, but intended to make you see God's priorities for our life is not how we sometimes interpreter it .

I would like to challenge you to pray about something you might sell or give outright to fill the need of a fellow human being. I guarantee you there is no feeling that will liberate you than giving to fill others needs.

Yesterday was a great day.

Peace!

We Love You All

New Partner Prospect

2008-08-12T15:02:00.004-04:00

One of the main objectives of this job is to reproduce one's self. So we are always on the look out for other people that feel God's call to help us or to take on their own mission site . Yesterday I met with Jason Sebren, the Senior Youth Pastor at Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Grayson. Jason is the director of a summer program called

Revolution. Revolution basically challenges students to step outside of the four walls, and take Jesus to people who may never attend church. Jason has also been involved in ministry to the "homeless." And a 5step program for homeless women. He and his partners recently converted an old church, that was being use as a warehouse, to shelter for women. The shelter is designed to provide women a safe haven from life on the street.

I had a great conversation with Jason about the possibility of using our mission locations as an outlet for ministry in conjunction with his program. Another way of putting boots on the field.

Please pray that God will use Jason and his program to partner with us in our work. Thanks Jason for a great time of sharing.

Love You All!!!

Olympic Fever

2008-08-09T00:13:00.003-04:00

We took today off to take care of various personal items. For we missionaries working on Saturday is a very common thing, so sometimes we have to very our days off to accommodate the people who live at the complexes and the people who thankfully come and place extra boots on the ground on Saturdays.

We had a great family time tonight and then watched the opening ceremony of the olypics.Wow...how impressive it was. I can't wait for the athletic events to begin.

Starting next week I will be surveying many of the 20 some odd apartments and managers to find our which ones are friendly and open to what we do. You just can't never tell how any given manger may react.

We praise God all he does for us giving us such a wonderful provision of love and assurance measured by patience.

We will update you again in a couple of days

Mission Fair Fun!

2008-08-06T22:20:00.000-04:00

This evening we were at a mission fair sponsored by FBC Lilburn with Tim Cummis and his daughter Ashley. It is always a lot of fun to work with them. We were manning our booth and telling people about our work.

We seen several old friends and met a lot of new people too. Among the people we saw were old friends Jim and Peggy Freeman. Jim heads up the Task Force Patriot organization and Peggy was once the moderator for the Gwinnett Metro Baptist Association. She was the one and only female moderator in the history of the association.

Tim took our photo for our prayer cards. We really need to get the cards done so we will have something to hand out when we attend events like this.

Earlier today we worked on a long range plan for the ministry which will include a new web site. If you would like to help us offset the cost of the website, email us at keithandcorneliaharrell@gmail.com and we can tell you how to donate. Please pray for us as we continue to strive to be in Gods will with our work.

Be Blessed!!!

Villas Neuva News

2008-08-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

I went to meet with Mechelle today at Villas Nueva. We talked about the possibility of implementing ESL classes so she can use it as a selling tool renting apartments.

We also talked about the possibility of getting a door key to the leasing office so we can do home work help with the children. I think she is going to trust me to be a good steward and let me have one. she still will have to run it buy the regional manager first. Pray we can get that key otherwise we want be able to help the kids because they typically close at 5:15 pm. Most of the kids don't get home before 4:30. Our program would need to start around 5:00 or 5:30.

She seemed very happy that we were able to carry a very strong summer program this year. Every week was covered by groups working with VN kids. A special thanks to WhirlWind missions for making it happen.

This Saturday we have a group of GA's coming to do a service project from FBC Lilburn. We have two playground at our mission. They will be cleaning the small playground, and on August 16 Mountain Park FBC will be tackling the big playground. The kids call it the "park."

This morning I continued to work on fund raising. As Tim Cummings says,"we live on faith, but ministry runs on money." I made several calls and have several appointments pending. Please pray that we will successfully get our ministry fully funded in the next few weeks. We believe that God has called us to do mission work full time and we are trying to be obedient to His call. If you would like to be a part of our support team, let us know.

I ordered a book today called "The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving (Life Change Books)" It was recommended by a friend and partner of mine Brett Barnes. It's all about the biblical principles regarding fund raising and stewardship. Cornelia and I are very serious about good stewardship and management, and we continue educating ourself to follow biblical principals of ministry.

May God Bless You All

A Very Good Day!

2008-08-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

This morning Cornelia and I went to our home church. Cornelia is in charge of the attendance records for the middle school Sunday School. After we finished records we decided to leave and visit First Baptist Atlanta. We have wanted to hear Dr. Stanley live for a long time. It's really mysterious how the Lord works. When we left home we had now intention to go there.

After we arrived we selected our seat which was about 100 feet from the platform. As the service started we had no idea what the sermon topic was going to be. We were taken in by the perfection accomplished by everything they did. The service started directly on time and progressed beautifully with no mistakes. We did have to learn to deal with the distraction of the motorized TV cameras. We sang some beautifully arranged songs and hymns and was taken directly to the throne.

Then Dr Stanley took to the platform. As he began to deliver his message I quickly began to realize that he was speaking directly to a matter that I had been lifting up in prayer this week. As a matter of fact it was a direct answer to my prayer. Who could have guessed that we would show up at a church we never attend and have the Lord answer our prayers within Dr Stanley's sermon. Hey he didn't know we were coming!!!

We are dealing with matters in our lives that continue to consume us Please pray for us as we continue to follow God's will.

We serve a great and awesome God.

Love you all.

Mountain Park Mission Project

2008-08-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

This morning I went to help my home church Mountain Park First Baptist Church, led by Jerry Counselman hand out school supplies at Willow Branch. My partners Bennett and Idong Ekandem are the directors there and I was very excited to see them!

Even though Willow Creek is not in my area, from time to time we try to help each other on projects. Its a good way to share ideas and to keep us unified in our work.

The MPFBC group did an outstanding job handing out school supplies that were collected during VBS this year. You could tell that the parents were grateful to receive them. Many of these people are immigrants from Africa and need help starting new lives. This is a way that we can help them with their expenses, while at the same time work to build relationships that may lead to sharing the Gospel.

They also provided and cooked a hot dog lunch for the kids.

It's always fun to see that people are people no matter where you go, and that everyone understands the message of love. Thanks Mountain Park for a job well done.

Harps Crossing Baptist College Group

2008-07-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

We had Harps Crossing Baptist college class on site today at Villas Neuva. They came to do games with the kids and play soccer. They ended up having several serious spiritual talks with several of the kids. We already know that Alfonzo and his sister Melissa are Christians. Their little brother, Carlos, is still a little young to understand but is beginning to be receptive.

Others older kids were offended when approached. They tended to try to mock and laugh at the team members as they attempted to bring the good news to them. The Harps group also brought tee shirts and hats; the scoffers gladly accepted those. I think that kind of broke the ice a little.

Also found out today that several older middle school boys are doing offensive things to some of the younger girls. Pray that God will give us a clear vision as to how we handle this situation.

I hope you all have a great Sunday and if you are down toward Mountain Park FBC, my home church, drop by "The Bridge' at 10:45 am.

Peace...Keith

News Letter day

2008-07-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

Today we spent much of our day working on our news letter. We love to keep our supporters informed about what we are doing. The news letter is done and all we have to do now is to stuff and mail them.

Tomorrow Harps Crossing Baptist church will be returning to Villas Nuevo. They plan to bring college and older high school students. I know the kids and especially the mothers will be glad to see them.

In a couple of weeks our home church (Mountain Park FBC) will be bringing their youth group to do some much need clean-up work on the play ground and then they will also do a mini backyard Bible club scenario for the kids. I'm really excited and praying the they enjoy working with the children, but also I pray they make an impact on the lost.

I have been under a lot of stress lately, but I know the God is in control. Nevertheless the flesh sometimes takes over and despite what we know we should not do (worry) we do it any way. Please pray that I will allow God to maintain control of ever aspect of the ministry and my life as we strive to follow His will.

On the Road Again and More!!!

2008-07-23T22:17:00.000-04:00

Cornelia and I have been on the road this week meeting with different church mission pastors. We are trying to gain knowledge and create a base of new partners. Hopefully they will see the value of reaching out to the international community and in God's will support our work. The area we work in has 90% if the worlds unreached people groups living there. We are so excited that God has given us such a wonderful opportunity to serve in such critical areas. We pray the he uses us as His instrument to impact people groups of the International Community.

Last week we worked with Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, the last of our mission groups to come this summer. They did a great job and the kids loved them. Cornelia and I just love working with church youth groups because they come on site with such great expectations and anticipation. Thanks to Zach and the group for a job well done.

One of the favorites each day was acting out Bible stories with puppets.

Even the boys got in on the act!!!

Gold Rush!!!!

Also we worked with The Gold Rush Team two weeks ago. 1000 kids serving in 32 locations. Gold rush is one to the largest outreaches in Metro Atlanta each year. We were asked to come to their rally on Tuesday night. It was awesome!!!! Thanks to the staff of Perimeter Church for a great event. The Photo above is the group assigned to one of our missions "Villas Nueva." They were well prepared and hit the ground running. Thanks team for all your hard work.

Teaching sports techniques to the young.

Making bracelets and praying together!!

Face Painting...

Please pray for our work as we continue sharing the Gospel with people of all cultures. We love you all!!!!