Connected Community Marketplace Visits

Connect Global has partnered with Global Advance to bring hope and practical insight to the business community of La Ceiba, Honduras

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We are very thrilled with the recent trip our team took to La Ceiba. The focus was two fold. One tract was centered on empowering women of La Ceiba. The second was focused on business leadership and increasing the business acumen of the community. 

As a part of the Business Leadership Conference, the team conducted several Marketplace Visits to local businesses. 

The Marketplace visits included an assortment of local businesses. Paint stores, to private schools, to candy stores and printing shops. These business leaders and owners benefitted from decades of accumulated business experience offered by the Global Advance and Connect Global Team Members. 

Some of the business owners have been in business all of their lives, while others for only the last couple of years. Despite the length of ownership each of the business owners modeled a very high caliber of ethics, a record of success, as well as clear plans and vision for the future. 

Each owner was glad to have personal and intimate conversations about the challenges each face as well as be celebrated for the success they have created. 

Our teams learned a lot about what it takes to build and maintain a business in the City of La Ceiba. Some challenges are very unique to Honduras, while others are obstacles we all face when launching something we are passionate about. 

I believe everyone involved was encouraged by each other and we all gained a great deal more perspective on what each other has experienced. 

Connect Global visit to Little Lambs Refuge

CJ and Teri Palmer give a quick Video update from La Masica

Here is a quick video update from our visit to Little Lambs Children's Refuge in June of 2016. Thank you to CJ and Teri Palmer of PrepareMyMission for sharing your perspective on video for us. 

We will be traveling to Cuba

Travis and I will be joining a group from Texas, and Florida to travel to Cuba for a week.

We are partnering with Worldwide Voice In the Wilderness, a global prison ministry with over 38 years of visiting some of the baddest prisons in the world. Their founder, Johnny Moffitt, has invited us along on this, his third trip, to help lead, and document the wonderful work they have been involved with. 

Encouraging and Teaching church leaders and volunteers to continue serving the nation of Cuba and to share vision and hope for the future

We are going to be a part of the impact that is already underway through the teaching and training of some of Cuba's greatest volunteers. Helping to encourage leaders and also learn from their service will be a great joy for us. 

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Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this week and next while we travel to Cuba amidst newly restored Cuban relations and our own U.S. Presidential election.

Please keep our families back in Texas and Florida in your prayers as well. 

Thank You! 

Javier Mendoza

Louisiana Flood

Walker, Louisiana - Great Flood of 2016

Revival Temple Church, Walker, LA

By now we have all heard of the devastating flood that overtook a large portion of South Louisiana. This has been called the Worst US disaster since Hurricane Sandy, according to the Red Cross. 

One of Connect Global's favorite places is directly in the middle of the worst of the flooding. Revival Temple is a church in Walker, LA that has been an amazing model of compassion, and selfless giving over several decades since it was founded. They give away hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to support their community, and communities around the globe. 

Revival Temple Flooding

Connect Global, as well as our families personally & families we support, have been recipients of their generosity over the years in very significant ways.

Each year at their missions conference alone they invest thousands of dollars to several ministries and organizations.  They serve missionaries and organization leaders along with their families at this Conference each year and treat everyone within their reach with love and respect. 

They have invested in countless lives here in the US and around the world throughout the churches history. They have seen people though personal triumphs as well as tragedies like this flood, and though it all have always been gracious and humble about their influence and investment opportunities. 

When the storm hit and the rains came, Revival Temple was one of the first to convert their facility into a shelter.

Revival Temple filled to capacity very quickly with people from the community seeking refuge from the rising water. Before long, however, they were moving every person from one facility to the next as the water reached their buildings as well. People were in sleeping bags and filling the church pews. The water was relentless and finally overtook their main facility as well. Pastor Daryl along with others helped rescue the already displaced community and church members from the rapidly flooding church building.

At the peak of the flood the water level reached well over 18 inches in the majority of the building and at minimum was over 8 inches in every part of their three buildings on their property. People were rescuing those who took refuge in the church from the back of pickups and small boats at the height of the flood. 

Cleanup at Revival Temple has been no small task as the water reached every building.

Volunteers from all over the US have shown up to help gut the building and clean up. 

Now that the waters have began receding the cleanup has been underway for over a week at this point.

Teams from all over the US, including Florida, Alabama, and Texas have come to pitch in and bring supplies. They have gutted the church and are approaching the point at which they will turn over the rebuilding process to general contractors to complete the work. 

Pastor Daryl described to me the turmoil this flood has created but was quick to mention the hope that they all have. In the days since the flood, their church has continued their selflessness and generosity by sending relief teams to their neighbors and church members who were also impacted by the flood waters. Pastor Wes and their board members have been buying sheetrock and having it drop shipped to houses all over their community so they can all rebuild as fast as possible. 

Pastor Daryl said they are still in need of several things and he is reaching out to surrounding churches and shelters to confirm what is needed and determine what is already in surplus in order to guide others in their giving efforts.

Some of the items that Revival Temple and the community need are:

• Laundry Supplies

• Cleaning Supplies

• Mold Cleanup Supplies (Not Bleach, as they have a surplus for now)

The Revival Temple Staff have created a spreadsheet and are diligently working to create a efficient process for helping those in the greatest need first such as widows, elderly, single parent families, etc.

As the weeks go on there will still be great needs to fill.

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We are asking you to please consider giving in some way to Revival Temple.

Revival Temple has been a beacon of hope in this community for decades and even now while providing cleanup crews to the city they have also set up a mobile counseling center in their parking lot along with a dedicated telephone line to help the community cope with this devastation.

Pastor Daryl shared with me that there has been a spike in suicides due to the tragedy plus there has been intermittent looting surrounding the flood.

Their church is determined to continue being a refuge to their community, let's link arms with them now and help be a part of their outreach efforts. 

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LOUISIANA FLOOD HOPE LINE

Today, we are able to announce the availability of “The Hope Line,” a local telephone number that anyone can call who is feeling depressed, alone and afraid, hopeless, overwhelmed by the prospects of the flood recovery efforts that lay ahead, or whether there is just a need to hear a friendly voice. If you need to talk to somebody who can provide you with reassurance, optimism, hope or inspiration, or someone who is there to listen while you explain your situation and concerns, your fears, the anxiety you may be feeling or anything else that is weighing on you, please call.

The Hope Line telephone number is (225) 788-2295. Please don’t hesitate to call. You are all in our prayers as we start down the road to recovery together. via Walker Police Department Facebook Page

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Business Leadership Conference Recap

The Business Leadership Conference

This August we had the opportunity to provide a Business Leadership Conference to the City of La Ceiba. We partnered with Global Advance to provide both strategic and specific ways to grow businesses in La Ceiba. Global Advance believes that 'Training Christian businessmen and women in developing nations increases economic and spiritual capital throughout the world.'

Via iconnectglobal on Instagram:

"Building relationships is paramount to making the biggest impact possible. We are made to work together and we need one another to succeed." 

#GoServeChange#Honduras#marketplacemissions

We are excited about the potential that this conference has opened up in the community of La Ceiba and for the Christian Business Owners and Entrepreneurs of Honduras. The Global Advance Marketplace Missions conferences are very practical and leaders are encouraged to grow their business as a means to reach their community and change their country for the better. 

The team from Global Advance included, Jonathan Shibley - President of Global Advance, Hallie Powers - Global Advance Staff Member, Andrew Hodges - Orthodontist, Brad & Kathleen Watson - Entrepreneurs and Business Owners , and Lorne & Mary Liechty- Former Mayor of Heath Texas, Attorney, and ORU Alumni. 

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Teaching Business Principles Through Personal Experience

Each session was full of practical tools as well as spiritual inspiration to become a financial force for good. Growing spiritually, and ethically strong businesses not only improves each business owners status but it has strong national and global impact as well.

Hearing the personal stories of both successes and challenges from each of the team members really resonated with the attendees. Questions were answered by the team and a time of networking was built into the schedule as well.

The business leaders really enjoyed the personal access they had to each of the speakers. 

Marketplace Visits

The team also visited several local businesses and private schools to provide insight, encouragement and prayer for their business. The team was able to make about 10 of these marketplace visits, and were able to make financial investments into several businesses around town. 

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Wilmer Jerezano, Director of Puerta Del Cielo School

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Students at Puerto Del Cielo

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The Outside Wall of Puerto Del Cielo

Thank You

Thank You for your prayer and encouragement for the city of La Ceiba. There are many stories here of people and families who have created opportunity for their families to sustainably get out of poverty and remain independent of foreign "handouts".

Connect Global has, from the outset, always encouraged partnership over traditional "handout" style giving. We believe the solutions for Hondurans exist within Honduras. We have come alongside to offer education, experience, and the encouragement to keep fighting for what is right.

By working Together we all become better citizens, better family members, better leaders, and better catalysts of change in our communities. 

How the Most Dangerous Place on Earth Got Safer - The New York Times

Programs funded by the United States are helping
transform Honduras. Who says American power is dead?

by SONIA NAZARIO AUG. 11, 2016

San Pedro Sula, Honduras — Three years ago, Honduras had the highest homicide rate in the world. The city of San Pedro Sula had the highest homicide rate in the country. And the Rivera Hernández neighborhood, where 194 people were killed or hacked to death in 2013, had the highest homicide rate in the city. Tens of thousands of young Hondurans traveled to the United States to plead for asylum from the drug gangs’ violence.

This summer I returned to Rivera Hernández to find a remarkable reduction in violence, much of it thanks to programs funded by the United States that have helped community leaders tackle crime. By treating violence as if it were a communicable disease and changing the environment in which it propagates, the United States has not only helped to make these places safer, but has also reduced the strain on our own country.

Read the Full Article by Clicking Here

Connected Community Update: Aquaponics

[CONNECTED COMMUNITY UPDATE]

Here Pastor Alison of La Masica, Honduras holds on of the Tilapia he raised in a new Aquaponic Fish System. 

A new Aquaponic project now exists in a small town called La Masica. It's going to benefit a girls home we support.

Our friend and long time Honduran partner, Jorge Amador, was the main catalyst for getting this project initiated and completed.

They worked hard and got all the supplies they needed from local friends and partners.

This is a wonderful example of the community working together to create practical solutions to support each other.

You can find out more about this ministry by clicking Here and Here. 

Learn more about Aquaponics 

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These fish were cultivated and raised in a new aquaponic system in La Masica, Honduras for a Children's Home and Vocational School. 

Cj and Teri Explain Connected Community

Here is a brief video explanation of our Connected Community Initiative from two recent Connect Global Team Members, Cj and Teri Palmer of PrepareMyMission.

More info on this local girls home in La Masica, Honduras can be found here, and here. 

Video Update via Facebook

La Conferencia de Liderazgo Empresarial

LA CONFERENCIA DE LIDERAZGO EMPRESARIAL

CONSTRUYENDO PARA EL ÉXITO

AGOSTO 19 Y 20

HOTEL LA QUINTA - LA CEIBA
CARRETERA LA CEIBA-TELA, FRENTE AL D´ANTONI GOLF CLUB.
 

“VEN A RECIBIR CONSEJOS PRÁCTICOS Y ALIENTO PARA CRECER SUS HABILIDADES DE NEGOCIOS DE UNA MANERA ESPIRITUALMENTE BENEFICIOSO.”

 INVITADOS ESPECIALES

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LORNE LIECHTY

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JONATHAN SHIBLEY

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BRAD WATSON

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ANDREW HODGES

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ROBERT ALLSUP

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HORARIO

VIERNES AGOSTO 19TH:
5:00PM LLEGADA E INSCRIPCIÓN
5:30PM SESIÓN GENERAL COMIENZA

SABADO AGOSTO 20TH:
9:00AM PRIMERA SESIÓN COMIENZA
1:10PM DESCANSO
3:10PM SEGUNDA SESIÓN COMIENZA
4:30PM LA ORACIÓN Y LA CEREMONIA DE ENVÍO
5:00PM FIN DE LA CONFERENCIA

REGISTRO

Mitch Arbeláez of Go To Nations

Hospital Atlantida in  La Ceiba, Honduras

Dr. Mitch Arbeláez from gotonations sharing his thoughts from the Hospital at Atlantida earlier today. We are so grateful to have his perspective and insight on this trip!

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