WAW Wednesday ... "Blessed to be a Blessing!"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

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WAW Wednesday: "Blessed to be a Blessing!"

Blessed to be a blessing!
That's what you are.
In last week's letter we asked for your story on how God has impacted you through our ministry -- we received some awesome stories and we can't wait to get more!

So we are inviting you again ... Please take a moment and share the blessing. This invitation for stories is meant for both our Belize and U.S. partners. We are confident you've got a story to tell and we can't wait to hear it. (Hey, if writing isn't your thing, that's OK - you could always share a quick video on Facebook!)

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And here's another reminder ...

Kenny is coming to the states for more than a month starting October 5! We're putting him on the road to visit churches and friends.

Today while he was unpacking a shipping container from Pennsylvania, he took time out to send you this video message ...


Kenny wants to see you! from The Word at Work on Vimeo.

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Exodus Church Starts Feeding Program

Pastor Phillipa opened the program on September 4 in Belize City. She's getting by with what she has BUT she could do so much more with your help.

I asked her how we could help and she sent me this list ...

Whirlpool Stove or Commercial Stove
Hamilton Beach Juicer
Whirlpool Refrigerator
Hamilton Beach Blender
Cuisinart Bread Mixer
Funding for cabinet for kitchen sink

If you can get your hands on any of these, whether used or new, we have shipping containers leaving from Amarillo Texas and Gulfport, Mississippi, next month.

If you want to purchase any of these items just send us the funds and we can purchase locally from Sears….. Where we have inside connections.

Mollie's husband happens to work there ... "Mike, the appliance guy”!

Thanks, friends,
Tim Tam
#wearethewordatwork

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

WAW Wednesday ... "Celebrate!"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

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WAW Wednesday: "Celebrate"

Connecting the people of God
     with causes that matter to God
          in ways that honor God

When I mention our name, “The Word at Work”, to someone new I can immediately read it on their face -- whether they are puzzled, or whether they get it. Often I have to break it down for them:

THE WORD ... The one and only ... The Word of God ... The Bible.

AT WORK ... Faith in motion ... Walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

Or as the Bible puts it:

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
James 1:22

The impact of this ministry in the short span of its existence is evidence of God’s favor. He has given us three things to focus on represented by three interlocking rings what you see in our newly redesigned logo. (Shout out to Jonathan Rollins for his great work!)

I think this is the first time for this to be published or publicly explained. There is a definite connection between our logo and our freshly crafted mission statement.

1. Connecting the people of God:

A big part of what we do is create partnerships between churches and organizations in the U.S. with churches and organizations in Belize. We emphasize partnership in Kingdom work; mutuality in ministry. I often say that mission is not a one-way stream that flows downhill from me to bless someone less fortunate. Mission does not originate with me. It comes from God and it is a stream that flows both ways. In God’s eyes we are all poor and needy -- we just suffer with different kinds of poverty be it material, spiritual, emotional, social. So whether from the U.S. or Belize, when we walk together in mission, God heals us both and He gets all the credit!

2. Causes that matter to God:

We work where God works, in places where God’s heart compels him to be most active. Those places aren’t hard-to-find. The word of God gives us the map. In Isaiah 57:15, God tells us that the main place he dwells is with the downtrodden, with the broken, with the needy. So he calls us to join him by serving in these segments of society; with the materially poor, orphans, hospitals and clinics, hospice; with those who are most vulnerable especially children, elderly, women and girls who are sexually abused or trafficked; with those who are listed in Matthew 25 as naked or hungry or those in prison.

I believe the reason we get a front row seat to so many miracles is because we are active where the Spirit of God is actively healing, restoring, setting things right.

3. Ways that honor God:

This has not always been the truth for us ... for me. My motivations were more selfish at first (doing things for my self esteem or the affirmation of others) and operating out of ignorance; trying to reinvent missions on my own. Perhaps we’ve made every mistake there is to make. Though regrettable, it now gives us a place from which we can instruct others in how to go about missions in a manner that is more helpful than hurtful.

(Pause here for a plug…..Go buy the book When Helping Hurts. How I wish I had read this in our early years.)

By and by, we learned that charitable efforts, when misapplied, can cause more harm than good; they create dependency, lower self-esteem, an internal poverty of being.

We stay mindful of the Iron Rule “Never do for others with the can do for themselves.” We concentrate on empowering rather than replacing or displacing. We’ve learned that in the absence of transparency and accountability, corruption can flourish. By and by, God is graciously making lemonade out of our lemons.

Last minute update from Belize ...

Tomorrow, September 21, our friends will celebrate Belize Independence Day! Chepito has been in Valley of Peace keeping up with all of today's festivities ...

Blessings,
Tim Tam
#wearethewordatwork

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

WAW Wednesday ... "Fun Fotos"

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

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WAW Wednesday:
"Fun Fotos"

Hey, Friends,

Mollie and Dyann are pictured here with a canister we received containing hundreds of dollars. from Brad and Abby Whittenburg of Austin, Texas ...

How awesome are these kids???

This year Brad and Abby celebrated their birthdays together and instead of receiving gifts they requested money to be donated to the TWAW Scholarship Fund to help children in Belize go to school.

What a great idea for Christmas!

Would this work for your family?

Meaningful and hassle free.

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These next photos are of work that happened Monday.

Belize City church members from First Stone and Exodus working together with funds they raised ... turns out Pastor Phillipa can really swing a hammer!

Kenny was there too if you can spot him in overalls...and Chepito, too!

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Bonus pic

I'm sure you're wondering how my dogs are doing.

Here they are with my wife, daughter, and grandchildren.

Blessings,
Tim Tam
#wearethewordatwork

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

WAW Wednesday ... "A stitch in time ..."

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

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WAW Wednesday: "A stitch in time ..."

Dear Friends,

We've been talking a lot about "back to school" around our offices these past couple of weeks ...

Asher Started Preschool

He's been coming to work with his mom, Jo (our amazing Team Coordinator), since he was just a few months old. We celebrated the milestone, and also realized once again how quickly time slips by ...

Meanwhile in Belize, Kenny & Chepito have been helping teachers get their libraries set up with donated text books and reading materials that many of you have shared with us -- thank you!

OH -- and they've helped put the classrooms together in the new Preschool in Valley of Peace! That's right - the school passed inspection and is open for business! We hear Chepito's son Matteo started preschool also - I think he might be in one of these photos!

Our Belize Scholarship Committee is reviewing our Scholarship Program. Students across Belize are attending primary, secondary, and trade schools because of our friends in the U.S. who are dedicated to improving lives through education!

We've read letters from program recipients - their thrill of having a chance to go to school is inspiring. One student shared, "...even though I don't know your name, I thank you and send you my love because yo have shown your special love to each one of us. Thank you, thank you, and I hope to do the same when I grow up, to help people in need; because God's Word says we can do everything through Christ who strengthens us!"

We've been conspiring about scooping up clearance back-to-school items to ship to Belize -- maybe you've found a great deal? We're lining out shipping container schedules soon - please let Tim Hagen know if you've got school supplies that might be included in our next shipment.

Many Are Learning New Skills

Pedro and Maria Perez, our business development partners in Belize and directors of Christian Sewing Partners of Belize (CSPB), sent us an encouraging report recently about expansion into Southern Belize:

"We were able to start the sewing program in Santa Cruz and Santa Elena with the Rio Blanco Women's group (a beautiful water fall is there) where they have electricity from solar. The program has around 15 ladies and they are right into it.

Maria is pictured (above) with women in the Rio Blanco village (Toledo District) - - 25 women from 2 villages meet together; pray together; and encourage one another. Maria and Pedro delivered machines and material that TWAW donors provided! Students learned about machine maintenance and more.

The building at Santa Rosa (shown below) should be completed next week and in the first instance we will run electricity from the church to the sewing center. As we move we will get our own meter. Since this training center is central to all the programs we now have in the South we will embark on training initiatives; we want to use this as a sewing center and craft training for the area. Team members from the U.S. trained in pottery, leather, lathe, may want to come for short periods to train there. I am also exploring to piggy back with a new program that is planning to work in the area to develop women in crafts and arts."

In Santa Rosa the group hasn't met this summer because they were busy making school uniforms in their homes. Imagine using treadle machines--if you've got one in your attic it could easily be put to good use in these remote areas of Belize where electricity can be scarce!

Maria shares, "We thank God for the opportunity of working with all ethnic groups of Belize!"

The Perez's are looking forward to a visit from Erin & Brad Willcutt from Pascagoula, MS -- the Willcutt's are feeling led to use their gifts to help with bringing the items that are created through CSPB to market where they can benefit the participants even further. Would you please pray with us that doors would open for their efforts?

Prayers for Hurricane Relief

We are praying with so many families from Belize who have loved ones in the areas devastated by hurricane Harvey - - and now here comes Irma, to another area where many Belize friends live. We are really encouraged by the stories of God's Church on the move to help -- and we look forward to connecting resources in the long rebuild ahead.

Pray for those in desperate need.
Pray for thoughtful and effective responses.
Pray for us as we try to coordinate with our friends and partners already on site.

Blessings,
Tim Tam
#wearethewordatwork

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!