Alongside this outreach, a shipping container will be sent by one of our ministry partners to an orphanage in South Sudan that MercyWorks helped build and begin in 2008.

One of the biggest blessings a child can receive is an “I Care Pack.” This is a package that holds essential items for children living in warm climates such as:e

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-          Toothbrush/paste

-          Underwear

-          Soap

-          Shoes (flip flops or sandals)

-          Picture bible/story book

-          Small Toy (no sharp objects or war toys)

-          Flashlight (please install batteries)

-          Sunglasses

-          A letter and picture of yourself

-          “Like new” clothes for warm climate

-          A $10 donation towards shipping. If writing a check, please make it out to “YWAM.”

The I Care Pack itself needs to be a plastic container with a lid, such as a 12 quart “Sterilite” box, available at most Wal-Marts.

Please do not overstuff the box, or include items such as, perishable items, candy, liquids of any kind (shampoo, lotion etc), toy guns, knives, medicines or supplements of any kind.

One member of our medical team from 2008 gave an I Care Pack to MercyWorks months before the trip, never imagining that she would be the one to hand it to the child (team member pictured). One day you could have the same opportunity.

This is a great project for church groups or Sunday schools to join and respond in sending multiple I Care Packs to the orphans of South Sudan.

Please send completed I Care Packs to:

Ship to South Sudan
4177 FM 920
Weatherford, TX 76088

To date, they have facilitated over 10,000 Christian volunteers who came to help reach out to the survivors.  At first, the volunteers were Christians from throughout Japan, as the area was off limits to foreigners.  But recently, as the government has opened up the area to outsiders, people from around the world have come to help out, including the MercyWorks team from Texas.

MercyWorks founder Debbie Lascelles shared, “We have prayed a lot for Japan and wanted to send a team there ever since March 11.  When it became possible for us to go, we knew the Lord was directing us to proceed.  Our team took hundreds of Japanese Ear Bibles with us to share the Gospel with people hungry to learn that God loves them.”

The Ear Bibles served as an amazing tool that opened doors to share with the people.  The Japanese people love creative new uses of technology, and when a few people start using something, many others quickly follow.  The team had many “divine appointments” where it was clear that God had led them specifically to a person or family or small group to give away the Ear Bibles and share God’s love with them.  One 63-year-old man, Hiroyuki Yuyama, had just returned to his home on the coast for the first time the week before the team arrived.  Miraculously, his home was still standing, although all the other homes around him were destroyed.  Hiroyuki had learned English from a British missionary when he was a child, and still had the Bible she had given him so many years ago.  He was thrilled to receive a Japanese Ear Bible and wanted to know when the team would return.  After they left, he called the MercyWorks team five minutes later by cell phone to find out when they would come back and visit again!

MercyWorks will continue reaching out to Japan as the people are hungry for Good News.  One of the best ways to do this is to practically love the people and share God’s Word with them.  As people return to the coast to see what remains of their homes, Japanese Christians from Global Missions Chapel are committed to moving to the coast and living among the people, helping them rebuild while sharing the Gospel.  One such person is Ikarashi Yoshitaka, known as Ikapi.  He and his wife had a baby daughter in January 2011.  Her Japanese name means “God’s Love Wave.”  Just two days after Ikapi and his wife dedicated Erina to the Lord, she died unexpectedly for no reason.  Many miracles followed her death, and Ikapi and his wife are trusting God as they move to the coast to be among the first to live in a new community where they can share God’s love and redemption with those who have lost so much.  We want to support our Japanese brothers and sisters in every way possible as they reach out.  We invite you to join MercyWorks in praying and giving at this time to see Japan take her place among the nations who turn to the Lord.

Pray with us!

YWAM staff members Conley and Nancy Brown, who serve with Living Alternatives at the Fatherheart Home for unwed mothers, have a son named Tim living in Bastrop.  The home he was living in burned to the ground.  Tim reports many people are in serious need and have lost everything.  This weekend, a YWAM team will drive to Bastrop to bring critically needed items to those affected by the fires.

MercyWorks has a goal to provide Wal-Mart gift cards along with other necessities.  To help those affected by the fires, click here.

For a list of things we are collecting, click here.

Now is the time to help. Bastrop is only one of several places in central and east Texas where wildfires are raging.  Although the winds have died down, what is needed is rain and none is forecast for the coming week.  Please join us in praying and responding to this need in our own backyard.

An interesting comment was made by noted author and Bible scholar Joel C. Rosenberg.  He posted on Facebook the following: “Please pray for the people of Texas, especially around Austin … and have you noticed that nearly every natural disaster these days is the worst in history?  God is shaking people everywhere to come back to Him.”

A MercyWorks team is leaving for Japan on October 6. This team will distribute Japanese Ear Bibles, while also assisting with rebuilding efforts and grief counseling.  Many hundreds of people remain homeless since the earthquake and tsunami of March 11^th, 2011 that killed 15,690 and left 4,753 “missing”. Even now the cleanup of debris from homes and businesses continues.

The 9.0 earthquake struck right off the Japanese island of Honshu. The quake occurred about 200 miles away from Tokyo. One of the results of the earthquake was a 132-foot tsunami that swept away entire villages.

The emotional toll from the earthquake has devastated many Japanese people. The suicide rate within the nation was already one of the highest in the world; approximately one person every 15 minutes takes his or her own life. Now six months since the Tsunami, the amount of people suffering from post-traumatic stress is staggering and the need for grief counselors overwhelming.

Japan has a population of 126,393,000 people but only 1.5% claim to be Christian. Japan’s four main islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku and according to the Joshua Project, 55% of Japanese people are still unreached by the Gospel.

Please continue to pray for the people of Japan and for the MercyWorks team as they minister.

We’ve decided to start what we call The Animal Bank.  The simple concept is that we find pastors or missionaries in poor areas.  They in turn locate individuals to whom a kid goat is given to.  Once that goat reproduces for two birth cycles, that family is required to return the mother to the sponsoring church or ministry who in turns recycles the mother to another family in need.

MercyWorks staff member Daniel Visitacion from the Philippines is directing this project for us.  He and his wife served in a developing nation for 20 years where they supervised similar efforts with great success. Each goat only costs $63 and will make a big dent in poverty.  To learn more about how to provide a goat, click here.

MercyWorks is sending teams to Mississippi to assist in practical things such as debris removal, construction, tarping of homes to prevent further water damage, food and material distribution, along with emotional and spiritual support and care.  There is plenty to do and you are needed!  If you would like to volunteer for a week or longer, please let us know.  If you are unable to go and help in person, but would still like to make a gift to help purchase food, water and other supplies, click here.

In addition to volunteering to go or making a financial gift, please pray.  People are stunned and in shock.  Many families have lost loved ones as well as their homes and possessions.  Now is the time for the Body of Christ to show the love and mercy of God to those who are suffering.  For us in MercyWorks who often travel halfway around the world to demonstrate God’s mercy, we are eager to respond to those nearby who have lost so much.

Today it is virtually unthinkable in our politically correct world to imagine a U.S. president or American general asking for missionaries or bibles to be sent as part of a foreign aid program.  Yet following Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII, five-star General Douglas MacArthur remained in Japan to help rebuild its governmental system. A devout Episcopalian, MacArthur said to a visiting group of evangelicals that “Japan is a spiritual vacuum.  Send me 1,000 missionaries.”  Famously, General MacArthur asked U.S. missionary societies to send “Bibles, Bibles and more Bibles.”  Sadly, General MacArthur’s call for missionaries and Bibles for Japan went largely unheeded.

Today we have an opportunity to right that wrong.  For just $30, you can purchase, send and place a Japanese Bible as a gift to a person in Japan needing to receive God’s Word.  With your gift of $300 (or more) to purchase 10 or more Japanese Bibles, we will send you Loren Cunningham’s powerful book, “The Book that Transforms Nations”, in which he explains how the Bible has transformed every nation it has been widely circulated in and how the Bible holds the answers to the keys of every problem we face in the 21st century.

Please prayerfully consider the best gift you can make at this time.  NOW is Japan’s hour.  And NOW is the time for Christians to rally together to reach out to the people of Japan with the everlasting hope of God’s Word.

To be a part of this opportunity, click here.

Please share this communication with people in your family, friends, church, community organization or business who need to know of today’s opportunity to respond to General MacArthur’s more than 50 year old request.  The need for missionaries and Bibles for Japan is even greater today than back in General MacArthur’s day.

YWAM worker Richard Betts told MercyWorks founder Debbie Lascelles, “We would love to have a MercyWorks team come and help.  The need is great.  There is so much to do.”  The relief team is helping with the clean up efforts and doing practical acts of service such as distributing food, water, much needed Bibles.  Many have been left homeless and without transportation.  The people are extremely open to prayer at this time and are looking to God.

Debbie’s husband, Chris Lascelles, director of YWAM Tyler and from New Zealand himself, said “It breaks my heart to see the loss of life and property in Christchurch.  By the time all the missing have been accounted for, this will likely be the largest natural disaster in the history of my nation.  I believe the people of New Zealand are open to receive from God at this time.”

The MercyWorks team is asking for prayer as well as funds for food, water, Bibles, Ear Bibles and transportation.  To make a gift, please click here.

Click here to see a short video clip of the Christchurch earthquake set to the background music of “God Defend New Zealand” the country’s national anthem sung by a Maori.  The New Zealand national anthem is a powerful prayer to God, and exceedingly fitting in a time such as this.