Ministry Update

Steve’s world at WGO has seen some significant changes this year and he’s as busy (or busier) than he’s ever been. His primary responsibilities have always been financial as he serves as World Gospel Outreach’s Chief Financial Officer, but he has also been responsible for the coordination of the short term mission teams that come from the states.

Within the first few days after Steve’s dad’s accident, a week of training for 2 new travel coordinators had been planned in Houston. His only travel coordinator was attempting to carry the load of the travel coordination for over 50 groups participating in 31 weeks of ministry in Honduras with WGO. Postponing this training really was not much of an option so Steve flew from Florida to Texas to help with the first two and a half days of training. His travel coordinator, Mary Jane Barnett, then took over and completed the week so Steve could return to Florida. The travel coordination staff is now up to 3 people who have committed to at least 2 years of service in this capacity and they have really relieved a significant load from Steve and Mary Jane (particularly Mary Jane). The addition of these travel coordinators increased Steve’s complete staff to 7. Six are stateside and 1 is in Honduras.

In the month of May, Steve was asked to temporarily assume the responsibility of the management of the short term mission groups in Tegucigalpa serving the poor. The short term participants in these groups make up about 750 of the 900 people WGO hosts each year. (Accepting this responsibility increased the number of people in Steve’s staff by 21.) Thankfully many of these 21 staff members have been with WGO for some time in Honduras. The direct management of these short term mission teams could last up to 18 months.

In July, one of the missionaries who has been on staff with WGO in 2 different terms of service, was able to free up 2 days per week to help Steve in the finance and accounting area. Robert and his wife, Jennifer, oversee the The Bridge Ministry which prepares our oldest residents for independent living. It is called the Bridge Ministry because it provides the ‘bridge’ between a family living environment and independence. These are the young adults who are continuing their post high school education in the city and Robert and Jennifer provide them with spiritual, practical, and financial mentorship. Robert & Jennifer live in the same home with these young adults. Robert’s profession before coming to the mission field was as an insurance adjuster and his college degree was in the area of economics and finance. He has a very analytical mind and Steve has wanted to have Robert work with him since they met several years ago. Robert is working on various cost analysis projects during his two days a week that help the ministry keep a close eye on expenses.

Along with these responsibilities and the accompanying staff of 28 also come occasional vacancies. Steve currently has 2 vacancies and a new position to fill. Two of the positions are missionary positions and one is a Honduran staff position. The Honduran staff position is titled Brigade Coordinator. This person interfaces with the Honduran pastors where the short term mission teams assist the poor during their one-week trips, hires translators, coordinates the ministry on a daily basis, and a variety of other responsibilities. He is also looking for a Mission House and Group Director. This missionary position oversees the staff (7) and logistics of the facility where the short term mission teams stay and the staff (14) who work directly in daily ministry with the short term mission teams. The new missionary position that has been added because of the growth of the ministry is an Accounting Manager. His desire is to find someone with a degree in accounting and experience in non-profit accounting. This person will review WGO’s current accounting procedures and make the necessary changes to prepare the ministry for annual audits. If you have an interest in knowing more about these positions or someone who might, please contact Steve at srazor@wgoreach.org or you can call him in the office at 713-344-1449.

Steve's dad

Many of you know that Steve’s dad, Ray, had a bicycle accident in Florida in February. When he fell he hit his head on the pavement and was in a coma for 12 days. When we received the call from Steve’s mom, Chery, we didn’t know if Ray would still be alive when Steve got to Florida. God is still in the business of doing miraculous things and Ray is still recovering as this update is being written (July 25, 2008).

His recovery has spanned a hospital, 2 rehabilitation hospitals, and a nursing home in Florida and a hospital and nursing home in Indiana. To say this has been a difficult year so far for Steve’s parents, especially Ray, is an understatement. While Ray is recovering pretty well physically, he is still struggling with short term memory loss.

During February, March, and April Steve’s dad was receiving rehabilitation care in facilities in Florida and everyone was amazed at how well he was doing. He came home in early May but shortly after getting home his memory deteriorated and confusion set in. In the middle of May we discovered that he had suffered from a bleed in his brain just before or at the time he came home. This was another miracle in his life. Ray was on blood thinners at the time yet God stopped the bleed before it took his life. Fortunately he did not have to be hospitalized since it was discovered after the fact but he did have to stop taking his blood thinner. When he was given permission to travel, Steve’s brother, Scott, flew to Florida and drove Ray & Chery to Indiana where family there could help Chery care for Ray.

Being off the blood thinner then created another complication. Blood clots formed in Ray’s legs and abdomen and he had to be hospitalized in Indianapolis. Again, God had already made provision to allow Ray to survive yet another serious condition. While in one of the rehabilitation hospitals in Florida, a filter was installed in Ray’s abdomen in the primary vein returning blood to the lungs. This filter kept the blood clots from reaching the lungs and again preventing his death. The hematologist told Chery that if he had not had the filter she would have been planning his funeral.

Ray is now home with Chery in their apartment in New Castle after 3 weeks in the hospital in Indianapolis and 2 weeks in a nursing home. His strength is returning slowly and he is doing as much walking as he can to help keep the formation of blood clots from recurring. His short term memory loss is still quite evident and we would ask you to join us in prayer for a full recovery over time.

An Explanation

If you have never heard of the Razor's Great Adventure, an explanation is in order. The name was chosen in 2001 when we wrote our first newsletter announcing our decision to move to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with World Gospel Outreach. http://www.wgoreach.org Steven Curtis Chapman's song, The Great Adventure, was still playing on our favorite Christian radio station, and it struck us that we were on this great adventure of God's grace, not because we were answering God's call to foreign missions, but because He had called us into this great adventure as His son and daughter, saved by His redeeming love. So, we share part of this adventure with you through our new blogspot which will replace our newsletter. Hopefully, we will stay in better contact, free of the encumberances of postage, ink cartridges and stuffing envelopes.