The VW Prophet
The other day we had quite a moment of divine encouragement that I thought I should share. The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful here at home. Melissa has been running full-speed ahead working on packing up this house. We’ve been packing, selling, moving and grooving and it’s causing our heads to spin. In addition, we’ve had a few bills hit us pretty hard and we’ve been facing some heavy discouragement. Most recently I took our VW Beetle in to the dealership to get a few small items fixed and instead was faced with nearly $2000 worth of repairs that needed to happen before we could sell the car. Our monthly support hasn’t been the greatest and so this repair bill was very ill timed.
As Melissa was driving me to the dealership to pick up our Beetle we were both sharing or frustrations with one another. Basically, just like Peter on that fateful day out at sea with the disciples, we were choosing to look at the wind and the waves rather than keeping our eyes on Jesus. We arrived at the dealership and I jumped out of our car and headed for the service department. As I entered the showroom, a salesman, (who was obviously of East Indian decent) called out to me and said, “Hey, you really belong in Roatan!” I turned to look at him because obviously this guy must know me. But when I saw his face, I had NO CLUE who this guy was. I looked at him and said, “Excuse me?”
“Roatan looks good on you” He replied.
Now I was really confused. I mean, here I was getting a prophetic word from an East Indian Car Salesman. I looked at him again with a quizzical expression and he could see that I wasn’t quite sure of what he was saying.
I then noticed that he was looking over my shoulder and pointing at a vehicle that was behind me on the showroom floor. Then it hit me.Volkswagen just introduced their new minivan and it’s called the Routan. Because of this gentleman’s thick accent, I thought he was saying Roatan. He was actually attempting to sell me the new VW Routan that was on the showroom floor.
Regardless of the error in communication, I still took it as a sign of confirmation. God wants us in Roatan. Like the guy said, “Roatan looks good on us”. It was just what Melissa and I needed to take our eyes off the storm and focus onceagain on our Savior. How’s that for a little divine encouragement?
Star Wars Determination
One of my favorite movies of all times has to be the original Star Wars. There’s a scene in that movie towards the end where the Rebels are finally storming the massive Death Star and a few tiny X-wing fighters have broken through the defenses and are making their way down the narrow corridor to launch the final torpedo that will bring down this planet killing behemoth. The guy in the lead has activated his targeting computer and is announcing to the rest of Gold team his intentions. “Almost there” he says.
His team mate yells into his com, “Stay on target”
“Almost there”
“Stay on target”
The exchange seems to repeat itself over and over for several minutes before the guy yelling stay on target is shot down and Mr. “Almost There” misses the easiest shot he’ll ever take. Well, other than the terrible outcome of that particular scene, the simple dialogue has been ringing in my ears repeatedly for the past few weed. “Almost there Jeremy…stay on target”.
Currently we have a number of goals that we are working hard to meet each day. We need to move out of our house by the end of November. We need to have items purchased for the church and shipped to Roatan before we arrive in January and we need to purchase our tickets to even get to Roatan within a few days. There are more goals than these, but you get the idea. One goal that seems to loom greater than the rest is that of raising our personal support. Currently we are $1,000.00 short of our monthly financial needs. Our goal is to recruit 30 people who can help in reaching this total. We are asking our home team to consider the following need:
10 people who can give $50 a month
20 people who can give $25 a month
These 30 monthly donations will raise the needed $1000 and insure our continued success on the Island of Roatan. For those of you who feel led to give towards our monthly financial needs, you can send checks to:
Alternative Missions
PO Box 5835
Goodyear, AZ 85338
There’s another exciting way you give as well. Alternative Missions is using a new online donation system that allows you to completely control when and how much you donate each month. This eGiving system is simple and effective. You can find out more by clicking here and following the simple instructions.
As our departure date approaches, we remain encouraged and excited about all that God has in store for us. Continue to pray for us as we are “almost there” and that our determination and calling will help us to “stay on target”.
We Need Your Help
Upon our arrival in Roatan, we will moving into a new apartment that we will need to furnish. People tend to believe that because we will be living in Central America, things will be cheap. That couldn’t be more incorrect. In fact, generally speaking, most things on the island cost more than they would here in the states. In addition, the costs associated with shipping items to the island are astronomical. Not only are the shipping costs high, but once a shipped item arrives on the island, you must pay duty on that item and that can be a minimum of 30% of the total purchase and shipment cost. Again, it’s not cheap.
Things like transportation too are not cheap. First of all, you don’t really want to purchase a used vehicle that is on the island because the sea air and bad roads will have done a number on that vehicle and your basically purchasing something that will not last very long. In order to import a vehicle, it cannot be anything older than 7 years old and again, you have to add shipping costs and duty. Duty is not applied at the price you paid for the vehicle. Rather, it is assessed at the cost of the vehicle when it was brand new. A $2500 used vehicle could be taxed at the purchase price of $20,000.00, thus making the importation of a vehicle non-cost effective. That leaves the option of traveling to mainland Honduras to look for an inexpensive, yet reliable used vehicle. They can be found for around $7000 - $10,000, but then you need to get them back on the island. All in all, the process isn’t exactly a cheap endeavor.
Many of you have asked if we could provide a list of supplies that we will need to purchase as some are interested in donating the finances for one or more particular need(s). Melissa and I have spent some time talking and I think we have a pretty good list put together….
Refrigerator - $800.00
Stove/Oven - $400.00
Washer & Dryer - $600.00
Dining Room Table & Chairs - $200.00
Living Room Furniture - $500.00
Flight Costs - $3,000.00
Reliable Car - $8,000.00
Computer - $1,000.00
These are just some of the basics. There will be other needs, but like I said, many of you have been asking for this list. Please prayerfully consider how you can help.
Thank you again for your prayers, your financial support and your love. We couldn’t do this without you. We are excited to making this transition and things are really coming together with the church. Be checking our website as well as the Alternative Missions website for new information about the International Worship Center Church in Roatan, Honduras. We are just 7 weeks away from departure and it seems there is still much to be done. We will continue to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and stay on target.
Continue to pray for Max and Clay. Yesterday we moved their beds into another room and cleaned out their old room. This week we’ll probably begin painting over their beautiful Nemo themed room. All the changes have been tough for the little guys, but they are doing great. This is their last week of T-Ball. For those of you in the West Valley of Phoenix, feel free to come on out to Litchfield Park tonight and Thursday night for their games. You can call us for details. Trust me, you haven’t experienced entertainment until you’ve seen a field of 4 years olds clamoring for a baseball.
Thank you again for all that you do. We love you!
Jeremy & Melissa Dyck
Many of you have heard the news, but for those of you who haven’t…no, we’re not pregnant… we’re moving! Yes, the Dyck family is headed back to Roatan, Honduras in early 2009. Just over 11 years ago, Melissa and I met on this small Caribbean island and now, after 10 years of marriage, we’re returning.
There are a lot of details yet to be worked out and there is much to be done before now and the first of the year. We will be sending out weekly prayer emails and monthly updates as to where we are at in the transition process. Right now we are challenged with the task of raising $3500 a month in financial support as well as selling our vehicle and finding renters for our home here in Phoenix. These are all monumental tasks, but we know that this is the path that God is leading us down and we know that He will provide answers for each of these needs.
This past month I spent 2 weeks in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica hosting a short term outreach team from California. Although this team was an amazing highlight for me personally, I came away from the outreach with a very heavy heart for our ministry in PV. The best way for me to express what I experienced is this…
At the first of June I brought a team from Phoenix, AZ to Tepic, Mexico to work with our ministry, the Movement, for 10 days. Our time there was very successful and we are excited as a ministry as to what the future has in store for us in Tepic. Upon returning home, our family took a quick trip to Ridgway, CO in order to meet with A.M.’s director and one of its board members to talk about several new ministry ideas. I returned home just in time to jump on a plane headed back to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. I was able to host a team from Ocean Hills Church in San Juan Capistrano, CA. This team did an incredible job during their outreach and blessed the community, our staff and our ministry in innumerable ways. That brings us to today and our families travels to the Pacific Northwest.
Touchy subject…I know. House prices continue to drop and gas prices continue to rise. The world seems topsy-turvy and the bottom line is it is affecting every person’s wallet. So far this year we have lost several support partners due to the flocculating economy. This has been a hard hit to take, but we’re all in this together.