Update

Koinonia Development Vision Statement

 


To compel the Church, Believers in Christ and all Peoples to:


 


“Love the Lord our God with all of our Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength,


and to Love our Neighbor as ourselves.”                       Mark 12:30-31           


                                               


To work and grow beyond denominational, cultural and ethnic differences
as we serve the poor, sick and bound; as we serve each other, and obey Jesus’ commandment: 


 


 “… that you love one another, just as I have loved you”.             John 15:12        


          ____________________________________________________________


           


Hello friends and family,  


     With the new year upon us, I am trying a new look for the updates. Hopefully this new format will help bring clarity and cohesiveness to the vision and a better understanding of what we are doing here in Jamaica. For the most part I will try and categorize our doings under the six arenas of our vision statement listed below.


     We have had a wonderful January as we have had 3 weeks of family and friends come down to share our life and ministry with us. Thanks to all who came and brought us so much joy.


     We still have not received our container, it is here, but has not yet been released to us; the company who shipped it also decided to raise the cost by over $ 1000.oo once it got to Montego Bay.  We are also still praying that our home in Minneapolis will sell. Please keep these two areas in prayer and we will keep  trusting that God’s timing is perfect.


           


Prayer and Repentance

We have 2 people who have committed on this end to be intercessors for our ministry.


 


Design and Implementation

As we meet with the Canteberry Community Committee we hope to gather ideas for income generation. We will keep you posted


 


Networking of Resources

Lance has been invited by one of the pastors to share the vision at The Ministers Fraternal – an organization set up for fellowship  and networking among local Pastors and Clergy. 

We have met with 3 pastors and have shared the vision and have had very good responses.

We have also had our first meeting with the leaders of the Canteberry Community Committee

Called a local dentist to see if we can get him to work with us in the, “Jamaica Smiles” tooth brush campaign. Still waiting to hear from him.  

Met a Doctor who has offered his services for a Medical Outreach


 


Community Outreach

Canteberry has started to open up to us. The past two weeks we have had open invitations to come into homes and pray with individuals, and meet their families. We have even started exchanging phone numbers with some of the residents.

Milton, unfortunately has been on a binge and we haven’t seen him for about 4 days.  The last time we saw him he didn’t look very good.

Beverly, aka, White Woman gone Rasta, is pressing into her relationship with Jesus and is seeing that there is a cost to following Him. Her eyes have been opened as her Rasta community is no longer a support to her as she has given her life to Jesus.

Mr. Litebody and VerneiciaLitebody are our newest ministry members. He came to us looking for work, and brought the woman (who bore 4 of his 12 children) to us for deliverance. He told us that she has demons because her mother was an Obeah Woman and put a curse on both of them.  He met herand started having kids  when he was 39 and she was 16. We have been meeting and praying with them both. This is definitely a prayer and fasting kind of ministry.


 


School Partnerships

We have been working with a K – 12 school, Montego Bay Christian Academy,  and have been asked to help counsel and mentor 2 high school students whose lives are in crisis at this time. We have been doing that for the past two weeks.


 


Bible Fellowships

Still in the planning stage., and we hope that at least on of the churches we are currently working with will allow us to use their space to get started: one reason we are doing this is that most churches won’t let the people we minister to come into fellowships the way they currently are (related to issues of poverty; hygiene, sickness, odor and mental instability)


 


Well, that’s the news for this week.  Please continue to pray for us as we move forward in God. Thanks for standing with us in prayer and support. By the way, dropping a note is allowed and appreciated !!!


 


Abiding in Him,


Annette and Lance


 


Any support funds should be sent to:                                                                                                                 


New Creation Ministries                                                             


P.O.Box73                                                                                                                                            


Rosemount, MN 55068  


                                                                                                                                                                           


Checks should be made payable to New Creation Ministries. 


Please note "Jamaica" in the memo field of the check.


 


Our Mailing address in Jamaica is:


Sniders c/o


Fontana Rx


P.O.Box 137


Bogue, Montego Bay


Jamaica West Indies

Christmas Greeting

Hello Friends--we wish a Merry Christmas to all of you and yours,

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy and kind of intense so for this update I think I will just give you some highlights of what has been going on with us.

-- We've been helping an "American woman gone Rasta." She has 4 children from 14yrs. old to 14 months. Her husband took all of her money and ran into the hills and she hasn't seen him in 5 months. Her home hasn't had water for 3 months. The baby has worms and the 14 yr old daughter is acting quite rebellious. In the past 3 weeks we found her a new place to live, we got anti-worm medicine for the baby, and the baby is doing much better. We were able to get her bus (legally) back on the road so she can now bring some income into her family. I gave her some parenting tips to try with her teenage daughter and she is amazed to see how it is effecting their relationship. She has come to church with us for the past 3 weeks and wants to come with us as we go into Canteberry. You should see her, the Lord is doing some wonderful things in her heart and life.

--Canteberry: We took the kids with us for the first time last week. THEY DID GREAT!! I planned on starting them out slowly by taking them to the pre-school, but I forgot that those kids were on Holiday as well. So they plunged right in with us. Last week was a turning point for us, one of the men from Canteberry came to a friend of ours and asked her, "Were the big man with the tatoo, me no see 'im no more." Our friend told him that Lance was in the States and would be there Friday.
When we got there we were warmly greeted and for the first time an elderly gentleman invited us to his home to pray for "the boy." This boy has no parents, and I don't think this man is a relative but he is trying to keep the boy on the straight and narrow. We all went up the hill and met and prayed for him--I know we will see him again. We also made cantact with Auntie Chin. She is what I would call the "Mother" of Canteberry. I told her about the toothbrushes and she is going to help us to organize this effort.
.
--We are begining to see the our prayers being answered. From our perspective with all that has come against us we believe that there is something great God wants us to accomplish while we are here. Matthew 21:22 it says," If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." so, we have started pressing into BELIEVING. Just that simple. We are going to believe God, take Him at His Word and ask for these things in prayer. Since we have started this practice as a family, I have seen fear leave the kids as we deal with people. They willingly jump in to help or to share what they know and pray for people. tuesday we all prayed for a woman who came to our home. She was coughing so hard she couldn't drink the water we gave her. As we began to pray, all of us earnestly believing, her cough stopped, and by the end of it she said there was no pain at all in her chest. All Glory to God! Afteward, Dominique said to me, "Mom, when we were praying I prayed that God would let His healing power come through my hands so she would stop couhging--and He did!" God is good all the time.
Lance's gift of evangelism has come to a new level. He has always been willing to tell people about Jesus and pray with them, but lately when he prays for the people you can see a visible change in them. They say, " I feel different inside" or " I feel light, I can't explain it, it's just light on the inside of me!"

--Milton. Milton as you might remember is our homeless neighbor. He comes by everyday and we give him a meal and love him. As we have gotten to know him he has warmed our hearts. Tomorrow is a big day for Milton because for Christmas we got him a clean shirt and new pants, we bought him some boxers and he is going to take a bath. He told us that he hasn't had a bath for
months. Lance hired him to wash the car once a week and you should see him beam as people walk or drive by. He is so happy to be working and feel the dignity of earning his money instead of begging. I am going to try an attach a picture of Milton so you can pray for him.

Well, that's it for this week. The next update will be the vision of what God has called us to do here
so please pray that we can "Write the visoin and make it plain so he who reads it may run with it."

May Jesus be big in our heart this week.

Love Annette

December 9th Update

Greetings to all in the Name of Christ,

As most of you know, Lance is back in Minnesota getting our state side affairs in order. Hopefully he will be back in Jamaica by the weekend, we have had to extend his trip to get everything done. From what I hear from him, he is very encouraged and feels your love and support as he has shared what God has put on our hearts. For those of you who have not had that opportunity, we will be writing down the vision and sending it out to you all by years end. God has been faithful to speak to me through His word and today He brought me to Psalm 20. As I have been meditating on that Psalm, I sense the Lord showing me that this has, and will, be our experience as we commit ourselves to His work in Jamaica. The journey thus far brings us to verse 4 which says, “May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” For the plan that God has put in our hearts to succeed, we have to write it down and make it plain for all who partner with us to know how God is leading us. What is interesting to me is that as 2004 comes to an end, we seem to be at Psalm 20:04. Verse 5 gives me hope for our future here, it says, “We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.” Please continue to pray with us for the work here. Things are beginning to come together, doors are beginning to open and relationships are getting established.

I would really like to give a heartfelt THANK YOU to all who heard and responded to my cry for toothbrushes. But not only toothbrushes, we also received toothpaste and floss as well. We appreciate your time, energy and expense to meet a basic need for the people of Canteberry. At this time, we plan to make a connection with a local dentist and see if we can not only hand out these items, but also offer a short dental hygiene teaching/clinic. I will keep you posted on how this progresses.

Tomorrow will be a big day for my kids as it is their first day of the Christmas holiday. Their morning will be spent coming with me for the first time to Canteberry. I think it will be a wonderful time as I introduce them to the people and families we have met there. I have every confidence that they will be blessed as they join me in ministry there. Don’t worry, I will start them off easy, I will have them help me bring the lunches to the pre-schoolers. That’s a group that is never short on hugs and excitement when they see us coming. There is a difference being made in Canteberry, it is becoming more tangible each time we go. Please keep that community and the people there in your prayers.

As prayer requests go I would ask for:
- Continued favor and protection for Lance while he is away from us.
- That God would anoint us as we write down His vision for Montego Bay.
- That God would protect me and others as I drive here (it’s a bit of a challenge to say the least).
-That God would bring comfort to us, as we miss you all very much this Holiday season.

May His Peace, Joy and Spirit be upon you,
Until next time,
Annette

November 18 Update

Greetings to all in the Name of Christ,

This week has been busy as we have made our move from the YWAM base to our own home in Montego Bay. During our family devotion time, Dominique mentioned that this was our 7th move since the fire in July. I am amazed at what God has brought us through and believe that since seven is the number of completion--we can get ourselves settled, hang a picture or two and stay here a while.

I know God has called us to be in the greater community at this time and trust that He will bring people into our lives that He wants. We've only been in our home for 4 days and we are clearly marked as the foreigners. The neighbors have been friendly and curious about us and the way we live. For instance, let me introduce you to the first member of the welcoming committee. His name is Milton and he came right up to the gate yelling "Hello, Hello!" When there was no response, he walked into the yard and up to the house. When we came out he asked us if we would give him money for food. We did and he has been back everyday sometimes twice daily looking for money of food from us. Milton lives up the road from us, at least that is what he tells us. I suspect from his appearance that he maybe the man who lives under a truck on cardboard and tarp. we told him he could pick up the trash in the yard and we would pay him for the days work. He was very excited about this opportunity--Until our next door neighbor came by to speak to us about how Milton is a crack head and how he will, "tief ya bline" (steal from you). Milton's excitement faded because he knew what the neighbor was saying about him. Most people shoo him, and others like him away from their property. He asked me if I would give him a chance and I told him of course we would give him a chance. I told him that he hadn't done anything to damage our trust, and we are here to show God's love to all people and that included him. Later on while Lance was talking to him, he did admit that he does use crack. At that Lance hugged, kissed and prayed for him. Lance told him that he understood and when he was ready to stop his drug use we would be there to help him. At that Milton pledged his love and loyalty to us. My hope is that we can consistently demonstrate God's love to Milton so that he will experience God's unconditional love and goodness.

Now, back to Canterbury, I forgot to mention that the last time I was there and young girl of maybe 13 or 14 years old who I'd never met before, came up to me asking me to give her some candy. While smiling at her boldness I told her I would much sooner give her a toothbrush than candy so she could keep her teeth nice. At that she lit up and others gathered around in hopes of getting a toothbrush as well. I must admit that once again I am surprised at what I take for granted. I can't say that my children have jumped for joy at the prospect of getting a toothbrush instead fo candy. I told them I wanted to try and get enough for as many of them as I could. So give me some time, but I would make good on my promise. So, if any of you would like to donate toothbrushes to a worthy cause, this would be a good one. I was reading in the local paper that December is dental care month so I find this to be a timely request. My hope is that we can bring the toothbrushes to Canterbury on a Saturday so that the kids can come with us and hand them out. We pray as a family for these communities daily and we have driven past them but this will be the first time they have gone with us. They don't know this is my plan yet--but I think they will enjoy it.

Lance will be coming back on December 1st, and staying for a week to close up the business on our house repair and insurance. He will also be packing up our belongings to have them shipped here. So please be in prayer that he can get all the things that need to be done accomplished in that week.

I think that's it for now, love and peace to all,
Annette