Poland Update

The past months have been different for us! After a few years of developing the impact of the Leadership Institute and having many different activities, we decided not to add anything else but continue our ministry for leaders in three areas; character, skills and innovation but go on a deeper level with each of these!

Character

January was a month of planning and developing a new Character Development Program but going deeper and answering the question; where is the place of my involvement within the local church? We started  the first edition in February with 25 people, mainly from our church, and result was amazing.

•  Difference of this program is that we focused on helping develop church leaders.

Skills

We continue working with John Maxwell and a higher level in this area as well. We have accepted two invitations to do something on a higher level.

• The Polish government created a school for young people willing to become not only politicians but people of society influence. They asked us to take responsibility for teaching them what it means to be a leader led by values.
• One of the polish Universities decided to open an MBA Program in Leadership, and they asked us to oversee this program. It has been a lot of work, but in this way our Institute became one of the creators of something very new in Poland. This is the very first MBA in Leadership in Poland.

Innovation

In this area we do not have too many changes (innovations J) but we continue our ministry organizing the Global Leadership Summit.  The only new thing will be to have more polish speakers at the summit.  Another thing which I am very proud of is that the worship team from our church is going to lead worship during The Polish Global Leadership Summit.

• Camps - It has been another miracle. After opening the registration process for children, which we do with Wheatland Salem Church in Naperville, it took less than 3 weeks to have 60 children. Since we do those camps with you, we can’t explain that but we can see great growth and many more parents are willing to send children for our camps. We have now two families in our church because of camps, but also we've been able to start a Youth Center, which is mainly for those who took part in our camps.

Thank You – We can see how blessed we are because of partnering with you (Wheatland Salem Church)! We can see a change in the quality of our ministry, but also feel much more spiritual strength. You can’t imagine how needed and important it is for us and Christians in Poland.

ReConnect Goat Project Update

By the end of Spring 2014, the team will have purchased and distributed 360 mature female goats, and all of the beneficiary families are receiving training in goat husbandry and financial management as we go along.

This month (April 2014) marks an important step in the project.  The team (local NGO) is out collecting half of the offspring from the first distribution just over a year ago.  This half will then be redistributed to other beneficiaries.  The success of this phase gives evidence to the reproducible/sustainable nature of the project.
Here are a couple of quotes from those blessed by Wheatland Salem's willingness to share the gospel in a very tangible way:

Ahmad's Story (edited for reasons of privacy ):
The society in which I live considers me inferior because of the color of my skin. We are called the "Marginalized Ones". My family and I have a small business -- we make brooms out of palm trees leaf. Once we complete a good quantity, we deliver them to the city to sell. However, the business is barely enough to provide for the whole family. I want to grow out of this societal classification and feel like a normal human. I think by making good money and having a nice house, my family and I will live with dignity. I see these goats as an opportunity to increase our income and finally reach that goal.  Because we make a little money out of the brooms, we can buy food for the goats. Consequently, the goats have become healthier and produced a lot of milk.  Now we also sell cheese beside the brooms. We are not going to sell any of goats, so the number of the goats will increase and eventually become yet another source of income. I have learned so much from the financial training course; the main thing that stuck with me is calculating my everyday expenses. I did not realize that I spend that much on a daily basis. Now I'm more frugal and think twice before spending a cent. The veterinary course was important for me too, since I didn't have much knowledge about goat farms. Thanks so much for the support.  God bless you."

Abdul Story (edited for confidentiality)
My name is Abdul. I used to work in the city as a cook but because of the security issues of the last few years, the restaurant's sales dropped until it finally had to close. I came back to the village feeling hopeless. However, through the help of this partnership with other villagers, I was given some goats with one condition -- that I have to share the offspring with my neighbors. When I received the goats, I felt better because I finally have some support. Since I received the goats, I have been working hard so I can repay the five goats at the end of the year and then have my own. Earlier this month, one of my goats was severely sick and many people told me that it was going to die and there is no need to try to save her, but I didn't listen to what they said. I borrowed $19 USD from my neighbors and took her to the veterinary clinic where an urgent surgery was performed and her life was saved. I also want to thank the program for providing vaccinations, which are extremely necessary for the goats.  And thank you for providing the financial training course.  This course made me more economical than I used to be.  The goat training course was also a good idea because I learned to recognize when a goat is sick and how to intervene to save it. Now I understand what community development is all about, and I myself am encouraged to help others in the same way I was helped.

Thank you Wheatland Salem for all that you have done to make these stories a reality.

Missionary Night - April 2

Wednesday, April 2 | 7-8 p.m. | Oswego campus

As part of our Lenten Prayer Service, Bill and Renee Plaza will be sharing the clean water ministry that God has led them to in Haiti. On their last trip in November an evangelizing pastor named George Patton Jr. was a partner on that mission. We're blessed to have him share with us as well. Join us for this special evening of prayer and worship.

Summer Missions [update]

Wheatland still has two short term mission trips opportunities with front row seats to change the world.

Poland: people needed

We're trying to fill the minimum number of spots to take a group to Poland to work with Piotr Gasiorowski serving the youth of his community. The Poland trip takes place from June 27 through July 12. The minimum fundraising requirement is $2000.

Paraguay: New trip just added!

If you would rather head south, our Faith Promise supported missionary Charlie Hanak will lead a team of 6-8 to Paraguay to work with Pablo and Claudette Mora. We will share the gospel by helping to distribute shoebox Christmas boxes at schools and orphanages. We hope to travel from June 2nd through June 16. The minimum fundraising requirement is $1800.

Both Piotr and Pablo visited Wheatland within the past 18 months. The videos below tell a part of their story.

Short-Term Missions [Summer 2014]

At Wheatland, we want to connect you to our long-term missionaries through short-term trips. Through Faith Promise we've made partnerships all over the globe and each summer we offer special trips to visit some of our partners.

We're having a meeting (offered twice) to address any details or interests you may have in doing a short-term trip this summer.

Tuesday, Feb 11 | 7 p.m. | Oswego campus
Wednesday, Feb 12 | 7 p.m. | Naperville campus

If you are unable to attend one of the meetings but would still like more info, please contact Pastor Bob. To catch a glimpse of the offered trips, you can download our brochure here.

Gift Mart 2013 highlight video

This is our highlight video from Gift Mart 2013