Don & Christine Ames

Serving the Lord with our Hearts and Hands

WHAT’S NEW 2013

Thank you for taking a look back at the older What’s New articles from 2013.  These articles have been bumped from the regular WHAT’S NEW page in favor of the newer stuff.  We placed them here because it is kind of nostalgic for us and we hope you enjoy traveling all over the World and back through time with us as we serve the Lord.  So again we want to thank our faithful prayer warriors for taking our concerns and needs to His throne, without Him, none of this would be possible.  As with the WHAT’S NEW page, the more recent articles are on top.  At the bottom you will find a link to even older stuff.  In this way we were able to preserve articles all the way back to the beginning of 2007.

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Madison, GA

January 25, 2013

Tambo, Bolivia

March 15, 2013

The primary purpose of this trip was to replace the old USA style 120/240V 60Hz infrastructure with a new more relevant Bolivian 220/380V 50Hz system.  This meant a lot of hot attic rewiring, replacing receptacles, rewiring panels, new service drops to most of the 33 buildings, new concrete poles to replace rotted wooden ones, and new wiring between the poles.  It also involved rewiring the backup generator and installing a new automatic transfer switch.  Christine and I were there for the entire 5 weeks as two other teams worked for two and three weeks respectively.

You never know what you will be doing when you say “Yes Lord, send me”.  Christine spent almost the entire 5 weeks in the sewing room making curtains, pillow cases, table runners, aprons, and yes, even a Superman costume.  We pray that this costume and the skit it was created for will bring glory to the Lord and that as the skit is performed that many teens will hear the message and come to a saving faith in Christ.

Along with working on rewiring many of the buildings, Don and Art finished off the last couple of weeks by doing a lot of electrical maintenance, from repairing a couple of pole lights to rewiring several more panels and even changing fixtures and light bulbs.

Tambo, Bolivia

February 25, 2013

Cape Haitian, Haiti

April 25, 2013

We have often stated that “it is not about the work, it is about the relationships”.  Toward the end of this trip Don was heard to say “If the Lord took me home right now, I would go a very happy man.”  Don spent almost two weeks in Haiti working on two different projects, www.haitihospitalappeal.org, and http://secondmilehaiti.com.  He was also able to drop off some things to La Mission’s national director, Tony , and Sheila who was a teen on our Teen Missions' team to Egypt back in 2004.  Sheila is now a registered nurse at an orphanage called Children of the Promise.  It was so good to spend a little time with both of these people as they mean so much to us.  Then on the way back to the airport in Santiago, Don was able to visit two other ministries in Jarabacoa, DR.  One was a Christian school called Doulos and the other was Pico Escondido which is the Young Life camp that we helped wire back in 2010.  The picture on the left was taken after Jose showed Don all around the camp and the new buildings that were only a vision in 2010.  Time after time Jose mentioned how he and their electrician, Carlos, had remembered Don and the I-TEC team teaching them this or that.

Below is Don and Dale helping load children from an orphanage for a field trip.  The right photo is the new battery bank installed at the hospital by Brian and Dale.

Carbaret, Haiti

June 5, 2013

Don spent another week in Haiti doing electrical work.  This time was with the ministry of CPR-3 (www.cpr-3.com).  The team of six men installed 20 solar panels, the inverter/charger system, 48 batteries, the 15KW generator, 17 ceiling fans, and untold numbers of switches, receptacles, and lights.  They had sweet fellowship, as usual, and worked hard for the Lord.

The picture to the left is one of the staff couples with two little orphaned girls they helped take care of until a suitable Haitian home could be found for them.  CPR-3 believes in empowering the nationals to do for themselves and that includes taking in and caring for these orphans.  While CPR-3 primarily does disaster relief, they are going the extra mile to teach nutrition through their Moringa Project, cleanliness through their water and sewage projects, and community through their church partnership program.

We thank the Lord for allowing us to be part of this ministry for this project and into the future.  Don worked closely with Dave on wiring while the other guys did the solar end of the project.

Montoursville, PA

July 15, 2013

Above we are finishing off the inside of the Watt Box.  The other pictures are from the Lycoming County Fair.  Don’t those LED lights look nice?

Our first project was to help get the “Watt Box” ready for its first show.  This box is to demonstrate how the Ministry can prefab a custom electrical equipment room inside a standard shipping container with volunteer labor in their PA warehouse.  Based on the needs of a ministry, there might be different sized panels, inverters, batteries, transfer switch, a generator, and even solar panels with prefabricated racking.  Every thing except the solar could be mounted on insulated walls and wired to suit the ministry’s needs.  Then the box would be shipped overseas and a small team deployed to do the final assembly and connect it to the ministry’s buildings.

Montoursville, PA

September 8, 2013

Eure, NC

September 27, 2013

Many of you remember me when I was over 200 lbs.  A few years ago, God used 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 to change my heart and my life.  Realizing I needed to honor God (and my husband) by taking care of my body, I began losing weight...a tough job!  In March of this year, Don & I returned from Bolivia to find my sister had been following a healthy eating plan recommended by her doctor.  I began the program at 170 lbs and just reached my healthy goal weight of 123 lbs, a safe weight loss of 47lbs in 6 months!  My desire now is to "pay it forward" and help others reach their goal weight and get healthy.  I have become a Certified Health Coach with Take Shape

For Life, and believe this is a ministry opportunity from the Lord.  I am able to teach, mentor and encourage people (anywhere in the US) to reach a healthy weight and keep it off by learning healthy habits.  If you, or someone you know wants to lose weight and get healthy, then please contact me for more information.

These pictures represent over 90 pounds of weight loss between the spring of 2010 and September 2013.

We spent the last two weeks helping to build this log cabin for The Haven, Missionary Care Center (www.missionarycarecenter.org)  Christine is enjoying this project a lot because she is finally able to work side by side with Don.  She helped cut and mill the logs and then cut over 100 ten and fourteen foot 2X4s.  We worked one week with a team from Calvary Chapel Merritt Island, stacking logs, and a second week erecting the inside walls and starting the second floor joists.

Cape Haitian, Haiti

October 25, 2013

In October Don was able to join a small I-TEC team in Haiti with  Michael Fisher and Dale Cleveland. The three men installed a solar system at Second Mile Haiti (www.secondmilehaiti.com).  This project went well as they were able to complete the installation in just two long days and then wire the irrigation pump that will save hours watering the gardens.

They also did several repairs at Haitian Hospital Appeal (www.haitihospitalappeal.org).  While there Dale joined a group that went to some remote areas to feed the needy.  He is in his glory when surrounded by the children.

Don and Dale stayed an extra 4 days to do an electrical survey for Youth With A Mission Haiti in Saint Marc (www.ywamhaiti.org).  Their ministry has been expanding rapidly since the 1990s and needs I-TEC to help redesign their electrical infrastructure.