Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Website Change...

We are in the process of changing our website server which means my blogspot had to be completely changed from our previous host to "blogger.com" where I had previously maintained a blogspot prior to ntcmassena.com hosting it. Soon my more recent blogs from ntcmassena.com will be transferred to this location. For the time being, the only information you will find here are some posts I put up several years ago.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Falling Forward Into Fall

Wow...so much has happened since the last time I posted a blog...Here are just a few things (besides climbing Algonquin, Border & Iroquois Mtns in one day):
1. We had a series of Presbytery Meetings in June where over 40 people received Inspirational Prophetic Words from Mike Herron, Bob Isabel & Eric Butler
2. In July we conducted two VBS weeks, one at NTC in Massena and one at High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake. Both weeks were wonderfully fun and Holy Spirit anointed as we watched the Lord touch over 200 children during those two weeks. Thank you Heather Ramsdell & Teams!! 3. During August we hosted a "Power & Love Conference" where Bob Hazelett, Dan Mohler & Todd White spoke over a four day period to everyone gathered at NTC. During the week we were both challenged and equipped to see ourselves how God see's us and as well be a genuine expression of God's Love to the world. As a result many people in Massena and the surrounding communities were loved on and prayed for, with a number of people being significantly touched by the Holy Spirit. We continue to hear testimonies about people being blessed and healed...may it continue! 4. During the week of Power & Love though all the messages were incredible, we have made digital copies of three of the messages for every family that considers NTC their home church. These will be distributed free of charge during the first few weeks of September. 5. One important change that we are working on is a new website for NTC. Hopefully it will be up and running by the end of September and be more user friendly and informative for everyone. As we move Forward into Fall, I am genuinely excited about all that happening at NTC and High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake. In upcoming weekly blogs you will be hearing about the happenings as well as some of the changes at NTC & High Peaks...ministries being birthed, ministries being reignited, fall 2011 special meetings being conducted, etc. Love You All, -Don & Mary Curry-

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Final Day in Gulu...

It's hard to believe but we are packing for our long journey back home, and I must say were are excited! As impacting as this trip has been for us, we miss our families and everyone else sooooooo much. Since we are frantically trying to get ready to leave for home this post will be brief.


This morning we met and prayed about the land we feel especially good about regarding Children of Hope's future plans in Gulu. The grace and sovereignty we have experienced in to coming to know that this land is available for sale is absolutely remarkable. We found out today that representatives from the University being built (see picture) beside the property COH is considering, came to the property owner yesterday and asked to purchase the land in order to expand their footprint. Thankfully the land owner's spokesperson said that Children of Hope are yet to make a decision on the land so it is not available for sale until they decide what they are going to do. It is a very desirable tract of land, ~16.5 acres, in the direction where Gulu is presently expanding. We had the land assessed and it presently lists for 10million UGS per acre, or $5000 per acre, and due to favor with the land owner (because of the end use of the land), it is being offered to COH for 7million UGS, or a little over $3,500 per acre. There will be instant equity of 25% on the land, and that will rapidly increase as the city is expanding their limits to include the acreage COH is considering. This situation so reminds me of the land we were a part of purchasing in Romania back in the mid-90's following the revolution and the collapse of the iron curtain. The land value went up there in a few short years 1000's of percent as the city expanded and absorbed the land the church in Oradea, Romania is presently located on.





At the end of the day we returned to the COH home to spend time with the children. Wow it was soooo much fun!! I have included a few shots of them for you to enjoy. We presently have 13 children on site, but the need is endless, and the reason for purchasing land is to be able to build a 'Village of Hope' so we can take many more children on, as well as widows, so they can have a hope and a future. One of the new little girls, Sharon, is holding one of six of the dolls that Dorie Reiter sent over for each of the 6 girls to enjoy. Also below is a shot of the seven boys playing with the trucks that Dorie sent over as well. THANKS DORIE! They all want to give hug Momma Dorie! Thank you as well for ALL the clothes that Keith & Michelle Benham sent over...WHAT A BLESSING!!!

Tuesday April 12th in Gulu...

Greetings again from the Jewel of Northern Uganda, the city of Gulu! Our hearts grow fonder for all our friends and family back home the longer we are away from everyone. It is comforting to know that there is an army of friends and loved ones who are praying for us and supporting us in love. Without you this venture would be impossible, but with you and Jesus all things are possible!!! It would be absolutely impossible to convey to you the amazingly significant connections the Lord has sovereignly led us into while being here.
The second such connection was with Jolee, the director and initiator of "Invisible Children - Uganda." For a little info about Jolee, during the height of the war in Northern Uganda between the Ugandan Army and Joseph Kony, approximately 40,000 children were fleeing from the Kony's army for safety finding any place possible to hide and to sleep. From abandoned building basements to open fields, the children moved in fear trying to escape for their lives from being abducted and recruited to fight in Kony's army. During that time Jolee showed a few American free lance photographers and video people the horrible plight of the children, and from the production of that documentary film until now "Invisible Children" has been helping the war affected children. Spending time with Jolee was so impacting as she helped us understand the impact of "Children of Hope" on Gulu, since so many of the NGO's (Non-Government Organizations) that came to help Northern Uganda immediately following the war have already pulled out, including all their financial and physical support. It was also impacting and encouraging for Jolee to see "Children Of Hope" making decisions to remain in Gulu for the long haul to help the children rebuild their lives with love and dignity. In fact two of the children COH currently have, Emmy & Gloria, were discovered and cared for by Jolee until she asked COH to care for them. When I showed her the present pictures of Emmy & Gloria, she teared up because of how she had found them with distended bellies and their momma having died of Aids.

Following our time with Jolee we prepared for an evening outreach in the bush approximately 10km from Gulu. Children of Hope had previously contacted a school in the area prior to our coming and arranged for 110lbs of rice and 110lbs of beans to be prepared so we could feed the village. At approximately 5:30 we began feeding people and it continued to everything was gone, about 3hours later. We estimate over 1000 plates/bowls were served to over 600 people. It was a very impoverished village so feeding some of the children was very moving and heart wrenching, bringing us to tears.






Following the feeding time, the equipment that NTC had purchased and transported to Gulu last year was used to play both CD and live worship music, show the Jesus Video and then broadcast an altar call following the film. Nearly everyone who received food stayed and many others gathered to watch the film. Many in the crowd had never seen a film before so just that experience was incredible for them. At the conclusion of the film and the altar call, many responded for salvation and prayer. We are still not certain how many came forward for salvation, but the line for us to get their names and personal information was very long. All in all we believe Jesus really touched many hearts with His love and saving grace. A number of teenagers came up and asked us for bibles because they want to continue learning about Jesus so they can tell their friends. A couple that I spoke to, Lawrence & Martin, said that their friends are making some bad choices and they want Jesus to help them and intervene in their lives. I will never forget their pure hearts so willing to learn more so they can help their friends find Christ.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Warmest Greetings from Gulu, Uganda, Africa!!

Peter Reiter and myself flew out of Montreal on Friday April 8 at 7:30pm and arrived in Entebbe, Uganda Saturday evening at 10:40pm. What a long day! We were on the plane from Amsterdam to Entebbe for 11hours because KLM decided to make a stop in Kigali, Rawanda for an hour. Anyway it was a joy getting horizontal that night at Pastor Bob & Sharon Wagar's home in Kampala.


The next morning I spoke at Sharon & Bob’s church, “Life Church,” and had a wonderful time. What a great church! I spoke on Mt. 5 where Jesus Demonstrates the Kingdom, then He Defines Kingdom people and finally he Deploys Kingdom followers by giving them an Identity, not a job description! Because of the corruption in Uganda at every level I spent much time on the profile of a kingdom person that Jesus gives us in the beatitudes and finished up with people who live this way are the salt and light of the earth. Christ followers that choose to make right choices just because the are right, and in the process displace the powers of darkness. (Sorry it's a bit blurry, but I wanted to show you 'synchronized speaking'...and yes I am taller than the translator!hahahahaha)

Following lunch we departed for Gulu, a drive that should take between 4 - 5 hours. After the driver’s truck broke down for the second time about 20km from Gulu, we called our friends from Gulu and they came to pick us up. While we waited we experienced an African thunder & lightening storm, and it was a doosey! Here we are using our expertise to fix the car.
Here is Christine all fed up with our efforts to try and fix the motor...she decided to push...and we let her!! We sat in the car and prayed the lions wouldn't grab her!

We arrived in Gulu just before 10pm…another long day on the road.

In the morning we met with a University Professor who teaches law at Gulu University and also the most prestigious University in Kampala, Fabios Okumu. He served in the military for 24 yrs, and as a youth he participated in the overthrow of Idi Amin. After serving in the military he studied law, eventually becoming a lawyer, but continued his post graduate studies serving as both a judge and receiving his doctoral degree. He is considered one of the foremost authorities in the area of understanding the complexity of land purchases in Northern Uganda, as it was a focus of his studies and practice. He had breakfast with us, and for 2hours following gave us the most amazing legal advice for how to proceed in the purchase of land. He happens to be a neighbor to Mike & Victoria, and to be neighborly he is helping Children of Hope pro bono. It was a most amazing experience having a highly trained lawyer, judge and University Professor with a profound understanding of Northern Uganda law to help us in this venture. I teared up a couple of times listening to him speak with such simplicity, eloquence and authority on the subject. After finishing our very enlightening discussion with Fabius, we debriefed for a bit, and then walked over to the home since Fabius wanted to see the home, i.e., the operation of "Children of Hope - Uganda".

Following lunch at the COH home we went to look at two different properties around Gulu to possibly purchase, in the regions of "Ugama" & "Awich." Purchasing land in Northern Uganda is anything but simple because it is owned by the Acholi people and often several clan members of one tribe have to sign off on the land if the transaction is to be legal. Also, there are no surveying markers on the land, so you have to view it by wherever the land owner representative takes you. Obviously before any purchase offer is made, a complete survey must be made by the local authorities to insure you are viewing the exact parcel of land. This is one reason the attorney we spoke to this morning was so crucial for us, as he gave us the proper steps to purchase land in order to insure there are no snags and everything is legally correct. Of the two tracts of land, Ugama is considerably larger tract, but it was at least 10km from Gulu and then 3km off the Gulu-Kitgum road, making it quite inaccessible. After walking the land and trying to figure out the boundaries with the appointed guide from the owner, we were confused and not sure what to do.


Here is a picture of some children WAY out in the bush where we looked at the land. We don't think they had ever seen munzungo's (white's) before.

Following this we decided to go see the Awich property which was on the way back to Gulu. Though it is a much smaller tract of land, approximately 10+, the benefits of this tract of land were intriguing. Not only is it much closer to Gulu, it is very close to the existing COH home. The Awich tract borders wetland which would provide water for irrigation year round as it never drys up there (according to locals), and there is also already a bore hole on the property with excellent water! The land is also very fertile with many fruit trees and all kinds of vegetation on it.
Please pray with us as we continue our time here. The connections with people we have made this trip are nothing short of miraculous...so much more to say but sleep is calling me (and if I don't shut the light off I think Pete will smack me!)

Your Friends from Gulu, Uganda,
Love,
Pete, Christine, Don

Saturday, April 2, 2011

3rd & 4th Day In Cali...

Yesterday, Friday, we were able to visit a coffee farm approximately 1.5 hours south of Cali up in the Andes Mountains. What an experience! Pastor Diego has a good friend who used to attend his church in Cali purchase land to build a coffee and tomato farm. Over the past 22 years he has planted 400,000 coffee trees that produce some of the highest quality coffee in the world. If you know Greg, he was just a little happy! Here he is with the Coffee farm owner.




I think he was grinning from ear to ear in every picture I took. Here is Greg showing us a coffee cherry seed that he plans on starting his own coffee farm with...hahaha.











We returned to Cali with just enough time to briefly rest before going back to the church for the third night of Presbytery. By the grace of God the prophetic anointing was rich and real and many people were encouraged as prophetic words were spoken over their lives. There were many confirmations of the Lord speaking specifically to people. Though it was a late night after a long day, it was an incredibly fulfilling time.

Saturday morning we began Presbytery again, this time starting at 9:30am and going to almost 2pm. What demanding but awesome time. Working with Bob Isabel was amazing as he is such a prophetic father, and carried much of the ministry time. Greg Hurlbut was absolutely amazing!!!!! His words were so accurate and his ministry so encouraging to every person he spoke over. He walked up to one person and said, "You are like a Martha...." and everyone starting laughing because her name was Martha! That is just one of the many accurate prophetic words Greg shared.

When we were finished we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to Ruth Ruibal's church for Greg to speak to the Youth church. While he was speaking, I met with a great couple who recently relocated to Cali from Portland, OR to help with the church.

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR US, AND PLEASE CONTINUE, AS WE ARE SO DEPENDENT ON THE PRAYER COVER YOU PROVIDE.

Love You All,
Don Curry & Greg Hurlbut

Thursday, March 31, 2011

2nd Full Day In Cali, Colombia...

Another great day in Cali! This morning we spent time with the overseers of Ekklesia, Ruth, Maria Fernanda (she came to NTC in the summer of 2009 to go through RTF) and Jamie. It was a great meeting as they shared all things presently happening at Ekklesia. In all my times traveling here since 2002, this is the most momentum I have ever felt. As many of you know, from the fall of 2006 to June of 2009 we sent teams to Cali every quarter to help raise up 6 men to help take more of the leadership role in the church. We called the mini-college with the men, "Joshua's Men" as we took them through many different books and gave them homework for during the 3 years. All 6 of them are doing well and 4 out of the 6 are leading in strategic areas of the church. It's such a blessing to see investments in people's lives bear fruit, fruit that remains. Thank you NTC for supporting the vision of strengthening the church in Cali and thank you to everyone who made the long trek to Cali to teach the men. Here is a picture of Ruth, Maria Fernanda, Jamie, Greg and myself.





This morning we spent time visiting Ekklesia's Christian School. They have 146 children enrolled in a pre-k through 11th grade, which is the last grade for students before University. What a wonder school and what a great spirit there.






At the base of the property where the school is, we took a picture of the new building that is being built over what once was a little apartment building. This new structure will house some of the school and church staff. A wealthy gentleman from California, Ruth met last year, was looking for a place to make an investment that would further the kingdom and education. He covered the expenses of building this beautiful structure.



Again this evening we prayed prophetically over a bunch of leaders from Diego's church. The revelation was perhaps even clearer tonight than last night. Bob Isabel is a great prophetic leader and teacher and Greg is doing AWESOME! What a great blessing to be able to partner with Jesus in building His church Colombia!