As our family headed to

Rogersville Tennessee, a small town located in the foothills

of the Appalachian Mountains, we

were unsure of what to expect. We

were briefed on the extreme

poverty we would face there . . .

people living with no running

water, homes filled with black

mold, some with actual trees

growing through them. Our hosts

were two construction coordinators

for AIM (Adventures In Missions).

These young men were

willing to live several months in a

condemned home to serve families

in need around them. Taking all of

this in, our family braced ourselves with the possibility of spending our

summer living in substandard housing, sleeping on air mattresses, with

no air-conditioning. We consoled ourselves, by reminding ourselves

that these conditions were nothing compared to

what missionary families face in third world countries.

Upon arriving, we were welcomed into a modest, air-

conditioned☺ home that one of the ministries we would be serving

had graciously offered rent free. We already felt spoiled! The town

turned out to be a very cute and quaint mountain town. It had 2-3

restaurants full of the nicest down-home waitresses and small town

folk you could ever meet. We found out that although there were a

few families inside town in need, most families with urgent needs lived

outside of town in what the town folk called hollers. These

hollers, located far back in the valleys between the rolling hillsides,

were full of broken down trailers and dilapidated homes. Many of the

families, who had lived there for several generations, struggle to

provide for their families and had no means to repair or upkeep their

homes.

We were blessed to be able to train and send out several

teams of volunteers each week to minister to families in need. These

mission teams would meet the familiesÕ immediate physical needs,

such as replacing a leaking roof or insulating their house for winter

while also looking for opportunities to pray with or to share the Gospel

with the families they were serving.

We also partnered with

a Boys and Girls Club

in the area. We sent teams there to

give the fifty plus kids dropped off

each day, the much needed love

and attention they were so

desperate for. Many of the kids

involved were from foster care or

broken homes and openly talked

about the pain they experience

from their parentsÕdivorce. We

if they had heard the Message of Hope? We then took what we gathered

to those in need, who we also prayed for and shared with. It was

definitely a stretch for many in the group, but, we were blessed to

play a part in the lives God touched.

One of the most moving times for me this summer was

when our youngest daughter, Hope, who is 6 6 6 6 years old, opened up

and shared for the first time in a

large group setting. . . . She said that

she felt sad for the woman, Jenny,

whose home we had painted that day.

The spirit began to touch all of our

CL ChristLife Experiencing & Sharing God’s Love phil.clife@gmail.com

Sept 2011

Hope & Lily

helping to paint

Jenny’s home

Outreach Movie Night at a Local Park

Tommy from the Boys

& Girls Club

broken homes and openly talked

about the pain they experience

from their parentsÕdivorce. We

spent time one-on-one with these precious children listening to their

stories and sharing ours.We also led them in sports and crafts activities,

where members of our team took time to share their God Story with the

children who participated.

We had several nights where we reached out to the whole

community at local parks- through offering a meal and then

sharing the good news; or hosting a family friendly movie night

and then presenting the Gospel during a brief intermission....

Another outreach

was one we like to do in

Charlotte. We sent teams of

2-3 people door to door

through the more affluent

areas of town, to collect

anything from (Cans to

Couches) for the poor. We

took the opportunity to ask

the people who we met if they

needed prayer for anything or

large group setting. . . . She said that

she felt sad for the woman, Jenny,

whose home we had painted that day.

The spirit began to touch all of our

hearts as she began to cry, showing

GodÕs heart for Jenny, (I feel sad she

has to live in such a dirty place.) Our

group had spent the week cleaning out

and painting JennyÕs home after she

shared her intentions of opening it up

as a shelter for battered women to

live.

Another time, which stands

out to me, is when our oldest daughter

felt led by the Lord to purchase a Bible to give to someone that day.

Later that night she was led to give it to a woman who had just prayed

to receive Christ at one of our evening outreaches. It was a blessing to

see our children led and used by the Lord.

These are just a few of many great things we saw God do this summer

up in Appalachia. Thank you for partnering with us to make this

ministry possible!!!!

Jenny

Arts & Crafts Outreach at

Boys & Girls Club

This ministry reachesout to the more than 2222,,,,000 000 000 000

Vietnamese refugees, who live in government housing

in downtown Charlotte....

The Vietnamese are Christians who were being severely

persecuted in their country before our government granted

ministry with them as well. This is where we encourage a

local Bible study or small group to (Adopt a Family) that

God leads them to. The vision is that they would welcome

them in as family, mentor them, and help them as they seek

to assimilate into American culture.

Please keep our family

and those that the Lord is

leading us to in your

prayers.

I trust you are continually

looking to your personal

relationship with Christ

to fill you with the love,

joy, peace,

companionship,

guidance,

encouragement, and

We have also begun a new

partnership with a refugee

ministry called Project 658658658658

Now that we are home I am excited to have

formed a partnership with the Charlotte Habitat for Hu-

manity.

We look forward to joining them in serving families in

need around us. As always we will seek to share GodÕs

love and The Message of Hope with those we serve as

well as the volunteers we serve with.

Habitat’s Mission Statement: “To put God’s love into ac-

tion, by bringing people together to build homes, commu-

nities and hope.”

They accomplish this through: Demonstrating the love of

Jesus Christ. “We undertake our work to demonstrate the

love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord

with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all,

and that we must be “hands and feet” of that love and

grace in our world.”

Focusing on Shelter. “We have chosen, as our means of

manifesting God’s love, to create opportunities for all

people to live in decent, durable shelter. We put faith into

action by helping to build, renovate or preserve homes,

and by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden

access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking

the cycle of poverty.”

Please keep this new and budding partnership with

Charlotte Habitat in your prayers. We hope to chal-

lenge and equip them to add more of a spiritual message

to the families they serve as well as the thousands of vol-

unteers who serve with them.

New Partnership

With Habitat For Humanity

Vietnamese Refugees

There are Over 2000 Refugees

Living in Downtown Charlotte

....

The Vietnamese are Christians who were being severely

persecuted in their country before our government granted

them asylum here in the U.S. I am excited to partner with

Project 658 to provide clothing, job assistance, English

training, and mentoring to these victimized families.

We are also hoping to begin our (Adopt a Family)

companionship,

guidance,

encouragement, and

purpose we all were

created for.

Blessings in knowing

Christ,

The DanteÕs

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for and support this ministry.

Clife Adventures

1108 Market Street,

Fort Mill S.C. 29708

Phil.clife@gmail.com 803-207-9496