·worked on church building addition

·visited outer islands - fais and ulithe

·encouraged missionaries

If you've never heard of Yap, don't worry, not many people have!  We first learned about this island in 2011 when we worked with missionaries Bob and Polly Whitmore on a Nehemiah Project and were introduced to another missionary family on the island, Mark and Diane Zimmer (pictured first on right).  Fast forward to 2019, and we were able to send seven team members to the small island of Yap to encourage, work alongside, and fellowship with the Zimmer's and their church family.

Yap is a small island in Micronesia, a 24-hour trip from the States, with a population of only a few thousand people.  Mark and Diane Zimmer and their children have served on the island for the past fifteen years as pastor of Yap Baptist Church.  They work faithfully to train nationals to pastor new churches, including the planting of two sister churches on a couple of the outer islands of Yap - Fais and Ulithi.  Mark and Diane work diligently to minister to their church family with hopes of one day passing on the ministry to a national pastor and becoming overseer of the churches the Lord has allowed them to plant.  Needless to say, the Zimmer's philosophy is very much in line with our own and we look forward to more projects in ministry with them.

Yap Baptist Church had grown in numbers to a point where they needed a new sanctuary, which we were able to work on while we were there as part of an Eternal Investment we gave them.  We sanded and stained beautiful beams for the ceiling of the church and laid block to build up the walls and frame in the structure.  We attended their weekly services and jumped right in to teach various classes with the adults, children, and teens, as well as a ladies fellowship with Diane baking Christmas cookies, fishing with Mark and the men, and hiking their beautiful village!  We were also able to visit the sister churches on Fais and Ulithi.  We were greeted with such hospitality and love and were overwhelmed with their compassion as they had prepared a huge meal for us.  Pictured right is the church family of Rollence Lug wishing us well and thanking us for the Eternal Investment of the coconut press which supports their pastor.

The Lord's plans are always better than ours, and before our tickets were ever booked, He knew the best time and place for our team to come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are always so blessed by how the Lord knits our hearts together with people who just want to glorify Him and do the work He's asked of them.  A majority of our time on this trip was spent fellowshipping and encouraging one another as we gained lifelong friends on the other side of the world.

We are beyond grateful and humbled by the dedication of the Zimmer's, the men and women they've trained, and the church families on Yap and the outer islands.  We look forward to continuing to build relationships with these dedicated brothers and sisters and cannot wait to see all God does as we join forces with this ministry.  Check out pictures to the right of the finished building!