Dear Jody & Trisha,

What pure joy it was to serve alongside you in Nicaragua!  I was abundantly blessed to be part of such a well-led and organized mission trip.  I am so thankful that the Lord orchestrated this particular trip and that I was a part of his plan.

It was incredible to see how God weaved his power through the lives of our team and the people we were ministering to in Nicaragua.  I quickly noticed the effectiveness of our work and how teaching English opened the door to share our stories of hope and the love of Christ with the lost.  I was overwhelmed by the joy of hearing that many of our students accepted Christ that week!  Sometimes I struggle with truly grasping God’s power, but HE gave me the gift of experiencing his power firsthand in Nicaragua.

Since returning, I have been dwelling on Ephesians 3:20-21.  God really does do far more than ALL we ask or imagine, doesn’t he?  From the blessing of team unity to the salvation of students, God’s power was evident.  I can’t wait to return to the field with you, hopefully sooner than later.  I was so humbled and encouraged by your servant hearts, wisdom, and patience.  Thank you for pouring out your lives for the lost people in Nicaragua and other places in the world.  What a joy to count you as friends.

My prayer is that others will recognize the urgency in taking the gospel to the Nations because the harvest is plentiful indeed…

I hope to partner with you again in the near future!

Your Sister & Friend,

Stephanie

It was truly a pleasure for me to go to Nicaragua with your ministry. I have traveled with several different groups to several different places, but I have never traveled with such an organized ministry that is so focused on meeting people where they are at and being the utmost respectful to their culture. I'm glad that you said you'd take me anywhere because I would love to travel with you guys again!

Lindsey
(university student in Kansas)

Hello WE Learn Team,
We wanted to write and thank you once again for your ministry to our children, to our parents, to our M’s. We were touched by your service, your attitude, your unflagging energy and your genuine love to our M’s. Thank you for all the expense and added issues of bringing our WE Learn request items. My husband was the lucky recipient of a Dallas Cowboys long sleeve T-shirt. The shirt fits great, he wears it with pride. I was thrilled to come back to London and get to make chocolate chip cookies with real pecans and chocolate chips! Funny how those little things can make us so grateful and happy and give us a connection with “home.”
Please pass our thanks on to the church and your team.

In His Strength,

Kaye

From a missionary family who attended the conference in Holzhausen, Germany.

Words cannot describe the joy that I received from this trip! I was truly blessed to take part in this endeavor. God went before me and provided not only financially, but physically, and for my comfort that I do not either deserve or “need.”  He truly blessed our team with His presence and I have made lifetime friendships that will be for eternity! We taught English as a second language by teaching with a curriculum developed by our missionary team leaders Jody and Trisha Kennedy.  
...
Each day I grew closer and closer to my students in relationship and love for them and they with me. Jody had asked the students to ask their teacher to share their story with them and this was a time for each of us teachers to share our testimonies with our students. My students cried when I told them my conversion story. I was actually shocked at their reaction! I remember even Jonathon (Mr. Cool) was even moved and amazed at my story. They all seem to grow very fond of me after this and became very attached to me. I found it extremely difficult to leave them (although I missed my family very much).   Darla - (Mansfield, Texas)

Click here to read Darla’s complete testimony.

Jody and Trisha,

Thank you for the invitation to join your team in Managua.  Your invitation has allowed me to see life from a new, fresh perspective.  It also offered an opportunity to see first hand how the Lord is moving globally.  Thank you for the experience!  Eric - (Fort Worth, Texas)

From Vanya (Belarus) to his teacher

Hello, Craig.
First of all, I want to tell you thanks for your study, and of course for your course.
Your activities compel me look on the other side to the different things. Now I can
say, that my life divide into two parts: before your course and after. Maybe one
month ago I  think that all in life “ because of the money and for money”. But now
I think otherwise. And I really want to tell you thanks for that. Very often in Russian language we use such phrase like [ot du∫i]. In English, I think, that correct translate will be “from all hurt”, or perhaps “because your soul is too wide”. So, I think, that each of your friend do that [ot du∫i]. And it’s really wonderful.

Vanya

From Sergei in Minsk to his teacher:

I'm sorry for the delay with my thank-you-letter.

Some time has gone since You gave us your last English lesson, but I still feel your invisible helping hand.

I'm very glad to have had your English classes and I thank you God for giving me the chance to know You better.
Because I have loved the way you treat people around you. You appear where you're needed, help and go without asking for thank-you-words before the person that got help could recognize anything at all. Only a light feeling that something good happened to him a moment before is still with this person. And this feeling is great.

Thank you, thank you for it.  This is the way that must be. I read about it in the Bible and other books but I couldn't understand how it works. And believe in it was trembling in the air.

You are the person that showed me the way.
Thank you very much for it!

God bless you!

Love you
Sergei

“This was the most organized, well-led, and well executed mission trip I have ever experienced.  I felt like a real contributor.  Almost half of my class accepted Christ.  What a thrill!” Mike (Atlanta, GA)

“This is one of the most effective methods of evangelism I have seen.” – (Pastor in former Soviet Union)

“I’ve been on mission trips of all kinds, but this technique gave me more opportunity to see people saved than any other trips I’ve been part of.” – Don (CPA in Northwest Arkansas)

Jody and Trisha- Thank you for the sweet letter. I cherish every word. It is always an honor to serve along side you. I claimed II Chronicles 20:17 for Bogota, then God showed up in an awesome enabling that I have never known before. I just simply got into position to stand and let God take over. I was very anxious about helping with the music, I know how important it is to the school. But I have never had more fun or felt more at ease while doing something that I was so unqualified to do. God is Good all the time and especially when I know it was not me, but God that did it! Praise His Holy Name! I would follow you two anywhere, and I hope to do just that in the future. I love your pure servant hearts and I thank God for allowing me to know you this side of heaven. I pray for God to continue to bless your ministries. I know He will! I hope to see you soon at Eastside. Blessings and Love, C.L. (Fort Smith, AR)

“This is the hardest work you will ever love.  If you love to see people come to Christ, you’ll love this ministry.”  Bob (retiree from Borger, Texas)