Equipping the Body of Christ to share their faith as a way of life...

January Ministry Report

2012-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Please know that our God is answering your prayers! After the long annual dry spell beginning before Thanksgiving through the beginning of this year, we were thrilled to again be doing what the work that the Lord has called us to do.

We had an amazing month of ministry. We completed a total of 6 MAD Live Events in NY, PA, NC, and SC, equipping 461 people to begin living a lifestyle of personal evangelism. God used these events to draw 16 people to a decision to repent and follow Christ by faith! All praise and glory to our God! We just began collecting video testimonies at the MAD Live Events from people who have been impacted by it. We have seen many people have come up front after the Live Event and share a testimony as to how the Lord used it to impact their lives. However, people are a little nervous about being recorded on video giving the testimony. But we have several so far on our website and will be looking for more as we continue to minister. Check them out. They are under the MAD Live Event tab at www.donsunshine.org . In January I also preached in 3 churches and spoke at a community outreach event in SC. God is good!

An incredible testimony to bless your heart: “Thank you so much for touching my heart with your event at Carolina Memorial. I have always been a typical "Christian"; one who claimed to know Christ but in reality, I didn't have a clue. God blessed my life with a strong, supportive man about 4 months ago and he has helped me to open my heart to God. I didn't know what is was suppose to feel like to be saved or if I would be aware of the moment. However, while I was listening to your words and watching the short video clip, my heart dropped. I can't describe the feeling but I knew at that moment that it was God. He recognized I was ready and He took over. Thank you so much. You don't know how much you impacted my life. I can finally breathe again. Thank you.”

I received this testimony from a teenager who attended the MAD Live Event at a Christian School in York, PA – “Hey Don, so u really inspired the York gang!! Trevor has been handing out Gospels of John. Bryan handed his first one out. As for me, I wasn’t expecting to get into a convo with a girl so there I was today reaching into my pocket. All I had was sports ones and snowboarding . So I’ll just have to find that girl again on the street and talk again. It should go smoother a second time. Till next time!”

Remember! Your prayers and financial support are what make these testimonies happen. THANK YOU!

We have received several checks towards the purchase of a computer for the ministry. The system will be used by Cathy to do all of the accounting, payroll, taxes, donor management, communications and page layout that is done on a regular basis. We’re getting closer to being able to make a purchase, so if you’d like to contribute towards this specific need, we would welcome your donation.

Speaking of donations, we are now just over 54% of our ministry needs being met through our regular financial supporters. There are a total of 48 individuals and churches that currently regularly support us on a monthly basis. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! If you’d like to be a part of our regular support team, we’d love to have you! Any regular amount would be a blessing to us.

An excerpt from Ron Hutchcraft’s “A Word with You”, speaking about Jesus and His disciples: “How could they totally devote themselves to kingdom building? They had to be available, but they had to live somehow. Well, some women it tells us here, went to work, got a pay check and gave it to Jesus and His disciples. Or some had a source of income and said, "Well, part of this will go to keep Jesus and His disciples ministering."

They're pretty invisible in the Bible, but the ministry couldn't have continued without them. Jesus and the disciples would have had to do what they could... squeeze in as much ministry as they could when they weren't working in their off hours. Now, 2,000 years later, some "called" people are still working around the clock to build God's kingdom, just like Jesus and His disciples did. But they're held up - they're supported - by the support beams of people who sacrifice part of what they earned to keep the army on the front lines.

I hope you're in that category of God's unsung heroes. Oh, men may not know your name or the sacrifices you're making. Oh, but be sure God does. You may not feel like your role is important, but believe me like those women who supported Jesus' ministry, you're the foundation...you're the support beams. And it's more important than ever that you check out what you're supporting. Don't give just to charisma, or emotional appeals, or slick packaging. Check it out! Make sure they're proclaiming God's kingdom, not their own. That they make you think about Jesus, not about them. There's nothing more exciting in personal finances than to write a sacrificial check to support the work of Jesus. Not an organization, not a personality, but the work of Jesus. Send it to Jesus!

I think what had motivated those women was that Jesus had so transformed their lives, and they didn't want anybody to miss that opportunity. They wanted others to have the chance they had to experience what only Jesus could do for them. That's the motivation for giving; I want others to get touched by Jesus like I did. And I want to give what I have to help them have the chance I got. It's so rewarding to know that the pay you're earning by today's work gives you resources to invest in the continuing work of Jesus on earth; the greatest cause on the planet! You own a piece of His action.”

ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRIP UPDATE - We have 12 people who have sent in deposits for this year’s Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah. We are in need of several more people to come. If you know of someone who would be interested, please have them contact me ASAP. No experience is necessary and you don’t have to be in any special physical condition to be able to come and enjoy the experience. It is truly the trip of a lifetime! Please let us know ASAP if you have interest.

FEBRUARY SCHEDULE

• Sat, Feb 4 - MAD Live Event - Richfield Mennonite Church, Richfield, PA (in conjunction with WGRC radio)
• Sun, Feb 5 - Give a gospel presentation to several hundred teens at the annual ROCC Super Bowl Event at the NE Bradford High School in Rome, PA
• Fri, Feb 10 - MAD Live Event at the Open Door Christian Academy, Fort Washington, PA
• Sat, Feb 11 - MAD Live Event - Grace Evangelical Free Church, Oak Ridge, NJ
• Sun, Feb 12 - Preach at Calvary Baptist Church, Reading, PA
• Fri, Feb 17 - MAD Live Event (part 1) - Mt. Elon Baptist Church, Hartsville, SC
• Sat. Feb 17 - MAD Live Event - Mechanicsville Baptist Church, Darlington, SC (tentative)
• Sat, Feb 18 - MAD Live Event (part 2) - Mt. Elon Baptist Church, Hartsville, SC
• Sun, Feb 19 - MAD Live Event (part 3) - Mt. Elon Baptist Church, Hartsville, SC
• Sat, Feb 25 - MAD Live Event - Valley Bible Fellowship Church, Lagrangeville, NY

PRAYER REQUESTS

• That we will be outfitted daily in the full armor of God to be able to withstand the devil’s fiery darts
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully wherever we minister – saving souls and equipping the saints
• For continued good health and strength
• For a full schedule and our regular support base to increase
• That those who have attended the Live Event will begin a lifestyle of evangelism
• For our upcoming adventure trips to fill

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

December Ministry Report

2012-01-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Merry Christmas! Our prayers are that you will enjoy an especially blessed Christmas Season, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! As we close out this calendar year and reflect on what the Lord allowed us to be a part of, we are blessed and our hearts are full of thankfulness. God granted us another fruitful year of ministry, with 157 first time decisions for Christ, and countless people impacted by the MAD Live Events and the speaking opportunities that He has given us. Below is a summary of what the Lord did through us in 2011. Rejoice with us!

M.A.D. LIVE EVENTS

In 2011, we completed 41 MAD Live Events in 7 states and Canada, equipping an additional 2,073 people to share their faith as a lifestyle. At these Live Events, we praise the Lord for 111 first time decisions to repent and trust Christ! Overall, we have now completed 275 Live Events in 18 states and Canada, equipping 13,034 people to begin living a lifestyle of evangelism. One quick testimony from a friend in NC: “While I was visiting Ann who received Christ, a Vietnam vet who used to come to the church was having a kidney removed at the VA hospital, but Jim did not make it; he died en route to another hospital. I look back and I'm grateful God gave me the opportunity to lead him to Christ on 10-17-95. Keep training folks to share the good news. IT MATTERS!”

POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE

We have now recruited 3,036 members for the PTL. These members have ordered 43,609 gospels of John to be shared with people. Who knows what the eternal impact of this will be? Praise the Lord!

OTHER MINISTRY

God opened doors for a number of outreach speaking events, and I spoke at 5 Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences in 4 different states. Many, many men were impacted at these events and there were a number of first time commitments to Christ. I was asked to speak at 2 men’s retreats, 2 other events, and I filled the pulpit in 3 churches. We completed 2 Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminars this year as well. I had the opportunity to minister to bikers at Daytona Bike Week in Florida in March, and we completed one motorcycle adventure trip to Tennessee in May.

2012 ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRIP TO UTAH

We have begun receiving deposits for our trip to UT. The dates are June 28 – July 7, 2012. This has been the trip of a lifetime for everyone who has come along. Anyone can go, male or female, alone or with friends or family. Please don’t wait until the last minute to register. We need to know ASAP if you have interest. Again, the flyer and registration materials are on our website.

FINANCIAL NEEDS

Our regular support is now at 54%. We are thankful for this, but it has been a long, hard haul to get here. As about half of our income must come from love offerings, we must have a full schedule. We had a very difficult summer with nothing scheduled and this time of year (Thanksgiving to New Years) is nearly as bad. We have been praying and will continue to pray that God would bring our regular monthly support to 100%. If you are not a regular supporter, would you prayerfully consider regularly supporting us with ANY AMOUNT? Can you afford $5/month? You may feel like $5 or $10 a month is not much, so why send it? You may feel embarrassed because it seems like such a small amount. DON’T BE! I’ll tell you why…because if everyone who believes in what we are doing for the Kingdom committed to just $5 a month, we’d be at 100% easily. Every dollar is important to us as we continue to do the work God has called us to do. Please pray about what God might have you do, listen to what He says and be obedient. You’ll bless us abundantly with whatever He tells you to do to regularly support us! We are thankful that people are responding to this request.

COMPUTER NEED

Cathy has been using a refurbished computer to run the ministry (donor management and communication, accounting, correspondence, payroll and taxes, and other uses) for the past several years. It’s on its last legs and weird things have been happening with it. We are in need of a new system for her to use to do the ministry administration work. We don’t have the funds to purchase one and this is a real need. So we are putting out a plea for any one time gifts to be used to acquire this tool. If you can donate anything, we would appreciate it!

END OF YEAR GIVING

As we near the end of another calendar year, many people find themselves in a position to donate some extra money to charitable organizations for tax purposes. Would you prayerfully consider our ministry? We are in the middle of 2 months with no Live Events, and therefore, no love offerings to live on. We could really use your help!

JANUARY SCHEDULE

• Jan 3 – MAD Live Event – Tidings of Peace Christian School, York, PA
• Jan 7 - MAD Live Event - Campbell Alliance Church, Campbell, NY
• Jan 14 - MAD Live Event with WMHK Radio and St. Andrew’s Evangelical Church, Columbia, SC
• Jan 15 - Preach morning message at St. Andrew’s Evangelical Church, Columbia, SC
• Jan 15 - Speak at Community Outreach Event - St. Andrew’s Evangelical Church, Columbia, SC
• Jan 21 – Tentative MAD Live Event – Thomasville, NC
• Jan 28 - MAD Live Event – First Baptist Church, Bethlehem, PA
PRAYER REQUESTS
• That God will use the 3 ISI Conferences to open at least 10 new doors of ministry in each of the 3 locations, and that God would grant us the exposure that we need to fill our schedule. It is a constant battle to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• For God to provide financially through the current slow time
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up! Pray we reach 100%

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving.

Merry Christmas!

Don and Cathy

November's Praise and Prayer Report

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Share your faith every day as a way of life!

NOVEMBER, 2011

Dear Ministry Partners,

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for! I trust you had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with loved ones and that the food was incredible. We are so blessed….warm, dry homes, possessions, good health and food to eat every day. What if you awoke this morning and only had what you had thanked God for yesterday? Hmmmm. On the Spiritual side, God loved us enough to send His Son to pay our ransom in full, giving those of us who turn from our sins and trust Christ the amazing, undeserved gift of eternal life in Heaven with our Creator. Wow! Cathy and I have the privilege of serving our risen Savior vocationally and impacting people’s eternities. We thank God for this privilege and we thank you for your continued faithful prayers and sacrificial giving of your finances to make a Kingdom investment with eternal rewards.

We had a 3 MAD Live Events on the calendar for this month and unfortunately one was cancelled 5 days before it was to happen. So we completed the other 2 Live Events and were blessed to see 3 more souls added to the Kingdom. I also spoke at the first Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Syracuse. I don’t get paid to speak at these conferences, but they provide much needed exposure of who we are and what we do. About 800 men attended and I had over 120 attend my seminar. Many, many men came up to me afterwards and shared how our Lord used the presentation to impact and change lives. Praise God! One man waited until everyone had left and came up to me with tears in his eyes and told me he was scared about his eternity. He confided he wasn’t a true believer, but what I call a “make believer”. We talked at length and I believe he truly surrendered his life to Christ. What a day! I am praying that the Lord will grant us at least 10 MAD Live Events from each of the 3 Iron Sharpens Iron Conferences that I spoke at in the past 2 months. Will you add this to your prayer list too? I was asked to speak at a “Celebrate Recovery” event in Pottstown on the 26th. There were over a hundred people present and I shared a gospel presentation. God’s Spirit moved in hearts and there were many commitments and re-commitments to follow Christ. I got to pray with one man after it was over as well.

A M.A.D. testimony to share with you this month:

“I work in our church office with the Admin Secretary. We had a woman come to the office to see if she could get some groceries from our food pantry. While I was putting some groceries together I was praying about how the Lord would open the door to speak to her about the Lord. When I went back into the office the other secretary was talking to her about the Lord. I stood aside listening to the conversation. She said she used to go to church but was ambiguous about having a personal relationship with Christ. I remembered what Don Sunshine said when someone did that. I asked her if she would share with us how that happened and how it took place. She didn't have an answer, so we told her that it sounded like she believed in Jesus and that He died on the cross for our sin and about our need for repentance. She said yes she did. We told her then that she needs to take one more step and receive Him. We told her that we didn't think it was a coincidence that she was there and that a decision to receive Christ was in no way a commitment to us or to our church but to Christ alone. She immediately understood and wanted to ask Jesus into her life - we all stood and we prayed with her and she came to faith in Christ! I was bumming because I didn't have any more pocket testaments, but we gave her another piece of literature. She said she had Bibles at home and we encouraged her to read the Book of John. I believe we'll see her come to church!”

MINISTRY MILESTONE REACHED - In November, we reached another milestone. In 275 Live Events, we have now equipped over 13,000 people to share their faith as a lifestyle! All glory and honor and praise to our Lord!

COMPUTER NEED - We are in need of a new computer to run the ministry (donor management and communication, accounting, correspondence, payroll and taxes, graphics design, and other uses). As we are still not fully supported yet, we don’t have the funds to purchase one. So we are putting out a plea for one time gifts to be used to acquire this needed tool. If you can donate towards this need, we would appreciate it!

2012 ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRIP TO UTAH - The dates are set for June 28 – July 7, 2012. This has been the trip of a lifetime for everyone who has come along. We have had lots of interest in this trip, particularly with several fathers and sons. However, anyone can go, male or female, alone or with friends or family. Please don’t wait until the last minute to register. Contact us as soon as you can if you have interest. The flyer and registration materials are on our website.

END OF YEAR GIVING - As we near the end of another calendar year, many people find themselves in a position to donate some extra money to charitable organizations for tax purposes. Would you prayerfully consider our ministry? We are in the middle of 2 months with no Live Events, and therefore, no love offerings to live on. We could really use your help!

*** REGULAR MONTHLY SUPPORTERS NEEDED! *** - We have been praying that God would bring our regular monthly support to 100%. We are not there yet so we continue to pray and trust. If you are not a regular supporter, would you prayerfully consider regularly supporting us with ANY AMOUNT? Can you afford $5/month? You may feel like $5 or $10 a month is not much, so why send it? You may feel embarrassed because it seems like such a small amount. DON’T BE! I’ll tell you why…because if everyone who believes in what we are doing for the Kingdom committed to just $5 a month, we’d be at 100% easily. Every dollar is important to us as we continue to do the work God has called us to do. Please pray about what God might have you do, listen to what He says and be obedient. You’ll bless us abundantly with whatever He tells you to do to regularly support us! We are thankful that people are responding to this request. We’ve received a number of new regular supporters this month and our percentage has now risen to ~54%!

DECEMBER SCHEDULE
• Dec 6 – present a shortened version of the MAD Live Event to a group of (35-75) Christian School Administrators at Lancaster Bible College
• Dec 10 – Don Sunshine Ministries Annual Board Meeting, Williamsport, PA

PRAYER REQUESTS
• That God will use the 3 ISI Conferences to open at least 10 new doors of ministry in each of the 3 locations.
• That He continues to open doors for a full schedule. It is a constant battle to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• For God to provide financially through the upcoming slow time – Thanksgiving – New Year’s
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up! Pray we reach 100%

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us!

Have a blessed, Merry Christmas!

Don and Cathy

A love letter from God

2011-11-15T03:58:00.000-08:00

My child,

You may not know Me but I know everything about you- Psalm 139:1-3
I know when you sit down and when you rise up- Psalm 139:1-3
I am familiar with all your ways- Psalm 139:1-3
Even the hairs of your head are numbered- Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in My image- Genesis 1:27
In Me, you live and move and have your being, for you are My offspring-Acts 17:27-28
I know you even before you were conceived- Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation- Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake for all your days are written in My Book-Psalm 139:15-16
I determine the exact time of your birth, and where you would live- Acts 17:26
You were fearfully and wonderfully made- Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother’s womb- Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born- Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know Me- John 8:41,42,44
I am not distant and angry, but Am the complete expression of love- 1 John 4:16
It is my desire to lavish My love on You- 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are My child and I am your Father- 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could- Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect Father- Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from My hand- James 1:17
I am your provider and I meet all your needs- Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope- Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love- Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts towards you are countless as the sand on the seashore-Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing- Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you- Jeremiah 32:40
For you are My treasured possession- Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all My heart, and with all My soul- Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things- Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek Me with all your heart, you will find me- Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart- Psalm 37:4
For it is I, who gave you those desires- Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine-Ephesians 2:20-21
For I am your greatest encourager- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the father who comforts you in all your troubles- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you- Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart-Isaiah 40:11
One day, I will wipe away every tear from your eyes and I will take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth- Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my Son Jesus- John 17:23
For in Jesus, My love for you is revealed- John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being- Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you- Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of My love for you- 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I love that I might gain your love- Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of My Son Jesus, you receive Me- 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from My love again- Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I will throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen-Luke 15:17
I have always been Father, and will always be Father- Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is...will you be My child?- John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you
Love Your Father in Heaven. God
-Luke 15:11-14

This past weekend

2011-10-31T12:08:00.001-07:00

Had a great weekend of ministry. Although my voice was shot and my throat was getting increasingly sore, the Lord helped me make it through 2 presentations this weekend. About 150 men attended the seminar I did at the Iron Sharpens Iron Men's Conference in Hamburg, NY. 2 men came up to me afterwards and told me that they had given their lives to Christ and were saved. Countless other men approached me in the worship center and at our display table and told me they had rededicated their lives to the Lord at the seminar. Yesterday I presented the MAD Live Event to the congregation at Central Baptist Church in Olean, NY. 2 more people gave their lives to Christ. What a weekend! I am rejoicing in what the Lord did, but now I am more sick than I was over the weekend. Prayers are much appreciated!

Ministry Report for October, 2011

2011-10-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER, 2011

Dear Ministry Partners,

Thank you for following what the Lord is doing through our ministry for Christ. We had a great month of ministry. We are SO HAPPY to have been busy again, doing what the Lord has called us to do. In October, we completed:
• 4 - MAD Live Events (MA, PA, NY)
• 2 – Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences (VA and NY)
• 1 - Walk thru the Bible Old Testament Seminar (NY)
• 1 - Men’s Retreat weekend (PA)
• 1 - Sunday of preaching (PA)

How exciting it was to be used of the Lord to eternally rescue 5 people this month! I was blessed to share a challenge from God’s Word with over 200 men at Iron Sharpens Iron men’s conferences and see the Lord work in hearts. Several men got saved and countless men rededicated their lives to the Lord. In addition, we were blessed to have heard from many of you whom the Lord used us to impact people in October. It just doesn’t get any better than that! All praise, honor and glory to Christ! Some testimonies to share with you this month:

“I handed a co-worker a pocket testament 3 months ago and asked him about it at that time and he didn’t believe anything. At my lunch time I was reading the Bible and he walked by and said, “Are you practicing to be a minister?” I said I was learning about Jesus so he sat down and pulled out a paper with a whole bunch of questions on it. He had been secretly reading my Bible when I wasn’t around. Just goes to show that you never know what will happen when God uses you to spread his seeds around. May God bless all who share His Word.”

“….We bantered back and forth and finally HE opened the door for me! He made an off the cuff remark that some people acted like they were going to live forever....that was my open door! I looked at him and boldly said, I AM going to live forever and so are you. I'm going to heaven and I'd love for you to go with me, do you know where you're going? He stammered and fumbled something about his hoping there was an eternity...and the Holy Spirit threw my mouth in gear and I was given an opportunity to state my case that my hope was in Jesus and that I was CONFIDENT and SURE that there was a heaven and hell and we SHOULD live this live like we are going to live forever because indeed we ARE going to live in one or the other FOREVER! I don't know what all I said but I know that he was listening intently and receiving every word of it. He joked and received all that the Holy Spirit gave me to throw out on the table...when I asked if I might pray with Jim Bob (I'm thinking he might have made that up or was his joking way of fitting into the South) and his wife Nancy for safe travels and that God might reveal to him the Truth of Eternity, he was very, very receptive...he was excited over his little PTL gift and that I endorsed it to him and wrote him a note inside...he promised to read it as soon as they got back to their hotel and said he could hardly wait to get into it...it was a 'God Moment'. The Holy Spirit so convicted me that I MUST witness to this man, I don't know if it was because of his age or that they were traveling and that's always dangerous...but I knew that it was urgent and that I couldn't miss this opportunity. It really felt wonderful to be empowered and the more I do it, the easier it becomes and the more 'urgent' I feel the necessity to not pass up ANY opportunity. God truly has broken my heart for the lost and I have you to thank for that breakthrough in my spiritual journey. God bless you brother and thank you for your empowering ministry...may God continue to use Don Sunshine Miinistries to empower His saints to really and truly be fishers of men.”

POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE MILESTONE REACHED
Last month we reached a milestone with the PTL. We have now recruited over 3,000 members to join the League! These new members have ordered tens of thousands of Gospels of John to be shared with people they meet. We’ll never know the eternal impact of this until we get to heaven. But we’re praising God now for what He has done and is going to do through these people and opportunities.

COMPUTER NEED
Cathy has been using a refurbished computer to run the ministry (donor management and communication, accounting, correspondence, payroll and taxes, and other uses) for the past several years. It’s on its last legs and weird things have been happening with it. We are in need of a new system for her to use to do the ministry work. As we are still raising support, there are no funds to purchase one. So we are putting out a plea for any one time gifts to be used to acquire this needed tool. If you can donate anything, we would appreciate it! The cost of the new system should be about $1,775 plus shipping.

2012 SMOKY MOUNTAINS MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE
We have scheduled our 5th Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure for May 20-24, 2012. We will be staying at the most beautiful and well appointed lodging yet. The flyer and registration forms are on our website for those interested.

2012 ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRIP TO UTAH
The dates are set for June 28 – July 7, 2012. This has been the trip of a lifetime for everyone who has come along. We have had lots of interest in this trip, particularly with several fathers and sons. However, anyone can go, male or female, solo or with friends or family. Please don’t wait until the last minute to register. Contact us as soon as you can if you have interest. Again, the flyer and registration materials are on our website.

As we begin our 4th year of full time ministry for our Savior, we continue to praise the Lord for His faithfulness! We have been praying that God would bring our regular monthly support to 100%. We are not there yet so we continue to pray and trust. If you are not a regular supporter, would you prayerfully consider regularly supporting us with ANY AMOUNT? Can you afford $5/month? You may feel like $5 or $10 a month is not much, so why send it? You may feel embarrassed because it seems like such a small amount. DON’T BE! I’ll tell you why…because if everyone who believes in what we are doing for the Kingdom committed to just $5 a month, we’d be at 100% easily. Every dollar is important to us as we continue to do the work God has called us to do. Please pray about what God might have you do, listen to what He says and be obedient. You’ll bless us abundantly with whatever He tells you to do to regularly support us! We are thankful that people are responding to this request. We’ve received a number of new regular supporters this month and our percentage has now risen to ~53%! Praise God!

NOVEMBER SCHEDULE
• Nov 12 – MAD Live Event - Rhema Life Community Church, Rochester, NY
• Nov 13 – MAD Live Event - Grace Bible Fellowship Church, Reading, PA
• Nov 19 – Speak at Iron Sharpens Iron Conference, Syracuse, NY
• Nov 20 – MAD Live Event - Colchester, CT
• Nov 26 – bring the message at the About Face Ministries Event (a Christ centered recovery group)

PRAYER REQUESTS
• That God continues to open doors for a full schedule. It is a constant battle to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• For God to provide financially through the upcoming slow time – Thanksgiving – New Year’s
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up! Pray we reach 100%

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

The death of Steve Jobs

2011-10-11T11:20:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I worked for Apple for 5 years. What follows is a great perspective on this from Ron Hutchcraft.

The image of a burning candle on an iPad. That's the kind of memorial some folks have come with to honor Steve Jobs after his death this week. How appropriate. He was the inventive genius and innovator marketer who brought the communications revolution from the "geekosphere" to something you could hold in your hand.

Bill Gates has described Steve Jobs' impact as "profound." News anchors are quick to say he "changed the world." Yes, he did. He was always a newsmaker when he walked on the Apple stage to introduce technology's "what's next?".

But now with Steve Jobs' passing, I find myself asking "what's next?" on a much deeper level. What's next on the other side of our last heartbeat, when the obituaries and tributes are for us?

Speaking at a Stanford University commencement, Steve Jobs said, "Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it." So right. A personal expiration date that God alone knows. And God's Book reveals that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27 ). So it's not only death that's inescapable. It's our personal appointment with the God who made us.

And at that point, as Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36 ). Not even all the religion in the world will be enough because being right with God is "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5 ).

I'm feeling a certain sadness today, not just because of one man's death, but because of so many lives that are more wired than ever, but more weary of life than ever. No technology, no amount of Facebook "friends," no exciting new experience or relationship can satisfy the relentless thirst of our empty hearts. There's a reason. "God has set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ). We are forever searching for something that's "ever lasting" in a world where it's all so "never lasting."

When Jesus was talking at a well to a woman whose life was littered with disappointing relationships, He used the well as an example to tell us all how to fill the "eternity" hole in our heart. "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again (and, sure enough, we are). But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13 ).

Jesus can promise life that's "eternal" because He proved He's got it to give. Because His obituary quickly became old news - when He walked out of His grave and conquered what no one could conquer - death. But it was His death that made our "what's next?" nothing to fear. "Christ died for our sins" (Romans 5:8 ) and tore down the wall that will otherwise keep us out of God's heaven - and make our last heartbeat, not the gateway to an awesome eternity, but an awful eternity.

Jesus stepped out of heaven and onto the stage of earth to introduce what only He could - eternal life. And He offers the amazing peace and fulfillment of knowing you are ready to live and ready to die. Whenever and however it comes. So what we do with Him - whether we give ourselves to Him or stubbornly insist on being our god for our life - is immeasurably decisive. Forever.

I accepted Jesus' invitation to "believe in Him" and "have eternal life" (John 3:16 ). So my obituary will not be the end. It's only the beginning.

September Ministry Report

2011-10-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Ministry Partners,

We are so thankful that fall is here! That means our schedule is about to pick up and we’re going to be busy teaching followers of Christ how to live a lifestyle of evangelism. We just finished a rough 3+ months with few teaching opportunities. But God is faithful and we know He will provide and make up for that loss.

During the month of September, God gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with a number of people one on one. I was privileged to present the MAD Live Event to a group of church planters from the Bible Fellowship denomination. Lord willing, this will open some doors for us to minister to these start up congregations at some point in the future. We also traveled back to one of our favorite places, North Carolina, for four days of ministry. We did two MAD Live Events in North Carolina and preached three messages on a Sunday morning while we were there. Here is a really cool testimony that I received from North Carolina:

About a month after the training you did at Mary’s church I received my Bibles from the Pocket Testament League. I put a couple of them in my motorcycle jacket and looked for opportunities daily to share Christ with someone. One Thursday, I met with another pastor for lunch at a McDonald’s in Lexington, NC. Afterwards in the parking lot I was having a couple last words with my friend just before I rode off. While we talked I noticed a man standing behind me. Figuring he just wanted to know about my motorcycle I turned and asked him if I could help him. He said, “I am a couple of dollars short to get lunch. You guys looked like Christians and I wondered if you could help me.” My response was to make him a deal. “I tell you what, I will give money for lunch but only if you let me give you another gift first.” He looked a little suspicious until I explained that the gift was the Gospel of John. The guy, who I’ll call Jim, was in his mid-20s and looked homeless. He began to tell me how everything he does results in a mess. “I can’t do anything right” Jim said. I assured him that I could show him how everything he did would work out for good if he wanted me too. As my pastor friend stood speechless, I walked Jim through the opening section on “Finding the answers to life’s most important questions.” He said he really needed to get things right with God. Still straddling my motorcycle I said “Then why not do it right now? Would you like to pray to receive God’s forgiveness and accept Christ?” He said “Yeah!” What Jim did next shocked me as he took my hand and knelt on the pavement next to my bike. We prayed for his forgiveness, and decision to follow Jesus. After he got up I then instructed him on how he needed to follow through with this by reading John’s Gospel this week and getting involved in a church that could help him grow in Jesus. He said someone had invited him yesterday to a church near his house. “That’s no coincidence, Jim. You need to go there Sunday.” The guy was so thankful he began to leave without getting his money. I asked, “Do you still need a couple of dollars?” “Oh, yeah” he said. After he took the money he wanted to give me a hug. By now I had forgotten how close I was to leaving when he came up. In my excitement I got off the bike only to find the kick stand was up. Didn’t hurt the bike but it did create a lot of laughter. “That’s what it means to drop everything to share Jesus.” I said.

October 1st marks our 3 year anniversary of the start of this ministry. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! What a time we have had as we have watched the Lord work in hearts and lives and provide for our needs. For the past three years we have been praying that God would bring our regular monthly support to 100%. We are not there yet. If you are not a regular supporter, would you prayerfully consider regularly supporting us with ANY AMOUNT? Can you afford $5/month? You may feel like $5 or $10 a month is not much, so why send it? You may feel embarrassed because it seems like such a small amount. DON’T BE! I’ll tell you why…because if everyone who believes in what we are doing for the Kingdom committed to just $5 a month, we’d be at 100% easily. Every dollar is important to us as we continue to do the work God has called us to do. Please pray about what God might have you do, listen to what He says and be obedient. You’ll bless us abundantly with whatever He tells you to do to regularly support us! We are thankful that people are responding to this request. We’ve received a number of new regular supporters this month and our percentage has now risen to ~53%!

Brothers and sisters, our time on earth is short. Jesus is coming back very soon. Help us wake up and equip the church to share their faith as a lifestyle. Please continue to pray for our schedule to fill. Thanks!

OCTOBER SCHEDULE

• Oct 1 - MAD Live Event - Cornerstone Assembly of God; Winchendon, MA
• Oct 2 - MAD Live Event - Paoli Baptist Church; Paoli, PA
• Oct 8 - MAD Live Event - Armor Bible Church, Orchard Park, NY
• Oct 8 - Walk thru the Bible Old Testament Seminar - Alden Mennonite Church, Alden, NY
• Oct 14-15 - Calvary Fellowship Church - Men’s Retreat - Speak 3 times
• Oct 22 - Speak at Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference - Reston, VA
• Oct 23 - Preach 3 messages - Mohn’s Hill EC Church, Reading, PA
• Oct 24 - Logos Bible Software training - East Stroudsburg, PA
• Oct 29 - Speak at Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference - Buffalo, NY
• Oct 30 - MAD Live Event - Central Baptist Church - Olean, NY

PRAYER REQUESTS

• That God continues to open doors for a full schedule. It is getting more and more difficult to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up! Pray we reach 100%

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

August Ministry Report

2011-09-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Share your faith every day as a way of life!

AUGUST, 2011

“Work at telling others the good news, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you”
2 Tim 4:5 (NLT)

Dear Ministry Partners,

Well, summer is almost over. I hope you had a blessed one, enjoying the warm (hot) weather, family, vacations, barbeques, etc. Cathy and I traveled to Colorado to do our one MAD Live Event for this month. There was a possibility that we could have done 2 more MAD Live Events while we were in Colorado, and one more in Missouri on the way out. Unfortunately, the timing and short notice worked against us and we couldn’t do any of these extra events on this trip. These three churches definitely want to host a Live Event, so maybe God will open some doors in the future to go back and do several weekends’ worth. We’ll see!

In Colorado, we stayed with my brother Doug and his wife Diane in their new (1 year old) retirement home in the mountains. Doug and I got to spend some time together ATV riding in the mountains while Cathy and my sister-in-law Diane did some shopping and sightseeing. Doug and I attended a CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) chapter meeting in Florence on the 27th. The Chapter President gave me an opportunity to share the ministry with the 40+ people in attendance. Maybe God will use this to open some new doors of ministry for us in the future. On Sunday we had over 60 people attend the MAD Live Event in Canon City. This was our first MAD Live Event in Colorado, making it 18 states and Canada that God has given us the privilege of ministering in. One lady made a first time decision for Christ, so we are praising God for her. Many people stopped on the way out to share how the training had impacted their lives. Again, praise God! On the way home, Cathy and I stopped at the Creation Museum in Kentucky for some additional Biblical education. What an amazing place! If you get a chance, it should be on your “must see” list.

We are excited that the fall is right around the corner and our schedule will finally start to get busy again. Although September starts out slowly, October is looking good and we’ve booked some Live Events and Walk thru the Bible seminars in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar and April. Additionally, I will be speaking at 4 Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences in October and November. When I spoke at one of these conferences last October, God used it to open new doors of ministry and we booked 9 MAD Live Events as a result of the one seminar. Lord willing, we will have the same or greater success this fall at these 4 Men’s Conferences.

We have scheduled our fall semi-annual Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure. This will be our 5th trip to TN and NC and will be held on September 18-22. We will be staying in some luxurious log homes on the river in Townsend, TN, just outside the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Two of the top ten best motorcycling roads in the USA are right there to enjoy. Our numbers for this trip are very low right now and the trip is in danger of being cancelled. The flyer for the trip is on our website. Please share it with anyone you know who is a motorcyclist and have them contact me ASAP if they are interested.

Your prayers are vital to our success as we work on the front lines. They:
• are what open doors of ministry for us
• provide the financial supporters to allow us to minister full time
• facilitate the moving of God’s Spirit in the hearts of the people we minister to
• give us encouragement to keep doing what God has called us to do
• help us to be ready to fight against Satan and his attempts to halt and/or destroy this ministry
• increase the harvest – nearly 700 people saved so far
• undergird everything we do

Our Don Sunshine Ministries PRAYER CARDS have been printed and are available. We will have them at all of our Live Events, and we will be mailing them to each of our financial supporters and anyone who asks for one. We hope that they will serve as a reminder for you to pray for us every day. We need and appreciate your daily prayers!

October 1st will mark our 3 year anniversary of the start of this ministry. We are grateful to be at 50% of our support raised thus far. For the past three years we have been praying that God would bring us to 100%. If you are not a regular supporter, would you prayerfully consider regularly supporting us with ANY AMOUNT? You may feel like $5 or $10 a month is not much, so why send it? I’ll tell you why…because if everyone who believes in what we are doing for the Kingdom committed to just $5 a month, we’d be at 100%. Every dollar is important to us as we continue to do the work God has called us to do. Please pray about what God might have you do, listen to what He says and be obedient. You’ll bless us abundantly with whatever He tells you to do to support us!

Brothers and sisters, our time on earth is short. Jesus is coming back very soon and we must be busy and not surprised by His coming. Please pray fervently for our schedule to fill.

SEPTEMBER SCHEDULE
• Sept 13 – MAD Live Event for the Bible Fellowship Church Planters, Quakertown, PA
• Sept 18-22 – Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure - TN
• Sept 24 – MAD Live Event – Waxhaw Bible Church; Waxhaw, NC
• Sept 25 – Preach 3 Sunday AM messages – Gray’s Chapel United Methodist Church; Franklinville, NC
• Sept 26 – MAD Live Event (Part 1) – Oak Forest United Methodist Church; Winston-Salem, NC
• Sept 26 – MAD Live Event (Part 2) – Oak Forest United Methodist Church; Winston-Salem, NC
PRAYER REQUESTS
• That God continues to open doors for a full schedule. It is getting more and more difficult to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up! Pray we reach 100%

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us!

Love in Christ,
Don and Cathy

Message on the "dirty little secret"

2011-08-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

This message was preached in our church this past weekend (hurricane Irene weekend). The founder of XXXchurch.com gave the message. Anyone struggling with pornography should watch this and expect deliverance and victory. Check it out.

http://vimeo.com/28349583

July Ministry report

2011-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

“Work at telling others the good news, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you” 2 Thess 4:5 (NLT)

Dear Partners in Ministry,

The verse above is our heart’s desire, and you help us accomplish it through your prayers and sacrificial giving. It has been a tough summer, thus far, with all of the oppressive heat, drought conditions here, and a slow schedule. We completed one MAD Live Event in July. This one was for a small group of 10 Celebrate Recovery folks in Allentown, PA. On the last night, 2 men were drawn by the Father to repentance and faith in Christ! Praise the Lord Almighty!! As these people all attend different churches, Lord willing, new doors of ministry will open. I also had the privilege of filling the pulpit one Sunday morning for Calvary Baptist Church in Reading, PA.

We have been praying and working to fill our fall schedule. It is coming along very slowly. I’ve noticed that it is getting more and more difficult to get churches to commit to a Live Event. Some churches have had one of our events on the schedule, only to call back and cancel due to finances. What is so sad is that we are about as “cheap” as they come when it comes to what we ask for. All we are asking is for travel expenses and a love offering. There are no minimum financial commitments…just travel. On top of this, what could be more important in these final days? Jesus is coming back soon and we need to be busy taking as many people with us to Heaven as we can! People are more concerned than ever about the future and their hearts are open to hear what God has for them. Every believer needs to be sharing their faith in their sphere of influence. Many churches have been giving their attention to lesser things like: running the corporation, raising money, buildings, programs, etc. Jesus told us to “go and make disciples”, yet few people go, therefore there is little numeric church growth. I think most church growth results from “trading sheep” with other churches! Shepherds don’t create sheep…sheep create sheep. This ministry helps to equip people to do just that. We (the church) need to get busy! Cathy and I work to help churches to get back to God’s plan to reach the world.

We have scheduled our fall semi-annual Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure. This will be our 5th trip to TN and NC and will be held on September 18-22. We will be staying in some luxurious log homes on the river in Townsend, TN, just outside the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National park. Two of the top ten best motorcycling roads in the USA are right there to enjoy. The flyer for the trip is on our website. Please share it with anyone you know who is a motorcyclist.

Your prayers:
• are what open doors of ministry for us
• provide the financial supporters to allow us to minister full time
• facilitate the moving of God’s Spirit in the hearts of the people we minister to
• give us encouragement to keep doing what God has called us to do
• help us to be ready to fight against Satan and his attempts to halt and/or destroy this ministry
• increase the harvest – nearly 700 people saved so far
• undergird everything we do

So, we are pleased to announce that we will be having Don Sunshine Ministries PRAYER CARDS printed very soon! They will be available at all of our Live Events, mailed to each of our financial supporters, and anyone who asks for one. We hope that they will serve as a reminder to pray for us daily. We need and appreciate your daily prayers!

Next month we will be doing our first MAD Live Event in the state of Colorado. This will be the 18th state we have had the privilege of ministering in. We will also tentatively be doing a MAD Live Event on the way out in Missouri.

Brothers and sisters, our time on earth is short. Jesus is coming back very soon and we must be busy and not surprised by His coming. Please pray fervently for our schedule to fill.

AUGUST SCHEDULE

• Aug 28 – MAD Live Event – Canon City, CO
• We are working with several pastors in the hopes of doing 2-3 more Live Events in CO and in the one in MO during the trip. These are not yet confirmed, so please pray that these happen.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• For several more bookings to occur in CO next month
• That God continues to open doors for a full fall schedule. It is getting more and more difficult to get churches to commit to bring us in. We need your prayers!
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• Our support is back up to about 50%. With a sparse summer schedule, this puts a financial strain on us. We praise God for continuing to provide…even in tough times. But please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us!

Love in Christ,
Don and Cathy

Lessons from a pencil maker

2011-06-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

This came from GodVine:

Lessons from a Pencil Maker

A pencil maker told the pencil 5 important lessons just before putting it in the box:

1. Everything you do will always leave a mark.
2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.
3. What is important is what is inside of you.
4. In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings which will only make you better.
5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

These 5 lessons can be applied to our own lives. Everything we do has an effect. We can always correct our mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Never get caught up with material things because it's what it's in your heart that counts. We will all face trials and tribulations - they will make us stronger.

And finally, let the Hand that holds you guide you. That is our precious and loving God. =)

Praise and prayer report for May

2011-05-31T05:09:00.000-07:00

MAY, 2011
“Be still and know that I AM”

Dear Partners in Ministry,

In May, we completed 3 MAD Live Events, equipping 234 people to share Christ every day. We praise God for allowing us to be a part of 12 more souls being added to the Kingdom as well. I spoke to 43 men at the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference in Allentown, PA, and we completed our 4th Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure. We had a total of twelve on the trip. This was the first time that I ever had to wear my rain suit for 3 straight days while riding! We rode the 318 curves of the Tail of the Dragon in the rain, and rode up into the soupy fog and clouds on the Cherohala Skyway. This road is one of the most scenic motorcycle roads in the east, but we couldn’t see anything because we were in the clouds. Although we weren’t blessed with the best weather, God gave us safety and a good time anyway, so we’re rejoicing in the Lord’s favor. We also attended the Southern New England Assemblies of God Annual District Conference in hopes of booking some additional Live Events in New England.

God continues to use the MAD Live Event to impact lives. Below are some of the testimonies that were received this month:

“This MAD Event is exciting, motivating, and empowering...I couldn't believe how time flew and how interesting and 'user-friendly' this man made witnessing, evangelism, and being Christ's ambassador sound! We are called to disciple folks and he makes it a 'do-able' task! Don’s whole approach changes mindsets that have frightened folks for years...it's so simple and so amazing...you must experience it!”

“Hey Mr. Sunshine, Just thought I'd touch base since we hadn't talked in a bit. How are things going for you? How's your family doing? Are you still being kept busy by Walk Thru The Bible presentations? I really wanted to thank you for all you've done for me, the M.A.D. training was one of the best things I've ever attended in my life. Because of that training and the strength God's given me, I've been able to really step out of my comfort zone and witness. This Jan. I led a young man to Christ, three weeks later, he led another young man to Christ. I've brought approximately 15 new people to youth group, God's working in wonderful ways. The other week one of my friends came to me asking that I help them because their friend was going to commit suicide. The guy was a junior in a high school nearby, and had recently been caught with drugs again and was under 60 day house arrest. When I first messaged him, his response was this. "Stop it! I know exactly who you are, in fact, my whole school knows who you are! You're that Christian chick whose invited ALL my friends to youth group, they keep changing and I WANT THEM BACK!!! DON"T TALK TO ME!" I replied saying I wouldn't invite him if he didn't wanna come, etc. After much prayer, 4 days later I sent him another message. He replied and we've talked for about 2 weeks. I'm slowly talking to him about God. Please keep him in your prayers. Sorry for the long message, Blessings, Paige”

“I hope this message finds you well. We at Beacon City Church were so awed and inspired by your M.A.D presentation a couple weeks ago! Just some of the feedback we heard was, "It was so powerful to see how his faithfulness and availability put him in a position to be used by God in such a great way. It was the perfect combination of obedience and supernatural power!" and "this was life-changing evangelism training." Thank you for working us into your busy schedule ... I can assure you that it was time well spent. We are fired up to evangelize and change the face of Boston for Jesus!!!!”

“Hello Don I just wanted to let you know that I have handed out about 100 pocket testaments since you were at the Simcoe Gospel Chapel. Out of these that I know of 3 people have accepted Jesus and about 6 others have started going to church regularly (praise God !!!) I just don't hand them out randomly though I make a connection with them in some way and then give them the testament. My sister is now handing them out in Toronto so because of your efforts coming to Simcoe you have now touched that city too. Keep up the good work and may God guide us all and keep us going strong on our quest to spread the word.”

“Having the Pocket Testaments with me and the motivation I received via the Make a Difference training with Don Sunshine has re-energized my lukewarm (ouch!) witness for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I need to do my very best for Him! Thanks for all you do in His precious name.”

We have a very light schedule going forward. Most churches do not want to book anything over the summer although we‘d love to do some Live Events or Walk thru the Bible seminars if anyone is interested. Can you help? Who do you know in leadership? Our heart’s desire is to be ministering 1-2 times every weekend if possible. We are hoping and praying that the Lord will open many doors of ministry for the fall and beyond. Please be praying specifically about filling our schedule.

Thank you for praying for my back and leg issues. While we were in TN, I was treated by my brother, who is a Chiropractor. He also does Clinical and Applied Kinesiology. He found three muscles in my left leg that were “turned off” and some other stuff that he fixed. The net result is that it has helped immensely. Please pray it continues to be well.

We are slowly getting our new home organized. There is still painting to be done. Much still needs to be unpacked, sorted through, and donated to Goodwill. With the light schedule God has given us for the summer, we will hopefully have time to get this done.

JUNE SCHEDULE

• June 5 – MAD Live Event - Berks Bible Church – Shillington, PA
• June 11 – MAD Live Event - Vanguard Christian Church – North Tonawanda, NY
• June 12 – Preach morning message - Vanguard Christian Church – North Tonawanda, NY
• June 20 – MAD Live Event for the summer staff at Pinebrook Bible Conference Center, East Stroudsburg, PA

PRAYER REQUESTS

• That God continues to open doors for a full schedule moving forward. Things are VERY LIGHT in June and beyond.
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to be full time Ambassadors for Christ.
• Praise God that our support level is at 50%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Thank you again for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving. We are grateful that God continues to use us to impact lives for eternity. YOU have a huge part in this for sending us. So rejoice and praise God with us!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

April Prayer and Praise Report

2011-04-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry,

We had another incredible month serving our Lord Jesus Christ. We did a total of 7 MAD Live Events, equipping another 381 people to share their faith as a lifestyle. In addition, God was pleased to use the MAD Live Event to save an additional 54 people this month! All praise, honor and glory to Christ! We have been flooded with testimonies this month as people practice what they’ve been taught. Here are some of the testimonies that I received:

“I am sooooo excited about the dvd's that I received and I've been able to 'replay' your wonderful ministry in my mind. The older I get the harder it seems to be to retain things...but u make this sooo 'user friendly!' I'm an Evangelist at heart and u have convicted me in areas that I wasn't operating to full capacity. I can so relate to your stories as God has 'put goats on my porch' as u put it...not literally but just as obvious to me. Have had so much happen in the past 2 weeks since I've been praying the '3 open prayer.' God is sending opportunity after opportunity...I've become more prepared, example 1. Emergency phone # in my cell cause I cannot take folks home like lost puppies. 2. $5 McDonald's gift cards to hand out 3. Going to order my pocket testaments...and most of all...LOL...I bought me 2 pairs of Spring capri CARGO PANTS!!!! Whenever I share u with others in the church now, I automatically draw out from the cargo pant pocket like drawing a pistol from the holster...LOL” “I'll hush for now cause I know u hear this all the time, but I'm soooo excited about all that you shared and I hope to take a BOATLOAD of folks to heaven with me...and my mission field is, believe it or not, IN THE CHURCH...God let me know this a while back and when u shared the high statistic of unsaved in the church, that simply affirmed God's word to me.”

“Hello Don! My name is Megan and I just attended the M.A.D. event at New Life Bible Fellowship in Oley. I just wanted to say thank you for speaking to our church. I really took away from everything you said and I'm very excited for school tomorrow and to be ready for the doors God will open for me! Because now I have the tools to recognize those opportunities and use them to bring God glory. If you don't remember me, I am the student who sat in the front pew and said I go to Exeter High school and it's the best. I just really want to thank you again because of this weekend my friend has given her entire life to Christ! it wouldn't have happened if she didn't attend the event and if God hadn't spoken to her. But I can't stop praising Him that both those things did happen.”

“I am a director of a group in the Awana kids club ministry and was working with a young lady that was not a Christian trying to memorize a verse from a workbook. She was not very impressed with the work but they get a candy for each section completed in the book. She finished one section and the next was a big search site so I said if you read this pocket testament I will sign any three sections the next week. She read the book and accepted Jesus last Tuesday after reading it(praise the Lord!!!)”

“Hey Don. I hope this message finds you doing well. I just wanted to write and tell you about a cool opportunity that God gave Sydney and me and this past weekend. We were driving through a pretty congested area of town and were behind a truck that had some furniture strapped in its bed. Well while we were following behind them the strap came off and the furniture started to wobble around. I wanted to let them know so I was gonna try to pull next to them and get their attention (we were going about 35 mph). As I pulled up next to them, we came up on a red light (God). I got the lady's attention in the front seat and told her that the strap had come off...then I noticed it was three women in the car (hence the improperly fastened strap). So I said, "Do y'all need some help?" They desperately said yes. So we pulled into a nearby parking lot and I helped them fix their strap and get it all correctly situated. They were really nice and kept complimenting the way I looked and stuff so I was able to build a bridge of comfort between them and myself. When I finished with the strap, they got back into the truck but sat there for a minute. So I quick went back to my car and grabbed a Gospel of John and went back over to their truck. The lady in the passenger seat rolled her window down and I said, "Could I share something with you?" She gladly accepted. So I said, "This book saved my life and I wanted to give it to you so it can make a difference in yours too." She looked at me and said, "You think I need this, don't you?" And I said, "I can just tell that you're a really great person so I don't want to miss the opportunity to tell you about this." She sounded determined to really read through it and she thanked me over and over. I thought you would be encouraged to know that you're making a difference one me at a time. Thanks so much!”

“Hey Mr Sunshine, My name is Tanja. You came to our church in Lexington several weeks ago - Grace Alliance. Just wanted to let you know that My husband has been able to give several of the gospels out. I also have given some. My husband Roger has become a lot bolder than normal. Thank you for coming to our church. My brother Bobby is in the bbq cook off Easter weekend and has asked people to be in prayer and ready to hand out the books of John. I know that you will pray for all who are going and ready to do God's work.”

“Ordering 80 more for our congregation to pass out. This makes 240 we will hand out since Don Sunshine held the Making A Difference seminar. God is really showing the people the everyday opportunities he gives them to rescue people from hell.”

"Don just wanted you to know how much you meant to our men this past weekend. It was great and we want to have you come to church. Went out tonight with one of them and our families. Asked how we could pray with her. She was so open to it, it was unbelievable. Had a great time and most importantly it was because we shared the love of Christ. Thanks for a great weekend."
Cathy and I spent most of the month moving from our rental to a townhouse that we have purchased. We are worn out! We’re getting too old to be moving!!! Lord willing this will be our last place to live in on earth until He takes us home. We also have a praise to share. Our support has now jumped to just over 50%! Wooohooo! We praise God for His faithfulness and we thank you so much for investing in the Kingdom through Don Sunshine Ministries.
MAY SCHEDULE

• May 1 - MAD Live Event - First Baptist Church - Hanover, PA
• May 2 – Lunch meeting with a local Pastor
• May 7 - MAD Live Event - Yates Baptist Church - Yates, NY
• May 14 – Speak at Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference – Allentown, PA
• May 15 - 19 – Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure trip to TN and NC
• May 22 - MAD Live Event – The Bridge – Hamburg, PA
• May 23 - 24 – Southern new England Assembly of God Annual Conference – Sturbridge, MA

As you can see, the schedule is getting light. We only have 2 Live Events scheduled in June and nothing during the summer months. We need your help to get into churches for either MAD Live Events or Walk thru the Bible OT seminars. Who do you know? How can you help? Please be in prayer with us.
PRAYER REQUESTS

• That God continues to open doors for a full schedule moving forward. Things are VER LIGHT in June and beyond.
• For my lower back and left leg to heal. As I stand to teach, my left quad muscle goes numb, then burns like it is on fire. I have to use a stool or collapse on the floor…not good. My lower back may be the cause. It was injured in a serious ATV accident in July of 2006, and has been very painful recently as well.
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to rescue the lost
• Praise God that our support level is at 50%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Love in Christ,

Awesome praise report for March!

2011-04-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

MARCH, 2011
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Thank you for supporting us through your prayers and sacrificial financial giving, your investment in this ministry has allowed us to continue to do what God has called us to do, and we were SO BLESSED to see His hand at work in March. We just completed our busiest and most exciting month ever. We did a total of 10 MAD Live Events in five states. I spoke twice at an Iron sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in NC and twice at the first Southern Baptist Evangelism and Discipleship Conference in Philadelphia. God also allowed me to preach a salvation message at the last night of a local church’s Missions Conference. Three brothers in the Lord and I had the privilege of ministering at Daytona Bike Week again this year. It was such a blessing to me to watch these men sharing the gospel in Daytona. They were such and encouragement to all of the ministry veterans who attended. We saw God do some amazing things through us while we were down there…and there are way too many stories to try to tell here.

In March, we equipped another 483 people to share their faith, and were blessed to see 59 people come to faith in Christ! We were certainly tired after driving a total of about 5,000 miles this month to minister, but pure Holy Spirit adrenaline kept us going! Here’s a photo of the MAD Live Event being taught in Hartsville, SC.

Here are some of the testimonies that we received this month:

"My family and I attended your MAD Live Event at Calvary Fellowship in Wayne, PA this past Saturday. It was a tremendous blessing and encouragement to each one of us. Sunday afternoon, my 14 year old daughter was in her room, reviewing the handout because she wanted to be sure she would remember and be prepared to share Jesus with whomever God wants her to. And this morning, my son made sure that he took Gospel of John tracts with him to school so that he would be prepared to share Jesus. Praise God for your ministry and its impact for His Kingdom."
“Our church recently had Don Sunshine come and share simple ways to share our faith. As a single Mom of four, I am often weary and don't think much about my responsibility to evangelize. Don gave me a renewed sense that God can use me in any circumstance so I want to give this a try.”

“Recently, you were here for a weekend event with Simcoe Gospel Chapel, in Simcoe, Ontario. I am the Associate Pastor at the Chapel and had an experience I wanted to share with you. After your event we began the study of Ron Hutchcraft’s book, A Life That Matters. One of the chapters is about praying the ‘3-open prayer’. I had been doing that and one Monday morning I was going to the Post Office to mail some cards when I ran into a lady I have known for some years. We did the usual ‘Hi, how are you?’ and talked about our kids and such for a time. Then she said to me, ‘Are you still doing that God thing in Simcoe?’ I kind of chuckled and said yes and I was really enjoying it. We spoke for a few more minutes and then said our goodbyes. As I was walking into the Post Office, I realized that I had just missed a pretty obvious open door. So in my mind, I began to ask forgiveness and said to God, ‘Give me another shot at this, Lord.’

As I was walking back to my truck, a man I have known, again for some time, was sitting in his car, so I waved and he rolled his window down so I walked over and said hello. We exchanged our ‘how are you?’ and ‘I am fine,’ when he said to me out of nowhere, ‘Say, are you still doing that God thing?’ I almost fell over. Not only did God give me another shot within a few minutes of my asking but He made sure I would recognize it by using almost the exact same phrase!! Well, I gathered what wits I had left and said I was and began to talk about how this has changed my life. So I then asked him to come some Sunday, in fact I was preaching that next Sunday. But he pushed it off saying, ‘I'm not really into the church thing.’ I told him neither was I but that I really enjoyed meeting with positive and encouraging people each week and we really did have fun. I told him that he would be surprised to see some of the people that came to our church and I know that he would feel welcome. (I did not have a gospel of John with me). He said maybe some other time, and I said I would pray for him. That was where it was left but I couldn't get over how God worked it all out for me! Thought you might enjoy this.”

For the first time, we had to cancel our Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah. We had lots of interest, but apparently not enough takers. Lord willing we’ll be able to do it again next year.

On a personal note, Cathy and I purchased a townhouse just 4 minutes from where we have been renting. It will save us several hundred dollars a month over what we had been paying in rent and it will be nice to be in our own place so we can decorate and do with it as we please. We will be painting and moving during the month of April. The new address is at the bottom of the page. We “know why we are where we are”, so we are anxious to see how the Lord will use us to impact our new neighbors for eternity.

Again, God has blesses us with a great schedule for April. Please especially pray for the two events in bold. Pray for great attendance and that God will use these Live Events to open many doors of ministry in new churches.

APRIL SCHEDULE

• April 1 – MAD Live Event (part 1) – New Life Bible Fellowship Church, Oley, PA
• April 2 – MAD Live Event (part 2) – New Life Bible Fellowship Church, Oley, PA
• April 2 – MAD Live Event – Grace Bible Fellowship Church, Reading, PA
• April 3 – MAD Live Event (part 1) – Real Life Teens – Glad Tidings Assembly of God, West Lawn, PA
• April 6 – MAD Live Event (part 2) – Real Life Teens – Glad Tidings Assembly of God, West Lawn, PA
• April 8-9 – MAD Live Event – Men’s Retreat – Camp Hickory Hill, Varysburg, NY
• April 10 – MAD Live Even t – Phelps Baptist Church, Phelps, NY
• April 13 – MAD Live Event (part 3) – Real Life Teens – Glad Tidings Assembly of God, West Lawn, PA
• April 16 – MAD Live Event – Pastor Presentation – Southern New England Assemblies of God, Sturbridge, MA
• April 17 – MAD Live Event – Beacon City Church, Boston, MA
PRAYER REQUESTS

• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to rescue the lost
• For continued good health and safety as we’ll pile the miles on
• Pray that God continues to bless us with a full schedule moving forward
• Praise God that our support level is at 44%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Love in Christ, Don and Cathy

Update

2011-03-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

After doing a 3,00 mile trip down south to NC, SC, and Fl, I arrived home on Monday the 14th. Cathy and I then left for NC on Friday. We did a MAD Live Event on Saturday, one on Sunday, one on Monday morning and 1/2 of one Monday night. We complete the 4th one tonight, then head home tomorrow. The people down here are incredible....loving, supportive, and servants of Christ in every sense of the word. We have been blessed beyond my ability to explain. Praise God for what He is allowing us to be a part of. We are truly privileged. Thanks for your support!

February, 2011

2011-02-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

We were blessed to have just completed the busiest month in our 2 ½ year history! We had 6 MAD Live Events and 1 Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar scheduled. Unfortunately, we did have to cancel one of the Live Events due to an ice storm which prevented us from making the trip to Buffalo. Aside from that, every weekend had 2 ministry events, and we praise God for blessing us with an even busier March! This past month we trained 272 people to share their faith as a way of life and we were blessed to see 9 more people trust Christ as Savior and Lord.

In March, I will be speaking at the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference in NC and preaching in Holley, NY. In addition, we will be presenting the MAD Live Event 9 times in 4 different states! WHAT A MONTH! Please be in prayer for travel safety, stamina, and for God’s Spirit to powerfully touch and change lives.

Thanks for praying about the doors that were shut that would have allowed us to get in front of large groups of pastors to present our lifestyle evangelism live event. God has answered these prayers and several of these opportunities are now open. In the next few months I will be presenting to pastors in High Point, NC, at a Southern Baptist Evangelism Conference in Philadelphia, and for the Southern New England Assemblies of God. Please pray that our Lord would fill these events with pastors and that the Lord would use this exposure to open many, many new doors of ministry.

Here are some more testimonies for you to praise God for: “I attended a M.A.D. training at our church a couple of weeks ago. We were provided 2 Gospels. I was able to give one to a young lady at the gas hut at a local grocery store. And, then, I had 2 people come to my door doing a survey. I asked them if I could give them something. When they said, "Yes", they stood and let me present the gospel using the first few pages of the gospel booklet! The man said, "What is this, the Bible Belt, or something?" I asked why he said that, and apparently one of my neighbors had given them a gospel booklet too! Praise the LORD! They promised to read them! Thank you!”

“Thank you for following up and your advice. I really enjoyed your event and have already started ministering to the people around me with your little books. They are a great tool and I can’t wait to get more to continue using them. The questions you ask people are very similar to the ones I use in the Awana kids club so it is very easy for me to start talking to adults about Jesus and his story. Today I talked to a co-worker that is and atheist and I saw in his eyes doubt for his beliefs, cool eh ! (Canadian) Thank you for your ministry and don’t you dare ever stop! God bless.”

“Our friend in Alaska was dying of cancer. I couldn’t let him leave this world without sending him a pocket testament with a letter stating that we didn’t want to be in heaven without him. He called after receiving the letter and testament and told my husband that out of all the people that had come to see him and talk to him that the pocket testament was the only thing that made sense to him. Praise the Lord he was saved before he passed away last week and we will see my husband’s best friend again! Thank you!”

“Before I met my girlfriend I was lost and I was in so much trouble and into a lot of very bad stuff like a gang and selling drugs. My girlfriend saved me by giving me a little pocket book and making me see the light. Thanks to my
girlfriend I am saved and I want to help save other people like she is doing right now. Her name is Shannon and I thank God for her coming into my life. If she wouldn’t have saved me I would be dead right now and I thank God for sending her to me and saving me.”

On a personal note, after months of looking for a home to purchase, we found one. Although it’s not exactly what we were hoping for, it is what we can afford. We will be purchasing a townhouse in Wernersville about 4 minutes from where we are currently renting. We will be closing at the end of March and moving during the month of April. I’ll give you the new address in next month’s newsletter.

Please accept our sincere thanks for your prayer and financial support. We couldn’t do this without you! Our support base continues to slowly grow, and occasionally we lose some regular supporters due to the economic times we find ourselves in right now. If you would like to financially partner with us, we welcome your support…large and small because it all adds up in the end. Time is short. We need to rescue as many people as we can and equip the church to do the same thing. Jesus is coming back VERY SOON! Store up your treasure in Heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy it.

Check out this schedule, praise God with us, and please pray for us in March!

MARCH SCHEDULE

• Mar 5 - speak the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference, Southport, NC
• Mar 6 - MAD Live Event – Emmanuel Baptist Church, Hartsville, SC
• Mar 7-11 - Minister to the bikers at Daytona Bike Week, Daytona Beach, FL
• Mar 12 – MAD Live Event - Calvary Church, Jupiter, FL
• Mar 19 – MAD Live Event - Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church, Walnut Cove, NC
• Mar 20 – MAD Live Event - Grace Alliance Church, Lexington, NC
• Mar 21 – MAD Live Event – Pastor Presentation – Sandy Ridge United Methodist Church, High Point, NC
• Mar 21, 22 – MAD Live Event - Sandy Ridge, United Methodist Church, High Point, NC
• Mar 23 – Speak and Promote MAD Live Event – The Bridge, Hamburg, PA
• Mar 26 – MAD Live Event - Calvary Fellowship Church, Wayne, PA
• Mar 27 - Preach Morning Service Message - Cornerstone Church, Holley, NY
• Mar 27 - MAD Live Event - Cornerstone Church, Holley, NY
• Mar 28, 29 – MAD Live Events – “Through Every Door” Southern Baptist Evangelism Conference, Phila, PA
PRAYER REQUESTS

• We have a number of opportunities coming up that could fill our schedule. 3 of these are in BOLD above. Several more will be happening in April. Please pray that the Lord would bring many people out to these events and that new doors of ministry will open.
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to rescue the lost
• For continued good health and safety as well pile the miles on
• Pray that God continues to bless us with a full schedule moving forward
• Praise God that our support level is at 44%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

MAD in Buffalo

2011-02-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

Cathy and I brought our 10 year old granddaughter Maya with us for this weekend of ministry. We first went to High Point Church in Corfu and presented the MAD Live Event to a group there. We had a wonderful time with the people and many came up to me afterwards to express their appreciation and share the impact the material had on their lives. It was great to see Pastor Bobby again.

We then headed to West Seneca to present the Live Event to the folks at Fellowship Wesleyan. Again, the people were amazing, loving, and impacted by what was shared. Many, many people took the time to speak with me at the conclusion and let me know how much it had meant to them. Quite a few said that I had given them a lot to think about. We were blessed and privileged to have had the opportunity to help equip another 115 believers to be lifestyle evangelists. And we praise the Lord for one person who made a first time commitment to repent and trust Christ with their eternal salvation. Maya was a big help to Cathy, helping to set up and tear down our display table. Anytime she wants to come along, she is welcome. She is so precious to be with.

Weekend of ministry

2011-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend of ministry. Saturday we did a Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar in East Smethport, PA. We had 40 people attend. Everyone had a great time learning and laughing as we covered Creation to Christ. The food and the fellowship were wonderful as well. We then traveled to Coudersport, PA to do a MAD Live Event at the Alliance Church on Sunday. We praise God for 3 new decisions for Christ and many, many recommitments from both ministry opportunities.

Ice did me in

2011-02-06T04:36:00.001-08:00

This is the first time weather stopped me from making it to a MAD Live Event. Got up extra early yesterday to drive 6 hours (in good weather) to Kenmore, NY (near Buffalo). Heard we might have some snow + other stuff. Went outside to find everything covered in ice and my elderly neighbor face down on the pavement. I checked on him and he assured me he was OK. I then tried to drive - hoping if I could make it to a major road it would be salted by the state trucks. No such luck. I altered my course hoping to avoid some of the large hills I knew I would have to cross at some point to go north. I got about 4 1/5 miles from home and on a slight downward hill, cars were strewn all over the road and several vehicles were sliding trying to make a U turn to head back to home. I followed suit and made the U turn. As I headed west on Route 422, a car in front of me couldn't make it up the slight incline in the road and slid to the side. As I have on demand 4WD I passed him in the center lane at about 5 MPH and every time I tried to just give it a little gas, I slid to the side of the road. So I idled passed him and made it home. The 9 mile round trip took me 50 minutes, but I was home! I called the pastor to let him know what was going on and left him a message. I waited about 45 minutes for the salt trucks to do their thing and tried again. Although some of the roads were salted,traffic on the 50 MPH road was crawling at about 25 MPH. I realized that I would never make it to Kenmore in time, so I retreated to the safety of our home and as I arrived, the pastor returned my phone call. I explained the problem to him and he graciously understood and commented that, "We live in Buffalo. We're used to weather related cancellations." So we'll be rescheduling for sometime in early fall. Thankful to have made it home safely after 2 attempts! Praise the Lord.

Received this incredible testimony today!

2011-02-04T04:44:00.001-08:00

“Our friend in Alaska was dying of cancer. I couldn't let him leave this world without sending him a pocket testament with a letter stating that we didn't want to be in heaven without him. He called after receiving the letter and testament and told my husband that out of all the people that had come to see him and talk to him that the pocket testament was the only thing that made sense to him. Praise the Lord he was saved before he passed away last week and we will see my husband's best friend again! Thank you!”

Praise God!!!!

January praise and prayer report

2011-01-31T06:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Thank you so much for your continued partnership with us as we serve the King of Kings! Let me start out with a huge praise… We received great news from the IRS this month (how often can someone say that!). Our application to be a tax exempt organization has finally been approved! Praise the Lord!!!! So all of your support is fully tax deductible!

Schedule-wise, 2011 started out rather slowly. We had 2 MAD Live Events and were blessed abundantly by the people in the two churches we ministered in. I spoke at a Men’s Breakfast in Canada with 60 men in attendance, and we had a planning meeting for an evangelism conference with the Southern Baptists in PA/South Jersey. One Live Event was in Avoca, NY, and the other one was in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. We equipped another 219 people to share their faith every day as a way of life, and were blessed to have been used of the Lord to rescue 6 people for eternity. Testimonies came in fast and furious from the church in NY. Here are some of them:

“Our church is still buzzing over the impact your seminar made…testimonies galore of the doors the Lord is opening and how everyone is re-energized to share Christ! It’s really true. People can’t stop talking about it.”

“I had a divine appointment today-- as I’m waiting impatiently for the guy in front of me at the car wash and he continues to add MORE quarters…my neighbor from a few houses down steps out of the adjoining laundry mat and steps over to my car to start talking to me…asks how the family is etc. so I did the same and he starts sharing the tough times he’s been through with job loss and trying to move south…so I told him I’d pray for him as the car wash frees up. I washed the car thinking all the time I’ve got to say more and give him a gospel of John…I drove around the corner to get one from home—I have got to start carrying these things! Anyways as I’m driving back to the carwash he’s driving home—I turned around and pulled in the driveway behind him. I get out and ask how he likes the driveway—he says “I thought that was you that shoveled it for us a couple days ago”—open door—he shares more about his sister who is sick…anyways, long story short he starts telling me about how they haven’t gone to church in a while and his faith isn’t what it needs to be-they’re catholic- I explained that it’s not about church but about Jesus and a relationship with Him…I asked if I could pray right then and he said sure—he had tears in his eyes and said thanks… to be continued…the seed has been planted and I got out of my comfort zone because of some guy who wouldn’t stop putting quarters in the car wash—“

“I don't know if you know me by name, but I attended your Go M.A.D. training today at Avoca Baptist. I wanted to tell you that when I got home at around 4:30 I went down the street and talked to my neighbors about Jesus. Nothing Miraculous happened. The clouds didn't open and shine light all around me. I didn't even feel confident...AT ALL!!! But I did it!! And that is success. Thank you for coming today!!"

“Julie is already talking to her co-workers, Alicia filled out the Pocket Testament form and was looking over the booklets she took this morning. John took a NASCAR one and can’t wait to give it to his brother Jim. And…. So I go to our little corner grocery store last night and start talking to the 20 something cashier about her life…she’s pregnant, has to work, takes care of horses on the side—she just started sharing all this stuff…I told her to be careful with the baby and took my butter home——I drove in the driveway and said what a dope I am—I missed it… well anyways, hopefully my caring attitude was a start that I can build on next time I’m there—I’ll follow up on how she’s doing and give her a booklet. At least I’m starting to see the doors a little more. Thanks for your prayers.”

“Just a quick word . . . I have been reaching out to one of the clean-up crew here at work. I gave him a tract. No response, no questions. The Lord brought to mind praying with them. So I asked if I could pray for him (Mike), and he said yes. Time has passed and I didn't know what, if anything, was going on. Then just a minute ago while I was working late he shows up and asks if I could do him a big favor. It seems his girlfriend's cousin attempted suicide this morning and his life is in the balance. Mike asked if I would pray for him. I did and I will be praying. I'm praying for God's direction as to the next step. Thanks for your instruction from MAD.” A little later, I got his update on the previous testimony: “The young cleaning guy came by another night and told me his girlfriend's cousin had passed. It had been a rough week, he said. Then I mentioned that there was a time I could not have prayed for him. I asked if he knew for sure he would go to heaven when he died. He said no. So I went through the Ron Hutchcraft tract with him. No decision. I did not push to pray. I gave him the tract and told him if he wanted to have his sins forgiven and know about going to heaven he could talk to God anytime. Thanks again for your help!! :-)”

On a personal note, Cathy and I were finally well enough to travel to Virginia to visit our son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter. We had a wonderful 2 day visit and were so blessed to meet the newest member of our family. Her name is Charlotte Grace Sunshine, but she will be called “Charlie”. I know I am partial, but she is a serious cutie! How about it!

We worked very hard this month to fill our upcoming calendar, and to update the MAD Live Event and Iron Sharpens Iron presentations. God has truly blessed these efforts with many bookings in the coming months. In fact, we have never had such a full schedule. In all, we have 23 Live Events scheduled between now and mid-May. Lord willing we’ll continue to fill the calendar. Praise God!

FEBRUARY SCHEDULE

• Feb 3 – 2nd Evangelism Conference Planning Session with the Southern Baptists of PA and South Jersey
• Feb 5 – MAD Live Event- The Bridge, Kenmore, NY
• Feb 12 – Walk thru the Bible Old Testament Seminar, East Smethport, PA
• Feb 13 – MAD Live Event - Coudersport Alliance, Coudersport, PA
• Feb 19 – MAD Live Event – High Point Church, Corfu, NY
• Feb 20 – MAD Live Event – Fellowship Wesleyan Church, West Seneca, NY
• Feb 26 – MAD Live Event – Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, Heuvelton, NY
• Feb 27 - MAD Live Event – New Life Christian Church, Watertown, NY
PRAYER REQUESTS

• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister, savings souls, and equipping the church to rescue the lost
• For continued good health and safety as well pile the miles on
• Pray that God continues to bless us with a full schedule moving forward
• Praise God that our support level is at 44%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For many more regular financial supporters – large and small – it all adds up!

Love in Christ,
Don and Cathy

Jesus thru the eyes of a child

2011-01-29T11:36:00.001-08:00

And Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless
you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
( Matthew 18:3 *NIV )

I have never seen the verse above described better then
through the actions of a three-year-old child in the message
below. This message was sent to me a few days ago by one
of our subscribers. It asks us this important question.
"Do You Know Bailey's Jesus?" In the following message I
could feel the love and it brings tears to my eyes ever time
that I read it. I hope that it will move you as well, and that
you will enjoy it as much as I do.....

"Bailey's Jesus!"

God recently allowed me to see Jesus through the eyes of
someone seeing Him for the first time. Having the advantage of
knowing how the story ends, we can easily forget the cost of our
redemption and the love of our Savior.

Every year we attend a local church pageant which tells the
story of Jesus from His birth through His resurrection. It is
a spectacular event, with live animals and hundreds of cast
members in realistic costumes. The magi enter the huge
auditorium on llamas from the rear, descending the steps in
pomp and majesty. Roman soldiers look huge and menacing
in their costumes and makeup.

Of all the years we have attended, one stands out indelibly in
my heart. It was the year we took our then three-year-old
granddaughter, Bailey, who loves Jesus. She was mesmerized
throughout the entire play, not just watching, but involved as if
she were a player. She watches as Joseph and Mary travel to
the Inn and is thrilled when she sees the baby Jesus in His
mother's arms.

Later when Jesus, on a young donkey, descends the steps
from the back of the auditorium, depicting His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem, Bailey was ecstatic. As he neared our aisle, Bailey
began jumping up and down, screaming, "Jesus, Jesus! There's
Jesus!" Not just saying the words but exclaiming them with every
fiber of her being. She alternated between screaming his name
and hugging us. "It's Jesus. Look!" I thought she might actually
pass out.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Jesus through the eyes of a
child in love with Him, seeing Him for the first time. How like the
blind beggar screaming out in reckless abandon, "Jesus, Jesus!",
afraid he might miss Him, not caring what others thought. This
was so much fun.

Then came the arrest scene. On stage, the soldiers shoved
and slapped Jesus as they moved Him from the Garden of
Gethsemane to Pilate. Bailey responded as if she were in the
crowd of women, with terror and anger. "Stop it!" she screamed.
"Bad soldiers, stop it!" As I watched her reaction, I wished we
had talked to her before the play. "Bailey it's OK. They are just
pretending," but she shouted "They are hurting Jesus! Stop it!"

She stood in her seat reacting to each and every move. People
around us at first smiled at her reaction, thinking "How cute!".
Then they quit smiling and began watching her watch Him. In a
most powerful scene, the soldiers lead Jesus carrying the cross
down the steps of the auditorium from the back. They were
yelling, whipping, and cursing at Jesus, who was bloodied and
beaten. Bailey was now hysterical. "Stop it! Soldiers! Stop it,"
she screamed. She must have been wondering why all these
people did nothing. She then began to cry instead of scream.
"Jesus, Oh, Jesus!" People all around us began to weep as we
all watch this devoted little disciple see her Jesus beaten and
killed as those first century disciples had.

Now going back and forth between her mother's lap and mine
for comfort, she was distraught. I kept saying, "Bailey, it's OK.
Jesus is going to be OK.
These are just people pretending to be soldiers. She looked at
me like I was crazy. In my lap, we talked through the cross and
burial. "Watch, Bailey, watch for Jesus!"

The tomb began to tremble and lightening flashed as the stone
rolled away. A super bowl touchdown cheer couldn't come close
to matching this little one's reaction to the resurrection. "Jesus!
He's OK. Mommy, it's Jesus!" " It's Jesus!"

I prayed that she wasn't going to be traumatized by this event,
but that she would remember it. I shall never forget it. I shall
never forget seeing Jesus' suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection
through the eyes of an innocent child.

Following the pageant the actors all assembled in the foyer to
be greeted by the audience. As we passed by some of the
soldiers Bailey screamed out, "Bad soldier, don't you hurt
Jesus." The actor who portrayed Jesus was some distance away
surrounded by well-wishers and friends. Bailey broke away from
us and ran toward Him, wrapping herself around His legs, holding
on for dear life. He hugged her and said, "Jesus loves you." He
patted her to go away. She wouldn't let go. She kept clinging to
Him, laughing and calling His name. She wasn't about to let go
of her Jesus.

I think God in heaven stopped what ever was going on that day
and made all the angels watch Bailey. "Now, look there! You
see what I meant when I said; "Let the little children come
to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
heaven belongs to such as these." Amen!
( Matthew 19:14 )

1st Weekend of Ministry in 2011

2011-01-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

I was invited to return to Avoca Baptist Church to do a MAD Live Event for eh church. I has been there almost 5 years ago when the MAD Live Event was in its infancy. We conducted the event and had 112 people finish it with us. The congregation was without a doubt, the most responsive one I have ever been in front of. We praise God that 6 people made commitments to repent and trust Christ with their eternal salvation. While I was on my way home, I received an email from a teen who had already shared Christ with someone! Here's a portion of what she said, " I don't know if you know me by name, but I attended your Go M.A.D. training today at Avoca Baptist. I wanted to tell you that when I got home at around 4:30 I went down the street and talked to my neighbors about Jesus. Nothing Miraculous happened. The clouds didn't open and shine light all around me. I didn't even feel confident...AT ALL!!! But I did it!! And that is success. Thank you for coming today!!"

Praise God! He is awesome! I look forward to hearing many more stories from people who attended.

Have a blessed day!

Don

Happy New Year Everyone!

2011-01-05T19:42:00.001-08:00

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God!'

Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world. (It's worth a try!) 'One Nation Under God!'

December

2010-12-15T20:03:00.001-08:00

A few updates: Got a Mac for the ministry presentations. Created a new MAD Live Event presentation and an Iron Sharpens Iron presentation that I plan on using at least 4 times in the coming year to challenge the men who attend the conference. Was able to convert all of the audio and video files to work on the Mac, That was critical.

Got sick last Friday night. Spent all of Saturday and Sunday in bed with chills, fever, and "run over by a truck" kind of pain. It even hurt to raise my eyebrows. Sunday night I developed a cough which continues to hang on. I need to to go away quickly as our daughter-in-law is pregnant and being induced tomorrow. Can't go down unless I am better and Cathy doesn't catch whatever I had.

Trying to fill a VERY light schedule for January. February and March are well booked.

Thanks for your prayers and financial support. Merry Christmas!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Great interview with Rick Warren

2010-12-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to
ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

Merry Christmas and End of year report

2010-12-06T10:45:00.001-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Merry Christmas! I love saying that! Our hearts are full as we reflect on all the Lord did through this ministry in 2010. As I said last month, December and the summer are always difficult times for the ministry as churches are reluctant (at best) to schedule a Live Event while a good portion of the congregation is busy or away. So at the end of the year it makes perfect sense to look back at another calendar year of ministry, and rejoice at the goodness of the Lord. YOU have made it possible for Cathy and me to minister full time and impact as many people as we can for eternity. We can’t do this without your sacrificial giving and prayers. Thank you! Your rewards await you in Heaven.

If I could, I would book 2 MAD Live Events every weekend of the year. But the Lord hasn’t opened those doors yet. Each and every time I present, I am privileged to see the Holy Spirit grab hearts and change people for all of eternity. How could I ever tire of watching Him work through me? I am looking forward to the day when our schedule will be so full that additional presenters will be needed. I feel like we are so close to seeing God explode this ministry so we’ll be so busy we won’t know what to do. Pray with us that this happens soon!

M.A.D. LIVE EVENTS
In 2010, we completed 34 MAD Live Events in 9 different states. We equipped 2,052 people to share their faith as a way of life, and we were privileged to have been a part of 146 people coming repentance and faith in Jesus Christ! Praise God! If we go back to when I first began teaching this material, we have completed 234 Live Events is 15 states and Canada. 10,861 have been trained to share their faith and 578 people have to come to a decision to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. To God be all the glory!

POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE
As you know, my favorite evangelism tools are the Gospels of John from the Pocket Testament League. As an authorized speaker for the Pocket Testament League, we have recruited 2,408 members, who have ordered 21,037 gospels of John to be distributed as God connects them with other people. We’ll never know the impact of this until we reach Heaven.

MOTORCYCLING
I had the opportunity to minister to bikers at Daytona Bike Week in Florida in March, and I was asked to share a gospel presentation at a Biker blessing and outreach at my old church in NJ in August. We also completed two motorcycle adventure trips in 2010. One went to Tennessee in the spring and the other was to New Hampshire in October.

ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRIP TO UTAH
We did our annual Ultimate Adventure Trip to Utah during the summer, and God saved one of the ladies on our first night. The other ladies on the trip spent hours each night beginning to disciple her. After returning home, we were also used of the Lord to help lead her husband to Christ. We already have our dates for our 2011 trip. If you’re interested in going, please let us know ASAP. No experience is necessary – high school age teens through adults are welcome.

OTHER MINISTRY
I filled the pulpit in a number of churches, spoke at 2 Missions Conferences, taught several Sunday School classes, and spoke at a couple of youth retreats/outreach events during the year. I was trained and certified as a Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar presenter, and was able to complete 3 of these seminars during the year. God opened the doors for me to do a seminar at the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hamburg, NY. What a blessing that was, and we booked a number of Live Events as a result of presenting there. We’re looking forward to doing more of them in 2011.

SUPPORT
Our ministry financial support went from 25% to 40%, and we are so thankful for that. We are praying the remainder of the support will come through soon.

CATHY’S PART
Cathy continues to do her stellar job of handling the finances, income taxes, payroll, receipts, correspondence, booking our travel arrangements, and running the table at the Live Events. I couldn’t do this without her.

FAMILY STUFF
On a personal note, my Mom went home to be with her Lord on October 1st. Adele Marie Sunshine was 94 years old and an amazing woman. We look forward to seeing her again in glory! We also have a new granddaughter coming into this world any day now. Charlotte Grace Sunshine (aka Charlie) will be born to John and Jill Sunshine, Lord willing in the next week. (just in time for the 2010 year tax deduction).

MONTHLY SUPPORT MADE EASIER!
You can now donate on the Internet using PayPal. Simply go to our website and click on the “Support/About us” link. Additionally, a number of people have asked if we could arrange for a monthly withdrawal from their checking or savings account to support our ministry. We are pleased to announce that you can now support us monthly using ACH. No more envelopes, response cards, stamps, or trying to remember to send us your support check each month. The last page of this report is a form that needs to be completed and mailed back to us. Your bank with notify you each month as the prescribed amount is withdrawn from your account and deposited in our ministry account. You can even choose either the 1st or the 15th of the month. Let us know if you have any questions. This makes it easier than ever to regularly contribute to our work for Christ.

JANUARY SCHEDULE
• Dec 31 – Share the gospel at a teen outreach event in Leesport, PA
• Jan 9 – MAD Live Event – Avoca Baptist Church, Avoca, NY
• Jan 16 – MAD Live Event – New Life Christian Church, Watertown, NY (snow country)
• Jan 22 – Walk thru the Bible Old Testament Seminar – Williamson, NY
• Jan 29 – Speak at Men’s Breakfast – Simcoa Gospel Chapel, Simcoa, Canada
• Jan 30 - MAD Live Event – Simcoa Gospel Chapel, Simcoa, Canada
PRAYER REQUESTS
• That Satan would be defeated in his efforts to keep us out of churches. Pray that these presentations for the decision making pastors will get back on the schedule and happen.
• Pray that our MAD and Walk thru schedules will fill so we can continue to minister full time. Right now 60% of our income comes from the love offerings that we get at our live events. When we are not busy, it’s hard to make a living and run a ministry.
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level is at 40%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Rejoicing!

2010-12-06T10:41:00.001-08:00

Hi,

We've surpassed 44% of our financial support needs being met. We are so thankful to the Lord for His provision through His people! Also, we now make it easier than ever to support this ministry for Christ. We have ACH capability so each month a prescribed amount of support can be transferred from your checking or savings account to our ministry account each month. No more envelopes, no more stamps, no more forgetting! You may also choose to donate through PayPal. PayPal contributions must be done on our website.

Merry Christmas to all!

Blessings...

Don and Cathy

November praise and prayer report

2010-11-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

“…Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Each November Americans, and particularly “Christian Americans”, take some time to thank our God for His many blessings on our lives. We have been forgiven of our sins and have the assurance of spending eternity with our Creator. We live in a free country where we can worship openly, without fear of being killed for our faith. We live as “rich” people by comparison to most of the world standards. We are truly blessed! Cathy and I also are blessed to serve our Savior full time, rescuing the lost and equipping the church to do the same. We are thankful for each and every one of you who pray for us daily, and sacrificially give of your finances so this work for Christ may continue. We thank God for you, and for your support.

We were in PA, NC, MO, and KS this past month ministering…4,068 miles of windshield time! We did one Walk thru the Bible seminar is Wellsboro, PA, two MAD Live Events is NC, and one in Missouri. I also had the opportunity to speak in Missouri, do a Sunday School Class and preach on a Sunday morning in Kansas. This month we were blessed to have been a part of 21 people repenting and surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ, and equipping another 147 people to share their faith in Christ as a way of life. We are truly blessed!

Some testimonies for you!! Here is a quote that I received from a man who attended the MAD Live Event in October in Rochester, NY:

“Your presentation had quite an impact on a friend at Bethel. He is a teacher at a local public high school and since he heard you he has been sharing with everyone. He gave the message this past Sunday at Bethel and about 20 teachers and staff that he invited came to hear him preach and give the gospel.” There’s a whole lot more to this story. Just know that God is doing AMAZING things in this school. Praise the Lord!

Here’s one from a lady in KS after I preached the Sunday morning message:

“Dear Mr. Sunshine - First of all, I want to thank you for coming to speak to us at FBC yesterday. I was interested in hearing you speak, but was unable to attend your conference over the weekend, so I was glad to have the chance on Sunday morning. I have been a Christian since I was a kid, but have lately become more convicted of the importance living for Christ fully. The Lord had been working hard on my heart all last week, and I had reached a point of surrendering totally to Him and turning loose of some things that have been holding me back for a long, long, time. Your challenging sermon was just the clincher I needed to draw the line in the sand, and I have truly rededicated my life to Him! Thanks so much for your passion, commitment, and most of all uncompromising stance on the truth of the gospel and the absolute sufficiency of Scripture as the basis for all of life…Thanks again for your timely message. Please know that it made a difference and has already changed lives in our little Kansas town.” Praise the Lord again! Isn’t God good?

With all of the Christmas programs, celebrations, and busyness of the season, it is next to impossible to find any churches interested in hosting a MAD Live Event in December. So each December we reflect on what the Lord did through this ministry during the year, and we plan for a busy New Year. Our December letter will summarize and provide some ministry statistics of all that God did, so you can rejoice with us and pray for even greater harvests and opportunities in 2011.

We are thankful that our support is at ~40%. God has faithfully provided the extra income that we need through the love offerings that we receive at the MAD Live Events. With no Live Events in December, we are missing the necessary love offerings that we need to pay the bills. We have seen the faithfulness of the Lord the past 2 Decembers, as He moved in people’s hearts to give extra to keep us afloat. What a blessing it’s been to see Him provide! So if you’re looking for a year end deduction, we would be blessed if you’d consider “Don Sunshine Ministries” in your plans. Below is an excerpt from a letter that a good friend and fellow full time vocational servant wrote on our behalf:

“In this age of “it’s all about me” “Christianity,” is it valuable…even critical…to have someone like Don training teens and adults in effective, Christ-honoring evangelism? In fact, is there any other investment more valued? Will you pray and think about standing with the Sunshine’s in order to ensure the continuance of their ministry? If you are already giving, could you increase your giving at least a bit? If you are giving occasionally, could you contemplate giving monthly that the Sunshines might better budget?”

MONTHLY SUPPORT MADE EASIER!

You can now donate on the Internet using PayPal . Simply go to our website and click on the “Support/About us” link. Additionally, a number of people have asked if we could arrange for a monthly withdrawal from their checking or savings account to support our ministry. We are pleased to announce that you can now support us monthly using ACH. No more envelopes, response cards, stamps, or trying to remember to send us your support check each month. The last page of this report is a form that needs to be completed and mailed back to us. Your bank with notify you each month as the prescribed amount is withdrawn from your account and deposited in our ministry account. You can even choose either the 1st or the 15th of the month. Let us know if you have any questions. This makes it easier than ever to regularly contribute to our work for Christ.

On a personal note, our son John, and his wife Jill are expecting their first child in early December. Her name will be Charlotte Grace Sunshine, and she will be called “Charlie”. She’ll be our 4th grandchild and we are very excited for them!

Prayer Requests:

• That Satan would be defeated in his efforts to keep us out of churches. Pray that these presentations for the decision making pastors will get back on the schedule and happen.
• Pray that our MAD and Walk thru schedules will fill so we can continue to minister full time. Right now 60% of our income comes from the love offerings that we get at our live events. When we are not busy, it’s hard to make a living and run a ministry.
• For the final approval of the 501(C)(3) paperwork by the IRS
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level is at 40%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!

Love in Christ,
Don and Cathy

The Word

2010-11-16T04:57:00.000-08:00

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water."
The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was 'impossible to carry water in a basket,' and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" the old man said. "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. "Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out."

That is the work of God in our lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day, and remind a friend by sharing this story.

Have a great holiday and remember who it is all about!!!

God continues to work in NC

2010-11-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

Cathy and I headed to NC on Wednesday to be in Franklin, NC early enough on Thursday to set up for a MAD Live Event at the Trimont Christian Academy, which we would be doing on Friday. I hadn’t been sleeping well as I had caught a cold and was very congested throughout the night. So I prayed I’d be able to make it through the next 2 MAD Live Events with some energy and a voice that would hold up. After set up and testing of the technological stuff, we were treated to a very nice meal at a local restaurant by the Principal Bob, his wife Nancy, and their 8 year old daughter Sarah. It was a great time of fellowship and the food was very good.

After a decent night’s rest (thanks to NyQuil) we went to the school. There were about 40 students from 4th through 12th grades at the Live Event. One local pastor also attended. I presented the material and when it was over, the students completed the evaluation forms, which tell us what they thought about the seminar and if they had made any commitments to Christ. For some reason, only about half of the students turned them in. We received about 20 back and out of the 20 there were 9 first time decisions to repent and surrender their lives to Christ! Praise God! He is awesome! We hope that the Principal can get the outstanding 20 evaluation forms back so we can see what the Lord had done.

Cathy and I then drove about 250 miles north to the High Point, NC area. Once we arrived, we met Pastor Jeff at the Sandy Ridge Alliance Church and set up for the Saturday seminar. Again, we had a decent night’s rest and there were 38 people including several church pastors who attended the Live Event. We completed the Live Event and were blessed to see another 2 people come to the Lord for salvation! God is good and we are so privileged to be serving Him full time.

So the weekend of ministry equipped another ~80 people to share their faith and another 11 people had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All praise and Glory to Christ!

I will be leaving for St. Joseph, MO on Wednesday. I will be speaking on Friday night, doing a MAD Live Event on Saturday, and speaking at a local church on Sunday. Please keep me in your prayers as I travel – it’s about an 18 hour ride, and that my health improves significantly before the weekend on ministry. Thanks!

Walk thru the Bible in Wellsboro

2010-11-08T19:51:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we were blessed to present the WTB Old Testament seminar at the First Baptist Church in Wellsboro, PA. It was great to be back in Tioga County. There were 53 people present and we had a great time! At the conclusion, 3 people had indicated on their evaluation forms that they had repented and surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord!

Also, we have been updated our support spreadsheet and we are pleased to say that we have reached ~40%! Thank you to each of you who have partnered with us to make this ministry possible. You share the eternal rewards of our labor for the Savior. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Wow - what a weekend!

2010-10-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

I am still recovering from an amazing weekend of ministry. I drove to Hamburg, NY (near Buffalo) to participate in my first Iron Sharpens Iron Conference as a speaker and exhibitor. I drove the ~6 hours up on Friday and set up my table. The church graciously allowed me to spend the night in their “first responder's” house on the property. The room was comfortable and after tweaking my presentation for Saturday, I went to bed early. At about 1:30 AM, the smoke detector started to beep and say, “Battery is low. Please change the battery”. This happened every minute or so until I heard the man living in the house slide a chair across the floor. Then there was a crunching sound and the beeping and warning ceased. Then I began hearing a mouse in the wall chewing on a wall stud…crunch, crunch, crunch. I have heard this years ago when we owned a cabin the mountains so I knew exactly what it was. I walked around the room a few times and each time I did the chewing stopped. But every time I went back to bed it started again! So I finally fell asleep and was up just before 6 AM to shower and walk over to the church.

People began arriving at about 7:30 AM and the day began. ISI had some great keynote speakers and each of the 9 seminar speakers had 45 seconds to share what our seminar content was with the 700+ men in attendance. The seminar began at 10:45 and my room was standing room only. Men had filled the chairs, were sitting on the floor along the wall, and they had even pulled chairs up outside in the atrium to listen. I wasn't sure how long my message was going to be, so I asked a friend named Charlie to be prepared to share some things from his heart. Charlie is a former Marine whose life was impacted by what I shared at a men’s retreat 14 months ago. He is on fire for Jesus. I finished much earlier than I had hoped, so I asked Charlie to share how the MAD Live Event had changed his life. In the power of the Holy Spirit he preached it! When he finished the men jumped to their feet and gave Jesus a standing ovation. I was speechless. The rest of the day was spent at my table speaking with men and I thank God for 3 MAD Live Event bookings and the hope of many more from this event.

I left Hamburg at about 5:30 PM and drove home, arriving just before midnight. Cathy and I awoke on Sunday and drove 5 miles to the Mohn’s Hill EC Church to do part 2 of the MAD Live Event. I did the session and gave a short gospel presentation and invitation at the end. Several people mentioned that they had recommitted their life to Christ at the service. We went home for the afternoon. I met a friend and we took a walk in the woods of some property that we now have permission to hunt on. After returning home, I took a short nap to be refreshed for the 3rd MAD session that evening.

We had 111 people at the church for session 3. The feedback from the people was amazing and they were very generous with their love offering for us. 4 people indicated that they had repented and trusted Christ with their eternal salvation at this session. One woman came up to me with her lip trembling and tears flowing from her eyes. She tearfully told me that her adult son had surrendered to Christ during the invitation. She said she had been praying for him for years. I walked into the sanctuary and he was walking towards me with tears in his eyes. He’s a big guy and he opened his arms and wrapped them around me. As he hugged me I asked him what happened to him and he said he got saved. As he cried on my shoulders I kept saying “praise God, praise God” and I shared more details of what had just happened in heaven as he repented and trusted Christ. We must have hugged and wept for 2 minutes as the rejoicing was happening in Heaven. Wow! A short time later, another young man came up to me and hugged me with tears in his eyes. He thanked me because his life and eternity had changed as a result of the session. What can I say? All glory to God! What a weekend.

Some redneck church humor

2010-10-18T05:47:00.001-07:00

1. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

2. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
People ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch 'em.

3. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
When the pastor says, "I'd like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering" and five guys and two women stand up.

4. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
Opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.

5. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if...
A member of the church requests to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of". (Love it!)

6. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The choir is known as the "OK Chorale".

7. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
In a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.

8. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
People think "rapture" is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

9. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The baptismal pool is a #2 galvanized "Wheeling" washtub.

10. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The choir robes were donated by (and embroidered with the logo from) Billy Bob's Barbecue Stand.

11. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The collection plates are really hubcaps from a '56 Chevy.

12. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ...
Instead of a bell you are called to service by a duck call.

13. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The minister and his wife drive matching pickup trucks.

14. You Know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The communion wine is Boone's Farm "Tickled Pink".

15. You know You're in a Redneck Church if ....
The final words of the benediction are, "Y'all come back now, Ya hear".

God Bless and don't fergit ta say yer prayers

Weekend of ministry and changed lives

2010-10-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Cathy and I drove to Bath, NY on Friday night and did our 2nd Walk thru the Bible OT seminar on Saturday morning. 56 people attended and 2 people repented and trusted Christ at the seminar!

We then drive home and on Sunday morning I was asked to come to new Life Bible Fellowship Church in Oley, PA to speak at their Missions Sunday. I was asked o speak to the combined Junior and Senior High Sunday School classes. There were about 70 teens there plus adults. The Holy Spirit was present as I shared what the Lord laid on my heart. As I stood at the front and spoke, I could see conviction on the faces of many of the teens in the room. I ended with a gospel presentation and invitation. I spoke with a number of teens afterward who were impacted by the Holy Spirit, and quite a few parents who expressed their sentiments and excitement over the message. Go to God be the Glory! I was also asked to stay for lunch and speak to a couple of small groups. I shared about our ministry for Christ and some stories and they were fired up to go to the scheduled MAD Live Event coming in March.
I went home and took a short nap before we went to our daughter’s to celebrate Landon’s 2nd birthday. I left a little early to go to a local church to set up for session 1 of the MAD Live Event. We had about 85 people attend session 1 and we’ll complete it next week on Sunday.

Then I returned home and received a phone call from my next door neighbor Lisa. She told me that she had gone to Glad Tidings for Church and the evangelist on staff was speaking. Went the invitation was given, she went down front to trust Christ! 10 months of praying, planting the seed, watering it many, many times had finally resulted in God saving our neighbor. Praise the Lord! Cathy and I ran next door to hug her and welcome her to the Family of God. Isn’t God great!

Road warriors

2010-10-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

I thought I would catch you up on what’s been happening. Cathy and I headed to NH on Friday, October 1st. We did a MAD Live Event at the True Memorial Baptist Church in Rochester, NH on Saturday. This church is considering supporting us as part of their missions program. On Sunday we shared our testimonies during Sunday School, I shared a message during the morning worship service, and we came back for the evening service to share more about the ministry and answer questions.

That night, our group arrived for the first New Hampshire Motorcycle Adventure. We had an amazing experience at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center where we were staying. They prepared delicious meals for our group and just plain loved to serve us. We spent two days riding in the northern NH “notches” where autumn colors were in full color. It was spectacular and a wonderful experience for all.

On a personal note, my Mom went home to be with her Savior on October 2nd at the age of 94. The memorial service was scheduled for Friday night, October 8th in Tennessee. So Cathy and I made the 10 hour journey home on Wednesday to prepare for the 11 hour trip on Thursday.

We made the trek to Tennessee on Thursday and met up with all of my brothers and their families. I have 4 brothers and one sister, and we all live in different states. My brothers and I did the memorial service and shared some family history and memories of my Mom. It was a difficult time emotionally, but we are at peace as to where she is.

On Saturday morning Cathy and I did the 11 hour trip to VA to help our son John move into their new and bigger apartment. He and his wife Jill are expecting their first child in early December. She will be named Charlotte Grace and will be called Charlie.

We’ll be returning home on Wednesday and preparing to head to Bath, NY for a Walk thru seminar on Saturday and a MAD Live Event on Sunday back in PA.
Thanks again for your prayers and financial support. YOU make this ministry possible.

NY...NY

2010-09-27T13:05:00.001-07:00

Friday I drove to Lockport, NY and spend the night at my friend Kevin Wing's new home. What a beautiful place! Kevin attended one of the Ultimate Adventure trips to Utah and has hosted us for a MAD Live Event in the past. On Saturday, I did my first Walk thru the Bible OT seminar at his church. We had about 35 people attend and we had a great time learning together. I then met with another UA grad named Don and we spent some time together before I had to head to Rochester that night.

In Rochester, I met two couples for dinner. The couples were asking me family questions, and I had just finished telling them about John and Jill and our new grandson coming in December. I mentioned that her name was going to be Charlotte, but that they were going to call her Charlie. Just then our server arrived. His name was Josh. I asked how we could pray for him and he said we could pray for his kids. The oldest one was Jackson and the younger one was name Charlotte, but they call her Charlie!!!! We all burst out laughing. We had an opportunity to minister to the server and share a gospel of John with him.

The church put me up at the Hyatt in downtown Rochester as it was very close to the church. This was mucho fancy for my tastes and you'd think that for the price, you should get a good night's rest. Well, at 2:20 AM, someone started banging on the soda machine which was 2 doors away from my room. After about 20 raps I called security to make him stop. The problem was I couldn't fall back asleep. I dozed until about 6 and then got up and got ready for ministry. We set up in the church (Bethel Chrsitian Fellowship) and did part 1 of the MAD Live Event for the 8:30 service, part 2 for the 10:30 service, broke for lunch and finished up beginning at 2 PM. I was running on pure adrenaline! What a great bunch of people. I was pretty much swarmed on at the table with questions and stories. I left at about 5 PM and began the 300 mile ride home, fully expecting to need a nap along the way, but I made it home with napping. I praise God I get to do what I do for Him. I am anticipating God to use these people in many ways to rescue the lost.

Ministering in PA

2010-09-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I finished the last of 2 MAD Live Event sessions at Abundant Life Church in Birdsboro. Lots of great feedback and people are moticated and equipped to begins sharing their faith as a way of life.

On Saturday we had a Walk thru seminar booked, but not enough people signed up to do it, so we're postponing it until January. Our hopes are that with some more time to promote it we'll get the minimum number needed to do it.

On Sunday I was asked to come to Wayne, PA to speak during the morning service. I was to give a preview of the MAD Live Event that I will be doing there in 3 weeks and preach a message. My message went over on the allotted time but no one seemed to mind. After the service I stayed for about 40 minutes and spoke with people who were impacted by the message. They ranged from 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to adults. It seemed everyone was psyched for the upcoming Live Event. We'll see what God does! Also, I had the privilege of going out to lunch with 5 people from the church and we got to minister to our server, a nice guy named James.

Angels

2010-09-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Do You Believe This???

A girl went to her friend’s house and she ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone.

She wasn't afraid because it was a small COMMUNITY and she lived only a few blocks away.

As she walked along under the bike trail Diane asked God to keep her safe from harm and danger.

When she reached the alley, which was a shortcut to her house, she decided
to take it.

However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he were waiting for her.

She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for God's protection.

Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped round her,
she felt as though someone was walking with her.

When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived home safely.

The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there.

Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep.

Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station.

She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story.

The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could identify him.

She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before.

When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down and confessed.

The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could do for her.

She asked if they would ask the man one question.

Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her.

When the policeman asked him, he answered, 'Because she wasn't
alone.

She had two tall men walking on either side of her.
Goodness (Angel 1) and Mercy (Angel 2) shall follow you all the days of your life.

We're gearing up!

2010-09-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

After a slow summer, we are so thankful and happy to be busy every weekend for awhile. Last Friday I did part 1 of the MAD Live Event for a church in Birdsboro, PA near my home. We had a wonderful covered dish supper to start and we did the first two hours of the Live Event. I will complete the final 2 hours this coming Friday night.

On Saturday, I do my very first "real" Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar at my daughter's Baptist Church in Reading, PA. Please pray I get the seminar schedule organized in my mind. Next Sunday I am pitching the MAD Live Event and preaching at a church in Wayne, PA. I will be doing the MAD Live Event there next month.

Thanks so much for your financial and prayer support. Here's a great video to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9z6l1PXsFE

Ron Hutchcraft on "fear"

2010-09-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters-blog/communicating-christ/overcoming-fear-part-2?utm_source=Ron+Hutchcraft+Ministries%2C+Inc.&utm_campaign=c4c7820531-AWWY+6171&utm_medium=email

State of America

2010-09-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

This was in the Pocket Testament League devotional this morning:

"How much longer will God tolerate our country's sinfulness before He judges us? I don't know, but I do know throughout history God has brought His wrathful judgment down upon many great nations. Why should ours be any different? What can you do about our country's direction? In the Book of Jonah chapter 3, when the King of Nineveh first heard of Jonah's prophesy regarding the Lord's intended destruction of Nineveh, he got down off his thrown, took off his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and decreed, 'Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.' I think that's a pretty good example for us to follow as well."

August Support Letter - Praise the Lord!

2010-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

August was a slow month for Live Events, as few churches want to book anything during the summer. A lot of the month was spent making phone calls trying to fill our fall schedule. A number of very exciting things happened this month. I was contacted by the District Superintendent for the Wellsboro district of the Methodist churches. He told me that they have not done a very good job of evangelizing and needed help in equipping the churches in their district. He’ll be contacting me in early September to book some Live Events for Pastors and key lay leaders. Lord willing, these will open doors in many of the 68 churches in that district. I had a 3rd and 4th meeting with the man in charge of outreach for the ~400 Southern Baptist churches in all of PA and South Jersey. They were interested in forming a tight partnership with us and have blessed us with a financial investment in our ministry to help us. I had the opportunity to meet with his management team to present what we do. Again, Lord willing, this will lead to many engagements in these Southern Baptist Churches.

I had the privilege of traveling to NJ to present the gospel at a bike blessing and show. Many people came up afterward to have prayer and to let me know that the message had impacted them. Praise the Lord!

The one Live Event that I did get to do in August was at a local church only 5 miles from our home. Glad Tidings or “GT” is an Assembly of God church, and the largest church in our county. The Live event was broken into 3 parts. Because they have 3 Sunday Morning services (1 is actually on Saturday night), I had to do session 1 three times. Sessions 2 and 3 were to be held on two consecutive Wednesday nights following the Sunday session. In spite of the fact that they have no summer Wednesday night services and no child care available, I strongly encouraged them to come out and let God change their lives. We were all unprepared for what the Lord did. We are STILL praising God that somewhere between 600 and 700 people showed up for session 2! We completed the Live Event and had a number of people repent and trust Christ for the first time. Many, many people rededicated their lives to the Lord; and I have received phone calls, emails, and I have even been stopped in the grocery store so people could share with me how the Live Event impacted their life. Here are a few of the written testimonies that I received:

“Good afternoon, I just wanted to thank you for coming to our church. Your teaching has relit the fire inside of me. I've been a Christian for about 4 years and, like you, when I first got saved i was sharing my faith with everyone. I scared people away. So then I stopped telling people about it unless they asked. I figured I would lead a good Christian life and rely on that to open doors. So now I feel this urge to share again. Not only has God used you to encourage me to share my faith but also, to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. Thank you for being obedient and God bless”

“Hello Mr. Sunshine, I love the sound of that! What an easy name to remember! I just wanted to let you know how God has been working in my life lately. Back in July, my friend invited me to come visit GT for the first time, then on August 8th, I came back to GT totally unaware of the MAD event which took place. I had been praying for weeks for God to use me to bring others to Him and feel your ministry is the answer to my prayer. Thank you for the great accomplishments you have made in bringing others to Christ. I am excited to come to the last MAD session and to get started Making a Difference for others! God bless you and your family”.

“I attended Wed 8/18/10 session at GT. I am gun-shy from witnessing due to past shutdowns and put-downs. BUT you inspired me. Fri. 8/20/10, I arrived at Viva prior to my friend (she accidentally went to Tuscani's-now closed). I asked for a tea while I waited for her arrival and tried your approach. Rachael and I stared at each other for a second, then she said she wanted prayer for total custody of Brianna (10 month old). Her daughter screams as she is turned over to "grandpa" to go to the car as "dad" has a restraining order. It is breaking her heart. The restaurant was just opening so she was able to talk to me for a long time. My friend and I then prayed for her. OF COURSE, WE LEFT HER A BIG TIP...............”

“Hi Don & Cathy, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your teaching on both Wednesday night meetings at Glad Tidings. It has caused me to be more aware of my surroundings and the people I come in contact with. I want more boldness to share the Good News with everyone I come in contact with. I'm praying the prayer: To Open Doors (let me see them open), Open Their Hearts and Open My Mouth. Thank You.”

“Hi Don, Thank you first for the book of John with the roses on. I have already given a rose away to a young girl by the name of Alex who has been struggling with relationships and not coming to church. I gave this to her and she took to the book immediately loving the rose and the title of the track. Well with tears and prayers she is back home at GT and coming back to Real Life. Thank you for enabling us as leaders with your ministry.”

“I attended your presentation at Glad Tidings. I decided to e-mail and let you know that the part that spoke to me the most was the very end video with the girl that said "don't give up on me" I admit that I had kinda gave up on my sister. I called her and we had a great talk. There is so much friction and stuff going on between my mom and my sister that my sister is trying to retaliate. It's so involved. I got my sister to agree to do some kind of relationship intervention. Now I just have to try to find someone qualified and willing. I know that this would bring healing not only to my sister and mom but to my whole family! If you know of any such counselor, please let me know. Also, I had been praying for my husband. God healed me and I've been learning and wanting more, to go deeper. My husband didn't want to. I had been just releasing him into God's hands and asking the Holy Spirit to send put someone in his path that he could understand and Wednesday during my work, I felt God prompting me to fast. I did and when Wed night came around, and you spoke about the make believers, He responded and now his attitude is so different. Thank you for allowing yourself to be used to be that someone. Even though I might not be the person to hand out gospels, I know that I need to respond to the Holy Spirit's prompting and not be afraid when he leads me to talk to someone or pray for someone. Your presentation has definitely encouraged me in this area! And also a great reminder to consistently pray for unsaved loved ones-to take more seriously and seek God on opportunities to witness his love and live our lives in a way that makes them want to be around us and hungry for the relationship we have with God. Thank you for being obedient to God's call on your life!”

God is using these MAD Live Events in amazing ways. YOU make this possible with your prayers and continued financial support. As you partner with us, you are storing up eternal rewards in Heaven for supporting this work for Jesus Christ.

September Schedule:

• Sept 10 – MAD Live Event – Abundant Life AG, Birdsboro, PA – part 1
• Sept 17 – MAD Live Event – Abundant Life AG, Birdsboro, PA – part 2
• Sept 18 – Walk thru the Bible – Calvary Baptist Church, Reading, PA
• Sept 25 – Walk thru the Bible – Lockport Bible Church, Lockport, NY
• Sept 26 – MAD Live Event – Bethel Christian Fellowship, Rochester, NY

Prayer requests:

• For the approval of the 501(C)(3) paperwork by the Feds
• For God to continue to open doors of ministry with the Methodists, Southern Baptists, and counties in PA
• That our remaining 2010 dates will be filled
• For God’s Spirit to move powerfully in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level has increased to 38%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Commentary - Life Application Study Bible

2010-08-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Rom 6:19-23

“It is impossible to be neutral. Every person has a master – either God or sin…You are free to choose between two masters, but you are not free to adjust the consequences of your choice.”

Another one....

2010-08-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Don & Cathy,

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your teaching on both Wednesday night meetings at Glad Tidings. It has caused me to be more aware of my surroundings and the people I come in contact with. I want more boldness to share the Good News with everyone I come in contact with. I'm praying the prayer: To Open Doors (let me see them open), Open Their Hearts and Open My Mouth.

Thank You.

Some testimonies to encourage you

2010-08-21T14:07:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of the testimonies I've received in writing from our ministry at GT this past week. May they encourage you to make a difference!

Blessings...

Don

Good afternoon, i just wanted to thank you for coming to our church. Your teaching has relit the fire inside of me. i've been a Christian for about 4 years and, like you, when i first got saved i was sharing my faith with everyone. i scared people away. so then i stopped telling people about it unless they asked. i figured i would lead a good Christian life and rely on that to open doors. so now i feel this urge to share again. Not only has God used you to encourage me to share my faith but also, to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. Thank you for being obedient and God bless

-------------------------------------------

Hello Mr. Sunshine,

I love the sound of that! What an easy name to remember! I just wanted to let you know how God has been working in my life lately. Back in July, my friend invited me to come visit GT for the first time, then on August 8th, I came back to GT totally unaware of the MAD event which took place. I had been praying for weeks for God to use me to bring others to Him and feel your ministry is the answer to my prayer. Thank you for the great accomplishments you have made in bringing others to Christ. I am excited to come to the last MAD session and to get started in Making a Difference for others! God bless you and your family.

-------------------------------------------

I attended Wed 8/18/10 session at GT. I am gun-shy from witnessing due to past shutdowns and put-downs. BUT you inspired me. Fri. 8/20/10, I arrived at Viva prior to my friend (she accidentally went to Tuscani's-now closed). I asked for a tea while I waited for her arrival and tried your approach. Rachael and I stared at each other for a second, then she said she wanted prayer for total custody of Brianna (10 month old). Her daughter screams as she is turned over to "grandpa" to go to the car as "dad" has a restraining order. It is breaking her heart. The restaurant was just opening so she was able to talk to me for a long time. My friend and I then prayed for her.

OF COURSE, WE LEFT HER A BIG TIP...............

Last night's concluding session at GT

2010-08-19T05:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayer support!

Praise God for 2 nights in a row with some good sleep! For about a week I have been so keyed up over what God has been doing that I haven't been able to sleep. I was exhauseted last night and needed the rest. I actually fell asleep very quickly, which is unusual for me.

I haven't received the final count, but I heard there were about 450 people at GT last night for our last session. I was able to invite and bring a bunch of people who are on my stretch of beach:

- 3 of my neighbors
- My mail lady showed up with the outreach person from her church
- the lady who owns the local Cartridge World ( I met her yesterday afternoon)
- 3 ladies from my bank
- My daughter and grend-daughter came to help and they brought their exchange student from France

It probably didn't come across this way, but I felt a little disjointed and out of sync last night. I prayed before the presentation, surrendered to Christ and asked God for His annointing. I praise the Lord that it's not about me. He can use even my flawed efforts to accomplish His purposes. Because of the amount of questions at the end, a number of people left before I could give instructions about the eval form. From the forms we received, there were about 10 first time decisions for Christ, and many, many recommitments. We stayed very late to speak with people whose lives were impacted by the Live Event. We drove one neighbor home and then spent another hour sitting in the car trying to lead her to Christ. She is so close. Pray for Lisa! Also, she is waiting to be called for a second job interview. Please pray thsi happens and that she gets the job.

We have lots of follow up to do today and I need to prepare for a Friday rock climbing trip to a local state park.

Tell someone about Jesus today.

Don

Some statisitcs - fun

2010-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Good News !

How to stay safe in the World today!

Where IS the Safest Place?

1.. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for
20% of all fatal accidents.

2. Do not stay home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.

3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.

4.. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.

5. Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in hospitals.
So, above all else, avoid hospitals.

But. . ..
You will be pleased to learn that only ..001% of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is at Church!

And . . . Bible study is safe too!
The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less.

So,
Attend church,
And read your Bible
IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!

God at work at GT

2010-08-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I did a short intro to the MAD Live Event and strongly encouraged the people not to let Satan sidetrack them and keep them from coming this Wednesday night for session 2. I had little idea what God had in mind. The church printed 150 handouts to be used at the Live Event which began at 7PM. By 6:40 someone told me th parking lot was filling up. We ended up with CLOSE to 700 people in attendance! What a night we had. God was really using the material to make an impact on this large audience. I was feeding off the enthusiam that was eminating from the crowd. During the Live Event, I was sharing about an oppotunity God gave me to share Christ with several of the tellers at my bank. But this time it was different...they were in attendance! They had taken me up on my offer to come and check out what I do. Praise God!

When the 90 minutes was concluded, about 700 people "swarmed" on Cathy's 2 tables in the lobby. She was a bit overwhelmed. I was handing out Pocket Testament League applications like crazy. I held up a handful of them and you would have thought they were lottery tickets...people were taking them from my hands as fast as a could load them up. We ended up with so mnay completed application cards that we'll need a box to send them off to be processed! Cathy said she had never been hugged by so many people. I can't describe the scene in the lobby very well. You had to see it to believe it.

As we couldn't speak with everyone who wanted to talk with us after the event was over, this Sunday we'll be back at the church for both services to meet people at our table. Then next Wednesday we'll finish up the Live Event material. I can't wait to see what God is going to do!

I have to give the leadership and people of this church credit. Normal attendance for a non-Sunday Live Event is 10-20% of the church's Sunday morning attendance. This church BLEW those numbers away. These people were so excited about what they had been learning that they said they could't wait for next week. Imagine what God can do in Berks County, PA with this many on-fire believers who are motivated and equipped to share their faith with people as a way fo life! Wow!

I was so fired up last night I couldn't sleep. I finally succumbed to the sand man at about 4 AM, so I am pretty tired right now.

Keep praying brothers and sisters. God is at work!

Weekend at GT

2010-08-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

I was actually ministering locally this weekend. We had the privilege of being at "GT" (Glad Tidings) Assembly of God in West Lawn, PA. This is the largest church in our county and we were very excited to be able to present the MAD Live Event. The church holds 3 Sunday worship services...one on Saturday night and 2 on Sunday morning. I was a little time constrained as they also had 2 guest worship leaders this week and they didn't want to cut them short. Kristian and Shannon Walker led worship and are the official worship leaders for the Penn-Del AG. They travel around full time to minister in song. Check out their website: http://www.kristianwalker.com. They were awesome! I did session 1 three times, once for each of the services, and I encouraged all those present (not sure of the exact number) to come back on Wednesday for Session 2. We'll be completing the next 2 sessions on 2 consecutive Wednesday nights...1.5 hours each.

We stayed for quite awhile afterwards talking and praying with people. The feedback was amazing and we are looking forward to completing the Live Event over the next 2 weeks. There are MANY great contacts who attend this church. Please keep us in your prayers and ask God to use this Live Event at GT to open even larger doors for ministry.

July monthly report

2010-07-31T06:05:00.000-07:00

JULY, 2010

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Cathy and I drove just about 7,200 miles on our trip out west. We had an incredible time with some amazing people. What a blessing it was to see the Christian ladies on the trip begin to disciple the lady who got saved on the first night of our adventure trip! They spent several hours each night taking her through key passages of Scripture and this new believer was soaking it all up! To add to the story, when we arrived home, we were invited over to this new believer’s home for a meal. Several of us shared our testimonies with the lady’s unsaved husband and I presented the gospel to him. Within 2 days he made a decision for Christ! This story’s details are amazing and unfortunately I don’t have the space to tell you all that God did. But if we talk on the phone I’ll share the whole story with you. Call if you want to be blessed! We also got to visit my brother Doug and his wife Diane's new retirement home in Colorado both on the way out and on the way back east.

To continue where I left off last month, we finished our whitewater rafting trip and headed to the Zion Ponderosa Resort. We tried something new this year and stayed in a log mansion. It was absolutely luxurious and wonderful. Having a fully equipped kitchen was world of improvement over an outside camp kitchen. So Cathy went all out making meals for us that we have never had on this trip. This was our base for the next 3 nights. We did the Zion Narrows hike the next day, hiking a total of between 5-6 miles, mostly in the river. It was so beautiful and refreshing! The following day we rappelled and down-climbed through the Keyhole Slot Canyon in Zion. You can Google “Keyhole Slot Canyon photos” and get a feel for what we did. This was a ton of fun and a great team builder. The next day was open for people to do whatever hikes they wanted. Some attempted to scale Angel’s Landing and made it most of the way up, while others did some less “exposed” hikes. We then headed to Bryce Canyon for a horseback ride around part of the rim of the canyon. After finishing the 2 hour ride we had a nice dinner out and then prepared for one night in the tipis and the annual 4th of July fireworks display at Ruby’s Inn. As usual for the high desert, the temperature was going to plunge to 37 degrees that night! I warned everyone to bundle up for the night. Moab was our last stop. We stayed in some comfy cabins and prepared for our all day Jeep excursion. This year for the first time I reversed the order of the trails we were to ride. We did the “Fins and Things” trail first. There was an army soldier with us on the trip. He looked at one of the rocks and said there was no way anything could drive up that. I proved him wrong as it was part of the trail and he dutifully followed right up the rock! We did have some hairy moments on the 2nd trail (Poison Spider Mesa). But it sure got everyone’s blood and adrenaline flowing. Thankfully we had no mishaps, just an amazing time together enjoying God’s creation. From a spiritual perspective, I shared 2 nights of messages with the group, then I taught the MAD material for the rest of our evenings together. How exciting it was to see one of the men use what he had learned to share the gospel and buy a tank of gas for a needy couple at a gas station on the way back to Salt Lake! New dates for next year’s trip will be posted in early September. So keep checking the website and let your friends know.

If you’ve attended one of our Live Events, you know how I love to use the Pocket Testament League’s Gospel of John as a tool to share Christ with people. We now have recruited over 2,100 members who have ordered over 28,000 gospels of John to be distributed. Of these new members 222 have shared stories with the League. Here’s one: “Our church ran a VBS at our local Boy's and Girl's Club. I was able to use the Gospels bridge illustration to lead 10 children to the Lord! I had enough Gospels with me to hand them one and told them to bring them home and show their parents and friends and to help them be sure of their decision. Very cool part was a couple of them brought the Gospels the next day and told me how much they already read.” To date we have completed 225 MAD Live Events in 15 states and Canada, equipping about 10,000 people to share their faith every day as a way of life. We would appreciate it so much of you would use your contacts to get us into some new churches.

We have now booked 3 Walk thru the Bible Seminars for this fall. The dates and locations are on our website calendar. We’ll be in Reading, PA, Bath, NY, and Lockport, NY. We also have churches in Wellsboro, and Oley, PA interested. I am really excited about these opportunities. Please pray that the Lord opens doors for more of these seminars to fill our schedule of ministry.

We have been doing 2 motorcycle adventures per year and this fall we’ve decided to take a break from Tennessee and head to New Hampshire. The trip will be held on Oct. 3-7. Check the website for all of the details and pass the word.

Thank you again for praying and for supporting us as we serve Christ full time. You are such a blessing. We have been raising support for 2 years this October. We’d love to see our support get to 100%. Regular gifts large and small can make the difference, so please be open to how God might want you to partner with us for the Kingdom.

August Schedule:

• Aug 7, 8, 11, 18 – MAD Live Event – Glad Tidings Assembly of God, West Lawn, PA (This is the largest church in our county and the largest church I have ever presented to. We’ll be doing session 1 at the Saturday, Aug 7 evening service and twice on Sunday morning, Aug 8. Session 2 will be on Wednesday, Aug 11 and session 3 on Wednesday, Aug 18th. Please keep me in your prayers on those dates.)
• Aug 21 – Rock climbing day trip/outreach - Pipersville, PA
• Aug 22 – Speak at Biker Outreach – Valley View Chapel, Long Valley, NJ – share gospel at annual Bike Blessing
• Work to fill the fall schedule

Prayer requests:

• For the approval of the 501(C)(3) paperwork by the Feds
• For a full schedule over the fall months
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level has increased to 38%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Ministry in Reading

2010-07-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

We were close to home for this past weekend's MAD Live Event. We only had to drive 14 miles to get to the Mountainview Fellowship Chuirch of God. We did the Live Event for the Sunday morning crowd, shared a nice lunch and completed the training by mid afternoon. I nice rain storm rolled through and really cooled things down nicely. A lot of the humidity disappeared which made loading and unlaoding the gear a whole lot nicer!

Please continue to pray for the government to approve our tax exempt application and pray for a dull fall schedule.

Thanks so much for your partnership!

Love in Christ,

Cathy and Don

Prayer request from by friend Buddy

2010-07-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

from Buddy and Karen Heit
this just came tonite from Buddy's nephew in Michigan. We ask you to be in prayer with us for him and for his family. Thank you!

Dear Family,

I have not said anything up until now because there are a lot of unknowns still. I have been experiencing a fever and night sweats for the last six weeks. I have had several tests done with nothing conclusive yet. I had an appointment recently with a Hemotologist/Oncologist due to enlarged lymph nodes and spleen that were observed in a recent CT Scan. They did a biopsy of a lymph node in my groin that came back normal. The problem is that the lymph nodes that are enlarged are surrounding my large intestine and pancreas, not an easy place to get to. I am scheduled for a PET Scan this Friday that will give the Oncologist more information that he is looking for. At the present time he believes that there is a very strong possibility that I have lymphoma. I have requested a second opinion at Mayo Clinic. I have an appointment scheduled with Mayo's Medical Oncology Staff on August 11th. This may get moved up after the PET Scan results are reviewed.

I ask for your prayers as we continue to seek answers and wisdom for the doctors. The one great thing is that our God is Great and in control of all things. "Give thanks in all circumstances because it is His will for you in Jesus Christ."

You may share this information with other family members as you see fit. I will keep you posted.
h

Another soul added to the Kingdom!

2010-07-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

As you know, a lady who came on our Ultimate Adventure to Utah got saved on our first night there. She came home and told her husband what happened to her. A number of people immediately saw a change in this lady. Her husband did not fully understand what happened and was concerned she had joined a cult. So we went over to their house on Sunday and I had the chance to present the gospel to him and answer his questions.

Well last night Mike surrendered his life Christ as well! PTL! We talked today for a while and I got him started on his new walk with the Lord. He's getting a Bible and wants to find a local church and men's group that he can attend. Isn't that awesome!

Rejoice with us in this new addition to God's family and keep Mike and Gwenevere in your prayers and they begin their walk with the Lord.

Weekend of ministry

2010-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Cathy and I traveled to CT for another MAD Live Event. The trip was "supposed" to take 4 1/2 hours, but it ended up taking 8 1/2 hours t get there. Traffic was as bad as I have ever seen it. Construction in NJ on Int 287, then just weekend traffic on Route 95 in NY and CT. What a trip! We did the Live Event for Pasto Charlie Brown's church. A number of other churches were represented by pastors. Lod willing this will open some new doors of ministry for us.

Today I traveled to Easton to meet with the husband of the lady who came to Utah and Christ last month. I had the opportunity to share Christ with him and answer his questions. The seeds have been planted and now it is up to the Lord. Keep Mike in your prayers.

We'll be in Reading, PA next Sunday for a MAD Live Event. Thanks for your prayers and financial support.

June report

2010-07-04T16:26:00.001-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

We had a very busy month and we praise God for His provision and blessings. We did 5 MAD Live Events this past month in 4 different states. We are rapidly approaching a total of 10,000 people being equipped to share their faith as a way of life. Here are two of the comments that we received from the evaluation forms:

“Very well presented. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. I have realized how easy it is to win lost souls.”

“I had not planned to come today, but this has changed my life. This is one of the most important events in my walk with Jesus.”

Remember that it is YOUR partnership with us…in prayer and financially that allows this ministry to exist and make an impact for Jesus Christ. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

During June, I traveled to Wall, PA, near Pittsburgh, to be interviewed on Cornerstone Television. I have not heard when it will air, but as soon as I know I will let you know. It was a 15 minute interview on the MAD Live Event. Please pray that God uses this to open some new doors of ministry for us.

Cathy and I made preparations for the 5th Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah and hit the road heading west on June 17th. We spent the first night in Columbus, OH, then we continued on to Pacific, MO. I did a MAD Live Event there, then we took another 2 days to reach my brother Doug’s new retirement home in the mountains of Colorado. We stayed a couple of nights with them as they were just moving in. What a beautiful house and view of the Rockies! We can’t wait to return to enjoy the scenery and visit with Doug and Diane. We then finished our trip to Utah and did a MAD Live Event in Draper, UT for an Alliance Church.

The group of 8 participating in this year’s Ultimate Adventure arrived in Utah on the 27th and we began our adventure the next day. The first night was spent in cabins. I shared a gospel presentation with the group and it turned into a 4+ hour discussion culminating with a woman in her 40’s surrendering her life to Christ! Praise God! Thank you for praying for her. God answered our prayers for her. It has been neat to see Him already start changing her. The group has been discipling her day by day as we’re together on the trip. So, on our first actual day of adventure, we rode ATV’s up into the mountains to set up that night’s lodging at about 9500 feet above sea level. We pitched tents in a meadow and rode the ATVs over 100 miles on the Paiute Trail System. We had a great dinner of beef stew and enjoyed a roaring fire and fellowship before heading to bed.

The next day we returned down the mountain and traded our ATVs in for rafts. We did a 2 hour whitewater rafting trip. Everyone had fun and came back soaked. The remainder of the trip will be covered next month as it occurs in July. Sorry! Check back next month.

We are thankful for 3 Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar contracts that have come in. I am expecting one more hopefully soon. If you haven’t experienced this amazing seminar, check out the 3 minute video on my website and let’s discuss coming to your church!

After returning from our trip to Utah, most of our time will be spent packing up and storing all of the gear, then hitting the phones to try to fill our fall schedule with either MAD Live Events or Walk thru the Bible seminars.

Thank you again for praying for us and for supporting us as we serve Christ full time. We’d love to see our support get to 100%, so please be open to how God might want you to partner with us for the Kingdom.

July Schedule:

• July 1 – 7 – continuation of the Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah
• July 8 – 12 – travel home
• July 17 – MAD Live Event – Colchester, CT
• July 25 – MAD Live Event – Reading, PA
Prayer requests:

• For safety as we will be logging thousands of miles in July
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level has increased to 38%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For a full schedule over the fall months
• For the approval of the 501(C)(3) paperwork by the Feds

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

We're in Utah!

2010-06-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Cathy and I arrived safely in Utah. We spent Wednesday night in Richfield, one of the trailheads for the Paiute Trail System. We took a short ride on one of the trails. This trail is the one we’ll use to head up onto the mountain to set up our 2nd night’s wilderness camp. Because of the large amount of snow they received this winter, they had a huge snow melt that ran down the mountain. It destroyed a handful of trails which had to be rebuilt. As we headed up the trail we crossed over a number of the repairs that were done to the trails. New large drainage pipes had been run under the trail and backfilled. We met some of the federal workers repairing the final section that had been washed out. They expected it to be completed later that afternoon. Praise the Lord!

Since we’ve been in Utah, we have had wonderful weather….mid 90s, no humidity, bright blue skies, huge mountains with snow on top…awesome! We have been organizing and preparing for the UA trip which begins on Monday. I’ll be doing a MAD Live Event in Draper, UT tomorrow morning. On Sunday I’ll be preaching in the same church, then we’ll finish our shopping for the perishables.

Keep us in your prayers. We appreciate it so much!

Traveling West

2010-06-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Cathy and I headed to Pacific, MO to do a MAD Live Event that was to be split between 2 sessions on Saturday and one Sunday morning. We had an uneventful 2 days of traveling to get to MO. We did the Live Event and we had quite a few positive comments on how the training had impacted people’s lives. Some great comments were also made on the eval forms. Sunday after church we had lunch with Pastor Dave and his family, then hit the road.

We traveled through Missouri and into Kansas. Our goal was to make it to Salina, KS to spend the night. If you’ve never traveled on Route 70 through Kansas, the only way to describe it is straight and flat. As we approached Salina, the sky to our left and in front of us was still bright and had some very light cloud cover. To our right as far as we could see was PITCH BLACK. Scattered throughout the black were lightning bolts flashing in the clouds and to the ground. As we entered Salina, it was very eerie. The black sky was very strange looking and the wind had picked up significantly. All of the local radio stations had switched to a live “Tornado watch” broadcast. The winds picked up to 70 MPH as I entered the gas station to fill the truck. The wind was blowing against the driver’s side door so hard that I had to try several times to get it open. I braced myself as I filled the tank as the wind was nearly blowing me over. After filling the truck, you can add torrential rain to the weather. The live radio announcer said we were under a tornado warning for another 45 minutes. We made it to the hotel, but I was pretty drenched as I unloaded the suitcases under the carport. The storm eventually passed through and the truck was nicely power washed by nature.

This morning we had another 45-00 miles of travel, mostly on Interstate 70. Did I mention it was straight and very flat in every direction? We made it safely to my brother Doug’s new retirement home in Colorado to spend a day with them. Then it’s on to Utah.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Ministering in New England

2010-06-15T04:47:00.001-07:00

Friday Cathy and I drove to Orange, MA to prepare for a MAD Live Event on Saturday. We were at an AG “Mission Church” which is rebuilding. We had a small group of believers in attendance. When it was completed, we spoke with a number of people who were truly impacted by the material. I am excited to see how God will be using them in the future to help grow the church and the Body of Christ.

As quickly as we could get packed up, we headed to Warwick, RI to do another MAD Live Event that afternoon and into the evening. We had a larger group at this church, and they were very responsive. I had a chance to meet a young Providence Police Officer who was in attendance and we had an opportunity to share some war stories. A number of people stayed afterwards to talk about the training and application. Cathy and I then headed to the local motel to crash after a long day.

We headed back to PA on Sunday and continued preparations for the Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah. The first 3 days of this week will be consumed by organizing gear, food shopping, packing, and finishing up last minute details. I am excited about the trip and we’ll be doing two MAD Live Events on the way to Utah.

Please keep us in your prayers.

On the "Cape"

2010-06-07T06:49:00.001-07:00

Cathy and traveled to Hyannis, MA (Cape Cod) to do our first Live Event for one of the Southern New England District Assembly of God’s mission churches. Pastor Steve was a joy to be around and God is using him to rebuild and equip this church. We had a small group of about 20 people attend the entire event. A number of people came up to me afterwards and shared how the MAD Live Event was “life changing” for them. Several people want to work to get me booked at the next ACSI Convention to do the entire Live Event for the Christian school teachers and administrators who will be in attendance. We’ll see what doors God opens for this to happen. After completing the event, we drove the 7 hours home, arriving at about 11:30 PM.

This week I will be unpacking the storage unit and organizing the gear for the Ultimate Adventure trip in a couple of weeks. Thursday I am headed for greater Pittsburgh to be filmed for Cornerstone TV’s “Focus 4” program to be aired soon after the interview. We’ll be discussing how God is using the MAD Live Event to change lives for all of eternity. Please be in prayer for the interview and that God will use it to open many doors for ministry.

A must see video

2010-06-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.nragive.com/ringoffreedom/index.html

May ministry report

2010-05-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Cathy and I were blessed with an incredible month of ministry. We had a full schedule, presenting 5 MAD Live Events, preaching 2 Sunday morning messages, and doing our first Webinar. We were scheduled to display at the Southern New England Assembly of God Annual Conference, but after stopping for dinner on the way to MA, I ended up with food poisoning. I spent our first night at the hotel in the bathroom and the first day of the conference confined to the hotel bed. The 2nd day of the conference I was very light headed and asked Cathy to drive me home. So we were very disappointed in the missed opportunity to meet some pastors and hopefully schedule some more Live Events. But God is still on the throne and in control. We rest in that!

May was also a great month for us as our stagnant monthly support numbers took a HUGE leap forward! We had been stranded at 25% for months, and in May that number leaped to 38%! We continue to praise God for His faithfulness to us! And thanks to each of you who made a new commitment to partner with us as we serve the Lord full time. We are praying that the numbers will continue to rise and that at some point we will be fully supported. Please continue to pray for that to happen and be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to how you might partner with us.

We received many testimonies of changed lives in May, most of which were relayed over the phone. I have asked each of these people to put it in writing so you can share in the excitement and rejoice at how God is using us to impact people for all of eternity. Hopefully people will take the time to do this. Here are three that I received this month. One was from a student in SC, one from a pastor, and one from a gentleman who attended a Live Event in December:

“Mr. Sunshine, I wanted to thank you again for coming to Emmanuel. We have had a dramatic change in our school. Since listening to your message we have created a devotion group in our class. We read our Bible every night and we make sure to keep everyone in check. We recently had a class devotion that took 2 hours! Many people apologized for past sins that they had committed on that person and were rededicated. Although your message didn't immediately hit our school I think it took root in the heart of every person. So again I will say thank you Mr. Sunshine for showing us a different perspective of God's Word and for really opening our hearts. Yours truly, Tyler”
--------------------------------
"Hey, I was truly blessed by your presentation and how the LORD has continued to develop your understanding of the gospel with a blend of obedience that challenged me. As associate pastor...... my response to our people on the LORD’S DAY was: "he kicked me in the butt." You were used of the Holy Spirit to do that. Praise the LORD on the next day, I already had a scheduled meeting with a family who has been visiting our church. The husband is a Baptist who believes he is saved. His wife says he doesn't live it, and she confessed to me: "I am not saved."I ran them all through the 10 commandments test and used about 90% of what you taught us, still she lingers. I challenged her with the Hebrews text that teaches us today is the day of salvation and be fearful of a hardened heart. God is working! Praise his glorious name. Oh, how I rejoice that I am able to share these kinds of things with our people!"
--------------------------------
“I didn’t really realize that I was on a spiritual journey … but in reflection I definitely was. I guess it started by attending a seminar given by Don Sunshine where he planted seeds in my head such as, “why you are where you are” … and “the people you encounter on any given day are not by accident”… These ideas really got me thinking and praying for help to realize who God was putting in my life each day and why. But, I was always a step behind, where I would realize these things long after the moment was over. But, God was working on me and changing my perspective…”

It continues to amaze me that God is using this Live Event. I am only catching a glimpse of the impact it is having. We won’t know the full extent until we’re in Heaven with Him. I can’t wait for the full report!

On a personal note, we were surprised to be driving home one day and saw a billboard near our home. In the center phone of the billboard was our granddaughter, Maya. Check her out!

We are thankful for a full month of Live Events in June. We are also anticipating 3 or 4 Walk thru the Bible contracts to come in for Fall seminars. If your church has never held one of these, they are amazing! Check out the 3 minute video and info on my website and contact me if you’re interested in having one at your church.

June Schedule:

• June 6 – MAD Live Event – Faith Assembly of God, Hyannis, MA
• June 9 – Our 37th wedding anniversary!
• June 10 – TV interview by Cornerstone TV near Pittsburgh, PA
• June – 12 – MAD Live Event – New Life Christian Fellowship, Orange, MA
• June 12 – MAD Live Event – Heritage Christian Assembly, Warwick, RI
• June 17-18 – travel to MO
• June 19, 20 – MAD Live Event - Mission Community Church, Pacific, MO
• June 21-22 – travel to CO to visit with my brother and sister-in-law
• June 25 – Travel to Utah
• June 26 – MAD Live Event – Gateway Community Church, Draper, UT
• June 28 – July 7 – Ultimate Adventure trip

Prayer requests:

• For safety as we will be logging thousands of miles in June and for safety on the Ultimate Adventure trip for all who attend
o We have at least one unsaved person coming on the trip. Please pray for her salvation.
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• Praise God that our support level has increased to 38%! Please pray for us to reach 100%!
• For a full schedule over the summer months
• For the completion of the 501(C)(3) paperwork and its approval

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

What happened to the 12 Apostles?

2010-05-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

This makes me realize how fortunate we are to live in a country that we can freely worship God.

1
Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

2
Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

3
Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

4
John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

5
Peter
He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6.
James
The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. * This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7.
James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer who walked beside James to the place of execution, overcome by conviction, declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian

8
Bartholomew
Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9
Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras , Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

10
Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

11.
Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12
Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

13
Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end will be saved . . . . . Matthew 10:22

Another weekend of ministry

2010-05-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday I headed up to Spencerport, NY to preach Sunday morning and do a MAD Live Event on Sunday afternoon into the evening. We had 48 people attend the Live Event. Although no one there would have noticed, I was a little “off”. Things didn’t flow as usual and I felt like I was struggling a bit to convey the material in the normal order. I am not sure what was wrong, but God always shows up to fill as needed, and I am thankful for that. Many good comments were received afterwards and a number of recommitments were made at the conclusion. So I am praising God! The original plan was to stay over until Monday morning and then make the 5 hour drive. However, my son and daughter-in-law were coming up from VA for a short visit and planned on arriving at about 1:30 AM Monday morning. As we don’t get to see them very often, I wanted be home. So I did the drive, leaving at about 10 PM. I figured if I got too tired I could pull over and nap until I would be ready to continue the drive. After 3 hours, I arrived in Williamsport a little drowsy, so I stopped at the Sheetz and got something with caffeine to drink. That got me home safely.

I am excited about a meeting this Wednesday with a large, local AG church. They want me to put together a father/son rite of passage weekend. We’ll see where that leads.

Also, I received a number of incredible testimonies this weekend, and Lord willing, I’ll get them in writing. Wait until you hear what God has been doing! Here is one I just received from a student at the Christian school in SC where I presented the MAD Live Event in March: “Mr. Sunshine, I wanted to thank you again for coming to Emmanuel. We have had a dramatic change in our school. Since listening to your message we have created a devotion group in our class. We read our Bible every night and we make sure to keep everyone in check. We recently had a class devotion that took 2 hours! Many people apologized for past sins that they had committed on that person and were rededicated. Although your message didn't immediately hit our school I think it took root in the heart of every person. So again I will say thank you Mr. Sunshine for showing us a different perspective of God's Word and for really opening our hearts. Yours truly, Tyler”

Will you praise the Lord with me?

Latest....

2010-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a MAD Live Event in North Tonawanda, NY. It was a 640 mile round trip. The Redeemer Lutheran Church was one of our very first supporters and we have been there a number of times. Pastor Dave and Marilyn have been a HUGE blessing to us over the years. We had a small group and a number of people were repeats. But I have heard over and over again that people get more out of it after their first exposure. So Lord willing last weekend will help those trying to rescue the lost.

On Sunday we had to leave for MA to participate in the Southern New England AG Annual Conference. This was a 316 mile trip each way. We stopped for some dinner at a Panera's in NJ. By the time we arrived at the hotel, I was not feeling well. I went straight to bed at 9:30 PM. I was awakened at 12:30 AM and REALLY needed to reach the bathroom quickly. Let's just say all ports were being evacuated. This occurred again at 2:30 AM and 5:30 AM. I ended up with a fever as well. My stomach and back muscles were so sore and tender, I couldn't sleep. I dozed the rest of the day and spent all of Monday in bed. Tuesday I woke up with hopes of heading to the 2nd day of the conference. I showered, dressed, and after sitting on the bed for 5 minutes, I stood up and felt light headed. I realized going to the conference to meet the pastors was not a good idea. If I something other than food poisoning I certainlyu didn't want to share it with everyone. So I asked Cathy to drive me home. We arrioved safely at home and I was still very sore in the back mscles, but I slept really weel Tuesday night and have mended. PTL! We'll have to wait until next year to do the conference.

This weekend I leave for Spencerport to preach Sunday morning and to do a MAD Live Event on Sunday afternoon-evening. I will endeavor to drive home Sunday night into Monday as my son and daughter-in-law will be arriving late Sunday night for a shhort visit. We don't get to see them often, so I'd like to spend as much time as I can with them while they are here.

God continues to be faithful to us. I wish I could be as faithful to Him. After about 9 months of no movement on our monthly support, we have a praise! We jumped substantially and are now at about 38%!!!!! Praise God! Keep praying and we'll continue to trust Him for our needs!

Testimonies keep coming in

2010-05-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I received 3 great testimonies this week. Two were relayed to me on the phone, and I asked them to write them out and send them to me. This one came via email. I removed the church name and the person's name because he wants his rewards in Heaven....not the praises of man.

But the testimony illustrates how God is using this Live Event to impact people's lives. Thanks for supporting us in the ministry and all praise goes to God!

"Hey, I was truly blessed by your presentation and how the LORD has continued to develop your understanding of the gospel with a blend of obedience that challenged me. As associate pastor...... my response to our people on the LORDS DAY was:
"he kicked me in the butt." You were used of the Holy Spirit to do that.

Praise the LORD on the next day, I had already had a scheduled meeting with a family who has been visiting our church. The husband is a Baptist who believes he is saved. His wife says he doesn't live it, and she confessed to me: "I am not saved."

I ran them all through the 10 commandmends test and used about 90% of what you taught us, still she lingers. I challenged her with the Hebrews text that teaches us today is the day of salvation and be fearful of a hardened heart. God is working! Praise his glorious name. Oh, how I rejoice that I am able to share these kinds of things with our people!"

Weekend of ministry

2010-05-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

We kicked off a packed month of May with 2 MAD Live Events this weekend. Cathy and I were in Sunbury, PA and Salisbury, MD for two Live Events and I preached one Sunday morning message. We had a good crowd of about 86 people in Sunbury and there were many recommitments to Christ. A couple of 8th grade young ladies came up to me after the event and one tearfully shared how the event and my message the previous Sunday morning had impacted her life. What a blessing!

Cathy and I completed the event on Saturday, then drove 260 miles to the eastern shore of MD. We spent the night with Pastor Marshall Wise and his wife Gilda. I preached a short message on Sunday morning encouraging people to make the time investment with me that afternoon. We had 26 participate. There were more decisions for Christ and a number of people stayed afterward to share and talk with me. We arrived home last night at about 11:30 and needed a good night’s rest after the long weekend.

We are so thankful to be able to serve Christ full time. Thanks to those of you who partner with us in prayer and financially. You are a blessing and the rewards of the ministry will be yours for eternity!

WGRC Radio interview

2010-04-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

For those who missed it, we now have a 21 minute radio interview on the website. Check it out at: http://donsunshine.org/html/make_a_difference.html. If you know of a pastor who might be interested in the Live Event, the interview may help to make it happen. Please feel free to forward it to them.

April Support Letter

2010-04-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

First I want to thank each of you for your daily prayers for us as we serve the King of Kings. We also want to say thank you for financial support. Some of you make real sacrifices to send us support checks each month, and we want you to know that you’ve blessed us and we thank God for you. The last page of this month’s letter is from a friend and fellow servant in the Lord. Please read this month’s report all the way to the bottom. Thanks!

In April, I completed my two Walk thru the Bible practice sessions and I am primed and pumped to do them for real! We had such an amazing experience sharing the seminar with the two groups. One gentleman came up to me in between the two sessions and told me that I was having “way too much fun” doing this. He said that he was having fun learning as well. I have a number of contracts out to churches and the bookings don’t occur until they return the contracts with their booking fee. On a disappointing note, I pitched two churches on the seminar and they were really excited. After following up with them, they had booked the seminars directly through Walk thru the Bible with more “local” instructors so I lost out on the trainings! One church told me that my schedule was already booked for the date they wanted, so they got someone else. That was really disappointing because I did all of the work and someone else gets to do the seminar. Oh well….God is still in control!

We did our second Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure in April. Only 6 of us went, but boy did we have an awesome time! I had my good friend Pastor Ron come along and share evening devotionals with the group. We did a total of 1,800 miles for the trip, and had great weather for every day except one. We were also able to connect with a number of people and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. I am already looking for dates in the fall to do another one.

As we only had one Live Event in April, I spent much of the month calling churches and trying to book either a MAD Live Event or a Walk thru the Bible seminar. We have a good, full month in May, and I am so thankful for that. Has your church ever had a Walk thru the Bible Old Testament seminar? If not, please either contact me to find out more, or go to my website and watch the short video on it. I’d love to come and do one for you.

The Southern New England Assemblies of God has embraced what we’re doing and they have started to book us in their churches. So far we have 4 bookings for MAD Live Event s and there are number of more waiting in the wings. We are so thankful for that! These Live Events are commencing in June.

A praise! Our son John and his lovely wife Jill are expecting their first child in early December. That will be our 4th grandchild and we are excited for them. We look forward to seeing them next month when they’ll be coming up from VA for a short visit.

I heard a message that said that for every Marine on the front lines, there are 9 people behind the scenes in support roles, supporting those who are on the front lines in the battle. We value your partnership and behind the scenes support as we are on the front lines in the battle. We appreciate any and all support - small and large, one time and monthly. We also provide you with two options for supporting us. You may mail your support checks directly to us (Don Sunshine Ministries), or you may send your checks to Prattsburgh Bible Church until we have the final tax exempt status from the government. All checks being sent to Prattsburgh should include a note saying that the funds are to go to the support of Don and Cathy Sunshine. The church address is PO Box 261, Prattsburgh, NY 14873.

May Schedule:

• May 1 – MAD Live Event – Emmanuel Bible Fellowship Church, Sunbury, PA
• May 2 – Preach AM service - Son Life Community Church, Salisbury, MD
• May 2 – MAD Live Event – Son Life Community Church, Salisbury, MD
• May 5 – Speak at the West-Mont Christian Academy Chapel service, Pottstown, PA
• May 8 – MAD Live Event – Redeemer Lutheran Church, North Tonawanda, NY
• May 10-11 – Annual Conference - Southern New England Assembly of God – we’ll have a display there
• May 11 – Cathy’s birthday!
• May 16 – Preach AM Service – Spencerport Assembly of God
• May 16 – MAD Live Event – Spencerport Assembly of God
• May 18 – Glad Tidings Assembly of God – meet to discuss putting together a Father/Son Rite of Passage Weekend
• May 22 – MAD Live Event – East Williamson Free Methodist Church, East Williamson, NY

Prayer requests:

• For at least 5 more people to sign up for our Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah – do you know of anyone who can come along on the trip of a lifetime?
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• For our support needs to be met – we are still at ~25%
• For a full schedule – Walk thru and MAD Live Events - we currently rely on the Live Events for 75% of our income. Please pray for God to fill our schedule and for our support level to move closer to 100%.
• For the completion of the 501(C)(3) paperwork and its approval

Love in Christ,
Don and Cathy

Continued below

----------------------------------------------

Dear Friend,

I call you “friend” because we connected by our appreciation for Don and Cathy Sunshine and the ministry to which the Lord has called them.

For several years I worked alongside Don at Family Life, and not only enjoyed his friendship, his passion for Christ, and his work ethic; but also I learned much in those early days of his “Rescue” seminars.

I’ve been in “vocational ministry” for over thirty years, and I seldom meet people with the zeal combined with knowledge and passion evident in Don.

For all those years I’ve been “on support,” just as Don is. Don and Cathy ask the Lord to raise up folks to stand with them as co-laborers in the gospel by investing the powerful combination of finance and prayer.

As you are probably aware, thus far the incoming funds are not matching the needs. I asked Don if I could write you to simply encourage you to prayerfully consider a couple things:

1) In this age of “it’s all about me” “Christianity,” is it valuable…even critical…to have someone like Don training teens and adults in effective, Christ-honoring evangelism?

2) In fact, is there any other investment more valued?

3) Will you pray and think about standing with the Sunshine’s in order to ensure the continuance of their ministry?

If you are already giving, could you increase your giving at least a bit? If you are giving occasionally, could you contemplate giving monthly that the Sunshines might better budget?

And, if you’ve not given to this point; would you allow for the possibility that the Lord has prompted me to write in order that you might sense His leading to be a vital link in the chain of effectiveness that is Don’s ministry?

I encourage you to call Don should you have questions, and if the Lord leads you to action as you pray, let him know of your decision.

Literally thousands have heard Don’s training…and those thousands have impacted countless others with the gospel…Let’s keep this unique, effective, and on-the-heart-of-God ministry going!

Thank you for your time…

Serving in His grace,

(Rev) John R. (Jack) Hager
Ministry Liaison
Midland Ministries
www.midlandjack.blogspot.com
jack.hager@gmail.com

Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure

2010-04-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Pastor Ron came down from Prattsburgh, NY to participate in the spring version of the Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure. I had asked him to share a group devotional every night after dinner. Cathy had made the decision to stay home for this trip as it was all guys going and she wasn’t extremely interested in riding on the twistys down there. Ron and I headed south on Saturday to Tennessee. We had a little rain in southern PA, but the skies cleared for the remainder of the 650 mile ride. We arrived at one of my brother’s home to spend the night.

On Sunday we attended Sunday School and church with him and then I headed over to see my Mom. She is in a nursing home in Maryville. The rest of our group arrived and we had dinner together. After dinner, the group headed up onto the mountain to unpack and un-trailer their bikes, while I went food shopping for the group.

After a good night’s rest we ate breakfast and began the riding. We traveled into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the US. We rode on amazing roads with incredible scenery as we climbed just under 5,000 feet in elevation to a scenic lookout. Unfortunately, the road to the very top (Clingman’s Dome) was closed for paving. So we made our way down the mountain into Cherokee, NC. We ate lunch by a beautiful river and noticed the signs warning that only those holding tribal permits were allowed to fish in the river. We then stopped for some homemade ice cream and had a diving appointment with a nice couple from Springfield, MA. They were a riot…what a crazy couple! I got to share the gospel with them and we continued on our way.

Our next stop was Deal’s Gap, the NC side of the Tail of the Dragon….318 curves in 11 miles! The TN end of the Dragon was recently closed due to a rock slide, so the only access was from the NC side. We did the curves down and back, ending up at Deal’s Gap again. At this point we were only about 20 miles from the Christian Camp on the mountain where dinner was prepared for “6:00 sharp”. Unfortunately, I did not realize how far out of the way we would have to go to get back to the camp. The detour took us 3 hours and 45 minutes! We didn’t arrive for our 6:00 meal until 8:30 PM! The day’s ride ended up being 298 miles, about double what I had expected to ride that day. We were beat, but it was a good day. We watched a movie together that night and headed to bed for a good night’s rest.

On Tuesday it rained all day so we didn’t ride the motorcycles. We fellowshipped at the camp, then borrowed a camp van to drive to Townsend to go to the Smoky Mountains Heritage Museum. We spent several hours in the museum which had several out buildings to explore. We enjoyed learning the history of the area.

Wednesday morning there were some clouds covering the valleys in the Smokies, but the skies were blue as the storms had moved through during the night. We mounted up and headed for the Cherohalla Skyway. We stopped at the Bald River Falls to enjoy the beautiful falls. Then we climbed in elevation through the twistys. We stopped for lunch at a scenic overlook and praise the Lord that Pastor Ron noticed a serious problem with Josh’s rear tire. It was worn erratically and badly and we didn’t think it would safely allow him to return to camp. So we continued down the Skyway to Robbinsville, NC to have the tire replaced. As we got to the bottom of the Skyway, I was riding behind Josh and I could see the white cords of the tire sticking out of the tire! Josh had the tire replaced and we made the return trip to camp. The day’s ride was 240 miles. We had a great dinner at the camp, and began packing for an early departure on Thursday.

We went to the Cracker Barrel in Maryville to have a last meal together, then made our way home. 3 bikes were trailered, and 3 were ridden. We did another 650 miles to get home Thursday night. It was a great trip and we look forward to doing another one in the fall.

A cup of coffee for our troops

2010-04-15T16:38:00.001-07:00

Hi Don,

Nathan told me about this great program that is going on right now to boost the morale of our troops that are serving. there is a company called Green Beans Coffee that has coffee shops set up in the states near or on our military bases but also in Iraq and Afganistan. The guys that are deployed can sign up for and recieve a free cup of coffee from the folks at home while they are serving abroad.

The website is greenbeanscoffee.com and if you go there and click on the cup of joe for a joe it will walk you through how you can donate a cup of coffe to our troops. It will also let you include a message of encouragement to the soldier gettin the coffe to let them know that people back home care and if you give them your email they will get a message back to you from the soldier that recieved your cup of coffee. Each cup of coffee is only $2.00 and you can buy as few or as many as you want. I purchased 30 cups yesterday and I am already hearing back from guys in Iraq...oh how I hope Nathan gets a cup from me. This has to get out to as many people as possible to let them know of this simple way to show support for our troops. Get the word out through you respective contact list and prepare to bless and be blessed by the response.

Ken

Judas Asparagus

2010-04-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

If you need a laugh today, then this should do it!
A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible.
This is amazing and brought tears of laughter to my eyes.
I wonder how often we take for granted that children understand what we are teaching???

Through the eyes of a child: The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.
Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars. Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob hisbirthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.
Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbour's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humour thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and thenbarfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminium. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

-------Do share this delightful story! --------

Please check out this website....great stuff!

2010-04-11T05:23:00.001-07:00

www.fivecommitments.com

URGENT prayer request

2010-04-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Urgent prayer request!

Please pray for churches in India. Buddhist extremists in India burned down 20 churches last night. Tonight they plan to destroy 200 churches in the province of Olisabang.They plan to kill 200 missionaries within 24 hours.
Right now all Christians are hiding in villages. Please pray for them and send ...this mail to Christians you know. Please ask God to have mercy on our brothers and sisters in India. When you received this message, please send this urgent prayer request forward. Please pray for them and commit this matter in our Almighty and Victorious Lord!

Another cool testimony!

2010-04-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

As you know, we ask our waitress how we can pray for her as we pray for our meal. Well, my unsaved neighbor was out with us motorcycling and we stopped for dinner and I told her what we did and she was beside herself saying it was 'stupid' and the 'waitress will think you're crazy' etc... I told her to just watch what happens and proceeded to ask the waitress who couldn't thank us enough as she gave us her request. Well, we prayed and I picked up my fork to eat and my neighbor took my fork out of my hand and said 'you can't eat until you pray for my family, we need prayer and please continue to pray for us'. So we did and we are still praying! And she still likes to ride with us!...Praise God!!!!

Radio interview on April 13

2010-04-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars…one week from today, April 13th from 11:30 AM to noon (eastern) I will be on WGRC radio in Lewisburg, PA. The purpose of the ½ hour interview will be to discuss and promote their first sponsorship of one of our M.A.D. lifestyle evangelism events to be held on Saturday, May 1st in Sunbury, PA. You can listen to the interview on-line by going to http://www.wgrc.com/content/streaming-live-music.

Hope you can make it!

March Support Letter

2010-03-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

What a great month we had! In the beginning of the month I attended Daytona Bike Week for 3 days and we had more opportunities to share Christ with people this year than we did in the past two years combined. On the last day alone, God connected us with 7 different people to share with one on one.

Walk thru the Bible was my next stop. I spent five days in Atlanta being trained and certified to teach the Old Testament seminar. It was an amazing experience. I learned a lot and I am genuinely excited to be adding this seminar to our list of church offerings. I also made some great connections that God may use in the future. I did my first (of 2 required) practice sessions at my daughter’s church in Reading. I was amazed at how well it went and how much fun we had doing it! This month I began making calls to churches where I have already ministered, in hopes that I can return and do the Walk thru training in many of them. If you are interested in bringing it to your church, go to my website and check out the 3 minute Walk thru the Bible intro video and let me know.

In March I completed 5 more MAD Live Events in 4 different states, one of which was done in a Christian school in South Carolina. Again, it was amazing to see God use this seminar to change lives in Christian schools. We had 135 students attend the Live Event and we are still praising God for 43 decisions for Christ at the school! A number of students came up afterward to thank me, share some personal things with me and ask for prayer and counsel.

I also was asked to speak at a teen outreach event in Wellsville, NY. A small church from Genesee, PA worked hard to do this outreach event. It was a wonderful experience because those of you who know me know that I have a heart for teens. For all but the last 18 months of my adult life I have worked with teens, trying to impact their lives here and for eternity. So it was a huge blessing to once again stand before a group of teenagers and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I spoke for about 30 minutes and gave an invitation. 18 teens listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit drawing them to the Father! They indicated that they had surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Christ and would begin to follow Him after repenting of their sins. How awesome and incredible is that! Praise God! It was party time in Heaven! I challenged those making decisions to confess with their mouth what they had done. I suggested speaking to the adult leaders who had put the event on so the discipleship process could begin and I said that I would be available to give them each a hug and welcome them to the family of God. When the service was over, I went to the foyer/hangout area and was thrilled to be approached by many who shared their decision with me. I was blessed to be able to rejoice as guys and girls came up and told me of their new found faith. Each one received a huge hug from this privileged servant. I finally got to bed that night at about 12:30 AM, but I had a hard time falling asleep as I was still spiritually pumped up over what God had done that night.

We have a very light schedule next month and we will continue to work hard to fill our May and June schedules with either MAD Live Events or Walk thru seminars.

I heard a message that said that for every Marine on the front lines, there are 9 people behind the scenes in support roles, supporting those who are on the front lines in the battle. We value your partnership and behind the scenes support as we are on the front lines in the battle. We appreciate any and all support - small and large, one time and monthly. We also provide you with two options for supporting us. You may mail your support checks directly to us (Don Sunshine Ministries), or you may send your checks to Prattsburgh Bible Church until we have the final tax exempt status from the government. All checks being sent to Prattsburgh should include a note saying that the funds are to go to the support of Don and Cathy Sunshine. The church address is PO Box 261, Prattsburgh, NY 14873.

April Schedule:

• April 9 – Walk thru the Bible practice session #1 – Exeter, PA
• April 11 – Walk thru the Bible practice session #2 – Reading, PA
• April 16 – Walk thru the Bible practices session #2 – Exeter, PA
• April 13 – 11:30 AM – ½ hour radio interview with WGRC Radio – Lewisburg, PA
• April 17 – Travel to TN for the Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure
• April 18-22 - Smoky Mountains Motorcycle Adventure
• April 24 – MAD Live Event – Clinton Roads Baptist Church, Whitesboro, NY
• April 25 – Preach AM Service – Emmanuel Bible Fellowship Church, Sunbury, PA

Prayer requests:

• For at least 5 more people to sign up for our Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah – do you know of anyone who can come along on the trip of a lifetime?
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• For our support needs to be met – we are still at ~25%
• For a full schedule – Walk thru and MAD Live Events - we currently rely on the Live Events for 75% of our income. Please pray for God to fill our schedule and for our support level to move closer to 100%.
• For the completion of the 501(C)(3) paperwork and its approval

Thanks again for allowing us the privilege of serving Christ full time.

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Great rejoicing in the presence of angels...

2010-03-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Friday I headed up to Wellsville, NY to speak at a fist time teen outreach event called “Phenomenon”. It was put on by a local home school co-op from nearby Genessee, PA. For the first 90 minutes, they had a hangout time with video games, board games and the like, and refreshments were available. We then went into the sanctuary for the service portion of the event. The Wellsville Bible Church’s worship team led the group of about 50 teens in some praise songs and prayer. Then I had the chance to share my heart with these kids. It was a wonderful experience because those of you who know me know that I have a heart for teens. For all but the last 18 months of my adult life I have worked with teens, trying to impact their lives here and for eternity. So it was a huge blessing to once again stand before a group of teenagers and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I spoke for about 30 minutes and gave an invitation. 18 teens listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit drawing them to the Father! They indicated that they had surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Christ and would begin to follow Him after repenting of their sins. How awesome and incredible is that! Praise God! It was party time in Heaven! I challenged those making decisions to confess with their mouth what they had done. I suggested speaking to the adult leaders who had put the event on so the discipleship process could begin and I said that I would be available to give them each a hug and welcome them to the family of God. When the service was over, I went to the foyer/hangout area and was thrilled to be approached by many who shared their decision with me. I was blessed to be able to rejoice as guys and girls came up and told me of their new found faith. Each one received a huge hug from this privileged servant. I finally got to bed that night at about 12:30 AM, but I had a hard time falling asleep as I was still spiritually pumped up over what God had done that night.

I awoke on Saturday and had breakfast with two good friends down in Ulysses, PA. Then it was back to the church to set up for an afternoon MAD Live Event. We had a small number of people at the event, but the feedback was encouraging and people were challenged. A number of those in attendance rededicated their lives to the Lord at the event. I then made the trip home arriving at about midnight. I praise God for His presence and for Him moving in the hearts of people.

Thank you for all of your prayer and financial support. YOU make this possible and share in the eternal rewards!

The Auditor just left....

2010-03-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

by Ron Hutchcraft

The auditor just left - and our administrative team is high-fivin'. Partly because we again had the kind of clean audit our ministry's been blessed with year after year, and partly just because it's over! They worked hard to be ready for all the things the auditor wanted to check out.

In the business world - and sometimes even in the Christian world - audits aren't always happy. Auditors can find things that get you in trouble with your boss, with the government - even with the law. Audits uncover hidden secrets.

I've got a meeting scheduled with the auditor in the future. Except, I don't know when it is, because the appointment is with the Auditor, and only He knows when my audit of a lifetime is going to be. Fact is, we're all facing the audit of our lives. The Bible says that "each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12 ).

There will be no exceptions - "each of us." There will be no excuses - "will give account of himself to God." No blaming your spouse or your parents, your kids or friends or coworkers. I will answer for me and me alone. Also, there will be no secrets. "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:16 ). The Auditor knows every website we've ever visited, every e-mail or conversation we've been involved with, every sin we thought we got away with.

Many times I've seen a road sign with these stark words: "Prepare to meet your God" (Amos 4:12 ). Since heaven's all-knowing Auditor will expose everything about my life, it makes sense to work on what I'll face in His presence. The Auditor has let us know what He'll be auditing. I'd like to know that now.

I know He'll be auditing the words I speak. Jesus said so: "Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless (or worthless) word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37 ). All our words - including the gossip, the angry stuff, the putdowns, the dirty stuff - will be there to meet us on the day of judgment. There will be no denying my own words.

The Auditor's also going to examine why I do what I do. "Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5 ). I'm not too excited about those new full body scans they're installing at airports. They reveal what no one else can see. But that's nothing compared to God's full heart scan at the judgment seat. No matter how good what I've done may be, it will burn if my real motive was me, not Him. God cares much more about why we do than what we do. If it wasn't for His glory, if it wasn't because of pure love, it will never survive the audit.

Then Jesus said, "Give an account of your management" (Luke 16:2 ). The audit is going to be about what I've done with what He's given to me - my money, my influence, my home, my abilities, my opportunities. I'm suspecting that a lot of us are going to be feeling the shame and sadness of what might have been, of how much we could have done, and should have done.

And then there's this really sobering warning of what's going to come up at the audit. "When I say to a wicked man (the Bible makes it clear that's all of us), ‘You will surely die,' and you do not...speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood" (Ezekiel 3:18 ). Ouch! God will confront me with all the people I didn't tell about Jesus, whose eternity depended on hearing about Him.

I guess the hardest-hitting exposure at the audit of a lifetime will be about what we do with Jesus. The Biblical vision of Judgment Day reveals that "the books were opened. Another book was opened which is the book of life...If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12 , 15). What an unspeakably horrific moment. Jesus checks the book of life to see if a person's name is there. If it's not, it's too late.

But, it's not too late now. "Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2 ). There's only one way to have your name in that book. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36 ). Jesus is the deciding factor because only Jesus paid the price for our sins to be erased from God's book when He died on the cross. When we pin all our hopes on Him, and Him alone, we "cross over from death to life" (John 5:24 ). It's possible to know about Jesus your whole life and miss giving yourself to Him - and miss heaven.

The Auditor's told us how to take the dread out of the audit. "If we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment" (1 Corinthians 11:31 ). Face it now so you don't have to face it then. Deal with it now so He doesn't have to deal with it later. It's no wonder He's so deeply interested in how we live our life. He's very heavily invested - with His blood.

MAD in Myerstown, PA

2010-03-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

I did a Live Event at the New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church in Myerstown, PA, just 17 miles from our home on Saturday. We had about 32 people present. It went well and we saw a number of people redicate their lives to the Lord at the conclusion. Praise the Lord for that.

This coming weekend I am the speaker at a youth outreach event in Wellsville, NY. I will then have a MAD Live Event at teh same church on Saturday afternoon, then head home. Please keep the trip in your prayers. Pray that the Holy Spirit moves powerfully on Friday night and again on Saturday.

Thanks!

Finishing up the trip down south

2010-03-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Thank you for praying for me as I was away for a 20 day ministry trip down south. In a previous BLOG, I covered how the Lord used us during a portion of Daytona Bike Week. I wanted to update you on what happened after that.

We traveled back to SC on the motorcycles. God again blessed us with dry weather for the 410 mile ride. We packed up the bikes in our trailers and went our separate ways. Ron, Dave, and Terry headed back to a snowy upstate NY, while I headed west to Atlanta. Other than a flat trailer tire, Ron and the crew had no other problems and made it home in one day’s travel. My ride was just over 200 miles to Atlanta to attend Walk thru the Bible training for the next 5 days.

I had reservations at a campground 9 miles from Walk thru. I was warned that Atlanta had the WORST traffic in America and that was no joke. It took me 40 minutes to commute the 8 miles to the office on weekdays. The people I met at Walk thru were amazing. What a heart for ministry and the Lord! I had memorized what I needed to do to attend the training and I learned so much. I am excited and privileged to be able to offer this training as part of our ministry offerings. Check out the video and detail sheet on the front page of my website.

The Walk thru training ended on Tuesday. I headed to SC again, this time to visit with my oldest brother and sister-in-law who were visiting their son Steve and his family. I spent a couple of days with them, then headed north to Hartsville, SC for two MAD Live Events. The first one was held last Friday at the Emmanuel Christian School. We had 135 students attend and as usual, they were very quiet during the Live Event. Had I not been experienced with Christian school kids, I would have thought they weren’t into the teaching. But they were! God is faithful and His Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of these kids in a powerful way. As we completed the event and looked over the evaluation forms, 43 students had made decisions for Christ! Praise God!!! A number of students came up afterwards to ask questions, seek counsel and prayer. I had the privilege of speaking with several students for some time. The next day, I received this email from a student who attended the Live Event: Mr. Sunshine:”Thank you for the opportunity of being a part of Don Sunshine Ministries, I am glad to inform you that on the day that you came to our school(March 12, 2010) I spoke to someone about God. She was one of my friends that was a Christian at one point but had recently turned her back on God. After speaking with me she has decided to rededicate her relationship with God. I thank you greatly Mr. Don for the message that you shared with me. I have become less fearful around people and can now share God's Word to other people. I thank you greatly Mr. Sunshine and will continue to live my life for the Lord.”

Friday night a wicked storm blew through the area. Torrents and sheets of rain were falling, lightning took out the power to the school, and the wind blew. It’s been a long time since I was rocked to sleep! On Saturday morning, I did the Live Event for the church people. We had over 50 people attend and there were more recommitments to Christ at this session. A number of people came up to me afterward and shared with me how blessed and impacted they had been by the event. So praise God again. The pastoral staff at this church was amazing. The 4 pastors and the headmaster of the school were loving, supportive, and willing to do whatever was necessary to help me out. They truly blessed me.

I received another email testimony, this time from a man who had attended the Live Event on Saturday morning. This is long, but worth the read: “I attend a small, country Baptist church in the Hartsville area. We're nowhere near as large as Emmanuel, but we are Bible believers. ;-)

I was listening to WMHK last week when Steve had you on. As I listened, I thought to myself, "I wish I were able to witness like that." Then you said that you offer seminars which are designed to teach others how to witness. After you said that, I said aloud, "God, maybe that is what I need. Why can't something like this be held close enough for me to attend?"

You next said that you would be in "Hartfield, SC". As soon as I heard "Hart ...", I perked up a little. Then I realized you said "Hartfield, SC". I had never heard of Hartfield, SC, but I knew it wasn't Hartsville, SC. Then Steve corrected you and said, "I think you mean "Hartsville, SC", and you agreed and said you would be at Emmanuel Baptist on the 13th.

Well I had just asked God why something like your Live MAD event couldn't be held near enough for me to conveniently attend, and He answered by saying, "Ok, is your backyard close enough?.

I drove by the church this morning and there were only 2 cars in the parking lot at 8:30. Boy did the devil start pushing those buttons you talked about, so I drove around for a while instead of pulling in.

I returned at 8:45 and a few more cars had arrived, but there were far fewer than I anticipated. I pulled into a parking spot and sat, and the devil really started pushing those buttons.

"Looks like this must be just for the pastors of the church. You don't know anyone here. You'll look like a fool if you go prancing into this meeting as an outsider. This isn't your church! You don't know them and they do not know you!" At that point, I was beginning to agree with the devil, and nearly decided to crank up and leave.

This whole time, I'm sitting in the car listening to WMHK. I can't remember the name of the songs that came on, but suddenly a song came on about overcoming fear and I was quickly encouraged. The song that came on immediately after was also one of encouragement and fighting fear. I said a little prayer and told God that I get it, He wants me to hear what you have to say. ;-)

I grew up in a holiness church, drifted away from God as a teen, and stopped going to church after I got married. After years of rejecting His call for me to return home, I suffered a brain aneurysm in 2001 and nearly died. After nearly 2 months in the hospital, and almost a year of recovering, I REALLY began to feel Him calling me back. Finally, I rededicated myself and put myself and my family back into church. We attend family mission trips every summer with our county Baptist mission team. This past October, I went on a 2-week mission trip to the Philippines. But the devil is still pushing my buttons.

I would love it if you would pray that I overcome my fear of public speaking that the devil has placed over me. It used to not bother me so bad, but since my aneurysm and desire to have God lead my life, the devil has made it his number one weapon against me. My heart is literally pounding in my chest right now because of just thinking of standing before a group to speak. One on one, or in small groups, I am fine. I would much rather speak to a stranger one on one than to speak before a large group of friends. I'm even okay with large groups informally, but as soon as it is made formal, I'm a wreck.

I am sorry for such a long reply. If I could only speak as well and as easily publicly as I communicate on the computer. The words flow easily here. Not so easily in public. ;-)

Pray for me, and I will certainly pray for you. I admire your ministry greatly. You're obviously doing what God planned for you to do. I am thankful that He planned for me to hear you today. God bless.”

After this event, I drove north to Lexington, NC. I spent the night in a campground about 30 minutes from the Alliance Church where I would be teaching on Sunday morning and evening. We had over 200 people for the morning service, then broke for a pizza lunch, then resumed the Live Event at 6:00 PM. There were 82 people present at the evening conclusion of the training. Again, after the event was over, people stayed, asked questions, shared and hugged me. This was another wonderful experience. After packing up, I drove a short way to spend the night and headed home on Monday morning. I am thankful that I arrived safely home at about 5:30 PM. I had driven 536 miles that day and was happy to be home with my wife and in my own bed. Thanks for praying! Praise God for how he is using this ministry.

February Support Letter

2010-03-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

We had an interesting month. Two snow storms each dumped about 2 feet of snow on us in PA. As a result, we postponed a MAD Live Event and a speaking engagement at our old church in NJ. In February we completed 4 more MAD Live Events in 4 different states. We were everywhere from RI to SC during the month. We were blessed to see over 50 decisions for Christ at these sessions and we have already begun to receive testimonies from people whose lives have been impacted by the ministry. Cathy and I logged about 1,000 miles one weekend ministering in NY and RI. One of the Live Events was at a Youth Group Weekend Retreat at Watson Homestead in Painted Post, NY. There were 25 students and 5 adults present. I did half of the MAD Live Event on Friday night and the other half on Saturday morning. At the conclusion of the last session, God’s Spirit moved powerfully in the hearts of these teens. One student came up to the front and was hugging the adult leader and weeping. Seconds later, everyone got up and came forward in tears. They huddled in a large circle in a group hug and wept for quite some time. When I read through the evaluation forms, 23 people had indicated that they had made decisions for Christ! I was overwhelmed. What a privilege to serve Christ and see Him move in the hearts of people! There can be no better job on the planet! I praise Him for being there in a powerful way.

Here’s a one of the testimonies I received this month: “I just wanted to thank you so much for the work you are doing for the Lord. I attended a session in February, 2009 in Columbia, SC and it changed my life. Last year my daughter was baptized and my husband is now going to church with us (he wasn’t before). I have led my Sunday School class through the Way of the Master training and have given out over 270 Pocket Testament League gospels of John at work. One of my favorite Christian songs states, ‘So you want to change the world? What are you waiting for?’ Thank you for helping to change the world for Christ. You really are ‘Making a Difference’. Ruth… Ambassador for Christ” Isn’t God awesome?

At the end of February I headed south, trailer and motorcycle in tow. I ministered in the Myrtle Beach area, then headed to Columbia, SC to unload the bike and head to Daytona Bike Week to minister. My good friend Pastor Ron, a young man named Dave, and a CMAer met me in SC. The next day we rode about 400 miles on the motorcycles and made it safely to Bike Week. We had an incredible 3 days of ministry. My BLOG contains trip details if you’re interested. More on the trip in March’s Monthly Report.

I continue to prepare for the Walk thru the Bible training in March. I have pretty much memorized the 77 key words and hand signs that I need to present in less than 2 ½ minutes. Completing this training will give us another offering for churches to bring us in to minister. More info will come after completion of the training.

Cathy and I continue to trust the Lord to keep us afloat financially. For some reason, our support dramatically dropped off after the first of the year. We only brought in $1,470 in support for the month. This doesn’t even pay our rent after taxes. I have no clue why this happened but we need your continued support! If you are at all uncomfortable with sending your support checks directly to us (Don Sunshine Ministries), you may continue to send the checks to Prattsburgh Bible Church until we have the final tax exempt status from the government. All checks being sent to Prattsburgh should include a note saying that the funds are to go to the support of Don and Cathy Sunshine. The church address is PO Box 261, Prattsburgh, NY 14873.

March Schedule:

• March 1-3 – minister at Daytona Bike Week
• March 4 – return to SC, then travel to Atlanta
• March 5-9 – Walk thru the Bible Old Testament training and certification
• March 12 – MAD Live Event at the Emmanuel Christian School, Hartsville, SC
• March 13 – MAD Live Event at the Emmanuel Baptist Church, Hartsville, SC
• March 14 – MAD Live Event – 1st Alliance Church – Lexington, NC
• March 20 – MAD Live Event – New Beginnings Church – Myerstown, PA
• March 27 – MAD Live Event – Wellsville Bible Church – Wellsville, NY

Prayer requests:

• For Walk thru the Bible bookings
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• For new doors of ministry to open in the coming months
• For our support needs to be met – we are still at ~25%
• For a full schedule – we currently rely on the Live Events for 75% of our income. Please pray for God to fill our schedule and for our support level to move closer to 100%.
• For continued good health and stamina
• For the completion of the 501(C)(3) paperwork and its approval

Daytona Bike Week

2010-03-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

We spent Saturday night at my nephew Steve’s home. His wife Gaye always feeds us well while we are there. Dave played with Meyer and Camille for awhile and Ron took the two kids for a motorcycle ride on my bike. They loved it!

We woke up on Sunday to some very cold temps. But the skies were clear and no rain is a good thing. So we bundled up for our 400 mile ride to Daytona. We only got about 4 miles into the trip when one of the riders developed a problem with her bike. Terry’s Honda was spewing smoke and she had no power. Pastor Ron examined the bike and found a spark plug wire had come loose. So we were on our way south. While on the trip through South Carolina, Terry looked down to her left and pulled over with another problem. This time the bolts that held her brake caliper had fallen out and the caliper was hanging by its brake line! Dave, the youngest guy in our group, ran down the road and found one of the bolts. So Pastor Ron reinstalled the one bolt and we’d have to find a store to purchase a second one. As we approached Georgia, we stopped at a small country Baptist church to worship the Lord. We were well received by our brothers and sisters in the Lord. After the service, the temperature warmed up enough to remove some layers. The church folks told us we could find a Home Depot 10-15 miles down the interstate. So we stopped and got a bolt for Terry’s bike and continued on our way.

We arrived in Daytona at about 5:30 PM on Sunday and settled into my cousin’s home. We then took a ride down Main Street, parked our bikes on the boardwalk and walked some of Main Street. We connected with my old CMA friend Chet and then headed back to spend the night. Ron connected with the security guard on the boardwalk and share Christ with Him.

Monday

We headed out for breakfast, prayed for our waitress, and then a couple approached us to hand us a gospel tract! We had a nice time of fellowship with this couple from NC. We then went to the local shopping center to test drive a Thoroughbred Stallion Trike. What an awesome machine! I could see Cathy and me having one when 2 wheels become a problem. I was able to spend some time with one of the two salesmen while Ron and Dave were out on their test drive. I shared Christ with Him and got a commitment from him that he would read the gospel of John that I gave him. After Ron and Dave returned, I shared the Lord and a gospel with the other salesman.

We then went up to the Daytona International Speedway and test drove a Victory motorcycle. We wandered around looking at different vendors products and we couldn’t find the Ducati pavilion. It was not where it had always been. So I asked a speedway security guard and he checked his map for the location. It turns out that they did not come to Daytona this year. So I took the opportunity to share the Lord with this security guard and he said he wanted to go to Heaven and see his parents again. I explained that the only chance of seeing them was to make a decision for Christ.

We then headed to dinner and had another opportunity to pray for a server. Her name was Edna. We the rode half of the scenic loop ride and stopped at the late Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona Harley Dealership in Ormond Beach. This is the largest dealership in the world. The sell about 600 bikes during Bike Week! We then headed back to my cousin’s to crash for the night. We had some incredible Divine appointments today. Tomorrow’s AM weather is not good. 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms with heavy winds and/or tornado warnings in effect. So we may stay in for the morning. I am excited to see what God will let us experience tomorrow.

Tuesday

We were awakened early this morning by severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and wind. Thankfully, by the time we headed out for breakfast, the rain had stopped and we just had wet roads. We went to our normal breakfast spot and as I removed my gear before going into the restaurant, an elderly gentleman approached me and started talking to me about my bike. It tunes out that he lives near my brother Glenn in CT. We connected on that fact and it opened the door for me to share my faith with the man. I also gave him a gospel of John to take home and read. I went out to the bike to get something right before our meal was served, and a small group of people were headed into the restaurant. One of the men asked me where I was from in PA. I told him and he said he was from Pittsburgh. So I was able to share Christ with the man and gave him a gospel of John to read.

Later in the day, Ron was speaking with a Ducati salesman for quite some time. In the course of the conversation the salesman told Ron he had broken his neck racing. The door opened for Ron to share his faith with the guys and he also gave him a gospel of John to read. That is two years in a row that God connected Ron with a guy who had broken his neck!

At dinner, we had an “old friend” as our server. Her name is Joan. We have prayed for Joan and her family in years past and this year was no exception. As we were ready to leave she wanted to give us a hug and she told us how much she loved us! We also got to minister to the hostess (Mandy) as we have in years past. PTL that her life has gotten better since we began praying for her two years ago.

While the attendance numbers are down significantly this year, we have had MANY opportunities to minister to people. In fact, we have shared with so many people we are actually running low on gospels of John! Keep praying for us. There is much to be done.

Wednesday

We started our last day at Bike Week at our usual breakfast stop – “It’s All Good”. Each of the 3 days in Daytona, God had selected a different server for us each day. As we were eating our meal, two older ladies came up to us and asked us how we liked being in “paradise”….OPEN DOOR! So I told her this wasn’t paradise but that I would be spending eternity in the REAL “paradise” and would she like to know how she could too. So we shared a gospel of John with each of them and explained a little about the relationship she could have with God through Christ. I then went to the restroom and as I was in the restroom, a 4th server cam up to Ron and Dave and said that she felt “left out” because the other 3 servers all got a little booklet with a personal note written in the front, and she hadn’t. So Ron assured her that I would have one for her as soon as I returned to my seat. So I wrote a note to her and went up to her at the kitchen food serving window. I gave the gospel to her and she smiled. I said that the gospel gift was only part of what we do for our servers. I asked her if I could pray for her right there. She agreed and shared a prayer request with me. I prayed for her, hugged her and we left.

Later that day, Ron and Dave had to go to a Home Depot to get a washer for Ron’s helmet. While they were in the store, a guy on a bike rolled up to me and asked me if I could help him. I said I would try. He asked for directions to the Cabbage Patch, a bar in New Smyrna that features Cole Slaw Wrestling. So I took and educated guess that he was not a believer. So I said that I could get directions from my GPS and would be happy to share them with him if I could share something else with him. He agreed and I pulled out a gospel of John and explained the need for forgiveness as judgment was coming and that Jesus was the only way. I shared the truth with him and he promised to read the gospel later that day.
In all, God connected me with 7 people today to invite into the security of the eternal lifeboat. Praise Him! My prayer is that they will make the decision to come in with me.

Thursday

We began our 410 mile ride back to SC early – 7:30 AM. It was 39 miles and it gradually warmed up as the day progressed. We were thankful we had no rain all of the way home and that we arrived safely at my nephew’s. On Friday, the group from NY headed home and I headed to Atlanta for 5 days of Walk thru the Bible training.

The trip south

2010-02-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

As I prepared for my long trip south, the approaching storm was a concern, as I would be hauling our travel trailer loaded with the motorcycle….in all about 8,500 pounds. I definitely did not want to drag that through snow covered roads. So I prayed and asked the Lord to either move the storm north of me, or have it arrive later in the morning so I would miss it. He apparently did both. At 6 AM my windshield was lightly covered with snow and it was starting to snow pretty hard. The roads were still not covered, so I was thankful for that. I headed south and as I reached the Baltimore area, the sun broke through the clouds and the roads were dry! PTL!!! The rest of the day’s travel was in sunny conditions and on dry roads! God is awesome! I did 510 miles and ended up in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Lumberton, NC to spend the night. There were about 5 other RVers who were spending the night in the lot around me.

I slept OK, but had to adjust to some of the noisy traffic on a nearby roadway. When I got up this morning, I was the last camper to leave Wal-Mart. I drove the remaining 130 miles to Murrell’s Inlet and arrived at the church just before noon. I set up for tomorrow’s Live Event and headed to the campground to set up. What a nice place! Lots of trees, not far from the beach and I got to wash the salt off of my truck. It’s shiny again for now.

I met the pastor for dinner and we had a nice time of fellowship and getting to know each other. I am really looking forward to what God will be doing tomorrow. This church is really good at discipleship, but their weakness is evangelism. Lord willing, that will change tomorrow.

After I leave Murrell’s Inlet, I will be headed to my nephew’s in Columbia, SC, about 3 hours away. I’ll be unloading the motorcycle and awaiting 3 friends who are traveling down from the Finger Lakes to meet me. Then we head to Daytona on the motorcycles to minister to the bikers for 3 days.

Please keep me in your prayers. I was experiencing some dizzy spells tonight…not sure what from. I’ll try to get a good night’s rest and pray for complete recovery.

Some exciting news!

2010-02-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Southern New England Assembly of God has decided to use our Make a Difference Live Event to help equip their churches in CT, MA, and RI! They have booked us for an event for all of their Pastors on June 5th. They will also be scheduling Live Events in their "missions" churches as soon as possible!

Praise God for opening these doors for us in New England!

What a weekend!

2010-02-22T04:38:00.000-08:00

Cathy and I logged about 1,000 miles this weekend ministering in NY and RI. On Friday night I was asked to speak at a Youth Group Weekend Retreat at Watson Homestead in Painted Post, NY. There were 25 students and 5 adults present. I did half of the MAD Live Event on Friday night and the other half on Saturday morning. At the conclusion of the last session, God’s Spirit moved powerfully in the hearts of these teens. One student came up to the front and was hugging the adult leader and weeping. Seconds later, everyone got up and came forward in tears. They huddled in a large circle in a group hug and wept for quite some time. When I read through the evaluation forms, 23 people had indicated that they had made decisions for Christ! I was overwhelmed. What a privilege to serve Christ and see Him move in the hearts of people! There can be no better job on the planet! I praise Him for being there in a powerful way.

Cathy and I then left for Massachusetts. We checked into the hotel in Mass, then headed to the church in RI to set up. On Sunday morning we did a Live Event in the Radiant Christian Assembly of God. At the conclusion, we had 41 people present and a number of people made commitments to Christ. Many people stayed afterwards to talk and share how the Live Event had impacted their lives. This event was a “pilot” of sorts for the Southern New England AG. We are trusting that God will use this to open many doors for us to minister in Southern New England.

I now begin organizing and packing for a long trip south. I will be hauling the travel trailer south on Thursday. While down south, I’ll be doing 3 Live Events in South Carolina (one is in a Christian School), one in North Carolina, attending 5 days of Walk thru the Bible training in GA, and spending 3 days ministering to bikers at Daytona Bike Week. We really need your prayers for this long trip. Please ask God’s blessing on every aspect of the trip, safety, Divine appointments, and for His Spirit to touch and move in hearts. I’ll do my best to post regular updates on my BLOG. Also please keep my friend Pastor Ron in your prayers. He will be traveling down by himself to meet me in SC so we can ride our motorcycles to Daytona together to minister.

Our support has dropped off dramatically since the New Year began. Please prayerfully consider if God would have you partner with us in a tangible way. This is a tough time to be raising support, but God is in control and He knows our needs. As always we covet your prayers. Thanks for your partnership in the work of the Kingdom!

Take time to watch this!

2010-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, on June 11, 2009. The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home inMcDonough, Georgia. A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. This was filmed during the procession by a State Trooper.

Nowadays, one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military. Be it known that there are many places in this land where people still recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgiaremains one of those graceful places. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored. Please share widely.

http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

THE U IN JESUS

2010-02-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God stuck U in the name of His Son.

And each time U pray, you'll see it's true,
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.

And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His Upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.

"Go into the world and tell them it's true
That I love them all - Just like I love U."

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?

It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know,
But it all starts with U.

Weekend summary

2010-02-15T05:18:00.000-08:00

Cathy and I drove to Cooperstown, PA on Friday. This little town is about 300 miles from our home, north of Pittsburgh and Route 80. The nearest big towns are Franklin and Oil City. We stayed overnight and did a MAD Live Event for the church on Saturday morning. 20 people attended. They were a great, loving group of people. Many stayed afterwards and asked questions. As we left in the afternoon, we were supposed to drive 7+ hours to NJ to spend the night, but Cathy had bumped her elbow and developed muscle spasms in her left arm. She didn’t sleep well on Friday night because of it. So we went home instead, choosing to make the drive to NJ on Sunday morning alone.

I had been looking forward to going to NJ because it was going to be a reunion of sorts for us. I was scheduled to preach at 2 services and teach the adult Sunday School class at Valley View Chapel, in Long Valley. This is a church we attended for 11 years when the kids were young. We were very involved in the church and it was wonderful to catch up with so many old friends. I stayed well after the service to fellowship and get re-acquainted with some of the old friends.
Upon arriving home, I got changed and picked up our two oldest grandchildren. They came over and spent the night with us. It had been awhile since they’ve spent the night so it was special for Cathy and me. Grandkids are your reward for not killing your own kids!

Have a blessed day. Invite someone in the lifeboat today!

Testimony from SC

2010-02-08T10:28:00.001-08:00

We received a nice card and check from a lady in SC. Here's what it said in the card,

“Dear Don and Cathy,

I just wanted to thank you so much for the work you are doing for the Lord. I attended a session in February, 2009 in Columbia, SC and it changed my life. Last year my daughter was baptized and my husband is now going to church with us (he wasn’t before). I have led my Sunday School class through the Way of the Master training and have given out over 270 Pocket Testament League gospels of John at work. One of my favorite Christian songs states, ‘So you want to change the world? What are you waiting for?’. Thank you for helping to change the world for Christ. You really are ‘Making a Difference’. Ruth… Ambassador for Christ”

Praise God!!!!

Keep those encouraging stories coming!

January's Support Letter

2010-02-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Partners in Ministry:

With great anticipation, Cathy and I are looking forward to seeing how God will be using us in this New Year. I know in my heart that God is going to blow the doors off of this ministry at some point….Lord willing this year! We are patiently waiting on Him to fill our schedule and to bring in the financial support that we need.

We started off the month on a planned 6 day vacation with our daughter’s family to Florida. Of course, while we were there, they had record low temperatures for most of the trip. Temps dropped into the upper 20s! Boy was it cold and I didn’t bring the winter clothes, expecting it to be a lot warmer than PA! After returning to airport in Baltimore I commented that “this feels like Florida!” But we did have a wonderful time with Jaimie, Mike and the kids.

After returning to PA, we immediately jumped back into the full swing of ministry. We completed 4 MAD Live Events in 3 states equipping about 400 more people to share Christ as a way of life. At these sessions, we were blessed to see several first time decisions for Christ and many rededications. Testimonies are already coming in from churches and individuals relaying stories of how God is using the people who have been trained. How exciting! Praise God! Here is a testimony from a parent, whose teenage daughter Sarah had attended the last night of one of my MAD Live Events in PA:

“I am so excited… Last night Sarah went to youth with a friend from her old school and they had a special speaker. Usually she has no interest in what a speaker has to say… but last night was different. The whole ride home the two girls just couldn’t shut up about what they heard… then when we got home Sarah was so curious about how can she know if she is really a Christian. She was so curious for answers and her heart was so open to receive truth. And when she woke up she was still on the same page wanting to know more. I cannot contain my excitement… Please continue to pray for Sarah for this current desire to take root.”

We are starting to receive registrations for our trips to Tennessee in April (Smoky Mtns Motorcycle Adventure) and the Ultimate Adventure trip to Utah in June/July. If you are interested or know of someone who is, please have them contact me soon! Reservations need to be made.

We have had some attacks from the enemy that have slowed us down, but not stopped us. The email list management service we had been using for our group email lists has discontinued our service because we appeared to be spammers. Apparently many of the email addresses we have collected over the years are either incorrect or not in existence any more. They had so many bounce backs that they cut us off. Praise God that they at least provided us with an Excel spreadsheet containing the lists so we’ll have some options. We are now searching for either a software product that we can purchase and use, or a cost effective service. Please pray about this as this has been our primary means of communication with our pastors, supporters, and newsletter recipients. Then my system crashed. After 10 days and hundreds of dollars, I am still loading software and working out the bugs.

Cathy and I are still trusting the Lord to keep us afloat financially. For some reason, our support dramatically dropped off after the first of the year. We only brought in $1,470 in support for the month. This doesn’t even pay our rent after taxes. I have no clue why this happened but we need your continued support! If you are at all uncomfortable with sending your support checks directly to us (Don Sunshine Ministries), you may continue to send the checks to Prattsburgh Bible Church until we have the final tax exempt status from the government. All checks being sent to Prattsburgh should include a note saying that the funds are to go to the support of Don and Cathy Sunshine. The church address is PO Box 261, Prattsburgh, NY 14873.

February Schedule:

• Feb 3 – Lunch meeting with the Senior Pastor of the Glad Tidings Assembly of God in West Lawn, PA (the largest church in our county)
• Feb 6 – MAD Live Event – Cooperstown, PA
• Feb 7 – Preach at Valley View Chapel, Long Valley, NJ
• Feb 8 – Meeting with the DS of the Metropolitan District of the C&MA in Newark, NJ
• Feb 15-16 – MAD Live Event at the J.O.Y. Bookstore in Sinking Spring, PA
• Feb 19-20 – MAD Live Event at a youth rally in Painted Post, NY
• Feb 21 – MAD Live Event in Warren, RI
• Feb 27 – MAD Live Event in Murrells Inlet, SC
• Feb 28 – Travel to Bike Week to minister
Prayer requests:

• For final preparations for the upcoming Walk Thru The Bible training in GA
• For God’s Spirit to move in hearts as we minister
• For new doors of ministry to open in the coming months
• For our support needs to be met – we are still at ~25%
• For a full schedule – we currently rely on the Live Events for 75% of our income. Please pray for God to fill our schedule and for our support level to move closer to 100%.
• For continued good health and stamina
• For the completion of the 501(C)(3) paperwork and its approval

Love in Christ,

Don and Cathy

Weekend of Ministry

2010-02-02T08:52:00.001-08:00

We completed our 202nd Live Event this past weekend in Spencerport, NY, a suburb of Rochester. We were in this Wesleyan Church for the 2nd time. About 45 people were present and we had an incredible time. The church leadership really has a heart for the lost. The spiritual attacks continued as we had some very strange things happening in the middle of the presentation. But God prevailed and we were able to work aroud the audio and video issues. At the end, we had one man indictae that he had made a first time commitment to follow Christ and there were quite a few rededications to the Lord. A local pastor was in attendance and we met after the event to discuss doing the Live Event in his church. As it was very late when we finished, Cathy and I spent the night at a local motel and drove home Monday.

Last week I completed the 3rd of 3 sessions at an Assembly of God Church north of Philly. The Live event was attended by a large number of teens and some adults. The youth pastor received this email from one of the parents of a teens who attended:

“I am so excited… Last night Sarah went to youth group with a friend from her old school and they had a special speaker. Usually she has no interest in what a speaker has to say… but last night was different. The whole ride home the two girls just couldn’t shut up about what they heard… then when we got home Sarah was so curious about how can she know if she is really a Christian. She was so curious for answers and her heart was so open to receive truth. And when she woke up she was still on the same page wanting to know more. I cannot contain my excitement… Please continue to pray for Sarah for this current desire to take root.”

So praise God with me as He continues to use the MAD Live Events to change people's lives!

Challenges and attacks

2010-01-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

It seems like such a long time since I have written anything in the BLOG or sent out a group email. It started just over a week ago when I was contacted by the email service that we have been using. I was told that we had too many bounce backs which was an indication to them that I may be a spammer. So they were terminating our service immediately! Either a bunch of email addresses were no longer valid or people gave us emails that we couldn’t clearly read. So when we entered these email addresses, they were not valid. I am thankful that through the help of a friend, we were able to get our email addresses into several spreadsheets that we’ll be able to use. Praise God!

Then last Saturday my system crashed due to Spyware. Long story. But after hundreds of wasted dollars and hours on hold with Pakistan or India with no resolution, I had to wipe the hard drive and re-load the operating system. I am still not totally up and running as I am waiting for some replacement software to arrive. But we’re making progress.

Please keep us in prayer as we seek to find a good, inexpensive email list management software product that we can purchase and begin using.

Today's gospel - authentic or synthetic?

2010-01-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

I am reading a short book that was given to me by a local pastor. Walter J. Chantry has written a book with the title I listed above. One of the chapters is devoted to repentance. His statements echo what I have been teaching in the MAD Live Event: "Churches are filled with professing Christians who have never heard that Jesus demands repentance of any who seek eternal life. People flock to 'accept Jesus as a personal Savior' without selling all. They have never been told by the preacher that there is a condition on having treasures in Heaven-that is repentance. So the converts of modern evangelism are aften as worldy after their 'decisions' as before; for they have made a wrong decision. The covetous still cling to their riches and pleasures. Wealth and ease remain as the prevailing marks of their lives."

A little later in the same chapter he writes, "Christ has not invented a different gospel for the twentieth century. But the sad fact is that evangelical missionaries, churches, and literature have unconsciously scrapped the doctrine of repentance to replace it with an easy, sorrowful confession. This fundamental, indispensable foundation stone of the gospel is being ignored."

The church (us) and our preachers need to get back on track. Jesus said in Luke 13:3 that "unless you repent, you too, will all perish". Who are we to leave this out of the gospel presentation when Jesus made it so clear?

First weekend of ministry in 2010

2010-01-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

After a long period of quiet – meaning no Live Events, I was chomping at the bit to be back in front of people equipping them to share their faith as a way of life. Last Wednesday I began a 3 part Live Event for a Youth Group in Wyncote, PA. We did session 1 for 51 teens and adults at the Calvary Assembly of God. Part 2 will be this Wednesday and part 3 the following week. Remember to pray for God’s Spirit to move in the hearts of these young people in the coming weeks.

Yesterday I was at the Shawnee Baptist Church in Shamong, NJ for a Sunday morning Live Event. We began during the Sunday School hour. The attendance swelled to over 300 people for the service time, then we broke for a meal. After the meal, we finished up with session 3. About 130 completed all 3 sessions. There were a number of people who indicated on their evaluation from that they had rededicated their lives to the Lord! Cathy continues to struggle with some sort of a sinus thing, so I went solo. We would appreciate your prayers for that. I stayed for quite a while afterwards manning the table, talking with people, and hearing how the Live Event had impacted their life. What a blessing! I am anxious to see how God will use this with this group of special people. Thanks to Pastor Greg for allowing me to come and minister.

This coming Saturday I will be in Spring City, PA for a MAD Live Event. Thanks for your prayers and financial support.

Endorsement by the Pocket Testament League

2010-01-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

This endorsement is going out to over 6,000 pastors today. Please pray that God uses it to open doors for ministry. Thanks!

http://www.pocketpower.org/email/presentations/sunshine/

Colson Center article on Worldview by my bro Glenn

2010-01-01T14:13:00.001-08:00

http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/call-response/13962-the-year-

The Skit Guys and the New year

2009-12-30T11:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.skitguys.com/store/detail/465/?utm_source=Skit+Guys+News&utm_campaign=b10ef4f67f-This_Year_Will_Be_Different12_29_2009&utm_medium=email

10 predictions that are sure to happen in 2010

2009-12-30T10:45:00.001-08:00

As we end the year 2009, with all the problems the World is facing, it can be unsettling to the mind. Today, I will share with you 10 predications that are sure to come true next year!

Top 10 Predictions for 2010 (author unknown)
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth..
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10.Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Isn't It Great To Remember Who Is Really In Control, and that; "the Word of the Lord endures forever."
( 1 Peter 1:25 )