First of all, I want you all to know that we treasure your hearts, minds, and attention. I know that if we can inspire you all to see the scope of this vision, it'll add a little bounce to your step and drive to your life.
Surprisingly, people's first questions have been how to donate. We are deeply touched by how eager everyone is to put that kind of confidence in us. So, if you've asked, here's how to donate. Any donations should be made payable to Literacy & Evangelism International, and addressed as follows:
Bradley Means
c/o Literacy & Evangelism International
1800 S. Jackson Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74107
All donations will go into our own account at LEI. This process keeps the donations documented and accounted for, and therefore non-profit, non-taxable, and tax-deductible. We regularly receive updates on donations and who they're from.
We really appreciate how willing everyone has been to get on board with us financially. However, the subject of money can sometimes weigh down the inspirational mood. So we'll be following up this post by exploring more of how we can change this world together. Don't worry if it's not in the cards for you to donate! We need you. We need your thoughts, ideas, and prayers.
A spear isn't much use without its shaft, is it?
December 29, 2009
October 30, 2009
And so it begins...
We are so excited to share with you what God is doing in our lives! Since Brad graduated with a Nursing Degree from ATU in May, we have been pursuing God’s calling on our lives to become missionaries to Latin America. After much serious prayer, God opened the door for us to join with a mission called Literacy and Evangelism International (LEI) whose mission is to teach the illiterate world how to read as a means of evangelizing and church-strengthening. We had always taken the ability to read the Bible for granted until we learned that so many Christians cannot turn to the Word to seek comfort, guidance, and spiritual strength because they cannot read. We stepped out in faith and spent June and July in Tulsa, OK training with LEI. Since then, we have been accepted as LEI missionaries and are ready to take the first steps toward building our ministry.
Check out LEI at their website: http://www.literacyevangelism.org/
Our ministry vision includes teaching in the areas of:
To teach literacy and English, we will be using LEI's excellent materials. Each lesson of these materials has Bible content. Brad will use his training as a nurse to help meet our community's basic health needs once we are in Latin America.
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This September, we taught a Literacy Workshop in Tulsa to help us gain experience teaching with LEI's materials. A workshop includes:
Amy demonstrating a portion of a lesson during the Literacy Workshop.
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Brad simulating the experiences of a non-reader for our students.
__________________________________________________________
Teaching at this workshop was a great experience, and we learned so much that will help us to establish our own literacy ministry in Latin America.
Our next step is to take a two month trip to Latin America. We plan to visit Bolivia and Nicaragua because these countries have some of the lowest literacy rates in the region. During our stay, our goals are to:
We greatly appreciate your prayer and support as we follow the Lord's guidance in every step of beginning our ministry!
Check out LEI at their website: http://www.literacyevangelism.org/
Our ministry vision includes teaching in the areas of:
- Literacy
- English Language
- Basic Health
To teach literacy and English, we will be using LEI's excellent materials. Each lesson of these materials has Bible content. Brad will use his training as a nurse to help meet our community's basic health needs once we are in Latin America.
__________________________________________________________
This September, we taught a Literacy Workshop in Tulsa to help us gain experience teaching with LEI's materials. A workshop includes:
- An introduction to the problems and causes of illiteracy.
- The Biblical basis for a literacy ministry.
- Training adults who can read to use LEI's materials.
- Teaching students how to tutor a non-reader.
- How to begin a church-based literacy ministry.
Amy demonstrating a portion of a lesson during the Literacy Workshop.__________________________________________________________
Brad simulating the experiences of a non-reader for our students.__________________________________________________________
Teaching at this workshop was a great experience, and we learned so much that will help us to establish our own literacy ministry in Latin America.
Our next step is to take a two month trip to Latin America. We plan to visit Bolivia and Nicaragua because these countries have some of the lowest literacy rates in the region. During our stay, our goals are to:
- Assess the needs of each region. How much do they need literacy, English, and health instruction?
- Learn more about their cultures.
- Determine what country God is calling us to work in, and for how long.
- Make connections with those working in literacy, English, and health in the area.
- Assist the area in any way possible.
We greatly appreciate your prayer and support as we follow the Lord's guidance in every step of beginning our ministry!
September 17, 2009
The Means Mission
If you're looking for the blog of Brad and Amy Means, you're in the right place.
We're getting things started by setting up our lines of communication. Our internet communications will center around this blog. Whenever we have a new post, we will send out e-mails and Facebook messages to let you know we've added new info. If you'd like the Facebook messages, join our Facebook group, The Means Mission. If you want to receive emails, which will include an outline of the post, just send your email address to us at the address below.
Aside from our electronic means of communication, we'll also be mailing out a printed newsletter with the same content of our blog. If you would like to receive the printed version, just email us with your mailing address.
Our email address: bmymeans@gmail.com.
More on our plans coming soon.
We're getting things started by setting up our lines of communication. Our internet communications will center around this blog. Whenever we have a new post, we will send out e-mails and Facebook messages to let you know we've added new info. If you'd like the Facebook messages, join our Facebook group, The Means Mission. If you want to receive emails, which will include an outline of the post, just send your email address to us at the address below.
Aside from our electronic means of communication, we'll also be mailing out a printed newsletter with the same content of our blog. If you would like to receive the printed version, just email us with your mailing address.
Our email address: bmymeans@gmail.com.
More on our plans coming soon.
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