reedster

the trinco team! 

posted by reedster @ 14:04 1 comments

where's waldoo...i mean the five white people 

posted by reedster @ 14:02 0 comments

post ems

i've posted a couple new pix. sum of them i put back at their respective dates. aka the surfing trip. so some times if you look through the archives you'll find new pix. i'll try and give a heads up on that one. peace

posted by reedster @ 18:58 0 comments

mini-hawk...an experiement 

posted by reedster @ 17:48 3 comments

water quality testing is so fun! 

posted by reedster @ 17:47 0 comments

field work in our ride... 

posted by reedster @ 17:44 1 comments

support letter

i'll let you all look at my support letter. i had to take the graphics out of it cuz i couldnt get them to work on here. let me know what you all think. if you'd like a hard copy send my your address and i can attach you on the mailing list. i do have a mailing list...although at this point the subscription rate is low. haha no new yorks best seller for me. blessings....

Dear Family and Friends,

Time in Sri Lanka has flown by more quickly than I had expected. In the same way it turned out to be much different than I had planned. The Lord has used the last five months in Sri Lanka to bless me richly with relationships and work experience. It has also provided me with a great opportunity to serve the local people and help rebuild into the fractured communities.

Many of you know that I was coming to Sri Lanka with a couple different job responsibilities. I was serving as team leader for three amazing women who also came to work with Alliance Development Trust [ADT]. Although one has already gone home, they have done a tremendous job in developing and assisting ADT create a national child’s program and water/hygiene/sanitation program. The ladies have been very gracious with me as I have learned how to serve and lead a team of three women. I will continue with this responsibility while we are still in country. [picture: Meredith, myself and Katie at a local wedding, Jan had left by then.]

My second major responsibility was managing the water department in Trincomalee, a town severely affected by the tsunami on the East coast. This changed when I was asked to take over as the ADT Trincomalee Team Leader in May. For the last four months I have been the Trincomalee Coordinator and have been responsible for all of ADT’s projects in the Trincomalee district. In this district, ADT is working with tsunami affected communities in permanent housing, water and hygiene/sanitation, income generating projects, and the development of children and sport clubs. This has been a very rewarding but challenging task that I have accepted. It is my prayer to see ADT Trincomalee develop into successful field office and become completely operated by empowered local staff. To accomplish this, it will require me to spend additional time in Sri Lanka developing the Trincomalee office. [picture: on the field doing community work]

Therefore, I am planning to extend my contract till the summer of 2006. During this period of time I would focus on leadership and staff development, in the hopes of transferring my position over to a local Sri Lankan. To make this possible it will require me to extend my support, since I have only raised enough to stay through my departure date this October. I appreciate all the support that has been given to me at this point; so, I am presenting the opportunity to extend it to you as well. I will need to raise $1,500 a month of personal support and an additional $3500 for project/travel funds for my time in Sri Lanka.

It has been my privilege to share this adventure and calling in my life with so many of you. Without your help and support none of this would have been able to happen. I realize the limits that prayer letters have on sharing the true experience so for a detailed look at the ministry and my life experiences in Sri Lanka you can visit my blog at: www.benjaminreed.blogspot.com .

May the Lord keep you and bless you in the days to come.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Reed

Benjamin’s contact information:

benjamin.reed@gmail.com
www.benjaminreed.blogspot.com
+94.077.911.6629 mobile
+94.026.459.5272 office

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

Dear Benjamin,

__ I (we) want to be a ministry partner with you.

__ I (we) will pray for you __ regularly, __ weekly, __ daily.

__ Please put me on your mailing list(s).

__ I (we) want to help you financially: $ ______ monthly, $ _______ one time gift.

__ I (we) want you to speak to my group and share your mission ( __ church, __ school, __ small group, __ friends, ___________ other)

__ I (we) would like more information about: __________________________________________________________________________________

Name: E-mail Address:

Address:

City: Zip:

Phone:

Please return coupon to:

Action International Ministries

PO Box 398

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043-0398

USA

Make payments payable to Action International Ministries; do not write on the check memo line, but attach a post-it or write on another piece of paper that the donation is designated for Benjamin Reed, Post-Tsunami Development Project Worker, Sri Lanka. A tax deductible receipt will be returned to you. Your coupon will be forwarded to Benjamin. Thank you.

posted by reedster @ 16:24 1 comments

sibling respect!

just wanted to let everyone know that the coolest bro and sis out there just had a birthday, September 17th (steve) and August 17 (rebecca). HAPPY BIRTHDAY steve and becs. proud of you both...man we're all getting old. you'll have to wait till i get back till i hook you up with a party and cake.

so if any of you have a chance, drop my bro and sis sum respect and serious bones. God bless you both and i wish you a year full of His blessings and guidance.

posted by reedster @ 15:40 0 comments

life up till now

so since my mini vacation surfing, life has drastically changed.

it got busy...and weirdly enough not just busy but actually productive which can be a bit of a commodity in developing nations. this last week, we've been working on the legal side of securing a new office. we've been blessed with the opportunity to move into a newly built place and use it for our office. its quite nice and well below the current market price. God is good.

of late the housing program in Trinco has really taken off. we're building 120 houses but starting with 50. we're doing it through community empowerment where we mobilize the community to make the changes and decisions. they will organized into units and each unit will be responsible for building the houses of their particular members. most of the community have been effected by the 20+ yrs of civil war and by the recent tsunami. we are giving them a chance to rebuild their homes and establish their roots again. its moving along very quickly and the community and government are excited to see this type of development taking place. its great to be a part of. currently we're lacking a bit of funding...our head office gave our funding to another region because they had didnt have any and supposable were ready to start...bummer eh? sooo, if any of you have 240,000 to drop on building houses for poor people in Sri Lanka you could really be a blessing. ahahaha for the rest of you, could you just pray that the Lord will provide enabling us to be a blessing to the nations? thanx

i leave to return to seattle on the 14th or oct. so anyone there that wants to get together with me start booking appointments cuz its almost all full. oh wait...not quite. i'll be home for one-two months for some work and rest before its time to head back out to Sri Lanka. it sorta feels weird to be coming back to seattle....but i like it.

my dad comes out here at the end of this month, so it doesnt give me any excuses. i've really got to be working now. it'll be great to have his company for ten days. he'll be doing a pastors conference, which will be sic. all of ya'll should be there.

anyways, this week has absurdly busy. my brain is a lil fried and i dont think straight. when i stop everything else sorta gets blurry and flies by. not literally but close enough. i'm going to go run. take care and blessings to you all. God bless.

posted by reedster @ 17:27 0 comments