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Service To Servants

Meeting Notes

July 11, 2006

 

RM = Richard Morris, DB = David Bearchell, ME = Matt Elsberry,

GE = Gayla Edwards, CC = Chuck Clark, BL = Beccy Lanier,

RE = Rodney Edwards

 

CC, RM, DB & RE in attendance (ME in Mumbai at a Crown Spontaneous Growth event)

 

Prior to the meeting:

RE – On June 29th I met with Ericka Stevens, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce at the Nashville Export Assistance Center, based upon a recommendation by Tom Robershaw (assists Liberian Ministries with business related projects).  She is a Christian and immediately put me into contact with three other Christian businessmen desiring to do work in Africa.  Mike Weaver – WiSight Mobility, Bob Jenkins – Ado Laurus and Charles Jones – American Business Funding.  She put me on the phone with both Mike Weaver and Bob Jenkins and made a recommendation that Charles Jones contact me as well.  In addition, her brother (from Baltimore) is a friend of a director of Ellen Sirleaf’s campaign for president.  So that may be another contact as well.  We had a great conversation and Ericka felt that she could bring us together with these businessmen who had a heart for missions and might have a way to incorporate business in such a way as to generate funds for the mission efforts in Liberia.

RE – On July 3rd I attended a meeting at the Commerce Department with Ericka, Mike Weaver, Bob Jenkins and Charles Jones.  We spent a good amount of time discussing the needs in Liberia and how we could work together to address them.  After laying some background concerning the recently ended war, elections and spiritual/economic/physical situation in Liberia it was determined that the first step to a continual process of assistance to the nation of Liberia would be to set up a communications infrastructure using the new technology that Mike Weaver’s company, WiSight Mobility (www.wisight.com), has developed.  He offered to put it in at cost and use it to provide missionary support.  Proving that it would work in Liberia would ensure that it could be used throughout the balance of West Africa.  The initial actions required would be to gain governmental approval and the funding necessary to cover the cost of equipment and installation (using Liberian personnel to the maximum extent possible).  It was agreed that I would make what contacts I could to identify the proper governmental officials and that Ericka would work through the African office of the Commerce Department that covers Liberia to do the same.  She would also determine the proper contacts within the U.S. Embassy in Liberia to provide the proper Liberian governmental contacts as well.  Mike is to provide a preliminary budget of the costs to perform this initial project.

RE- I am asking that everyone pray for this opportunity in the following two ways: 1) that God would reveal Himself as the initiator of this plan and 2) when He does, that I would be faithful to follow through with it (this is definitely outside of my comfort zone given the size of the possibilities).

Today’s call:

RM – Opened in prayer remembering each person on the call and Matt who is serving God outside of the U.S. this week.

DB – Welcome to Chuck on his first board conference call.

RE – Looking at the timeline we are behind in a couple of key areas.  First, we are 3 weeks behind in getting the Case Statement finalized, printed and put into distributable electronic form (my fault).  I should have the document finalized by tomorrow.  Gayla will then format it for print and I will put into electronic form as well as begin the professional printing process.  Estimated $1,000 for this process is available through the release of container shipping money by LBTS’s inclusion of a truck in our container scheduled for shipment in late July (they are sharing in the cost).

DB – Ownership of the Prayer Ministry of STS has been accepted by Beccy (pronounced “Becky”) Lanier, assistant to DB in Crazy Missionaries.  She will begin praying for the ministry’s needs immediately but will begin the full contacting, updating, etc. portion mid-August.  DB will provide the names of Ericka, Mike, Bob and Charles to her now so that she can begin praying for God’s guidance.

RE – Contacts to people in Liberia have not resulted in a change of dates from November 10th & 11th so we will make those firm as of now.

RE – Need to being making contacts with key Liberian leaders now for two purposes.  First, we need to determine the proper venue for 1,000+ participants.  Second, we need to begin forming the 2 committees (pastors and businessmen) so that I can meet with them in August while I’m there (looks like the 7th – the 20th).

RM – The Monrovia City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion near Ashmun St. are both big enough.  Also, Providence Baptist Church on Broad Street may have a large enough sanctuary.

DB – Will contact the Salvation Army, Baptist, and other representatives

RM – Will contact SIM and Methodist representatives

RE – Will contact LBTS, AOG, Greater Love Church and Ricks Institute representatives

RE – Everyone is free to discuss the dates, venue, objectives and committee memberships with each leader.  If we can get a venue (preferably at low or no cost) set right away we can create some advertising pieces in time to get them in the container.  If not, I can take them when I go.

DB – Will talk with Norwood Davis regarding his recent visit to Liberia in conjunction with a micro-finance effort.  Should be some business contacts there.  Also will discuss with Norwood taking on an active roll with STS (at least for the Crown event)

RE - Ron Kaye, CTO, Logical Choice Technologies Inc. and I have not gotten together yet.  They have offered to host our Outlook database through their exchange server so that we can maintain a shared database of contacts to work from.

DB – Will “own” the database as each of us feed contacts into it.

RE – Will provide the initial Outlook database from his database of contacts.

RE – Moved funding ($5-10k) for Liberian marketing to first week of August as it will not be turned over until the committees are formed and I meet with them in Monrovia.

RE – Matt mentioned possibility of tagging our printing onto another location’s run which would save us money.  I might have dropped the ball as Matt is gone and I haven’t followed up.

DB – Will make contact with Matt to determine next step.

CC – Will do some research on shipping containers to Liberia through his shipping contacts.

DB – Something neat.  Got a call from a friend who is heading up a Crown Catalytic event in India about 6 months after us.  We will provide him with everything we are doing to help make his planning easier.  Just one more way that we are “serving others” as per our commission.

RE – Next week’s meeting is back on schedule for Monday.

DB – Closed in prayer.

 

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