“I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14

Equip Updates

Equip had their evangelism week, during which they were able to go out to the streets of Reading. They spent 2 days praying for the people they encountered and sharing the gospel with whomever would listen. Isaac & Sam have been learning a lot in their classes and during their time in the different vocations on campus. All of the staff have really enjoyed getting to know them, and we encourage you to do the same by reading their newsletters or visiting the ministry to meet them.

“We finished up our class on Ephesians, which taught us who we are in Christ and what we are called to do because of that. This class is a great weekly reminder of how and why we are to live like Christ. We started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan which addresses the problem of lukewarm Christianity and explores God’s relentless love. We had our last class on reaping what you sew last night. It was an insightful class about making plans for the future, taking action, and being flexible to change according to God’s will.” – Isaac

At the Ministry in Bernville, PA

The Warehouse

Justin Darnell, Lisa Miller, & Johnny Debkowski are excited for the prospect of heat in the Warehouse. During the winter months, they, along with the amazing volunteers, faithfully serve in the cold winter weather with Christ-like attitudes and smiles on their faces. We received a donation of floor heaters that we are sure will bless them and the ministries that pick up donations. The Warehouse brought in 4 multi-pallet donations from a local warehouse in 4 weeks; in addition, a container for Mayreau was shipped this month, and there will be another leaving for Ghana with Douglas Yeboah. God is moving through the Warehouse!

Automotive Shops

We estimate that the Automotive Shop’s work on 30+ cars/month. Strangely enough, many of the vehicles being worked on belong to the staff. Please pray for Nick VanWert , Caleb, Sam Adams, and Doug Sylva as they serve not only the CMTS staff here, but also the many other ministries that we serve. Sam Mechler has been in the Auto Shop with Nick and Caleb, learning about the basics of vehicle maintenance and repairs. Also, pray for Nick’s father who is in recovery after surgery for removing a brain tumor. We are grateful that God has been moving in this situation, and that His Name will be glorified for all He has done.

Maintenance, Hospitality, & More

Mike Miller & Ray Pete continue to generate revenue for the ministry by filling scrap containers. It’s amazing how much work has been done by the two of them in just a few short months. It’s a blessing to see them working together and moving with such purpose! We are grateful for all they do around campus, along with Leam, who is still pressing on towards obtaining the necessary permits to finish the apartments above the shops and the Training Center. Please pray for open doors for these projects, and that God would move in the township.

Sandra Kline led a workgroup from Salem Christian School, the school that Sam(Equip) attended prior to joining Equip. The group was able to accomplish so many things to serve us, Sandra started running out of things to do by lunchtime. She is planning for another work group in December, and talking with some churches about next summer as well! We are so glad to have work groups coming to the ministry again; they bring life and an opportunity for discipleship that energizes the staff.

We held our first public evangelism class, and had 11 people including Sandra & Wyatt, Hannah, Caleb, Aidan and some new faces that we hope to see around the ministry more often. Joel & Nolan taught the classes, and Justin joined the group to walk around the area of 5th street and then in the Berkshire Mall. We hope to have another class this spring; if that’s something you’re interested in, contact the Front Office and we will give you more info!

CMTS Belize & the Merricks

Here’s a message from Andy & Nancy Merrick about their time in the States:

“Thank you all for faithfully praying for us. I have had great peace throughout this situation. It is easy to see how the Lord provided just what Andy needed even if I wasn’t there. I feel like a by-stander on the side line with my hip recovery, cheering him on… Praise the Lord, Andy came through it very well. Thanks for all of your words of encouragement, messages and phone calls. We are staying at Steve and Terri Essig’s lovely missionary guesthouse, a few miles away from the CMTS headquarters until November 4th. We get our mail at our home address of 1100 N Boundary Rd Bernville PA 19506. Continue to lift us up in prayer, that we may heal quickly and get back to serving the Lord in Belize!”

Where in the World is Joel Smith?

July was a busy month for Joel! He went to Mayreau, an island 200 miles north of Venezuela and then to Dryden, Canada with a mission trip group! Going to Mayreau was not planned. July 1, 2024, a category 5 hurricane (Hurricane Beryl), flattened the tiny island of Mayreau. This island is so tiny, you can’t see it on a map! It’s part of the lower Caribbean Islands and the Grenadine Islands Government. The majority of their income relies on tourists.

The people that we work with in Mayreau are Ben & Jes Tangert of YWAM St. Vincent & The Grenadine Islands. We have worked closely with them and their team for about 3 years now; they are like family to us. We help with their kids, talk and text as we have struggles, pray together, serve together, and do life together. So when Ben said he was going down to see the damage done to his community and his home, Joel was more than willing to join him. We dropped everything to support our brother in Christ in this devastating time of need. A few days after the hurricane hit, Joel, Ben, and the guys left.

We pray for a heart like God’s, to break like His breaks, to have compassion like He has compassion. I am so thankful God has been using us for so many things, but so many things are breaking my heart. The devastation and loss in Mayreau after Hurricane Beryl is terrible. It makes me cry, but I am so thankful that God put this burden to help His workers on our hearts so heavily. I am thankful for a husband that runs to help friends who lost everything: their home, their ministry. While they weren’t there to comfort their community at the time, they are there now. But it still is so heavy.

Joel went down with Ben, another Joel, and a man named Shannon to assess the damage, save what they could, and pray with the people. On the way down they ran into another ministry, CRI- Crisis Response International, that was also headed down to help Mayreau. They didn’t know Ben was planning on going down to Mayreau, but they met up on the island of St. Vincent and traveled the rest of the way to Mayreau together.

This group (Ben, Joel, Joel, Shannon, Sean, and Abe) was the first responders to this island. No one else had shown up yet. It was a lot of cleanup, their food was the MREs they brought with them, and water was very scarce. They all slept on the concrete floors under the one roof that was not completely ripped off. There were a lot of emotions that week as the community was working together to clean up and salvage what they could. Joel had a conversation with a boy who said, “If there is a God, why did He allow this?” It was a great conversation opener, but it broke Joel’s heart.

Sean, from CRI, was able to bring along a Starlink setup for some communication back home so I, Danielle, knew he was alive, but communication was spotty. It was beautiful by the end of the week as more and more people were showing up to help. Mercy Ships brought a desalinator for the salt water, yachts were pulling into where they could and feeding people fish sandwiches, a doctor came and was helping the hurt. By the end of the week, the government arrived and set up on the base to out food and water. Ben & Jes allowed the government to put first aid and supplies in their building that was still mostly standing. The government purchased a tarp to cover the roof so they could continue to operate and it helped save the rest of the building. Joel and the rest of the guys were able to cover all the roofs to make them rain free again and some belongings were able to be salvaged, but not much. We will be sending 4-6 40′ long sea shipping containers to Mayreau in the next 5-6 months. The Warehouse/Distribution Center is going to be a busy place! Praise God we have so much of what they need for the community and their home.

Prayer Requests

This month, please be praying for:

• The work groups coming to CMTS
• The apartments above the Auto Shop
• Belize & the Merricks as they serve and build up CMTS Belize
• Favor with the township in getting permits for the different building projects
• Funds for the ministry. We desire to impact more people for Christ, and the ministry needs prayer & financial support to do so
• Equip & E2
• Financial support for the staff members
• The leadership & board members

Fun Facts & Stats