Ambassador Spotlight: Adam Glowaski, Haiti
My first trip with GoServ Global was to Haiti to help with the dental clinic. To be honest, when I first heard of the trip I wasn’t interested. I had heard stories and saw photos from the many trips before, but if it hadn’t been for the Lord revealing a path there for me, I never would have gone. But somehow in a matter of weeks, HE had made it so clear, it was like there was never a doubt in my heart or mind.
The people of Haiti are strong and resilient. They don’t need ME, they need the power of the Lord. If I can help bring that in some way or another, then He has done good through me. I don’t offer anything special, other than being able to tell the story through images and video with the occasional fix-it project mixed it. Their story is what brings me back. I still think God has a bigger plan for me and Haiti, but he isn’t quite ready to show me. (That or I am not quite ready to admit it)
My Life
I run a small marketing/digital media business out of Ventura, IA. Much of my job has me traveling around the country/world shooting photos and video for aviation clients. When I do get home, I enjoy spending time flying at the airport (I am a pilot), and relaxing on the lake with my wife, Sarah. Most of all, I enjoy helping to lead worship behind the drum kit at Zion Lutheran Church.
Ambassador Spotlight: Linda Zwiefel
In 2014, I went to Haiti for the first time with my family. We fell in love with the girls at the Consolation Center, and are sponsoring Islande, a girl my daughter Mallory’s age.
The past few years I have served on GoServ Global’s Promotional team, helping to organize several Safe T Home® events. In addition, I have also served as Volunteer Coordinator for the Domestic Disaster Relief branch of GoServ Global. I’ve been able to work at disaster sites and help organize the team.
“Linda is invaluable to both our disaster relief ministry and promotional events,” shared Dennis Anderson, GoServ Global Domestic Director.
My Life
Linda is married to Joel (who also helps GoServ Global in many ways) and they have 4 children. The Zwiefels farm near Fenton, Iowa.
Ambassador Spotlight: Tom Bieber, Haiti
Tom Bieber, D.D.S., first traveled to Haiti on a medical mission in 2011 through Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, IA. At the time, he had no idea what a life-changing decision this would turn out to be. The devastation he witnessed in Haiti was overwhelming and he remembers hearing a group of kids playing and laughing and he wondered, how can they be so happy?
Throughout the week, their team held several medical/dental clinics, and after that first clinic, it became clear the monumental need for these services. Two trips later, their team questioned how they could make a difference that was sustainable.
Enter GoServ Global. In 2013, Dr. Bieber joined several members from Zion in an exploratory trip with GoServ Global. It seemed like the perfect fit. Throughout the week, Dr. Bieber & the team completed dental exams and compiled dental records for the girls at Consolation Center (CCH) and some of the children at the school.
“I knew this was the place God wanted me to serve,” he shared. “I was certain that my future service would be with CCH and the work that GoServ Global is doing in Les Cayes.”
The team agreed and eventually the church was able to secure land and begin constructing a dental clinic next to the medical clinic. Next month, Dr. Bieber will join the Zion team to install equipment at the dental clinic as it’s nearing completion.
Since then, God has been in control and He has put opportunities and people in our path so we will be able to serve people in great need. The majority of people in Haiti do not have the resources to see a dentist, so they live with the pain that comes with the absence of dental care. My hope is that now we will be able to help the younger Haitians learn some preventive measures so they will have a healthier outlook and at the same time continue to treat those in pain. It will be nice to go to Haiti and be able to save some teeth rather than just removing them!
There is no doubt that God has used the people of Haiti to strengthen my faith, and those children I heard playing and laughing that first night in Haiti have made me realize the things in life that really matter.
My Life
Tom and his wife Lisa live in Clear Lake where Tom practices dentistry at Lake Dental Associates.
In January of 2011, Tim went on a short-term mission trip to India with Terry Baxter, their interim pastor at the time and future founding member of GoServ Global. Shortly after this trip and through a series of events in Haiti, GoServ Global was birthed. Tim (Treasurer) and Lorie (Secretary) have served on the Board of Directors since its beginning.
In November 2012 both Tim and Lorie traveled to Haiti to help prepare the clinic at the Consolation Center for its dedication ceremony. While there they got to take part in a baptismal ceremony where 31 new members were added to Christ’s Church. We both traveled to India in January 2014 where we reconnected with the children at the school, assisted with a pastor’s conference, and visited tribal villages and churches. In June 2014, Tim went to Peru to help with the first containers of Safe T Homes® and equipment that had arrived for a camp and pastor’s training center project called Hidden Creeks Bible Camp. More recently the couple served in Guatemala, helping with the church/Christian School and have also helped with GoServ Global’s domestic ministry.
“Our favorite missions are the ones we can go on together. We like working together, partly because we see things differently. How I experience a trip can be very different than how Tim does, even as we are side by side! We can bounce thoughts and insights off of each other to more fully see the many ways God is working”, shares Lorie.
The Wittmaacks have had several opportunities to speak at churches and other groups about the work that God is doing through GoServ Global.
“At GoServ Global, we like to talk about being ‘World Changers’. That might sound presumptive, but if we can influence even one person to connect with Christ, to step out in ministry through His power, that person’s world is changed. As they connect with Him, they introduce His Gospel to another. It’s personal. It’s life changing. It IS world changing – one life at a time.”
My Life
The Wittmaacks live in the house Lorie grew up in on a Century Farm near Linn Grove, IA. Tim has worked at a small bank for nearly 30 years, Lorie at Ranco, a small manufacturing firm, for 11, and they do a little farming.
Ambassador Spotlight: Rob Poush, Haiti
I have worked for Sukup Manufacturing Company for more than 30 years as a territory manager. I have met many people over the years, but God has intricately placed some in my path to change my life for the better. I first met Ken DeYoung, co-founder of GoServ Global, a few years back when he had purchased a Sukup grain bin and dryer for his farm. Shortly after that, Sukup Mfg. started making the Safe-T Homes®. I found out that GoServ Global and Ken were involved in the design and distribution of the Safe T Homes®, and our paths reconnected again. I knew that this was something that I wanted to be a part of. Our whole congregation now has become invested and has sent numerous mission teams to Haiti. My wife, Joy and I have the privilege of leading several of these mission teams to Haiti through our church.
My Life
I am married to Joy, and we have three children.
For several years Rick Brown has led mission trips to Haiti on behalf of GoServ Global. Rick joined our board in 2018 and he also helps with GoServ Global’s IT needs.
“I enjoy working with GoServ Global in Haiti because I truly feel that God is at work there through this organization,” shares Rick. “The ability to make a direct impact and witness results first-hand help me to give God the credit and glory for all that is accomplished.”
My Life
Rick is married to Marci and has 2 children and 1 grandchild
Flood Relief
Officials say that communities in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa have been hit the hardest with the recent flooding. At this time, the GoServ Global Disaster Relief Team is assessing the situation to see where we can be the most effective. When we respond, we will need volunteers and funding.
To VOLUNTEER:
Text GoServ Global Domestic Director Dennis Anderson
at (712)887-0862 with your Name, Cell, Email, Availability & Skills
To GIVE:
Click on https://goservglobal.org/give/
Choose “Domestic Disaster Relief”
OR
Mail Your Donation to:
GoServ Global
PO Box 193
Eagle Grove, IA 50533
Write “Domestic Disaster Relief” in the memo line
Thank you for your support!
For more than two years, Vainceur and his five boys lived in an 8’x10’ tin shack with a tarp roof after Hurricane Matthew destroyed their home. Today, this Haitian family of six has a new place to call home, marking GoServ Global’s 300th Sukup Safe T Home® built in Haiti. This home is extra special because it was built by the Audubon, Iowa FFA team in memory of Sukup Manufacturing Co. founder Eugene Sukup, who died this past summer at the age of 89. Sukup employees donated most of the funds for the Safe T Home®.
“The Safe T Home® really embodies two of our values as a family-owned company – making high quality products from steel and giving back,” shared Steve Sukup, CFO at Sukup. “Building one of these homes in Haiti was a very fitting way to honor my father, Eugene, who founded the company and ingrained these values in it from the beginning.”
Sukup Safe T Home®
After the January 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti, Brett Nelson of Sukup Manufacturing came up with the design of the Safe T Home®, measuring 18-feet in diameter and made entirely of metal, making it resistant to termites and moisture. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti with winds in excess of 145 mph, putting the homes to the test. Yet, all 200 homes prevailed with just minor damage, while the vast majority of traditional homes in the area were destroyed.
Homes like Vainceur’s. The father lost his home, his garden, and a year later his wife passed away, leaving him to raise all five boys alone. Vainceur shared how tough it was following the hurricane, yet today was a good day.
“Right now I feel at peace,” he said. “I learned that I was getting a new home about 3 days ago.”
#LivingtoServe
Not only was Vainceur touched by the Safe T Home®, so was the team that built it. Eight members of the Audubon FFA along with their advisor, Brittany Elmquist and her husband, Joe, helped build the home along with the family.
“I will not forget the look of pride on [Vainceur’s] face as we handed him his keys for his new Safe T Home,” shared FFA student Grace Christensen.
Eighteen-year-old Jayden Hartl added, “It was humbling to meet a family that had lost nearly everything except for each other. They were driven and doing everything they could to try and get their life back on track.”
Since 2012, nearly 75 FFA students from across the U.S. have served on a GoServ Global mission trip.
“I wanted our chapter to be involved in this project to give members the opportunity to exemplify the FFA motto, ‘Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve’ with emphasis on ‘Living to Serve,’” shared Elmquist. “Haiti is a country in need and our members knew they could be of assistance with agricultural projects and by having great character to learn the culture and respect those involved.”
After returning from Haiti, the team was so impacted by the trip that the Audubon FFA voted to sponsor Paul, one of the boys they met at the Joshua House Orphanage.
Last year, 325 volunteers served on a GoServ Global mission trip. GoServ Global shares God’s love by responding to disaster, empowering sustainable community development and creating world change through hands-on involvement in Guatemala, Haiti, India, Peru, Uganda, and the United States.
Shortly after GoServ Global began in 2011, the nonprofit connected with Sukup Manufacturing to discuss how the Safe T Home® could help those in need. Not only have 300 homes been built in Haiti, 30 more are being built in Uganda to house refugee orphan children who have fled war-torn South Sudan. Ten homes have also been built in Peru and 10 in Kenya.
The need for homes is great in Haiti as there are countless more families like Vainceur’s. One Safe T Home® costs $7,000 including shipping. To give toward a Safe T Home®, visit https://goservglobal.org/give/.
Vainceur and his five boys lived in this makeshift home for more than two years after Hurricane Matthew destroyed their house.
The Audubon FFA Team building the Safe T Home®.
The Audubon FFA Team inside the Safe T Home® with the kids of the family.
YOU CRUSHED IT!
We are so THANKFUL for everyone who gave to our Year-End Campaign. YOU CRUSHED our goal of $500,000!! Our grand total is $567,315!
We stand in awe of an awesome God who continues to provide for GoServ Global through our donors. Thank you so much for your continued support of our ministries around the world. May you have a blessed 2019!
YOU Crushed our Goal!!
WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!
YOU helped us crush our year-end goal of raising $500,000! Currently GoServ Global has raised $512,000!! We praise God for your gifts and continued support.
Thank you to everyone who has given to GoServ Global.
If you have not yet given, it’s not too late! Your gifts will enable us to get off to a great start for 2019!
https://goservglobal.org/give/
May you have a blessed new year!