Team Berryman

Team Berryman

Team Berryman is Dan, Marina, Michael & Steven Berryman...we are insanely passionate about sharing the Gospel - the Good News - with the unreached people of Burundi, Rwanda & Tanzania. It is our pleasure and privilege to mobilize, equip and lead North American teams on short-term missions with e3 Partners Ministry. We'd love to have you partner with us in this incredible opportunity for ministry we've been called to do.
 

• Financial Partners - regular, monthly supporters along with one-time donations are all an integral part of our ministry. 100% of our salary comes from the generous support of our Financial Partners. All donations are made directly to E3 Partners Ministry and are tax-deductible. If you'd like to support us financially, we'd love to meet with you to share our vision for East Africa and beyond and how you can be a part of God's work through us. Please contact Dan or Marina and we will set up a meeting time & place that's convenient for you!! 
• Ministry Partners - a major part of our job is to mobilize North American Christians to join us on church-planting campaigns. These "missionary journeys" will not only result in a spiritual harvest, but a personal, spiritual renewal and awakening!  If you're ready for a faith-filled adventure, we'd love to have you join us on our next campaign! Come with us as we take the message of salvation, hope and love to the ends of the earth!
• Prayer Partners - we are SO grateful for the faithful prayers of our prayer team! We have witnessed firsthand the power of prayer while sharing the Gospel in Africa. We've watched prostitutes and drunks and refugees and the elderly and the young pray to receive Christ, not because of our eloquence or giftedness in sharing the Gospel, but because of prayer. Check out the Prayer Partners page for updated prayer calendars along with current prayer requests.  

No Luggage Lost

Always amazed when we arrive with all our luggage in Africa! Part of the fun of arrival is when we cram most of our stuff into a car then start adding people into the car and then finish cramming the rest of the stuff in. The car this time was a cute little Rav4. We stacked & shoved & loaded in all 350 pounds of baggage. Then when we were just about all in, the car key was nowhere to be found. Searched everywhere, the ground, under the car, unpacked most of the bags...Dan sat in the car patiently, somewhat unable to move or breathe then finally he un-wedged himself from the stuff and came out to join the search...surprise -- he had been sitting on the key the whole time!

PRAISE GOD: Protection, provision, mercy all in abundance during 2 days of travel!!

Dan's Updates From Zanzibar

God is doing some amazing things in Zanzibar. Keep praying for seeds to be planted and sown, for the churches in Zanzibar to be strengthened and encouraged, that they would be committed and passionate about sharing the Gospel now that they have been trained and equipped by Dan and his team, that they would faithfully disciple all believers, and that ultimately God would grow His church and be greatly glorified!! 

The following is Dan's daily chronicle on his current short-term mission trip with e3 partners to Zanzibar. He posts to Facebook via Twitter (@daninreallife). I copied all his Tweets and pasted them into paragraph form for easier reading. 

Last time I wore these pants I was leaving the USA. I wore them for the next 17-days. Yes, they're like a good friend. Boarding Group 1! Does this nullify my "mission" trip? Need to fly across USA then Atlantic then Europe then the Sahara then a little more. Still waiting to board. Need to go back to gym, bags are all too heavy. Going to Africa. Landed in Chicago waiting for connection at Manchu Wok, why? Tradition! On flight leaving USA, need to turn twitter "off". I can send, get DM's, get text, but can't afford to listen to all of you. Miss you guys! In Chicago & London, experiencing cross cultural dress. People carry large, bulky clothing. They call these items "coats". Strange. The American team has assembled. We are 3 strong. Zanzibar, here we come.

Made it to Nairobi. Best all around flights ever. Thank you, United Airlines & Kenya Airlines. 1 more flight to Zanzibar. Leaving Nairobi, home of the world's hottest airport. I'm sweating like a dog in Chinese restaurant. Arrived in Zanzibar w/ all our bags. Bags look a little looted. TSA took my can of Raid, but we're in business to plant churches. Staying at a hotel in Zanzibar that used to be the slave market. Carried 60-pounds of scripture tract & gospels to Zanzibar. I had booklets in suitcase, carryon, pockets.Pray Isaiah 55. Wow, a tourist bus full of white people pulled in front of hotel (old slave market). Hope they don't think I'm part of interactive show. Woke up from sound nap dazed & confused. Rushed to opening ceremony. I'm an hour early. Wished I'd brushed my teeth or ate a pack of gum.

Pastor's story: his sister converted to Jesus, as muslim it was his duty to kill her, thru a miracle & sister's testimony he comes to Jesus. The influence of 1% Christian population ended slavery in Zanzibar. I have a new love - Spice tea.  In Zanzibar, 1st man prayed for Jesus as crowd made fun of him. Just shared my lunch (bag of peanuts) w/ children around church. Tanzanian children very well mannered unlike rest of Africa. Need prayer for health, not well in Zanzibar. Also, pray for new Christians & the muslims who mock them. 1st day in Zanzibar 168 heard the story of Jesus, 35 professed Jesus as Lord. Hard to do when all your neighbors are muslim.

Slept good last. Many crazy dark dreams. Best dream was of ice cream sundays & shakes. Rod this is a prophetic dream. See you at BR [Basking Robbins] in Dec. Zanzibar lunch yesterday: hand wash (village water) no towel, no tools just fingers, ate w/ wet hands, OOPS! & my 1st coconut (whole thing). Today In Zanzibar, shared Jesus w/ 79 people, all muslim. 1 man was an iman. None accepted Jesus. Muslims wanted proof Jesus is God or a miracle. Pray that God will speak to the people of Zanzibar in dreams & visions. Thank you for prayers. My health has improved! In Zanzibar, no new Christians attended Bible studies but 1-church new Christians came undercover of darkness. Spent night in prayer & study. Spoke in church using Pastor Jim's notes from last week: Eph 2:4-10, Acts 18:28, Gal 2:20. God is good & provided me a message.Praying for my USA church services in Phoenix: Harvest Bible Chapel & Christ Lutheran. Miss you guys. In Zanzibar church buildings are good construction, but churches are few & members very few. Most Christians came from outside Zanzibar. At 1-church only Pastor's family, 1-American + 3-Korian missionaries showed up. Why? Fear. Muslims burned pastor's house 3-days ago.

Spoke at 2nd church Zanzibar today, 7 people attended. We met in house, we prayed, sang, took an offering & preached. In Zanzibar we have worked w/ 9-churches, shared Jesus w/ 382 people & 107 have put faith in Jesus.Zanzibar: major rain this am. Hot, humid pm w/ major bug plague. We ate at tourist stop along sea wall. Fresh sea food all crawling w/ bugs.Confession: found Internet cafe near hotel during break Sunday, spent my 1st 30-min adjusting NFL fantasy team. Sorry. Got strange "green" drink for breakfast in Zanzibar. Hmm. What is it? Blah, blah, blah? Oh, it's avocado juice. Didn't know it was a drink.

Working at a house church in Zanzibar that muslums regularly stone during prayer - worship services. Someone just prayed to make Jesus Lord of their life in Zanzibar. God is good! Found a group of Christians. We gave them gospels of Matthew. They dug right in. I thought some finished book before we left. Prayers are being answered, people in Zanzibar are trusting in Jesus for salvation. Muslims called after us for prayer. God is glorified.Came across rare Christian family, they were born & baptized Catholic, sent kids to Lutheran school, learned that Jesus was the Way to God. In Zanzibar, my translator was busy, praying w/ convert. Woman came to us. I gave pastor e-cube. He started sharing Jesus. She prayed too. Zanzibar Pastor has not given me the evange-cube back. He keeps sharing Jesus.

 

 

 

Dan and Auzelio's Excellent Adventure

Dan and Auzelio (both are church planters with e3 partners ministry) have been stranded in Burundi for nearly a week due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. It seems rather ludicrous that an event so far away from central Africa could have such a huge impact on their travel plans, but it has derailed their travel plans along with the travel plans of so many other travelers around the world. I've posted tons of updates from Dan at http://rockthedesert.typepad.com, including a couple of letters he sent and most of his Tweets (twitter - @daninreallife).

I spoke to Dan this morning - he said that they might actually arrive back home sometime on Saturday - that's good news for him and for us! Please pray for safe travel and zero delays in getting home. Auzelio has run out of blood pressure meds, so pray that he gets home with minimal medical consequences. We are thankful that God has redeemed this extra time on the ground they've had in Burundi. We know that He is at work in Burundi. There is a continuous spiritual battle there. But God will be victorious. We praise God that He is in control and that He is shining His light into the darkness. God is building His church in Burundi and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!!

Letters from Dan - #2

Dear Family & Friends,

Stories of our 2^nd week in Africa continue. Trisha’s PowerPoint tells the impressions of a 25-year old woman visiting Burundi.

My fondest memories of this week:

• The bus driver who confessed Jesus the 1^st week, joined us in sharing the gospel;
• The singing & worship at the hotel dining room was so powerful that even the hotel staff joined in;
• The hotel kitchen, made the Waffle House look extravagant;
• A 15-year old boy wanting to pray;
• A Christian family who sang for us;
• An ancient woman who looked & acted like Yoda, tapping my bag with her cane until I gave her food…

You can find a lot of these stories on Marina’s personal blog http://rockthedesert.typepad.com/. There’s a whole section devoted to Africa stories and a link that also takes you directly to Team Berryman’s “website.” Marina is updating the blog every couple of days with new stories from our 25 day adventure, so keep checking back…and please leave a comment or send an email in response to what you read – we love to hear feedback!!

Right now we are busy planning our next two church planting trips – Burundi (with medical component) in November 19-29, 2009 & Rwanda (with water well component) in January 7-17, 2010 – we hope you’ll consider joining us – we are so excited about these trips and hope you’ll catch the vision and be a part of what God is doing in Africa sooner rather than later!!

God’s peace,

Daniel Berryman

Missionary to Burundi & Rwanda

e3Partners.org

480-678-4368

If you do not want to receive these updates please reply back to me. I will be sending out 3-6 updates about this trip, then I will start sending notices about our upcoming November and January trips.

Marina & I are solely supported by friends and family. If you would like to contribute you may do so at the e3partners web site

https://www.e3partners.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=30189.  At the bottom of this page check “I would like to give to an e3 staff member…” then enter our names Dan & Marina Berryman…Thanks!

Letters from Dan - #1

Dear Friends & Family,

How’s your summer going so far? Have you been able to escape out of the heat, visit family, relax with friends, re-charge & rest, fire up the grill, swim ‘til you’re pruney, and overdose on watermelon & popsicles?

We hope you’ve also had a chance to be a part of a summer mission trip whether as a missionary, a prayer warrior, or a financial supporter. We appreciate all of you that have been an integral part of our “Team Berryman Summer of Missions.” As you may know,

Team Berryman spent 25-days this summer in Africa on 3-different, consecutive, church planting campaigns. We’ve got so many stories of God’s redeeming love to share with you!

You can find a lot of these stories on Marina’s personal blog http://rockthedesert.typepad.com/. There’s a whole section devoted to Africa stories and a link that also takes you directly to Team Berryman’s “website.” Marina is updating the blog every couple of days with new stories from our 25 day adventure, so keep checking back…and please leave a comment or send an email in response to what you read – we love to hear feedback!!

One of our team members, Tricia, joined us for the entire 25-days. She is 25 yrs old, Chinese-American, a Texas Longhorn, school teacher and loves missions. She has a unique perspective and summed up each campaign in a power point. I’ve attached one of her power points to help convey our collective experiences.

Right now we are busy planning our next two church planting trips – Burundi (with medical component) in November ‘09 & Rwanda (with water well component) in January ’10 – we hope you’ll consider joining us – we are so excited about these trips and hope you’ll catch the vision and be a part of what God is doing in Africa sooner rather than later!!

God’s peace,

Daniel Berryman

Missionary to Burundi & Rwanda

e3Partners.org

480-678-4368

If you do not want to receive these updates please reply back to me. I will be sending out 3-6 updates about this trip, then I will start sending notices about our upcoming November and January trips.

Marina & I are solely supported by friends and family. If you would like to contribute you may do so at the e3partners web site

https://www.e3partners.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=30189.  At the bottom of this page check “I would like to give to an e3 staff member…” then enter our names Dan & Marina Berryman…Thanks!

Africa 2009

We've already had a crazy-busy year with 2 trips to Africa so far and 4 more to go before the end of the year!

The following is a letter we just sent out to our prayer partners along with our summer prayer calendar. We hope you'll read this, view/print the prayer calendar and commit to praying for us this summer...if there's anything you'd like for us to pray about, please let us know - this is not a monologue but a conversation that we want to include you in...thank you for letting us serve you in this way! P.S. if you want some Ethiopian coffee beans mailed to you as a prayer reminder, we'd be glad to ship those off asap - just let us know!

June 11, 2009

Team Berryman is gearing up for its first-ever back-to-back-to-back church-planting campaigns!  We depart for the heart of on June 24.  Dan will lead 2 separate campaigns in Burundi and 1 campaign in Rwanda.

The Burundi teams are small but ready to take on the challenge!  We will have some unique ministry opportunities at an orphanage and hope to be a blessing to the local pastors during a 1-day pastor-to-pastor conference.

The Rwanda team includes 7 students who have been praying, raising support and preparing for this trip for many months.  We anticipate that God will use them to minister to fellow students along with many adults and children.  This team also has a representative from Water4Rwanda who will join us in evangelism as well as meet with local leaders to plan and discuss drilling water wells in the near future.

 We’ve enclosed 2 important items:

 (1)   A prayer calendar – on the back of this letter, there’s a detailed calendar for you to post where you can read it daily.  We hope to accomplish a lot of things in a short amount of time....please commit to partnering with us in prayer on a daily basis if you can!!

(2)   A small bag of coffee beans from Ethiopia – Marina brought these home from Africa just last week – we hope that you’ll enjoy the heady, earthy aroma of these freshly roasted beans and that when you brew up a pot of coffee, you’ll think of us and take a minute to pray for our team members and the God-sized mission we’ve been called to in Burundi and Rwanda!

 Thank you so much for your prayers – when we partner together in prayer God is glorified.  He alone can and will accomplish great things in us and through us!

Africa 2008

This video is a compilation of photos taken during our trips in 2008. The quality of the photos is greatly reduced due to the uploading process. If you'd like to have a better copy of this video mailed to you, please leave a comment with your address and we'll ship it out to you!!