Tara (my wife) got to join in on a brand new ministry in Kona last year with a South African friend here at the University of the Nations in Kona, Annamari Fuls. Annamari has a deep love for the ocean, and she finds it thrilling to teach about God’s love and creativity using the ocean as her foundation. Tara loves the ministry Annamari has envisioned as it reaches people with disabilities.
In the following video you will not only see Tara, but you will also learn a bit more about this visionary ministry to the disabled.
Annamari calls her ministry “Deep and Beyond.” She says of it:
It has been extremely rewarding to take people snorkeling who normally do not have the opportunity to even go in the water. Snorkel Day has been the expression of God’s heart for people with disabilities to discover freedom and abundant life, but most importantly His love.
Momentum for this ministry is growing and there is a lot of excitement for bigger dreams.
We are expanding DEEP & BEYOND to include outdoor camps and day excursions for local schools, students from the UofN campus and troubled youth. Our desire is for each person to walk away with a sense of purpose and destiny in being part of God’s big dream. Our heart is to establish a safe discipleship atmosphere in which the participants can have an encounter with the Creator, their Father and Savior, who loves them unconditionally. This will also provide a great opportunity to teach them about Creation and environmental stewardship, the way God intended it.
The ministry is also expanding to include deep sea boat trips, exploring tidal pools, environmental education activities and… SCUBA diving!
As a part of the expansion into SCUBA, Annamari is planning to take her certification level from Dive Master to Scuba Instructor, which requires a course costing $3000. If you are interested in helping her achieve this or supporting her ministry at all, please let me know as you can give to her through FJ Ministries. Please join us in giving to support this ministry and praying for it as it begins its second year in 2010.