Family Mission Trip 2009

Thursday, July 23, and Friday, July 24:

Last night, Thursday, we had another great day of ESL, construction, and VBS. God, once again, blessed us with an amazing turn out. The construction crew, made huge progress, the ESL classes went very, very well, and the VBS team was able to present the plan of Salvation to the children. Yesterday, three young ladies and one young man accepted the Lord as their personal Savior. Praise God! It was truly exciting to see God working in the lives of these children, and to be a part of that is also truly amazing.

We had our second Block Party last night, this time at the church. We had a pretty good turn out. It was so fun to see the kids having a blast at the games. You could see the love of Christ being shown to the kids and their families as our team served them hot dogs, chips, water and candy. I think most of the families who stayed for the movie, Facing the Giants, were members of the church. There may not have been public professions of faith, but I believe God still worked in many lives through that powerful movie.

One evidence of God’s movement during these Block Parties was shown last night. A man had come by himself to the movie, Fireproof, at the Park. Part way through the movie, he said “That is my life. This is me.” He got up, went home, and apologized to his wife for the way he’d been treating her. She must have seen a genuine change in him because she returned to the block party with him to finish the rest of the movie. She came to our second party because she thought they were going to show the same movie. She wanted to see the beginning of this God-touched movie. God used a movie, shown at a block party in Penitas, TX put on by a bunch of white, English speaking people from Garland to minister to this couple and many other families and individuals. This is what our work is all about.


Today, Friday, was our last day here. I think it was bittersweet for many of us. We are all feeling the physical exhaustion, but I think we will all miss the wonderful friends that we have made or strengthened this week. For myself, I have been such blessed by these amazing people in Penitas, but also by the amazing and incredible team that has come down here.

The construction crew, continued to work through the heat and sweat and did an outstanding job. They have about 99% of the lower floor of the new life center completely framed, and about 20% of the second floor. They have done so much for this church. I know the church and community will be greatly blessed by their efforts. This new building will house classrooms, a gymnasium, food pantry, and possibly more. Because of our team’s hard work, love, and efforts, many people will come to know Christ better. Thank y’all so much! It’s been a blessing to get to know you!

The ESL teams didn’t end up this week as had been planned, but God had a different plan in mind for these groups. He took away some students from learning English, but placed more people in a class where they can learn to teach others English. God knows exactly what His people need, and I believe He provided for them this week. Thank you for being flexible to what God directed.

The VBS team also had their last day of the Esquela de Biblica. As always, it’s a blessing to see their smiling faces and see how our group interacts with them. Our translators did a fantastic job communicating what so many of us could not. Thank you for your extra efforts. Many of the children did speak English, but even those who didn’t, could still feel the love of Christ pouring from our team. It was such a blessing to witness.

Tonight at our reflection service, we got to witness what church on Sundays probably looks like. It was so special to be able to participate together with them in worshipping our Savior. I don’t think there was one person in the building who wasn’t touched in some way.

I want to thank every person who went on this trip, every person who stayed at home and prayed for us, and every person who donated money to make this trip possible. Souls were saved, lives were changed, and families have been impacted because of your willingness to follow and serve Christ in the way He has called you. Thank you for allowing your time, efforts, and money to be a blessing to God’s children.

Please continue to pray for our group as we travel home tomorrow. Thank you!!

Family Mission Trip 2009

Wednesday, July 22:

God, once again, blessed us with many kids attending VBS. We had 17 new students today! A couple of the moms stayed with the kids during the day, so they were also able to hear the Bible story taught.

The ESL teams were also very blessed today. The ESL workshop class, a class that is teaching people how to teach English to others, still had more numbers than expected and even had one new student. The ESL class had two new students today, and we are very grateful for that.

The Construction team continues to work tirelessly on the church's building. It is incredible to see them working non-stop and to see the fruits of their labor come to harvest. They work past the pain, past the heat and thirst, and despite their tiredness. As Ivan Fernandez said in the devotion today, we are not just building a building, we are building for the Kingdom of Heaven.

We saw some of that labor come to fruition today at the Block Party. There ended up being a soccer tournament at the park we were setting up at, so the numbers we had planned for were greatly exceeded. I am not sure how many people were in attendance today, but we served over 450 hot dogs to those there. The kids absolutely loved the games we had set up and thoroughly enjoyed getting the "dulces." Seeing their sweet faces as they got the candy was so very precious.

At 8:00, Pastor Omar introduced the movie "Fireproof" to the crowd. We played the movie for those that wanted to watch it, and at the end, Pastor Omar gave an invitation. You could tell God was already wanting to move in the crowd because part way through the movie, a fight broke out between some soccer players. Satan was doing all he could to distract those God was wanting to witness to tonight. But satan did not succeed because God certainly moved in those that chose to stay to the end of the movie. I do not know numbers, but probably around 10 or 15 people came forward after the invitation. God is so good!!

Please continue to pray for our group. Tomorrow all four programs will continue, and we will also have another Block Party at the church tomorrow night.

Thank you very much for your continued prayer!

(Pictures from tonight's Block Party will be added as soon as possible.)

Family Mission Trip 2009

Tuesday, July 21:
God has blessed us immensely this trip. The building is coming along incredibly. It hardly looks like the same place, and this is only the second day. The progress will be such a blessing for the church. Pray for cool weather and everyone's continued safety.
The ESL workshop program almost quadrupled in size. Monday they had 3 people that they were teaching how to teach an ESL class, and today they had 11 people. Dick and Barbara Borth had only planned on 6 at the most, but we very excited that there was a need to make more copies of the materials. The actual ESL class will more than likely have a bigger class tomorrow as time constraints for the participants will not be as huge.
VBS began today. When our workers got there (early) most of the children were already there waiting for us. So VBS started a little early. We had 25 children attend, and it was exciting to see personalitlies bloom as the day wore on. Everyone is excited to continue ministering to these kids and are praying for more kids to be able to attend.
The Block Party that we will have tomorrow night at a Park is starting to come together. 300+ Fliers were passed out in the neighborhood surrounding the park, so we're hoping that many will attend this evangelistic party and hear of God's amazing love for them.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as well as the people we will be ministering to. Thank you very much for partnering with us in this exciting journey!

Family Mission Trip 2009

Monday, July 20:
Today, our work at the church began. The Construction team worked for hours framing the inside of the building. It was amaizing to see how much could be accomplished when the workers are so diligent. The ESL classes went well and are ready for another day. Decorations are in place, the workers are ready, and the excitement is building as VBS starts tomorrow!
Today was our afternoon off, so we had one group go fishing and one group went to the beach in South Padre Island. God was so good to keep us all safe throughout this time, and He showed us once again how trustworthy He is.

Family Mission Trip 2009

Sunday, July 19:
We got an early start to our travels this morning, and by the end of the day, everyone arrived safely in the Rio Grande Valley. God is good to provide us a safe and fun journey. Although most are already tired, I think all will say we're excited to begin our work here in the Valley. We're praying that God will show himself to the people here as well as to our own group. We're praying for soft hearts and willing spirits. Please continue to keep us in your prayers this week. Can't wait to report to y'all what God is doing!