Hi Parents, Families and Friends
This is going to be a combined update for the day. VBS and Drama were at the Casa Abuelos this morning. It was hard for many of the students. They saw many old men and women that were abandoned, or neglected. Some were totally immobile, others have a spirit that is strong and loving. At Casa, they you can see an extended court yard that was turned into an extended dormitory for these abuelos. P Jorge encouraged us to touch, love, hug and read to them. Some of us were given chores to do around the place, bathing them or shaving them.
Personal Highlight: Meeting a pastor that cannot see, and he is a resident at Casa. It was such a joy to talk to him, he has such a heart for missions. He told me that he prays for China every day after hearing that the local church in China has the least missionaries, and is underground. He asked for us to pray for him, that he may see again, because he missed reading the scriptures. He may be physically blind, but his spirit is stronger and more alive than many.
Shopping followed Casa. Sports and Dance Teams joined us at the downtown square, and made some purchases quickly according to their shopping lists. After lunch, we quickly come together and merge the dance/drama program for the last outreach for CC Poinetta. Many seeds were planted and it was a win since the whole neighborhood came out to that outreach festival. Numerous young men and women as well as children gave their life to the LORD today.
Debrief was special, helping the four teams come together and hear what was in each other mission trip's and their journey of faith. Iron sharpening Iron.
We will be home tomorrow, please pray for safe travel. That we will not forget the goodness of the LORD this week, be planted and rooted, and immovable in our faith. To reach out in their own backyard.
Until every tongue, tribe and nation hears.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Day 6: Not to become weary
Hi Parents, Friends and Families
Sports Team: Ministry in San Felipe
Mr Riley shared that they were able to build on what the rest of the team started. Began with a softball and a soccer match that happened simultaneously on that day, and followed by an evening outreach via a game of basketball. They were able to share Christ wherever they go, and souls were added to the kingdom. His comments: “we were able to reach men in that city through Sports. Between 40 to 60 people showed up for each game".
Dance/Music Team: Ministry in Tizimin
We did foodshare and street evangelism for part of the day, and had many success in leading people to Christ.
Half an hour before our evening performance/outreach, on Three Kings Day celebration, the local governor gave us a strict warning not to preach the gospel or share in testimonies, it would interfere with their celebration. We were discouraged at first, but were able to sing worship songs in Spanish/English and ended on a high note seeing fruit in our sharing one-on-one later.
VBS Team: Ministry in Hocaba
VBS put together a festival type celebration in Hocaba, with a bounce house, games and gospel bands presentation. There were more than 250 children and adults that came out to the event. The message of Christ was preached.
Comments from VBS Team – Autobus Numero Seis, aka Beatriz
With countless hours on the road, our bus became a family. We slept on each other’s shoulder, fed each other, shared our deepest secrets with each other, and shared the gospel. With each long bus ride we got to know more about our team than we ever cared to know. We also really got to know our translators Daniel and Yoshimi from Merida. Our bodies will leave this amazing place but our hearts will stay here forever.
Drama Team: Ministry in Tabi
It was quite a sight to behold – seeing half of our team serve at the soup kitchen in Tabi and the other half visited the families around the neighborhood of CC Tabi to love and pray for the least of theses. Many new moms are young (14 to 17), and they don’t have the means to feed their many children. The team that went out to evangelize had many spiritual conversations and met with divine appointments too. One man prayed to ask the LORD into his life, and many were touched by our students’ offer to pray for them and share their faith with them.
We saw babies that are really sick, and many children are undernourished and would not have food to eat daily if not for the soup kitchen ministry. We fed the children, sang, played, embraced, held, gave piggy back rides, played soccer with them, raced with them, kissed them, and shared Simply Jesus with the children.
The evening has a sweet ending with the drama performance at the town square. Adults and teens came to check it out, and were especially touched by the “Stages of Life” and “Porcelain Hearts” dramas. Our teams split into teams to engage the audience, 2 families and 4 young women got saved from our one-on-one conversations. Pray for Sophia, a gal that I led to the LORD some 3 years ago, she told us that she has been going to a Jehovah Witness bible study. We talked and chatted, shared the word, and encouraged her to go to the Calvary in Tabi.
Will you join hands with us to lift up the souls that were added this week to Merida, Tabi, Hocaba, San Felipe and Tizimin? They need to be discipled and may the Meridians respond to the call to reach these villages for Christ.
God Bless
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day 4: Concerts of Prayer
Hi Parents, Family and Friends
Greetings. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, in your love, in your intercession for Merida and those that we Get To minister to. We would not be able to do everything that is put before us without your loving prayers.
Sports Team in Tabi:
Here are some highlights of the day shared with me from the Sports Ministry in Tabi. They were serving a hot meal to children that lives in the poorest part of the Yucatan.
Ulises Garcia - The highlight for me is serving a bowl of hot soup in the Tabi Soup Kitchen. It helps me see that it is "the one meal that brings the children joy".. who knows if they even have food at home. I would also say that the Spirit Led Prayer time between Sports and Drama teams was special.
Taylor Gushue - The highlight for me is going into the homes and inviting families to come out to our games and sharing the gospel in Spanish.
Shawn Lashbrook - holding the kids that may not be loved, or held often.
Dance Team in San Felipe:
We did Eco Tour in the morning, help painted one of the houses for the locals, went around to invite people to the dance performance, and visited homes. At night, we did dance performance in the pier, and many of those we invited showed up. Isis and her group of girls led a gal to the LORD after the performance.
Drama Team in Hocaba:
It was a hot afternoon, but students soon became energized when they saw the need to lay the foundation for the church building. Moving rocks, breaking up rocks and shoveling sand for that work. Some gals took on the job to paint the wooden frames for the next project with the mission team from Merida. We put in some solid hard work for a few hours before heading out to the center of Hocaba, doing drama presentations for the town. There was an audience of 150 people, and at least 10 hands (teens and adults) were raised at the altar call. Conversations happened quite spontaneously, and 5 more souls came to know Christ that night. We love seeing students use their Spanish in translations and ministry whenever they can.
VBS Team in Tizimin:
Pastor Jeff told us that he is so excited for the VBS team to be there. This is their first time doing VBS for children that live in a home/shelter similar to "Safe Place". Students from VBS said that they truly enjoy sharing the gospel in teams, as they visit and talk with the locals in that town. A few of the adults they met in doing street witnessing got saved that day.
The Spirit moves ever so gently, removing the "hard rocks" in the lives of our team members. Many times it is first, the ministry to us that he brought us on this trip. Then, the ministry of reconciliation of the lost to the Father can take place.
Will you please pray for our teams as the days of ministry come to a sweet close. We started to see signs of fatigue, and warfare causing them to discourage. Perseverance in Faith will be our test - over the next two days. We also ask that you pray for our time of ministry (on Friday) to the elderly in Casa Abuelos and drama and dance presentations in the State County Fair.
..Until all tongues, tribes, and nations hear.
Greetings. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, in your love, in your intercession for Merida and those that we Get To minister to. We would not be able to do everything that is put before us without your loving prayers.
Sports Team in Tabi:
Here are some highlights of the day shared with me from the Sports Ministry in Tabi. They were serving a hot meal to children that lives in the poorest part of the Yucatan.
Ulises Garcia - The highlight for me is serving a bowl of hot soup in the Tabi Soup Kitchen. It helps me see that it is "the one meal that brings the children joy".. who knows if they even have food at home. I would also say that the Spirit Led Prayer time between Sports and Drama teams was special.
Taylor Gushue - The highlight for me is going into the homes and inviting families to come out to our games and sharing the gospel in Spanish.
Shawn Lashbrook - holding the kids that may not be loved, or held often.
Dance Team in San Felipe:
We did Eco Tour in the morning, help painted one of the houses for the locals, went around to invite people to the dance performance, and visited homes. At night, we did dance performance in the pier, and many of those we invited showed up. Isis and her group of girls led a gal to the LORD after the performance.
Drama Team in Hocaba:
It was a hot afternoon, but students soon became energized when they saw the need to lay the foundation for the church building. Moving rocks, breaking up rocks and shoveling sand for that work. Some gals took on the job to paint the wooden frames for the next project with the mission team from Merida. We put in some solid hard work for a few hours before heading out to the center of Hocaba, doing drama presentations for the town. There was an audience of 150 people, and at least 10 hands (teens and adults) were raised at the altar call. Conversations happened quite spontaneously, and 5 more souls came to know Christ that night. We love seeing students use their Spanish in translations and ministry whenever they can.
VBS Team in Tizimin:
Pastor Jeff told us that he is so excited for the VBS team to be there. This is their first time doing VBS for children that live in a home/shelter similar to "Safe Place". Students from VBS said that they truly enjoy sharing the gospel in teams, as they visit and talk with the locals in that town. A few of the adults they met in doing street witnessing got saved that day.
The Spirit moves ever so gently, removing the "hard rocks" in the lives of our team members. Many times it is first, the ministry to us that he brought us on this trip. Then, the ministry of reconciliation of the lost to the Father can take place.
Will you please pray for our teams as the days of ministry come to a sweet close. We started to see signs of fatigue, and warfare causing them to discourage. Perseverance in Faith will be our test - over the next two days. We also ask that you pray for our time of ministry (on Friday) to the elderly in Casa Abuelos and drama and dance presentations in the State County Fair.
..Until all tongues, tribes, and nations hear.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Day 3 : Opportunities to Act On
CCA Parents, Families, and Friends: Greetings
Apologies for posting this late. We arrived at the hotel at 2am this morning, and Drama Team has a "field goal" type of ministry day. Will elaborate below.
VBS Team: Ministry Day in San Felipe
An eco tour in the morning, followed by VBS ministry in the afternoon. Students went cycling around the neighborhood with local translators, inviting children and families to come out to the bounce house and see their presentation. Lots of opportunities to do crafts, learning bible stories and even moms got to learn handy crafts from Mrs Klipfel, to help them turn trash into treasures.
Students were teaching kids about using gospel bands. Each guest from San Felipe can take home one set of the bands as soon as they could repeat the gospel band story back to our students. It was a ruckus, and all have fun when learning the gospel.
Sports Team: Ministry Day in Hocaba
It was a work day in the morning for the Sports Team at Hocaba. The team was working on breaking huge boulders into smaller ones, leveling a plot of land with rocks, so that the Drama Team can fill it with sand the next day. Followed by soccer games with the locals in the afternoon. Inevitably, it became a Mexico v. America matches. The joy is seeing 10 new souls come to faith in Christ through the outreach.
Dance Team: Ministry Day in Tabi
Students got to see Chi-Chen-Itza in the morning, and serve a group of underprivileged kids lunch at a Soup Kitchen in Tabi. This is a new village ministry from the body in Tabi, and they are excited to come alongside this ministry. In the afternoon, dancers and musicians performed at the square and further enforced the message of Christ in Tabi.
Drama Team: Ministry Day in Tizimin
Before we left for Tizimin, the students help created artistic decors for the CC Tizimin's Children's Ministry. It was such a joy to see the creativeness of our students, mixed with loving designs and prayers for them.
Tizimin has a special place in my heart, remembering how fruitful the evangelism and drama ministry was two trips ago. The team did Foodshare, and evangelize in the neighborhood of the church. We were able to lead two gals to the Lord, and build the credibility of the church in Tizimin with the tangible items we deliver to meet the needs of the families in financial and spiritual need.
In the evening, the team was given the opportunity to present dramas before 250 to 300 people in a carnival type State Fair. Started with inviting folks in the fair to come out to the dramas, engaging them with 3 dramas and 2 student testimonies, and one-on-one conversations. Two adults accepted the LORD from one-on-one conversations, and much seed were planted into the hearts of young men and women.
Well the ministry continued at a 2nd location, in the downtown park, between 10pm to 1am. P Jeff Stone felt led that we should preformed to share Christ in that location, especially because it was already packed with runners for the "Three Kings" festival. At the second alter call, about 30 teens raised their hands to accept Christ. Lots of conversations and prayers followed after that.
We are so blessed to be here, to be participating in what God himself is doing - changing and saving lives. Your students are genuinely impacted and humbled, serving the LORD will a pure heart.
More to come tomorrow. Until Every Tongue, Tribe and Nation Hears... Love.
Apologies for posting this late. We arrived at the hotel at 2am this morning, and Drama Team has a "field goal" type of ministry day. Will elaborate below.
VBS Team: Ministry Day in San Felipe
An eco tour in the morning, followed by VBS ministry in the afternoon. Students went cycling around the neighborhood with local translators, inviting children and families to come out to the bounce house and see their presentation. Lots of opportunities to do crafts, learning bible stories and even moms got to learn handy crafts from Mrs Klipfel, to help them turn trash into treasures.
Students were teaching kids about using gospel bands. Each guest from San Felipe can take home one set of the bands as soon as they could repeat the gospel band story back to our students. It was a ruckus, and all have fun when learning the gospel.
Sports Team: Ministry Day in Hocaba
It was a work day in the morning for the Sports Team at Hocaba. The team was working on breaking huge boulders into smaller ones, leveling a plot of land with rocks, so that the Drama Team can fill it with sand the next day. Followed by soccer games with the locals in the afternoon. Inevitably, it became a Mexico v. America matches. The joy is seeing 10 new souls come to faith in Christ through the outreach.
Dance Team: Ministry Day in Tabi
Students got to see Chi-Chen-Itza in the morning, and serve a group of underprivileged kids lunch at a Soup Kitchen in Tabi. This is a new village ministry from the body in Tabi, and they are excited to come alongside this ministry. In the afternoon, dancers and musicians performed at the square and further enforced the message of Christ in Tabi.
Drama Team: Ministry Day in Tizimin
Before we left for Tizimin, the students help created artistic decors for the CC Tizimin's Children's Ministry. It was such a joy to see the creativeness of our students, mixed with loving designs and prayers for them.
Tizimin has a special place in my heart, remembering how fruitful the evangelism and drama ministry was two trips ago. The team did Foodshare, and evangelize in the neighborhood of the church. We were able to lead two gals to the Lord, and build the credibility of the church in Tizimin with the tangible items we deliver to meet the needs of the families in financial and spiritual need.
In the evening, the team was given the opportunity to present dramas before 250 to 300 people in a carnival type State Fair. Started with inviting folks in the fair to come out to the dramas, engaging them with 3 dramas and 2 student testimonies, and one-on-one conversations. Two adults accepted the LORD from one-on-one conversations, and much seed were planted into the hearts of young men and women.
Well the ministry continued at a 2nd location, in the downtown park, between 10pm to 1am. P Jeff Stone felt led that we should preformed to share Christ in that location, especially because it was already packed with runners for the "Three Kings" festival. At the second alter call, about 30 teens raised their hands to accept Christ. Lots of conversations and prayers followed after that.
We are so blessed to be here, to be participating in what God himself is doing - changing and saving lives. Your students are genuinely impacted and humbled, serving the LORD will a pure heart.
More to come tomorrow. Until Every Tongue, Tribe and Nation Hears... Love.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Day 2: Updates from All Teams
Parents & Family: Greetings.
Tabi Updates from VBS Team:
The VBS team, lead by Pastor Jorge and Noemi, was able to solidify relationships that were built over the last few years, enforcing the word of God in their lives. The parents listened to the Good News and Bible stories were taught to their children. In the afternoon, the team walked around the neighborhood to meet the families and visited some that have minimal and very basic amenities. Our students tear up as they think of how much they have, and how much these families don’t have… no clean drinking water, or even a washing machine.
The fun part of the day was going to Che-Chen-Itza, and they were given a full tour of the ruin, and were in awe of how the ancient Mayans came out with a 365 day calendar from the design of the ruin.
Hocaba Updates from Dance Team:
The Dance Team, lead by Pastor Topher/Laura/Isis, worked hard to clear a piece of land on which the Hocaba church was situated. Filling holes with rocks, they started to lay a foundation for the next team to work on.
The team did a barbecue cook-out for lunch, which enabled us to gel with the locals before the evening outreach. That same evening, the students did two dance presentations, and five songs at the square. The gospel was given to an audience of 100 people. The excitement of having different American teams in Hocaba will build up for the rest of the outreach.
Tizimin Updates from Sports Team:
The Sports team, lead by Mr. Riley/Naomi/ Joe, was exhausted after a long day of ministry by the end of the night. They started with sending half the team to paint CC Tizimin and the other half doing food shopping for food share.
The 2nd part of the day went by quickly as they went about inviting people to play soccer with the American Team. The students played many teams for 4 hours in the mud. When the time of gospel presentation came, Shawn Lashbrook stepped out in faith to share his testimony, and the gospel. Three out of the 8 men that P. Jeff Stone invited from the bar to come play soccer got saved. Notable mentions: Taylor Gushue prayed in Spanish, and Lizzy shared her testimony in Spanish.
San Felipe Updates from Drama Team:
The Drama team, lead by Christabel and Mr. Matthews, began the day by travelling to San Filipe. Once they arrived, they went on an “Eco Tour” of the surrounding ocean. They saw a variety of animals and had fun floating in an extremely salty sea.
After lunch, the team practiced their skits and went to the port to perform. The team performed three skits, and Brianna and Natalia shared their testimonies. Afterwards, the team broke out spontaneously and witnessed to the people and spread the love and salvation of God. Despite the small crowd, there were 10 new people in the audience that agreed to check out the church, one new salvation and Vanessa, a struggling believer from Panaba rededicated her life to follow Christ. Quote of the day: “Even when we are not ready, God is ready to save!” – David Lima.
Please continue to pray for our journey, every day is laced with its own reward. When we sow, we are bound to reap. It is so fun to see the sowing and watering over the last few years, and how that has now become a harvest of righteousness. The seed is budding here in the Yucatan.
Until every tongue, tribe and nation hears.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Day 1: 1/2/2011 - In Merida
Dear Family & Friends
Day 1:
Most of our day was spent traveling, and we traveled through the airport smoothly. Our students are getting to know other team members and help our new student, Alec, acclimate to the CCA Junior Class.
After the buffet dinner, our students were given an update as to what they would be doing tonight at CCA Merida’s church service. The Drama Team performed a drama upon arrival, the Music/Dance team led worship for two special songs, and one of our students shared the gospel and a word of encouragement.
Please note that we will have full days, and our outreach schedules have been strategically designed by the Mission Teams here to give our students the opportunities to use their talents to share the message of Christ’s Love.
We will perform dances and dramas at the County-State Fairs in Merida, Tizimin, and San Felipe, and we will use those performances as a platform to share Christ. Please keep us in your prayers. We will not have much time for rehearsal, so most of our rehearsals will happen tonight and tomorrow morning.
Lastly, our VBS and Sports team will participate in Sport Tournaments/Outreaches in many villages. The VBS team will show presentations daily up to 9pm on most nights. We need supernatural energy and love, and to be united through the grace we ourselves have received.
Until tomorrow. Until Every Tongue, Tribe, and Nation hears.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Buckle up for Mexico
Hi Juniors & Parents
We are getting ready to leave for Mexico in 2 days, and if you feel like you are not ready... you are not alone. Read Romans 5 this week, it really painted a good picture of what our journey of faith must be like in Merida. Having been justified by faith, and reconciled to God, we must bring that "good news" of the LORD to all we will meet. This trip may be one that will require our perseverance, a refining of our character and teaching us to trust and hope.
A few logistics: Your Travel Itinerary from FLL to Cancun
Group 1: Meet at Jet Blue ticketing at 5.30am on 1/2 (Berrios, Brough, Callender, Christman, Corbijn, Day, Dutton, Peyton, Reily, Rachels & Harris)
Flight Info: 1779
Dep: 8.30am (Local Time), Arrv: 9.17am (Cancun's Time)
Return: 1/8
Flight Info: 1796
Dep: 1.00pm (Cancun's Time), Arrv: 3.37pm (Local Time)
Group 2: Meet at CCA Reception - 8.00am on 1/2
Flight Info: 1795
Dep: 11.21am (Local Time), Arrv: 12.10pm (Cancun's Time)
Return: 1/8
Flight Info: 1796
Dep: 1.00pm (Cancun's Time), Arrv: 3.37pm (Local Time)
Please be on time, bring your passport if you have not turned it in, and a copy of your passport for your purse/bagpack. Remember to sign the passport if it is new. Parents: Please remember to pick up your students at Fort Lauderdale Aiport on 1/8, around 4pm (we have to clear customs and pick up luggages).
Pray, Pray, Pray, get together and pray with friends and families before you leave. May the Holy Spirit give us gifts so that we can rightly minister his grace this week.
See you on Sunday.
God Bless
We are getting ready to leave for Mexico in 2 days, and if you feel like you are not ready... you are not alone. Read Romans 5 this week, it really painted a good picture of what our journey of faith must be like in Merida. Having been justified by faith, and reconciled to God, we must bring that "good news" of the LORD to all we will meet. This trip may be one that will require our perseverance, a refining of our character and teaching us to trust and hope.
A few logistics: Your Travel Itinerary from FLL to Cancun
Group 1: Meet at Jet Blue ticketing at 5.30am on 1/2 (Berrios, Brough, Callender, Christman, Corbijn, Day, Dutton, Peyton, Reily, Rachels & Harris)
Flight Info: 1779
Dep: 8.30am (Local Time), Arrv: 9.17am (Cancun's Time)
Return: 1/8
Flight Info: 1796
Dep: 1.00pm (Cancun's Time), Arrv: 3.37pm (Local Time)
Group 2: Meet at CCA Reception - 8.00am on 1/2
Flight Info: 1795
Dep: 11.21am (Local Time), Arrv: 12.10pm (Cancun's Time)
Return: 1/8
Flight Info: 1796
Dep: 1.00pm (Cancun's Time), Arrv: 3.37pm (Local Time)
Please be on time, bring your passport if you have not turned it in, and a copy of your passport for your purse/bagpack. Remember to sign the passport if it is new. Parents: Please remember to pick up your students at Fort Lauderdale Aiport on 1/8, around 4pm (we have to clear customs and pick up luggages).
Pray, Pray, Pray, get together and pray with friends and families before you leave. May the Holy Spirit give us gifts so that we can rightly minister his grace this week.
See you on Sunday.
God Bless
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