Hey Everybody! We're back and ready to share what God did while we were in Mexico City. What an amazing trip! What an amazing group of students! What an amazing church in Chima with new friends we fell in love with! We're going to keep the blog up for a couple of weeks so team members can get on and have plenty of time to share fully what God has done. We are still waiting to hear final results, but we do know that many, many people came to Christ last week as a testimony to your students ministry! Come back and read it for yourselves and post some incouraging comments!
Grace,
Dos Jota (JJ)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1
Hey all, I don´t know how many will blog tonight, it might be in the am. It´s 1:30 am and we just got back. City traffic was gridlocked all over and we left Chima later than usual, saying goodbye. A two hour trip took almost twice as long and we were stuck in trffic at a standstill for over an hour. Manuel surprised us with a TGIFriday´s dinner and we just got back. Good final day, but ready to get home. If no one blogs tonight, maybe more in morning.
Dos Jota
Well Im going to have to keep this pretty short, considering it is 1:45 in morning. There are really no words to describe this week. It has been absolutely amazing and life changing. I came into the trip with a pretty bad attitude-I couldn´t see how God was going to use 30 something people who hardly knew each other.Last night God definetely proved me wrong and our whole group found unity in a circumstance filled with joy and sadness. I will never forget this week and I cant wait to see how God is going to continue to move in my life. Today was especially important/special/awesome for me because I finally shared my testimony. Ive been getting not-so-subtle hints from God that I need to share my life story, and I finally had the confidence and the faith to answer His call. I wont go into details, but lets just say that it was hard for me to condense a 8 year long story into 10 minutes. But amidst all of my lack of sleep and lack of ¨down time¨ I put together my full testimony for the first time ever. The process was defintely a healing one for me and I am so blessed that I was able to share God´s ultimate power and His truth, and hopefully I affected a few people along the way.
There is so much more to blog about, but I still have so many things to do before I go to bed. Thank you so much for all of your prayers!
--Marissa Moschetta
Hello all! Thank you so much for your continued prayers. I am SOOO excited to be heading home tomorrow, or should I say, later on today! God has done some incredible things through us here in Mexico. Most of the day, I felt very discouraged, but at the end when the program for the parents was over, the entire audience shared their thanks with us and all lined up to personally thank us. The girl who I had been teaching music to told me that I had left my fingerprints on her life and on the lives of many in Chimalhuacan. What a blessing to know that you made a difference in someone´s life! It was really hard saying Adios to the kids, but most reassured us that this will not be the last time we see them. I can´t wait to get home and share more things God has shown me! I also think my body is getting sick of this diet, so Mom, I hope you have something wonderful planned for dinner! Ben and Joe (Ben & Jerrys) are doing really well and we all can´t wait to get on that plane and see all of you. Thanks again for praying!
Much love,
Jane
This week has definately been such a reward and a blessing all because of God. The little faces of joy cupped in my hands as I would hold them in my arms was delightful and reaching out through drama showed me I can serve in a new way. God is amazing and I can honestly say He has done some work in my life this week. Worship last night was an unplanned miracle and it was so intense I could barely breathe. I have been searching for an answer to everything unseen, and I was blessed to see the eyes of God through our group. I have aqquired the sweet taste of God on my lips as I am able to praise him with my life. Refuge is a word I take with comparison; I feel safely and I am able to rest in His security. Receiving so many various kisses on the cheek out of gratitude made it all worth while. Laughter has been contageous and quickly pervading through the group like a disease. God has really worked so intensely this week and I will not be one to forget these experiences in the past few days!
-laurena jech
Hola again! Wow these past few days have been awesome. It started out wednesday morning at VBS when we had a hectic snack time. It was a frustrating point that was brought up later that night. The next day went very smoothly and it was definitely a God answered prayer. Thursday night was also very emotional. We started our time with our usual questions but soon found out about a loss of team members family member. The room lit up with love, joy, and tears. After a few moments of silence, another powerful thing was said and the room just broke down. The whole room was filled with God´s love through all the team members and it was definitely the most intense time I personally had ever experienced. A supernatural power was in the room with us and made us realize that no matter what we are still a team and nothing can break that.
Kevyn
Dos Jota
Well Im going to have to keep this pretty short, considering it is 1:45 in morning. There are really no words to describe this week. It has been absolutely amazing and life changing. I came into the trip with a pretty bad attitude-I couldn´t see how God was going to use 30 something people who hardly knew each other.Last night God definetely proved me wrong and our whole group found unity in a circumstance filled with joy and sadness. I will never forget this week and I cant wait to see how God is going to continue to move in my life. Today was especially important/special/awesome for me because I finally shared my testimony. Ive been getting not-so-subtle hints from God that I need to share my life story, and I finally had the confidence and the faith to answer His call. I wont go into details, but lets just say that it was hard for me to condense a 8 year long story into 10 minutes. But amidst all of my lack of sleep and lack of ¨down time¨ I put together my full testimony for the first time ever. The process was defintely a healing one for me and I am so blessed that I was able to share God´s ultimate power and His truth, and hopefully I affected a few people along the way.
There is so much more to blog about, but I still have so many things to do before I go to bed. Thank you so much for all of your prayers!
--Marissa Moschetta
Hello all! Thank you so much for your continued prayers. I am SOOO excited to be heading home tomorrow, or should I say, later on today! God has done some incredible things through us here in Mexico. Most of the day, I felt very discouraged, but at the end when the program for the parents was over, the entire audience shared their thanks with us and all lined up to personally thank us. The girl who I had been teaching music to told me that I had left my fingerprints on her life and on the lives of many in Chimalhuacan. What a blessing to know that you made a difference in someone´s life! It was really hard saying Adios to the kids, but most reassured us that this will not be the last time we see them. I can´t wait to get home and share more things God has shown me! I also think my body is getting sick of this diet, so Mom, I hope you have something wonderful planned for dinner! Ben and Joe (Ben & Jerrys) are doing really well and we all can´t wait to get on that plane and see all of you. Thanks again for praying!
Much love,
Jane
This week has definately been such a reward and a blessing all because of God. The little faces of joy cupped in my hands as I would hold them in my arms was delightful and reaching out through drama showed me I can serve in a new way. God is amazing and I can honestly say He has done some work in my life this week. Worship last night was an unplanned miracle and it was so intense I could barely breathe. I have been searching for an answer to everything unseen, and I was blessed to see the eyes of God through our group. I have aqquired the sweet taste of God on my lips as I am able to praise him with my life. Refuge is a word I take with comparison; I feel safely and I am able to rest in His security. Receiving so many various kisses on the cheek out of gratitude made it all worth while. Laughter has been contageous and quickly pervading through the group like a disease. God has really worked so intensely this week and I will not be one to forget these experiences in the past few days!
-laurena jech
Hola again! Wow these past few days have been awesome. It started out wednesday morning at VBS when we had a hectic snack time. It was a frustrating point that was brought up later that night. The next day went very smoothly and it was definitely a God answered prayer. Thursday night was also very emotional. We started our time with our usual questions but soon found out about a loss of team members family member. The room lit up with love, joy, and tears. After a few moments of silence, another powerful thing was said and the room just broke down. The whole room was filled with God´s love through all the team members and it was definitely the most intense time I personally had ever experienced. A supernatural power was in the room with us and made us realize that no matter what we are still a team and nothing can break that.
Kevyn
Thursday, July 31, 2008
THURSDAY, JULY 31
It´s been a long night-we just got out of an incredible worship time with our team. The Holy Spirit showed up in a very real and powerful way. Our students and adults have been working so hard all week and pouring themselves out, and He just showed up and used them to minister to, encourage, and challenge each other. I just can´t explain what happened-one of those rare ¨God¨ moments.
Please pray for Joy Sanchez and her family. She received word tonight that her grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Our kids ministered to her and Marianna in a very powerful way.
Our last full day is tomorrow. Tomorrow evening the Chima kids will perform all the skills they learned in the music and drama classes for their parents. Our team will give some evangelistic skits and present the Gospel. Pray for Marissa Moschetta as she shares a very powerful testimony. Pray for a harvest from these parents and kids, many of them in rough, at risk situations at home. It's a long night for us here, pray for strength and focus tomorrow. Grace from the God of all comfort (as we've all seen first hand tonight) . . .
JJ
(warning... this is a very long post. Props to you if you finish it!) Well, this week has been incredible to say the least. I went into this mission trip hoping and praying God would show up, but I wasn´t really expecting him to. After tonight, I have been proved wrong, and I now know that God DOES show up in mighty ways. Although I would love to tell you every minute of my experience during this week, I´ll spare you and just tell you about the last day or so. Last night, I had seen God work in big(but what I thought was small) ways, and I was dissappointed and discouraged about God showing himself in an enormous way. Being frustrated at the same time that was happening led me to pray. After some long and hard praying, I finally turned in for the night. This morning, feeling mostly refreshed (despite getting little sleep), I headed out for the day hoping God would do something that would amaze me, but not expecting it to happen(again... I was not expecting God). Once the team got the the church in Chimalhuacan, we helped run the VBS for the extremely spiritually hungry children in the city. Although I had been with the younger kids (aprox. 2-5 years old) during the previous days, I decided to go with the bigger kids (elementary and younger jr. high age)just for a change, and to see how they played out the different roles with the bigger kids. I played on the Verde team, (we play Osana(awana) games, and met this wonderful little boy named Cruz Gustabo. Cruz, who´s probably about nine or so, hit it straight off with me, and we were buddies for the rest of the morning. He was so sweet, although he did find it very humorous that I speak very little spanish. He accepted Chist today, and was excited when I told him I would be there tomorrow. That was just the beginning of my ¨God showed up¨ day. After lunch, we prepared for our youth music lessions (I was helping with the voice lessions), and the girls I helped teach did wonderfully. They knew the songs well, and I am confident that they will be ready for their concert tomorrow. While on the way back to the school(where we sleep), Kendra Hughes and I talked about frustrations we had, and she told me and encouraged me that I not just pray hard, but pray and expect God to become fully present to me. During our Bible Study tonight, Mrs. Sanchez broke the news to the team that her grandmother had passed away today. God moved in MIGHTY ways, and us as a team being used by God, tried to love on her and Mariana as they start their intense grieving journey. After MUCH crying, I saw God in an extraordinary way! A few days ago, one young man, was telling me and a few other people that he would not cry for anything, he didn´t believe there were real Christians who lived their faith out, and he was tired of faith, was touched by the Holy Spirit, and broke down. He realized that he NEEDED God in his life. For a few days, I had been praying without failing that he would find a reason he was here, and that God would show up in HIS life, and He did just that!! It was such an incredible time, and God was glorified. God used a death(she was a Christian and is now in Glory) to bring upon a new spiritual life in God! He found that there are real Christians, and we helped him realize that! It has truely been an indescribable night. To wrap that all up, I saw God work in an incredible way, and I know that I will never forget this experience. Pray, and expect that God will show up, because He does.
To serve the One and Only,
Loribeth
I went on this trip because I thought it would look good for college. Apparently God had other plans. For a long time I had given up on people and my faith was completely dead. I thought that everyone was a fake Christian or wasnt even interested in being a christian. For the first couple of days on the trip I kept thinking that no one was really getting saved or they werent going to keep up the faith for more than a few hours. Everyone I have met until now has claimed to be a Christian but havent even tried to live right, so I expected nothing more from these people. I had different people from time to time talk to me and try to convince me that I need to have faith in people, but I wouldnt listen. Tonight during our meeting, one of our members had a death in their family. My dad died when I was five, so I could relate, but for some reason this time it struck something deep inside of me to where I finally was willing to listen to God and accept what he had to offer. I have been a Christian my whole life but have never really felt the power of God. This group is something special and they all have been used by God to help bring me back to Him. I now know that there are good people out there still and I have promised to God to live for Him. I never thought I would be one of the ones being saved on this trip, but God works in strange ways.
a changed person thanks to God,
Cody McKnight
Well, it's 2:30 am and God is still working in many of our students lives tonight doing some incredible things. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been very evident tonight. A few of us blogged, but most of us are pretty drained emotionally and spiritually, with still another day of ministry ahead. You'll probably hear from more of the students on our last day tomorrow. Good night, or good morning.
JJ
Please pray for Joy Sanchez and her family. She received word tonight that her grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Our kids ministered to her and Marianna in a very powerful way.
Our last full day is tomorrow. Tomorrow evening the Chima kids will perform all the skills they learned in the music and drama classes for their parents. Our team will give some evangelistic skits and present the Gospel. Pray for Marissa Moschetta as she shares a very powerful testimony. Pray for a harvest from these parents and kids, many of them in rough, at risk situations at home. It's a long night for us here, pray for strength and focus tomorrow. Grace from the God of all comfort (as we've all seen first hand tonight) . . .
JJ
(warning... this is a very long post. Props to you if you finish it!) Well, this week has been incredible to say the least. I went into this mission trip hoping and praying God would show up, but I wasn´t really expecting him to. After tonight, I have been proved wrong, and I now know that God DOES show up in mighty ways. Although I would love to tell you every minute of my experience during this week, I´ll spare you and just tell you about the last day or so. Last night, I had seen God work in big(but what I thought was small) ways, and I was dissappointed and discouraged about God showing himself in an enormous way. Being frustrated at the same time that was happening led me to pray. After some long and hard praying, I finally turned in for the night. This morning, feeling mostly refreshed (despite getting little sleep), I headed out for the day hoping God would do something that would amaze me, but not expecting it to happen(again... I was not expecting God). Once the team got the the church in Chimalhuacan, we helped run the VBS for the extremely spiritually hungry children in the city. Although I had been with the younger kids (aprox. 2-5 years old) during the previous days, I decided to go with the bigger kids (elementary and younger jr. high age)just for a change, and to see how they played out the different roles with the bigger kids. I played on the Verde team, (we play Osana(awana) games, and met this wonderful little boy named Cruz Gustabo. Cruz, who´s probably about nine or so, hit it straight off with me, and we were buddies for the rest of the morning. He was so sweet, although he did find it very humorous that I speak very little spanish. He accepted Chist today, and was excited when I told him I would be there tomorrow. That was just the beginning of my ¨God showed up¨ day. After lunch, we prepared for our youth music lessions (I was helping with the voice lessions), and the girls I helped teach did wonderfully. They knew the songs well, and I am confident that they will be ready for their concert tomorrow. While on the way back to the school(where we sleep), Kendra Hughes and I talked about frustrations we had, and she told me and encouraged me that I not just pray hard, but pray and expect God to become fully present to me. During our Bible Study tonight, Mrs. Sanchez broke the news to the team that her grandmother had passed away today. God moved in MIGHTY ways, and us as a team being used by God, tried to love on her and Mariana as they start their intense grieving journey. After MUCH crying, I saw God in an extraordinary way! A few days ago, one young man, was telling me and a few other people that he would not cry for anything, he didn´t believe there were real Christians who lived their faith out, and he was tired of faith, was touched by the Holy Spirit, and broke down. He realized that he NEEDED God in his life. For a few days, I had been praying without failing that he would find a reason he was here, and that God would show up in HIS life, and He did just that!! It was such an incredible time, and God was glorified. God used a death(she was a Christian and is now in Glory) to bring upon a new spiritual life in God! He found that there are real Christians, and we helped him realize that! It has truely been an indescribable night. To wrap that all up, I saw God work in an incredible way, and I know that I will never forget this experience. Pray, and expect that God will show up, because He does.
To serve the One and Only,
Loribeth
I went on this trip because I thought it would look good for college. Apparently God had other plans. For a long time I had given up on people and my faith was completely dead. I thought that everyone was a fake Christian or wasnt even interested in being a christian. For the first couple of days on the trip I kept thinking that no one was really getting saved or they werent going to keep up the faith for more than a few hours. Everyone I have met until now has claimed to be a Christian but havent even tried to live right, so I expected nothing more from these people. I had different people from time to time talk to me and try to convince me that I need to have faith in people, but I wouldnt listen. Tonight during our meeting, one of our members had a death in their family. My dad died when I was five, so I could relate, but for some reason this time it struck something deep inside of me to where I finally was willing to listen to God and accept what he had to offer. I have been a Christian my whole life but have never really felt the power of God. This group is something special and they all have been used by God to help bring me back to Him. I now know that there are good people out there still and I have promised to God to live for Him. I never thought I would be one of the ones being saved on this trip, but God works in strange ways.
a changed person thanks to God,
Cody McKnight
Well, it's 2:30 am and God is still working in many of our students lives tonight doing some incredible things. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been very evident tonight. A few of us blogged, but most of us are pretty drained emotionally and spiritually, with still another day of ministry ahead. You'll probably hear from more of the students on our last day tomorrow. Good night, or good morning.
JJ
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
WEDNESDAY, JULY30
Another great day of ministry! VBS and the music and drama classes have begun to come togehter. The sports ministry has hit the local deportivo (sports park) to play futbol, basketball, and volleyball and share the gospel. I played soccer for two straight hours yesterday and am feeling all of my 43 years today.
Today the mime team went to the deportiva and performed the ¨Via Dolorsa¨skit after we got several pick-up games going. We miss all of you and really feel the prayers!
Papa Jones
Alabada sea Dios! (Praise be to God!) I cannot believe that I am here and doing so many things that are so unlike me. God has really given me the strength to serve in many capacities and keep up (kinda) with all these teenagers! Just a small sampling of what I have done today - translate Spanish to English, teach a Bible story in Spanish, translate English to Spanish for JJ´s devotional and for guitar classes and ended up teaching guitar as well. Actually I don´t play the guitar but after translating so much for Hudson I was able to help his newest student with the basics. Thanks for all your prayers because I can truly say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Joy Sanchez
Hello everyone!! most of you guys probably don't know me, but my name is Nicole AKA Alicia. I am the the Williams daughter. So anyways this week in the afternoon i am helping out translating for the drama team. Normally we have another mexican leader help out who also takes control of things. So today she wasn't there to help the drama class. We were all did not know what to do. So then while i was explaining to the kids the skit; kevin,Marissa,Jaclyn went outside to pray. Then at the begining when we were trying to get them to bring in their own ideas and they wouldn't so we were a bit frustrated. Then a few miinutes later things started to change. The kids started to give their own ideas and got really excited about the skit. So God helped us explain to the kids the skit and have a goodf time with them as well.
Nicole
Hey yall! Wow God has really blessed this mission trip. It is so encouraging to see so many kids except Christ. Just today a group of us TSMAC kids and I preformed a mime about the crucifixion of Christ. After seeing the skit 28 kids and youth accepted Jesus as their savior!
Ryan
As I posted in my other blog, we had to learn a new drama on Sunday, and I never would have imagined the impact it would have on the Mexicans and on myself. The skit dipicts the final day of Jesus, and after learning it in about an hour we had to put on our make-up and perform it in front of the youth. After we finished, we thought we were done, but man were we mistaken! We were asked to perform it again in the middle of a park in front of a lot of people. I was a little nervous about performing it in public, but was very encouraged as I sawhow attentive the people, young and old, were watching. After we were done, we learned that about 25 people accepted Christ. Praise God! I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for us.
Daniel
Today the mime team went to the deportiva and performed the ¨Via Dolorsa¨skit after we got several pick-up games going. We miss all of you and really feel the prayers!
Papa Jones
Alabada sea Dios! (Praise be to God!) I cannot believe that I am here and doing so many things that are so unlike me. God has really given me the strength to serve in many capacities and keep up (kinda) with all these teenagers! Just a small sampling of what I have done today - translate Spanish to English, teach a Bible story in Spanish, translate English to Spanish for JJ´s devotional and for guitar classes and ended up teaching guitar as well. Actually I don´t play the guitar but after translating so much for Hudson I was able to help his newest student with the basics. Thanks for all your prayers because I can truly say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Joy Sanchez
Hello everyone!! most of you guys probably don't know me, but my name is Nicole AKA Alicia. I am the the Williams daughter. So anyways this week in the afternoon i am helping out translating for the drama team. Normally we have another mexican leader help out who also takes control of things. So today she wasn't there to help the drama class. We were all did not know what to do. So then while i was explaining to the kids the skit; kevin,Marissa,Jaclyn went outside to pray. Then at the begining when we were trying to get them to bring in their own ideas and they wouldn't so we were a bit frustrated. Then a few miinutes later things started to change. The kids started to give their own ideas and got really excited about the skit. So God helped us explain to the kids the skit and have a goodf time with them as well.
Nicole
Hey yall! Wow God has really blessed this mission trip. It is so encouraging to see so many kids except Christ. Just today a group of us TSMAC kids and I preformed a mime about the crucifixion of Christ. After seeing the skit 28 kids and youth accepted Jesus as their savior!
Ryan
As I posted in my other blog, we had to learn a new drama on Sunday, and I never would have imagined the impact it would have on the Mexicans and on myself. The skit dipicts the final day of Jesus, and after learning it in about an hour we had to put on our make-up and perform it in front of the youth. After we finished, we thought we were done, but man were we mistaken! We were asked to perform it again in the middle of a park in front of a lot of people. I was a little nervous about performing it in public, but was very encouraged as I sawhow attentive the people, young and old, were watching. After we were done, we learned that about 25 people accepted Christ. Praise God! I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for us.
Daniel
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
TUESDAY, JULY 29
HOALA TODOS
I think i have spoken more spanish these past days than i have my whole life. Its been insanely fun and injoyable and incredibley powerful. Thank you so much for all your payers and gifts, please pray for my mother and I that we will be strong and have energy for the rest of this week and allso for the trip we will continue on with Jose and Valarie Perez. Another important prayer is for my mother, Myriam and I as we will be teaching bible study for the kids in the vacation bible school.
Con Mucho Amor
Mariana SAnchez
Hey guys! This is my first time to ever blog, so here goes......this has been an incredible three days. The church we are serving in has been very welcoming. The people have an unmatched love for God and a huge desire to see their nation come to know Him. They are tireless in their endless pursuit to bring in neighbors and friends. It is a joy to work with them, but also very humbling. I consider how complacent I have become in reaching my world for Christ. Please continue to pray for hearts to be touched by the hand of God through us, His servants.
Sonya
Hello once again! Today was almost the complete opposite of yesterday. I saw God working early in the morning when He allowed all of us to get more sleep than usual and the Williams´ even brought us yogurt for some extra protein! During VBS, instead of helping with the older kids, Elissa and I were able to go help with the 40-50 little ones. That was a tremendous experience for me because those kids are so easily satisfied. I simply spun one little girl around and around for ten minutes, and she kept on repeating, ¨Otra vez,¨ or ¨Another time!¨ Building relationships with those kids made me feel somewhat more useful and I really got to practice my Spanish, despite several giggles if I accidentally said the wrong thing. The music time in the afternoon went really well. Two girls, Ali and Yvonne, can sing an entire song IN ENGLISH! Also, during the programs today, 13 people accepted Jesus Christ. What a blessing! God has been working within the team as well. Relationships are growing and blossoming like never before. Thank you all for your prayers. Mom, I´m not supposed to be checking my e-mail, so I´m sorry I haven´t responded. Ben, Joe, and I are doing fantastic. Pray that we will continue to get good rest and have energy! We love you all. Oh, and Stephen, Ben says you can play his bass. Love you!
-Jane
Today was a great day! VBS went great despite the personal fustration of being told one thing, then a minute later getting told something diffrent. Unlike the past 3 days we actually got some down time to rest and just hang out with eachother. MUCH NEEDED!! In the afternoons the sports team went to the local park in Chima and today we played Futbol or soccer as we like to call it. It was a blast. We showed up with a few kids from the church and ended up with over 25 people playing or playing volleyball. My win for the day was I scored 2 goals in Mexico! Overall the sports event went well today and tomorrow we are putting on a program where some of us will share our testimony and a guy from the church will share the gospel. That is all for now.I am excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of the week.
*Lindsee, the universal sign for ¨i got a tickle¨is now not just one finger, but all 5 down here in Mexico! *
-mary
I think i have spoken more spanish these past days than i have my whole life. Its been insanely fun and injoyable and incredibley powerful. Thank you so much for all your payers and gifts, please pray for my mother and I that we will be strong and have energy for the rest of this week and allso for the trip we will continue on with Jose and Valarie Perez. Another important prayer is for my mother, Myriam and I as we will be teaching bible study for the kids in the vacation bible school.
Con Mucho Amor
Mariana SAnchez
Hey guys! This is my first time to ever blog, so here goes......this has been an incredible three days. The church we are serving in has been very welcoming. The people have an unmatched love for God and a huge desire to see their nation come to know Him. They are tireless in their endless pursuit to bring in neighbors and friends. It is a joy to work with them, but also very humbling. I consider how complacent I have become in reaching my world for Christ. Please continue to pray for hearts to be touched by the hand of God through us, His servants.
Sonya
Hello once again! Today was almost the complete opposite of yesterday. I saw God working early in the morning when He allowed all of us to get more sleep than usual and the Williams´ even brought us yogurt for some extra protein! During VBS, instead of helping with the older kids, Elissa and I were able to go help with the 40-50 little ones. That was a tremendous experience for me because those kids are so easily satisfied. I simply spun one little girl around and around for ten minutes, and she kept on repeating, ¨Otra vez,¨ or ¨Another time!¨ Building relationships with those kids made me feel somewhat more useful and I really got to practice my Spanish, despite several giggles if I accidentally said the wrong thing. The music time in the afternoon went really well. Two girls, Ali and Yvonne, can sing an entire song IN ENGLISH! Also, during the programs today, 13 people accepted Jesus Christ. What a blessing! God has been working within the team as well. Relationships are growing and blossoming like never before. Thank you all for your prayers. Mom, I´m not supposed to be checking my e-mail, so I´m sorry I haven´t responded. Ben, Joe, and I are doing fantastic. Pray that we will continue to get good rest and have energy! We love you all. Oh, and Stephen, Ben says you can play his bass. Love you!
-Jane
Today was a great day! VBS went great despite the personal fustration of being told one thing, then a minute later getting told something diffrent. Unlike the past 3 days we actually got some down time to rest and just hang out with eachother. MUCH NEEDED!! In the afternoons the sports team went to the local park in Chima and today we played Futbol or soccer as we like to call it. It was a blast. We showed up with a few kids from the church and ended up with over 25 people playing or playing volleyball. My win for the day was I scored 2 goals in Mexico! Overall the sports event went well today and tomorrow we are putting on a program where some of us will share our testimony and a guy from the church will share the gospel. That is all for now.I am excited to see what God has in store for us for the rest of the week.
*Lindsee, the universal sign for ¨i got a tickle¨is now not just one finger, but all 5 down here in Mexico! *
-mary
Monday, July 28, 2008
MONDAY, JULY 28
Ecclisiastes 4:12 - A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. That verse has been a blessing to our team because we have had pretty crazy times. Our team has stayed one through all that we are asked to do and do it with no grumbling. We split into our teams quickly and quietly but had no idea what was coming next. We were given instructions that had a 90% chance of changing but we fully expected it. Even though some things have not gone our way, we do what God gives us to do. It has also been a blessing to me to be in the Everything skit and then sharing my testimony about the skit. I felt like God was standing next to our team and next to me when I was speaking. I have been fully blessed being here.
Kevyn
¡¡Hola!! < Thats about the only spanish I know!!! Even though the language barrier is ever present, God is really showing me that He can work through it and His will will be done no matter what the circumstances. As we got there they asked me and a couple of other team members to learn and perform a "mime" drama where we were showing the last day of Jesus life. It was very encouraging to see how intentive the kids were during the skit and see how many teens were affected by it without us even saying a word!!! Anyways its about 12:15 and im off to bed. Hope its hot in Houston because it feels GREAT being in 50 degree weather!
Daniel
Wow, what an amazing trip it´s been so far! It´s gone so smoothly compared to what I was expecting- especially with so many people, and the programs being new not only to us, but also to the church we´re serving. We´ve definitely had a few rough times, but when you see the beaming smiles on the Mexicans´ faces, it makes it all worth it! The kids and the Mexican workers are all so precious! It´s been such an honor to serve and work with them! We´ve been so incredibly blessed the entire trip. Thanks so much for your love and prayers!
Jaclyn
This trip so far has been a huge blessing and a precious experience in learning what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20). In case many of you don´t know, this was the ¨Chima¨ church´s first time to put on anything for the youth of the area and it has gone well, compared to what I had imagined. I have truly found my joy in Christ by serving Him, even with the language barrier and some frustration with not being able to help out with anything. It just shows that God can use all times, good or bad, to bring about His will. Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. I have felt the hand of God on me and know that He will continue to support and bless our entire team.
Joel
Another great day! VBS went very well, not knowing what to expect coming in. It looks like around 100 kids the first day. About 8-10 received Christ. After lunch, the music, drama, and sports classes got off to a rough start. But once a system was figured out, they were a huge blessing to the youth paricipating. The local youth will perform a song together as a band and perform skits toward the end of the week. Our students are using the time to help teach them English as well by teaching these classes. We'll also be able to share the Gospel as well during some of this time.
You see by their comments that God is doing some neat things. Thanks for your prayers and love. We certainly feel it.
JJ
What an incredible day today! God has been finding so many outlets and ways to use us. For me personally, today was the most discouraging. The lauguage barrier really hit me hard because I found it difficult to initiate conversation. The morning session went really well in terms of organization, but in the afternoon music camp, things were a little more unsure at first. None of the girl who wanted to sing spoke English and it was EXTREMELY awkward at first. Brianne, Loribeth, and I prayed about it and asked God to eliminate our frustration, and He did! We got to go in a separate room with the two girls who wanted to sing, and Denise came and translated while we taught them a song in English. God is also doing some amazing things spiritually. Keep us all in your prayers! More tomorrow!
-Jane
Kevyn
¡¡Hola!! < Thats about the only spanish I know!!! Even though the language barrier is ever present, God is really showing me that He can work through it and His will will be done no matter what the circumstances. As we got there they asked me and a couple of other team members to learn and perform a "mime" drama where we were showing the last day of Jesus life. It was very encouraging to see how intentive the kids were during the skit and see how many teens were affected by it without us even saying a word!!! Anyways its about 12:15 and im off to bed. Hope its hot in Houston because it feels GREAT being in 50 degree weather!
Daniel
Wow, what an amazing trip it´s been so far! It´s gone so smoothly compared to what I was expecting- especially with so many people, and the programs being new not only to us, but also to the church we´re serving. We´ve definitely had a few rough times, but when you see the beaming smiles on the Mexicans´ faces, it makes it all worth it! The kids and the Mexican workers are all so precious! It´s been such an honor to serve and work with them! We´ve been so incredibly blessed the entire trip. Thanks so much for your love and prayers!
Jaclyn
This trip so far has been a huge blessing and a precious experience in learning what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20). In case many of you don´t know, this was the ¨Chima¨ church´s first time to put on anything for the youth of the area and it has gone well, compared to what I had imagined. I have truly found my joy in Christ by serving Him, even with the language barrier and some frustration with not being able to help out with anything. It just shows that God can use all times, good or bad, to bring about His will. Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. I have felt the hand of God on me and know that He will continue to support and bless our entire team.
Joel
Another great day! VBS went very well, not knowing what to expect coming in. It looks like around 100 kids the first day. About 8-10 received Christ. After lunch, the music, drama, and sports classes got off to a rough start. But once a system was figured out, they were a huge blessing to the youth paricipating. The local youth will perform a song together as a band and perform skits toward the end of the week. Our students are using the time to help teach them English as well by teaching these classes. We'll also be able to share the Gospel as well during some of this time.
You see by their comments that God is doing some neat things. Thanks for your prayers and love. We certainly feel it.
JJ
What an incredible day today! God has been finding so many outlets and ways to use us. For me personally, today was the most discouraging. The lauguage barrier really hit me hard because I found it difficult to initiate conversation. The morning session went really well in terms of organization, but in the afternoon music camp, things were a little more unsure at first. None of the girl who wanted to sing spoke English and it was EXTREMELY awkward at first. Brianne, Loribeth, and I prayed about it and asked God to eliminate our frustration, and He did! We got to go in a separate room with the two girls who wanted to sing, and Denise came and translated while we taught them a song in English. God is also doing some amazing things spiritually. Keep us all in your prayers! More tomorrow!
-Jane
Sunday, July 27, 2008
SUNDAY, JULY 27
Today we spent the entire day at the Bethel Bpatist Church in Chimalhucan. Our band helped to lead owrship in the service and we got ablessing worshipping with brothers and sisters in Christ in another culture.
But the highlight of the day for us (and I think for the church) was the Youth Program tonight. The church is only 3 years old and has grown from 30 to 700 in that time. There were well over 100 youth at the event tonight. Our kids absolutely rocked! Parents, have I told you how awesome your students are??! I am so proud of them. They did two skits, including the Everything skit which had everybody rivited and one of the pastors in tears; The band did a concert; our students served their youth and mades some friends as well. Rafael, one of their pastors, led a decision time, well, let´s just say I stopped counting at 25 who had made first time commitments to Christ, and it looked like they were dealing with more! But I¨ve rambled on enough, lemme let you hear from some of our students . . .
JJ
First full day in Mexico!! WHOO! After a breif nights sleep or nap... depending on what you consider 4 hours of sleep to be we had a full day ahead of us! We were able to attend the church service this morning, and enjoyed expierencing God in a new way. It was awesome to come together as two different cultures with two different languages and realize though we were so different we are worshiping the same God. It was neat to feel such unity with people who we had never met before. Im skipping through the rest of the day to the other highlight... because kendra is egarly waiting to blog and i wouldn´t want to keep her waiting! In the evening we were able to act as servers for a youth gathering at the church. After we served the youth dinner, we were given the opportunity to present the Everything drama, along with a new drama that a group of TSMACers learned just today. Both dramas had no words, but seemed to make a HUGE impact on the audience. This was answered prayer for our team because many of us were worried about the language barrier we would be facing here in Mexico and our ability to communicate. It was such encouragement to see something that had no words - be able to communicate so much and was a reminder of our Lord´s amazing power. Praise Him!
Thanks for your continued prayers!
Brianne.
To All,
I had the outstanding and very new expirience to not only go on my first plane ride, but also seeing a whole new nation and thier culture.
My first plane ride was everything I expected it to be, AWESOME!! I got to expirence my first plane ride with all of my friends(I was the only person on the team to have a first flight that day), so that made it even more excieting! Sailing over Mexico City was a sight to see! When people say its all city, it really is! Before we got to the city though I saw gorgeous mountians, and farmlands.
Arriving at Mexico City I felt intense for about 25 minutes, then my energy dropped down quite considerably. The weather was nice, the pollution could be better at some spots, and the altitude was getting the most of us. After sight seeing the main sqare we had dinner then got to the private school around nine or ten. We got settled, had worship and a Bible study, followed by bed around one Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I woke up five hours later to a cold shower, followed by church at Bethal Babtist Church. After church we went to lunch then came back to host a nice dinner party for thier youth group. After food, games, and worship we cleaned up and got ready to head back to the school. During the cleaning up time most teens wanted pictures with us, (almost like we were celebraties). So now its 12:15 Monday morning, and we are starting our VBS tommorrow at the church. PLease keep us in youyour prayers, and thank you for the support!!
-Kendra
What a day it has been! God showed me a way to serve others outside of my comfort zone. Being handicapped with my voice, I am able to hear the many colorful voices around me singing in different languages. I signed up to be in a mime skit and turns out, it played out as a big deal- only rehearsed 4 times. Ladies painted our faces in white and clothed us in black with white gloves as a finishing touch to make it realisitc. God breathed through improv and not being able to use words, but only the emotions on a blank face (as a canvas.) I spent time talking with the people that are native to this country and it has been a real joy seeing so many of them giving their lives to Christ! I know God is with us and He has made himself known in various ways. Jane and I lead bible study tonight and I believe it impacted our time positively with my kalidescope comparison and our diagram to help further explain how we are called to serve others on this mission trip!
-Laurena
The past two days have been incredible! God has taught me so much, including patience, and dependence on Him. The day of travel completely wore me out. I was not feeling too good at dinner, and the restaurant where we went had the best food we would be eating all week! Luckily, I started feeling better and ate my dinner! :] Today, Sunday, was one of the most intense. I got to practice my spanish, and it turns out I know more than I thought! Mom, I know you are reading this, and Ben is doing fine. He is taking all his meds and we have had ZERO issues so far. He and Hudson were even working on their Bible study tonight! Well, I have to head off to bed, but there will be more to come! I love you Mom, Dad, and Stephen. Ben and I send hugs and kisses!
-Jane
But the highlight of the day for us (and I think for the church) was the Youth Program tonight. The church is only 3 years old and has grown from 30 to 700 in that time. There were well over 100 youth at the event tonight. Our kids absolutely rocked! Parents, have I told you how awesome your students are??! I am so proud of them. They did two skits, including the Everything skit which had everybody rivited and one of the pastors in tears; The band did a concert; our students served their youth and mades some friends as well. Rafael, one of their pastors, led a decision time, well, let´s just say I stopped counting at 25 who had made first time commitments to Christ, and it looked like they were dealing with more! But I¨ve rambled on enough, lemme let you hear from some of our students . . .
JJ
First full day in Mexico!! WHOO! After a breif nights sleep or nap... depending on what you consider 4 hours of sleep to be we had a full day ahead of us! We were able to attend the church service this morning, and enjoyed expierencing God in a new way. It was awesome to come together as two different cultures with two different languages and realize though we were so different we are worshiping the same God. It was neat to feel such unity with people who we had never met before. Im skipping through the rest of the day to the other highlight... because kendra is egarly waiting to blog and i wouldn´t want to keep her waiting! In the evening we were able to act as servers for a youth gathering at the church. After we served the youth dinner, we were given the opportunity to present the Everything drama, along with a new drama that a group of TSMACers learned just today. Both dramas had no words, but seemed to make a HUGE impact on the audience. This was answered prayer for our team because many of us were worried about the language barrier we would be facing here in Mexico and our ability to communicate. It was such encouragement to see something that had no words - be able to communicate so much and was a reminder of our Lord´s amazing power. Praise Him!
Thanks for your continued prayers!
Brianne.
To All,
I had the outstanding and very new expirience to not only go on my first plane ride, but also seeing a whole new nation and thier culture.
My first plane ride was everything I expected it to be, AWESOME!! I got to expirence my first plane ride with all of my friends(I was the only person on the team to have a first flight that day), so that made it even more excieting! Sailing over Mexico City was a sight to see! When people say its all city, it really is! Before we got to the city though I saw gorgeous mountians, and farmlands.
Arriving at Mexico City I felt intense for about 25 minutes, then my energy dropped down quite considerably. The weather was nice, the pollution could be better at some spots, and the altitude was getting the most of us. After sight seeing the main sqare we had dinner then got to the private school around nine or ten. We got settled, had worship and a Bible study, followed by bed around one Sunday morning.
Sunday morning I woke up five hours later to a cold shower, followed by church at Bethal Babtist Church. After church we went to lunch then came back to host a nice dinner party for thier youth group. After food, games, and worship we cleaned up and got ready to head back to the school. During the cleaning up time most teens wanted pictures with us, (almost like we were celebraties). So now its 12:15 Monday morning, and we are starting our VBS tommorrow at the church. PLease keep us in youyour prayers, and thank you for the support!!
-Kendra
What a day it has been! God showed me a way to serve others outside of my comfort zone. Being handicapped with my voice, I am able to hear the many colorful voices around me singing in different languages. I signed up to be in a mime skit and turns out, it played out as a big deal- only rehearsed 4 times. Ladies painted our faces in white and clothed us in black with white gloves as a finishing touch to make it realisitc. God breathed through improv and not being able to use words, but only the emotions on a blank face (as a canvas.) I spent time talking with the people that are native to this country and it has been a real joy seeing so many of them giving their lives to Christ! I know God is with us and He has made himself known in various ways. Jane and I lead bible study tonight and I believe it impacted our time positively with my kalidescope comparison and our diagram to help further explain how we are called to serve others on this mission trip!
-Laurena
The past two days have been incredible! God has taught me so much, including patience, and dependence on Him. The day of travel completely wore me out. I was not feeling too good at dinner, and the restaurant where we went had the best food we would be eating all week! Luckily, I started feeling better and ate my dinner! :] Today, Sunday, was one of the most intense. I got to practice my spanish, and it turns out I know more than I thought! Mom, I know you are reading this, and Ben is doing fine. He is taking all his meds and we have had ZERO issues so far. He and Hudson were even working on their Bible study tonight! Well, I have to head off to bed, but there will be more to come! I love you Mom, Dad, and Stephen. Ben and I send hugs and kisses!
-Jane
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