Momentum Action Corps Trip Blog

Get Ready for Action Corp 2010

2010-05-12T14:28:00.005-05:00

ACTION CORPS MPLS

June 13 t0 20

$150

Join us this summer as we serve at the Marie Sandvik Center!

This center operates out of Minneapolis, MN, and offers countless services to anyone who has a need. Those services include distributing donated clothing items and children's shoes, summer lunch club for children, Vacation Bible School, women's homeless shelter, adult bible studies, prison ministries, and much, much more! Everything is offered free of charge to those in need.

We will be helping with some of those operations as needed, specifically with the children's lunch club.

Lodging will be at North Central University, as well as meals.

There will be opportunities to get out and have fun seeing the attractions in the area. (Twins game, anyone?)

Of course, we will also have a lot of fun making memories together, while serving the Lord!!

Grab a registration form at the Momentum Bulletin Board at church, or download a form from the Momentum Webpage.

trip highlight video...

2009-07-11T23:19:00.001-05:00

Action Corps 2009 Highlights from Momentum Student Ministries on Vimeo.

Trip Reflections...

2009-06-25T13:56:00.004-05:00

Well, we're all back in Minnesota now, and doing our best to catch up on sleep and all that. I wanted to take the opportunity to look back on some of the highlights of this trip...

- I truly think we all were impacted by the willingness of the Wotherspoon family to step out into the adventure of planting a church. We got a very real view of what planting a church looks like, and some of the joys and challenges that come along with it. I really think it was a good thing for our students to see a church in its early state, as that can really help us appreciate the resources and stability of our home church. And yet, it also challenged us to think of new ways that we as a church can be reaching out and open ourselves to the community. Coldwater Church is young and under-resourced, yet they have a strong priority on ministering in their community...in a no strings attached kind of way.

- Small things can make a big difference. Several of our students really remarked about what a powerful thing it was to do something as simple as pass out free water bottles to people in a public parking lot. It was amazing how many people were utterly taken aback by the fact that something as small as a bottle of water would truly be "free". And yet, something this simple opened many doorways of conversation with people and gave us the opportunity to invite them to church. If it's really as easy as spending $3.99 for a case of water to initiate conversations with people, why don't we do it more often?

- It can be a challenge to engage a task spiritually. I challenged our team on the second day of trip to really involve themselves at a spiritual level, even when they were doing something a simple as putting a flier on a door or collating papers at the school. Sometimes in the midst of a task (especially a menial one), we can find our focus only on ourselves, i.e. I am hot, this is boring, I am uncomfortable, etc. But when we engage spiritually, even in small ways, the focus can turn off of ourselves and onto others. As a flier is placed on a door, you can offer up a simple prayer for the family that lives in that house. As a handbook is stapled, you can say a short prayer for the student that will receive it. As a water bottle is handed off, you can thank God for the life of the people who will be drinking it. But doing this is challenging, as it takes deliberate focus and resistance to distraction. Our students struggled at putting this into practice, but really seemed to connect with it more towards the end of the trip. Many of them spoke about how it was a really positive thing for them to do. I'd love to see our group continue to grow more focused spiritually as we realize that even the smallest things can have an impact in someone's life.

I feel proud about what we were able to accomplish on this trip. We leave AZ with something tangible to look back on and see as having been achieved. We were able to pass out hundreds of bottles of cold water in the name of Christ. We were able to give away free food and play games with children from the neighborhood, all as an expression of love. We were able to complete many jobs for the elementary school and bless them with our work.

Yet, we remain in prayer for many of the intangible things that were begun. Every water bottle represents a person that has a spiritual need for God. Our prayer is that they would seek out a connection with God and get involved in a local church. Every child that was at the park represents a family that needs the love of Christ. Our hope is that they would act on the invitation to join Coldwater Church and become a part of the church family there. We also continue to pray for God's provision and favor on the Wotherspoon family and on Coldwater Church. They have a huge heart and vision for the city, and we are excited to see what God continues to do in Avondale! What a great week this has been to be a part of it...we are blessed.

Day Seven

2009-06-23T02:24:00.015-05:00

Monday gave us the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon together as a group. We drove about 4 hours to see it...so you might call it a mini road trip. Even the small amount of driving we did today made me thankful that we were able to fly from Minnesota to Arizona.

As we drove north from Phoenix, I was struck by the beauty of the Arizona landscape. The region is very mountainous, and the beginning of our drive was filled with desert-type scenery, complete with cactus and swirling dirt.

But as we drove through the mountains, we climbed to high elevations, in some places well over 6,000 feet above sea level. As we came through the mountains, the landscape changed. We saw more trees and felt cooler air as we continued north. It truly was a beautiful drive!

Our group was able to spend several hours at the Canyon, and it was truly a spectacular sight! I had visited the Grand Canyon with my youth group back in 8th grade, but I think I held more appreciation for it this time around. We ate lunch together and just enjoyed the view of this incredible piece of God's creation. We also encouraged the students to spend some time along, reflecting on the trip and what God had been speaking to them. I can't think of a better place to sit and connect with God than on the edge of the Grand Canyon! Awesome...

We headed back to the hotel tonight and were able to hang out with the Wotherspoon's one final time. We have so appreciated and enjoyed our time with them. They have really challenged our group in their willingness to sacrifice and trust God through the adventure of planting a new church. And they truly are a joy to be around...it was our great pleasure to minister along with them this week. We will miss them!

Tomorrow morning its up and at em' early to get to the airport for our 9am flight back to Minnesota.

its a small world after all...

2009-06-23T02:23:00.002-05:00

In the course of our time here, we've had a couple encounters with people from our neck of the woods...

- This past Saturday at our outreach in the park, Angie Carlsness was able to stop by along with the kids. She and her husband Tim now live in Suprise, AZ, which is only about 30 minutes from where we have been working this week. It just so happened that Andy and Jessica Mattevi were visiting them this week, so we got to see them too.

- At the Grand Canyon, we were taking our team picture and Sam Furey looked up and saw a friend from one of his classes at Central High School. Out of all the overlooks at the Grand Canyon, what are the chances of two people from Duluth, MN bumping into each other? Go figure!

Day Six

2009-06-22T02:04:00.016-05:00

We awoke to another beautiful Arizona day and headed off to the elementary school for Coldwater Church's Sunday service. Today the students got an up-close look at a mobile church, and got to be involved in the set-up and tear down. It was nostalgic for me, as I spent several years working in a church plant in the Philadelphia area, and it was a fun reminder of what doing church in a school is like. It was fun to see our students playing an active role. We were able to sing a song together during the service, which went well.

After church, Pastor Chris and some of the people from the church took us to lunch at In-N-Out Burger. I had heard so much about this place...so the bar for my expectations was set pretty high, but I was not disappointed! It was great, and it was a very generous thing for the church to treat us to lunch. And anywhere you can order a burger "animal style" is cool with me.

We spent the evening back at the hotel. We ate dinner together and then worked on some small projects before spending a little bit of time at the pool. Tomorrow we get up early to head out to see the Grand Canyon. Exciting...

Day Five

2009-06-21T01:51:00.005-05:00

Well, today was the big day...we'd been advertising all week long that we were going to be having a party in the park across from the elementary school today, and boy did we ever! It all came together wonderfully...we had hot dogs, sno-cones, cotton candy, balloon animals, a bounce house, face-painting, and even pony rides...all for FREE. And the best part was that a lot of people from the neighborhood came to check it out! Pastor Chris and the church got to meet a lot of new people today, and we're hoping that many of them will visit the church and get plugged into the ministry there. But it was also just a great way to give back into the community and show God's love to the families here...no strings attached. Several people were truly shocked that a church would do all of this for free. It's sad how we have become so conditioned by our culture to suspect that something isn't really ever "free". Some things truly ARE, including God's love as it was shown for us and as it is shown by us to others. We had one such chance to show that love today, and we had a blast doing it! Check out some of the action below...

After the party came to end and we got everything cleaned up, we were able to come back to the hotel for a bit and take advantage of the pool on this hot Arizona day. Speaking of the hotel...it has really worked out well for us! We ended up saving a lot on food, as we have breakfast here each morning, and they served a free dinner on Wednesday and Thursday. Our rooms have kitchenettes, so we've also been able to make our own lunches and dinners.

Tonight we had dinner at the Wotherspoon's house. They have been so much fun to spend time with and work alongside this week. They truly are amazing and giving people, and we have been privileged to be here with them and with the church. They have taken GREAT care of us. Tonight Chris grilled out for us and after dinner we got to hear more of their story and sing a few songs together with their family.

We ended the night together back at the hotel with a time of worship and reflection. This is always one of my favorite times on our trips. I really sensed God's presence as we sang together in one of our hotel rooms, and it was very meaningful to share communion as a team. I have really felt a theme for this trip of tangible love . Our shirts say "Arizona is for Lovers" and reference 1 John 3:16-18. We are to be "lovers" of people in the same way that God demonstrated His love for us, by sending Christ as a sacrifice. The love that we have experienced should compel us to lay down our lives for one another. Communion is such an awesome reminder of the depth of God's love for us, and every time I take part, it moves me to think about my response to that love. I challenged our team tonight to evaluate their response to God's love in light of what 1 John 3 says. Our love and focus for others betrays our understanding of how God loves us.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow's worship service with Coldwater Church. Our team will get to experience what life is like in a church plant, and be a part of helping everything happen, from set-up to tear down, helping with kids ministry, and bringing snacks for people...they will get to be a real part of church tomorrow. I think it will be a great experience for them. Oh, and a happy father's day to everyone back home!

Please join us in prayer today for:

- The Church service. Pray that some of the people whom we met at the park will come to church. Pray that our students really take in the experience of being a part of a church plant.

- The connections we made in the park. Pray that God would use what they experienced today as a part of the process of bringing them closer to Him. Pray that they would seek out a relationship with God and get involved in a church.

- The Wotherspoons. They have continued to be so gracious to us and have really taken good care of us. We just pray for God's continued blessing and provision in their lives.

Day Four (BONUS)

2009-06-21T01:19:00.000-05:00

I love roundabouts. We should have more of them in the U.S.

Day Four

2009-06-20T01:39:00.015-05:00

We followed the same schedule for today as we have for the past two. We began our morning by distributing the remaining invite fliers in neighborhoods close to the park. Our team really covered a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. We really tried to make a point of praying for each home as we left a flier, trying to move the focus off our work and onto God's.

As I was spending some time reflecting this morning, I found myself asking God to be with us today, which is not an uncommon request. Yet, I felt something within remind me that we also need to think about being with God. Fact of the matter is, God is already moving and active in this community, and our goal should be to be used as a part of what He's already doing. We are exciting to be a part of that here in Avondale, and also reminded that we have that opportunity each day in Duluth as well.

Today was our last day working at the school, and it was a productive one! Our group finished compiling thousands more test packets for students, as well as moving books back into the newly redesigned library. I'm proud of our students for the way they really struck with some very tedious tasks and saw them through til the end.

Tonight, we changed things up a little bit and had our team babysit Pastor Chris and Leah's three children so that they could have a night out together. Our team had a ton of fun keeping the kids entertained, and I'm happy that we could be a small blessing to the Wotherspoons tonight. Their family has truly sacrificed for the vision of seeing Coldwater Church reach this community, and they have our greatest respect and support in that. It's been a privilege to work alongside them thus far, and we're looking forward to a great weekend together!

Tomorrow, we kick off the weekend with a party in a local park right near the school where Coldwater Church meets. We've been inviting people all week and handing out the fliers, so we're hoping to see some people come out and get to meet them. We're going to have all sorts of crazy fun happening...hot dogs, sno-cones, cotton candy, face-painting, balloon animals, inflatable games...this is going to be one rockin' party! There are even going to be PONIES for the kids to ride. What more could you ask for?! We got a head start tonight getting the balloons ready to go, and now we're gonna grab some sleep before the big day tomorrow. Please pray with us for:

- People to come to the park tomorrow and connect with the church. We're praying that they would even just sense God's presence and be drawn to the church and its people through the event tomorrow.

- the logistics of the event...power, weather, supplies, etc. Pray that everything runs smoothly and that we are well received.

- for our team to be refreshed and enthusiastic tomorrow and really bring excitement and life to the park. Pray that we remain focused and represent Coldwater Church well.

We'll let you know how it all goes...for now, good night!

Day Three

2009-06-19T02:51:00.007-05:00

We picked up where we left off yesterday by continuing to hand out fliers in the neighborhoods. We ran out of fliers and had to make a quick copy run to print more! When we operate as a team, we really can cover a lot of ground and accomplish tasks quickly. Afterwards, we headed back to the elementary school for the afternoon and worked on various projects they had for us. We assisted in rearranging their library, which meant moving books and shelves, as well as some more compiling of booklets for the students. Some of the work has been tedious, but it's awesome to know that we are being a blessing to many of the people who work at the school and otherwise would have to do these things by themselves.

After dinner, we headed out to give away more water bottles. Everyone was really looking forward to doing this again, and the team really dove into it right away. We had a great time blessing people with cold water, and we're hopeful that some of them might choose the visit the church sometime in the near future. I asked some of the students to give me a quick description of what they thought of handing out the water...here's what they came up with:

Tomorrow we will be finishing up handing out invites in the neighborhood, as well as wrapping up our work with the school. In the evening, the plan is to bless Pastor Chris and his wife with some free babysitting and a night out so they can relax together. You can join with us in prayer for...

- God to move on the hearts of people who receive invites or water bottles
- Continued favor with the school for Pastor Chris and Coldwater Church
- For our students to rely on God's strength and direction as we minister
- For Pastor Chris and his family, that God would continue to honor and bless them for their sacrifice and commitment

Day Two

2009-06-18T01:30:00.007-05:00

We began today by heading out as a team and going door to door with fliers inviting people to come to the park on Saturday for the event we will be putting on. We were able to cover a lot of ground in a very short amount of time by dividing up, and we probably distributed around 700 fliers this morning! Even in the morning hours, the temps were very warm by our standards, and it didn't take long to work up a sweat.

After lunch, we spent the next part of our day working at Quentin Elementary School. This is the school that Coldwater Church meets in every Sunday, so we truly hope that our work there this week helps the church maintain a great relationship with the school. We had a very productive shift today...several of the girls re-did 10 of their large hallway bulletin boards and the rest of the group worked on compiling the student handbooks for the next school year. What began as many huge piles of paper was transformed into thousands of handbooks, printed both in English and Spanish for the many students who attend school here.

(this was the end result...lots and lots of handbooks. there are 25 in each stack)

After a short break for dinner, we all donned our team t-shirts and headed out to a local shopping center to hand out bottles of water with the church name and info printed on the labels. It's quite an experience to try and give someone something that is truly a free gift. People are so skeptical of "free" that it is very hard to convince them that there really are no strings attached to this gift...it's just simply cold water on a hot Arizona day. I love Pastor Chris' heart in this, which is simply to be a blessing to people and become known as a church that gives and contributes to their community. We had some great conversations with people, and we're hopeful that some of them will choose to come to church on Sunday. We also had our share of people getting upset at us, getting asked to leave by store employees, etc. One gentleman even felt it necessary to classify our efforts as a "pestilence". (what a nice old testament word!) Not sure why or how free water can generate so many emotions in people, but we had a great time passing it out tonight!

To wrap it all up, we had a nice debrief/hangout time at Sonic tonight. A great way to end a great first day! We will follow a similar schedule tomorrow, and we will continue to invite people to come and hang out with us on Saturday in the park. You can join us in praying for...

- Favor with people in our invitations, interactions and attempts to show the love of Christ
- Continued focus and energy for our team

I'm excited for tomorrow!

Day One

2009-06-16T20:07:00.002-05:00

We arrived safely in Avondale, AZ around 11:30pm. It was still over 80 degrees when we landed...which was kind of a shock to the systems of these Minnesotans. Our flight was uneventful, which is good. We were slightly delayed in Minneapolis, but otherwise things went splendidly. I was incredibly impressed with Northwest and how they checked us in as a group...extremely efficient. (shocking, I know!) We drove to our hotel and got all checked in and went straight to bed, as we have a big day ahead of us. There's a lot of excitement within the group, and I'm really praying for a real focus and drive for our team. We have the awesome opportunity to be a blessing to Pastor Chris, Coldwater Church, and the community of Avondale. Please join me in praying that we stay focused on why we are here.

Want to stay in the loop?

2009-06-12T15:09:00.011-05:00

Parents and others who are interested in keeping up with us while we're on this year's trip...I have an option that will keep you totally in the loop, nearly step for step, and it will make you cooler on top of all that! I'll be using twitter to provide updates from our trip, and if you so choose, you can follow me and have our updates send directly to your phone via text message. Watch the above video for more info on this. Below are some more instructions.

1. Follow the link to Twitter

2. Sign up for a free account

3. Enable your phone to receive updates via txt message (more info)

4. "Follow" me on twitter and be sure to set device updates to ON. You're set!

Avondale 2009 - Trip Info Sheet

2009-06-11T17:36:00.001-05:00

Missed the meeting? Lost your info sheet? Hamster ate it?
Never fear. We got you covered.

Here you go.

Day Eleven

2008-08-08T14:42:00.003-05:00

We're currently sitting in the airport in Mexico City waiting to board our flight. It seems like such a long time has passed since we arrived here. Most of us are pretty tired, and I'd say there is some excitement about coming home. Still, we all agree that this was a great trip, and so many of these experiences will stick with us in the days to come. Some of the highlights....

- Working together with the church and forming relationships with the people there. We were very blessed by the way that the church welcomed us in and allowed us opportunities to minister. They have an excitement and passion for God, and it comes through in their church services. We were able to serve them this week, but we were also able to learn from them. Even with the cultural differences, we really valued the experience of working with this church.

- Working with Josh and April and their family. We were so blessed by the Amiots and their willingness to sacrifice on our behalf. They truly did everything possible to make this a beneficial trip for each one of us. Even though they were spread thin this week, they made us feel like part of their family. Our prayers are with them in their continued ministry and for the rest of their summer with another team coming in next week.

- Visiting the Esperanza Viva Orphanage. All of our students have said that this day strongly impacted them. I wish we had more time to spend with these children. We were all impacted by what we have, and by what they do not. Our perspective was strongly altered by seeing their lives and what they have gone through. We feel so much more aware of how blessed and loved we are, and that the struggles we have undergone in life quickly pale in comparison to those of others in the world.

- Keeping our focus. One of the biggest challenges of the trip was keeping our "eye on the ball". I can't recall a day where there was not some sort of distraction or opportunity to divert our attention from what we were there to do. I'd love to say that we stayed on course 100% of the time, but there were times when we allowed ourselves to get distracted. Still, I found this to be a great opportunity to learn about just how important it is that we remain focused on what our mission is. When we take our eyes off of that and put them onto ourselves, we can easily become distracted, a lesson I hope we learned during the course of this trip.

- Being a team. Every individual has the power to impact the entire team in a postive way, as well as in a negative way. We saw both over the course of this trip. Decisions are powerful, and they rarely just affect one person. Our team saw the importance of making the decision that is right for the good of the team, not just for the good of an individual.

I'm proud of our team for their continued desire to be servants and to be used by God this past week. My prayer is that they continue to build upon the experiences we had, and allow God to continue to stretch and grow them. My prayer is that they would continue to learn what it means to keep their focus on God and on His will in every situation, even what that means not getting our way or not being the center of attention. My prayer is that God will seal the experiences and challenges of this trip inside the heart of every student, and that He would use those experiences to continue to grow and shape them in the days to come.

Day Ten

2008-08-08T00:38:00.008-05:00

Well...ready or not, today was our last full day here in Mexico City. Today we spent most of our time taking in some of the sights of the city that we have been working in for the past week. We first headed to the heart of downtown and went up in the Torre Latinoamericana (Latin American Tower). It is one of the tallest buildings in the city, and has an observation deck on the top floor. It was an incredible view, tainted only by the smoggy-ness of the city. There are mountains all around, but you can barely make them out because of all the pollution. Josh had told us that the air quality in Mexico City is comparable to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day! Now that sounds healthy... Josh's wife April gave us a short history of the city as we sat and admired the view.

Next we took a trip to "El Zocolo", the center city square. It is actually the third largest square in the world, behind Tiananmen Square in Bejing and Red Square in Moscow. It takes up a huge amount of space! An extremely beautiful church sits adjacent to the square, and we got to go inside and see a mass being performed and admire the architecture of the building.

We went to a street market for lunch and some time to shop. It was fun to walk among the shops and see all the various things for sale. So many things are hand-crafted and unique...we could have easily spent several hours there. Afterwards, we headed to another more open street market, but we got rained out before we could do a whole lot there.

We spent our last evening at the Amiot's house for dinner. Several of our new friends from the church were able to attend, including the pastor and his family. After eating (grilled hamburgers...a nice, non-Mexican change), we spent some time sharing about what the trip had meant to each of us, as well as praying together for the church and for the Amiots. It was a very special time. It has been such a privilege working alongside these wonderful people for the last week and a half. They are doing some amazing things here and it was an awesome opportunity to be a part of it. Please be praying for Josh and his family. He has been feeling pretty sick the last day or so, and he has another group coming in next week, which will be very demanding for him. We prayed tonight that God would bring healing to him and keep his entire family well during this very busy time. They have sacrificed so much to have us here and to make our trip the best it could be. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service.

Tomorrow we are going to the airport and we'll be saying our goodbyes to Mexico. It has been a wonderful trip, and we are excited to share more about our experiences with everyone. We have a debrief meeting scheduled for this coming Wednesday night at 6:30pm. (August 13). We'd like to invite parents and anyone else who is interested in hearing more from the students and learning about their experiences to come and join us. We will be sharing briefly in the Sunday service on the 10th, but we'd love to have everyone come on Wednesday night to hear more about what God has done through this great opportunity.

Day Nine

2008-08-07T00:25:00.007-05:00

Today marked our last day of ministry with the church. We spent our time there cleaning and painting around the building. We got to wear our old clothes, but some of us looked more stylish than others...

It's been quite a learning experience working with the people and the culture here. We have loved being with the people in the church, and they have been absolutely wonderful and giving toward us, but the culture is such that there is a lot of "hurry up and wait" and confusion about exactly what the plan for a day is. For example, today, we had planned to paint a good portion of the upstairs in the church, and had begun prepping it for painting. It is in desperate need, all unpainted rough concrete walls and floors. Yet, they were never able to coordinate getting the paint sprayer and the paint there, so we ended up just cleaning very thoroughly and painting more downstairs. This week, we've also had a lot of "we're going to leave at 2:00" turn into 3, 3:30, even 4:00. Again, it is just a cultural difference, and we've been able to be flexible and still get a lot accomplished. So even with the difficulty, we were able to get a lot done at the church today, and we have both been blessed by working with them and have also able to be a blessing to them.

Many of the students came to tell us goodbye, and there were quite a few tears. It's been amazing to have shared a common bond in Christ with people who we can barely communicate with. It's been a major part of our experience here.

Tonight we had a special team dinner at Chili's, sitting atop the hill and overlooking the city. As the trip draws to a close, you begin to think about all that we have been a part of this week, and the many opportunities that God has given us to participate in. We have truly been blessed, and I am praying that the students take these experiences and allow them to find a place in their hearts and affect their lives back in Duluth. After dinner, we had a special time of worship and communion together. We've had several chances to worship with the church, but it was special to have a time with just our group and songs in English. Everyone took an opportunity to share what God has been doing in them during the trip, and it was awesome to hear how God has been focusing individually on each of us. He always knows just what it is that we need to experience and learn.

One major achievement for many on this trip has been the amount of Spanish that they have either learned or improved on. It is not the easiest language, though some are able to navigate it easier than others. Nathan has been giving us some basic lessons...take a listen and see how everyone is doing so far.

Tomorrow we have our final day here and will be taking some time to sightsee and do a little shopping at the "Tianguis", an open-air street market. Then we will share a final meal with the missionary and his family It's hard to believe the trip is almost over. It's been an amazing experience...

Day Eight

2008-08-06T01:45:00.007-05:00

Today, we headed back over to the church and spent the morning working on some new dramas. It's been great to see everyone get so involved, especially in areas that they might not normally volunteer for. Every member of the team played a part in at least one drama, and several have stepped up to fill many different roles. Before lunch, we took some time to walk around the neighborhood and pray for the church's impact in the area. Taking a prayer walk is an awesome opportunity to see things a little differently. The community that this church is in definitely has a lot of needs, and it is exciting to see the church striving to make a difference in this area. After we got back, some of the ladies of the church cooked a marvelous meal of "sopes de pollo" for us, which are tortillas with beans and chicken. Amazing...

After we ate, we headed back out into the city to do some street ministry. We set up in a couple local parks and performed dramas and puppet songs, all the while inviting people to come and visit the church. It's amazing how quickly a crowd can gather and how attentive the people were. After three stops, we headed back to the church for an evening service.

Tonight's service was excellent. I'm loving the times of worship. Often, we will know the songs in English, and it's fun to either try and sing along in Spanish or just simply sing the English words. Even despite not always knowing, I have felt the presence of God strongly while we worship together. Tonight our team performed two dramas (that we just learned today), as well as two songs. Abby, Terri, and Meghan all shared testimonies and did very well. Nathan preached tonight in Spanish and did an awesome job. It has been so cool to have someone along who is familiar with the culture and language, not to mention that he's been able to translate for us the entire time. The church really enjoyed having him speak.

We were also treated to something extra-extra-special tonight. Today was Alison's birthday. But not just any birthday. It was her 15th birthday. Not such a biggie in America, but in Mexico, the 15th birthday is on par with a girl's wedding, if not more so. I don't think I can really convey how big a deal it is. They call it her "quinceanera" and when the people in the church found out it was Allison's, they really wanted to show us how they celebrate. Here in Mexico, the quinceanera marks a girl's entrance into womanhood. It was a very interesting cultural experience to learn about their tradition and to see it actually happen. They normally take a large part of the Sunday service to have a ceremony for the girl. They found a fancy dress for her to wear and made her up. They had two guys walk her in to music, and seated her in front of the congregation. The pastor then speaks directly to her about her life and prays a blessing on her. Then, the entire church spends time praying for her. Then, they have a party with some cake. It was a very special time, not just for Alison, but for all of us. Another fun tradition they have here is called the "la mordida", in which they push the face of the birthday girl/boy into the cake. Might not be as fun for the person getting cake in the fact, but it sure is fun to watch. We were so grateful to the church for being willing to share such a rich cultual experience with us, as well as make the day special for Alison.

Day Seven

2008-08-05T01:06:00.012-05:00

This morning we all piled in the van and headed to Puebla to visit the Esperanza Viva Orphanage. It was a tremendous experience, and I know that it really impacted many of our students. It took us close to 3 hours to get there, as it was a good distance from Mexico City. The drive was truly beautiful, as we headed through the mountains and admired the city in the distance. We even got to see a snow-covered volcano in the distance.

Once we arrived at the orphanage, we first took a tour and then set up our stuff to put on an hour-long program for the kids. It was amazing how much the ministry here does with what they have. Their facility is large, but in pretty rough condition. Yet, they do so much for the kids that live there. The girl who directs the group visits is actually from Minnesota and spent some time in Duluth (small world!). There are over 80 children, ranging from toddlers all the way to 18 year olds. Most have either been removed from their families because of abuse or have no other family living. I felt a lump in my throat for most of the day as I interacted with the children and saw how they lived. We used about everything we could in our program for the students, several songs, puppet shows, 3-4 dramas, as well as testimonies by Corinn, Andrew, and Anna. Even when we finished, the kids kept asking for more (otra, otra = another, another...)

One drama that the students learned and performed this week is called "Everything". In it, we're given a picture of Jesus, as our creator and all that we need, yet, so often we allow other things to come into our lives and distract and empty us. The drama is a powerful example of what it means to run back to Christ and just what he did for us to make that possible.

We had the rest of the afternoon just to play with the children. Every one of our students found themselves surrounded with kids as they played basketball, paper airplanes, or just simply sat and talked. We also handed out some small gift bags to the children before we left. It's so hard to look at a child and comprehend the idea that he or she basically has no one in their life to care for them. It makes you want to grab them, hug them tightly, and take them home with you. I know they are loved at the orphanage, but it is still hard to see their lives and think of them in comparison to our own. Very challenging.

Day Six

2008-08-04T00:37:00.005-05:00

Well, today was a big day at the church. We arrived around 9:30 to begin preparing for the 11:30 service. Each and every member of our team was involved in some way with the service today. Mackenzie and Seth both gave testimonies and did an excellent job. Our team sang two songs together (major props to Alison, Meghan, and Anna for taking on solo parts in Spanish!) and performed three puppet songs. We also used two dramas during the service.

The service went from 11:30am to 3:15pm. Try that in Duluth... Yet, it went by quickly, and it was awesome to feel the presence of God moving during the worship, even though we didn't always know the songs. They bring so much energy to their worship, it becomes contagious.

Today marked the close of the week of VBS for the church, so they had a closing ceremony of sorts. It was a really special time at the end as we were able to spend some time praying with the kids. It has been an awesome experience meeting these children and working with them this week. We were also able to present the church with the gift from our VBS so that they can buy a new video projector. We have really been blessed working with them thus far. We will continue to be involved there into next week, but we won't necessarily be working with the kids, so there were quite a few photos taken today before we left.

Tonight we had dinner at a very authentic Mexican taco restaurant. You could order tacos made with any part of a cow that you could ever want. Brain, Stomach, Tongue, etc. Most stuck with the basic taco, but there were a few brave souls who tried some of the varieties. We will check with them again tomorrow to see if they still feel good about that decision.

Afterwards, we spent an hour or so at a local mall, which was absolutely beautiful. It was partially open-air, and built on top of one of the mountains, so you could see city sprawling out as you walked from store to store. Mexico City really is beautiful, but the smog makes it hard to see very far. (It is one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world) It also rains every night this time of year, as it is the rainy season.

We're headed to the orphanage tomorrow, which is around two hours drive from here. I'm really excited for this experience, and I know our students are as well.

Day Five

2008-08-03T01:51:00.006-05:00

We woke up this morning and headed off to see the Aztec Pyramids. We stopped along the way and had an authentic Mexican breakfast at McDonald's. It still humors me that every place we go to has piles of hot peppers just waiting to be piled on things such as breakfast sandwiches, ice cream, or cereal. (so maybe I exaggerate a little...) But seriously. The pyramids were an incredible sight. It's amazing to think about their construction so many years ago by an ancient civilization. I tried to capture some of the student's responses below for you. Watch at your own risk...

It took a little while to get back from the pyramids, as they about an hour outside of the city. Have I mentioned that driving here in Mexico City is something like stock car racing crossed with Frogger? It's amazing to me to see all the cars and how many people just fly and weave in and out of traffic, so often just barely missing a collision. I say that not to worry those at home, but it is quite a different experience, and I am ETERNALLY grateful that Josh is the one driving and that he is very able and skilled. The good news is that all of our students reclaimed their salvation during the first ride in the van. Amen, Praise the Lord.

Our leaders have been AMAZING. I am so grateful to God for sending Terri and Nathan on this trip. Now, I will say that Nathan has been a little difficult, but we worked things out today at the pyramids. I think we have an "understanding" now.

We spent the later part of the afternoon at the church preparing for our role in tomorrow's church service, which promises to be a very special day. I'm so excited at the opportunities that we are being given, and it's been awesome to see our students step up and get excited about being a part of the ministry here. Please pray for us tomorrow if you are able...the service starts at 11:30am and will go for several hours. Pray that we are used by God and that he grants us the words to speak that the people need to hear. I'm believing that great things will happen.

We spent some time shopping today for the children at the orphanage we will visit on Monday. We made each of the a gift bag, and we are very excited to bring it to them on Monday. Afterwards, we headed out on the town for a dinner at a place called "Wings". It was great food, and we have had fun trying new foods and laughing together.

It just so happened that the restaurant had a karaoke lounge next door (which we had to listen to the entire time that we were eating), so some of the trip leaders (don't blame me...) decided it would be fun to go in and serenade the students with a traditional Mexican worship balled called "La Bamba" (I think I have its origins correct, it was first sung in church, right?) Either way, what ensued can only be shown rather than described...so, I will probably regret putting this on here, but for now, enjoy...

Day Four

2008-08-02T00:58:00.009-05:00

Today was our final day of classes for VBS, and it concluded very well. Three days in, it's fun to see just how well our students have connected with these kids...I can't count the number of ninos that were hanging on to our students today. We've been able to be a very active part of the program. This morning Nathan, Meghan, Molly, and Andrew preformed a drama for the students, and Anna shared a short devotional. Many of our students have also been involved with the puppet ministry. Everyone is doing such a great job with the opportunities that we are being given. Some VBS highlights are below...

After the conclusion of the VBS classes, the students played a big game of futbol in the street by the church. After that, the local youth group here took some time to teach our students a drama that they had recently learned. Adam and Nathan did a great job helping us navigate the translation, and it was tons of fun to see the groups sharing in ministry together. This afternoon we also had a neat time of spontaneous worship with a guitar in the stairwell. We would take turns singing a song in English and then they would sing it in Spanish, and then we'd all sing together. It was an awesome sound to hear.

Tonight, the youth group had a pizza and movie night, and we combined together with them to take part in it. As I've said already, it has been a lot of fun to watch how our groups have connected so easily. We watched the movie, "The End of the Spear", which is the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and other missionaries to South America who were martyred for their faith...very inspiring.

Tomorrow will be a bit different. We plan to head out for some sightseeing in the morning, and then we're off to the church to practice for the ministry on Sunday, which we will be VERY invovled in. Exciting things are happening.

Day Three

2008-08-01T00:19:00.009-05:00

I think this post is actually occurring on day 4, but hopefully no one is being that technical. (A little later night tonight...) We had another amazing day here in Mexico City. The VBS becomes more exciting each day as more students come and take part in the program. Our students continue to impress me with the way that they have jumped in and become a key part of this VBS.

One major highlight of the day was that Adam shared the devotion this morning, and did so completely in Spanish! (era un buen trabajo!) Many of our students are being adventurous with their spanish, and if they didn't know any coming in, they are learning quickly! Also, we have been enjoying some amazing food courtesy of the ladies of the church. They feed 100+ people each and every day of the VBS, and they do it very WELL. (If you like beans that is...they seem to be on everything, bread, sandwiches, etc. Keeps the team well fueled though...)

Once the VBS concluded, we spent some time learning some new dramas and puppet routines, and then we took them out onto the streets to advertise for the final day of VBS, along with some of the students from the church. It was quite a different feeling to be a "gringo" on the streets of this section of Mexico City, which is not a major tourist area. We gathered a lot of attention. People seemed very interested in what we were doing, and it was rather strange to actually have people asking for flyers or thanking you when you hand them one. That's a far cry from America...

Tonight we took part in a cell group that met at a local family's house. We had an amazing dinner of tamales (if you can't tell already, I am REALLY enjoying the food here). I think I ate cinco o seis...not sure. Hopefully you won't work to translate that number. We had such a cool time there...it's an amazing sound to listen as songs are sung in worship to God, us singing in English, they singing in Spanish. We also got to learn another song in Spanish tonight, which was very fun. Por siempre Dios es fiel (Forever God is Faithful). Molly and Derek both shared their testimonies tonight for the service, and they both did a fabulous job. I'm continually impressed by our students' willingness to openly share their stories with the people here. I got to speak again with Nathan translating. (We're getting pretty good at it now...well he is at least). All in all, it was a wonderful night. I'm excited to see what God does tomorrow in the final day of VBS.

Day Two

2008-07-30T22:37:00.013-05:00

It's hard to believe that today was only our second day here! I feel like we've already experienced so much in such a short time. This morning we took part in the church's VBS program, which started on Monday. It was a little tough jumping in mid-week, especially with the language-barrier, but I give credit to our students for jumping right in. There are over 100 kids involved in the VBS program, ranging all the way from infants to teenagers. There are even 10-15 adults that stay around and have a class together, complete with memory verses and song motions. It was an awesome experience for all of us just spending time with the kids and taking part in the games and songs.

After the VBS program came to an end, we stayed around at the church for awhile longer practicing the VBS songs (which have a lot of motions!) We did each song at least 4-5 times, so by the end of that hour, we had all had a full aerobic workout. We need to bring some of these VBS songs back with us though...they really know how to rock it out! We also worked on a couple dramas and puppet songs to use in the ministry here. I'm so proud of the way our students have jumped right in and risen to the opportunities they have had so far. I'll be the first to say that it is challenging to try and engage people when you don't speak their language. Yet, so many times today I watched our students singing, hugging, and loving on kids, even though they couldn't carry on a full conversation with them.

Tonight we had dinner at the missionary's house and helped them celebrate his daughter Emma's 6th birthday. It was a great time, and we couldn't be happier to be working with the Amiots...they have been fabulous thus far. It's off to bed again...amazing how tired these days can leave you. But it's a good tired...a fulfilling kind of tired. I'm excited for another day of VBS tomorrow. We're praying that God will continue to impact the lives of these students and adults!

Day One

2008-07-29T23:21:00.007-05:00

Well...we made it. The days have seemed to mesh together in terms of leaving Monday night, traveling a good part of early Tuesday, and then hitting the ground running here in Mexico City. The great news is that we were blessed with very smooth travel. Everyone arrived safe and sound, as did all of our luggage.

It was a little shocking to try and take in just how big Mexico City really is. I got a good glimpse as our plane came in for its landing, and it seemed to stretch on forever. The traffic was every bit as crazy as they say, but we made it safely to our hotel. We are staying about 1/2 hour northwest of the city center.

We jumped right into things tonight, as the church was having it's regular Tuesday evening service. We sang a song and Adam and Alison shared their testimonies (they both did a great job). I was speaker for the service, which was a little daunting with the language barrier. I think it went pretty well, and it was AWESOME having Nathan to translate. Our group really seemed to connect with the students in this church, and it was so cool to stand back and watch them interact, in spite of not being able to communicate easily. It's going to be an awesome experience to work alongside this church in the ministries they have going on. And the missonary and his family are awesome...they have done a great job coordinating our schedule for our time here. After the service, we all went out together for a mexican dinner. Yummy. They don't do it quite like that in Duluth. No one put up a fight going to bed tonight, and we've got VBS first thing tomorrow morning, so I'm going to sign off as well. I'm so thankful to God for the way He watched over us today and for the way He is orchestrating this trip. More to come...