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Sunday, March 2, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Home
We missed blogging the last couple of days of the trip. Over the next day or two I'll post updates on what happened as we finished the homes, did our last day of the kids program, and then said goodbye to our families in Mexico.
I'll post some of the almost 5,000 pictures that the team took during the week!
We just arrived back home in Vermont... all safe, tired, and "new" with the incredible experience God created for us as we served Him. We had an unexpected treat when we pulled into the church gym parking lot... as someone had plowed the snow out in front of our cars, cleaned the snow and ice off the windshields, and then left a large note in the snow using their footprints that said "Welcome Home!" Whoever did this... we so appreciated it! What a nice treat after starting the day at 3am to not have to dig out our cars from the week of snow.
Thank you for your prayers!
More soon (but not tonight!)
God's Blessings-
-Mike
I'll post some of the almost 5,000 pictures that the team took during the week!
We just arrived back home in Vermont... all safe, tired, and "new" with the incredible experience God created for us as we served Him. We had an unexpected treat when we pulled into the church gym parking lot... as someone had plowed the snow out in front of our cars, cleaned the snow and ice off the windshields, and then left a large note in the snow using their footprints that said "Welcome Home!" Whoever did this... we so appreciated it! What a nice treat after starting the day at 3am to not have to dig out our cars from the week of snow.
Thank you for your prayers!
More soon (but not tonight!)
God's Blessings-
-Mike
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Day Three... Incredible!
This morning our team traveled back from Texas into Reynosa. It was a colder day and many of us wore sweatshirts this morning! When we arrived at the church, we were greeted by a larger group of kids. When the kids program was going, we had over 50 colonia kids in attendance. Today, our mascot was "Rosa the Rabbit" played by the very energetic, Grace, on our team! The kids loved the cratf of making necklaces with beads and foam catcus, pepper and sun figures. Laura and Brian shared how the kids could build their house and lives upon the Rock, our forever friend Jesus Christ.
The MOPS program was incredible. We started with only about 11 women, but more and more kept coming as the morning went on until over 30 were there. Stephanie shared how Jesus washed his disciples feet, and our ladies then proceeded to wash the feet of the colonia women, and painted their toe and finger nails. The colonia ladies each made a silver and glass beaded necklace to take with them. Apples are a huge treat, so each lady took one home. One lady shared how her husband died only a month ago... and how she felt God's love and peace by our ladies washing her feet.
The trusses for the houses were finished and placed up on the walls. Each site spent the afternoon working on the roofs, painting trim, and playing with the neighborhood kids.
At night, our team comes back to Texas for rest, dinner, and an evening time of worship. Most nights, we have a gent named Jim who is a youth pastor in Missouri who leads us. Tonight, however, Sean and Clare started the eveninging by leading us in two songs with a guitar that was donated for our team to give to the church. During the program, we shared "God sightings"... how we saw God touching the people we were serving or how God has touched and changed us. Tonight, most of the team raised their hands to share something. Unfortunately, this blog is too small of a place to share all of the stories! Perhaps the pictures I posted tonight will give you some idea of what is happening.
Tomorrow we will have our last morning of the kids Bible program. The work on the houses is likely going to be done at the end of the day. If time allows, we will dedicate the homes to the families.
Thank you for your prayers! Our younger members of the team are feeling the strain of the long days. Tomorrow could be a tough day as we start the process of saying goodbye to our newly found friends. Please continue to pray for our safety, words to say to the people in Reynosa, and growth in our own faith in Jesus.
God's Blessings!
- Mike
The MOPS program was incredible. We started with only about 11 women, but more and more kept coming as the morning went on until over 30 were there. Stephanie shared how Jesus washed his disciples feet, and our ladies then proceeded to wash the feet of the colonia women, and painted their toe and finger nails. The colonia ladies each made a silver and glass beaded necklace to take with them. Apples are a huge treat, so each lady took one home. One lady shared how her husband died only a month ago... and how she felt God's love and peace by our ladies washing her feet.
The trusses for the houses were finished and placed up on the walls. Each site spent the afternoon working on the roofs, painting trim, and playing with the neighborhood kids.
At night, our team comes back to Texas for rest, dinner, and an evening time of worship. Most nights, we have a gent named Jim who is a youth pastor in Missouri who leads us. Tonight, however, Sean and Clare started the eveninging by leading us in two songs with a guitar that was donated for our team to give to the church. During the program, we shared "God sightings"... how we saw God touching the people we were serving or how God has touched and changed us. Tonight, most of the team raised their hands to share something. Unfortunately, this blog is too small of a place to share all of the stories! Perhaps the pictures I posted tonight will give you some idea of what is happening.
Tomorrow we will have our last morning of the kids Bible program. The work on the houses is likely going to be done at the end of the day. If time allows, we will dedicate the homes to the families.
Thank you for your prayers! Our younger members of the team are feeling the strain of the long days. Tomorrow could be a tough day as we start the process of saying goodbye to our newly found friends. Please continue to pray for our safety, words to say to the people in Reynosa, and growth in our own faith in Jesus.
God's Blessings!
- Mike
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Day Two… The Home Walls Go Up…
… and our heart “walls” went down.
Our full team was healthy and ready to go this morning. After a great breakfast, we loaded into the buses and headed south again. A little more than half the team started the morning at the blue church for our “Children’s Bible School” or CBS. In the colonia, half of the kids go to school in the morning and half in the afternoon. So the number of kids for the morning program was only 36… but it should grow tomorrow as school is out for the day. Even as the buses arrived at the church, kids were at the door waiting for us. Our team sang songs, played games, helped the kids with a craft, and taught them about how Jesus is their Amigo (friend). Our team bonded quickly with the kids. It was great to watch how quickly the kids warmed up to us, and amazing how quickly we fell in love with these kids.
Later in the morning the teams met back together at the work sites. Hammers and paint were flying as the teams completed the floors and walls. And once the paint was dry (which was not long!) the walls were raised. At the end of the day, all three sites each had all four of their walls standing and ready for the roof work we will do tomorrow. A cooler day and the excitement of the CBS helped the teams get a tremendous amount done today.
Many of the children of the area warmed up to our team at the job sites as well. They came out to play and interact more than yesterday as they get used to us.
A few highlights…
… Joe getting swarmed with the CBS kids
… Jeff giving his sunglasses away to a boy who needed them because of pink eye
… Lauren sharing her story of her friendship with Jesus at CBS
… Laura and Ary helping bridge the language gap with their Spanish knowledge
… Jim leading his team to a neighborhood “store” for Mexican Coca-Cola
… One of the mothers of a site crying when she watched the walls going up on her new home
Tomorrow we have another morning of the CBS. With school out, we could have as many as 100 kids. During the CBS, our ladies will be hosting a mini-MOPS (or Mothers of Preschoolers). The moms down here work incredibly hard and never have a chance to be pampered or served. Our ladies are hoping many moms will come to the church so they can wash their feet and paint their nails.
On the house side, the roof will be built, tarred and shingled.
God has amazing things in store for us. Each of us had so many stories and experiences today, and we cannot wait for whatever God has in store for us tomorrow. Please pray for continued safety, good weather, lots of CBS kids and MOPS moms, and for God to continue to teach and grow each of us.
God’s Blessings!
-Mike
[PS… due to some technical issues no pictures tonight… I’ll post a bunch tomorrow evening]
Our full team was healthy and ready to go this morning. After a great breakfast, we loaded into the buses and headed south again. A little more than half the team started the morning at the blue church for our “Children’s Bible School” or CBS. In the colonia, half of the kids go to school in the morning and half in the afternoon. So the number of kids for the morning program was only 36… but it should grow tomorrow as school is out for the day. Even as the buses arrived at the church, kids were at the door waiting for us. Our team sang songs, played games, helped the kids with a craft, and taught them about how Jesus is their Amigo (friend). Our team bonded quickly with the kids. It was great to watch how quickly the kids warmed up to us, and amazing how quickly we fell in love with these kids.
Later in the morning the teams met back together at the work sites. Hammers and paint were flying as the teams completed the floors and walls. And once the paint was dry (which was not long!) the walls were raised. At the end of the day, all three sites each had all four of their walls standing and ready for the roof work we will do tomorrow. A cooler day and the excitement of the CBS helped the teams get a tremendous amount done today.
Many of the children of the area warmed up to our team at the job sites as well. They came out to play and interact more than yesterday as they get used to us.
A few highlights…
… Joe getting swarmed with the CBS kids
… Jeff giving his sunglasses away to a boy who needed them because of pink eye
… Lauren sharing her story of her friendship with Jesus at CBS
… Laura and Ary helping bridge the language gap with their Spanish knowledge
… Jim leading his team to a neighborhood “store” for Mexican Coca-Cola
… One of the mothers of a site crying when she watched the walls going up on her new home
Tomorrow we have another morning of the CBS. With school out, we could have as many as 100 kids. During the CBS, our ladies will be hosting a mini-MOPS (or Mothers of Preschoolers). The moms down here work incredibly hard and never have a chance to be pampered or served. Our ladies are hoping many moms will come to the church so they can wash their feet and paint their nails.
On the house side, the roof will be built, tarred and shingled.
God has amazing things in store for us. Each of us had so many stories and experiences today, and we cannot wait for whatever God has in store for us tomorrow. Please pray for continued safety, good weather, lots of CBS kids and MOPS moms, and for God to continue to teach and grow each of us.
God’s Blessings!
-Mike
[PS… due to some technical issues no pictures tonight… I’ll post a bunch tomorrow evening]
Monday, February 25, 2008
Day One… and it begins
After talking about this trip for the last 7 months, our team finally traveled by bus into Mexico.
As we drove through Reynosa, the kids and first time adults were amazed at the range of economy and poverty alongside each other. And difference in language was apparent. Some of the kids made a game out of guessing what the different stories might be selling based on the words and pictures. One of the kids said that some of the signs were in English. When I asked her what she meant, she said “I saw it on a restaurant… it was nice of them to use the English word for taco and burrito”!
This year, we are working at a neighboring colonia alongside Pastor Valente and his Missions Church. This colonia is up on a slight hill, and has very little around it. The bright blue church that has been planted, built, and grown in four short years. Amazing how God has allowed a Pastor with no regular income to not only pastor his own church, but plant another one on a grander scale!
Our team stopped at the church to meet Pastor Valente and his wife, Grace. We were amazed at how beautiful the inside of the church is with newly lain tile and new paint on the walls. The majority of the construction of the church has been done through volunteers on short terms missions trips like ours.
Our team then split into three groups to start the home construction. Site One is adjacent to the church. There is a small house on the property now, and a tin chicken coop that we are building the new home next to.
At this home, the father seems to have car that he uses to be a taxi driver, and several kids that in the afternoon do their homework sitting in the back of the car.
Site 2 is a short walk away. The site has an adjacent area next to it that is empty, but the house we are building has to fit it in a narrow area. This house was intended to be built last summer, so the mother has been storing the wood for the past 10 months. For various reasons, God was saving the home build for our team.
This site has several energetic and friendly kids. One boy evidently won an award at school today for a science project involving a small fan. The older girl of the family entertained the team by singing several Spanish versions of Children’s Christian songs.
Site 3 is a little bit further away, and is on the outside edge of the colonial.
[site 3 start] The site has several properties next to it that are owned by the extended family of the mother we are building the home for. She has a 2 year old daughter, and a 1 ½ month old baby. The team at site 3 has the youngest members of our team… nice pairing God!
Today the team worked at each site to construct the floor and frame several of the walls. Everyone jumped in, grabbed a hammer and got dirty!
The temperature was well over 90F… some 75 degrees warmer than when we left Essex. Plenty of water, lots of sunscreen, and a break for lunch kept us going.
Tomorrow a little more than half the team will spend the morning at the church leading our children’s program. Those not at the church will continue the wall construction, and then in the late morning and afternoon the teams will get a little more dirty painting! But the real work is getting to know the families we are serving a little more. The people here are very friendly to initial greetings, but take a little while to share more about their lives. And of course it takes us awhile to learn how to communicate with them through our “broken” Spanish.
We did have one member of the team who was unable to join us today in Mexico due to being sick. She is feeling much better tonight… but please pray for all of us to stay healthy as the long trip and the intense heat is taking a toll. Also pray for us to better understand the language (both spoken and cultural) as we serve these families and kids.
Thanks for your prayers! God's Blessings!
-Mike
As we drove through Reynosa, the kids and first time adults were amazed at the range of economy and poverty alongside each other. And difference in language was apparent. Some of the kids made a game out of guessing what the different stories might be selling based on the words and pictures. One of the kids said that some of the signs were in English. When I asked her what she meant, she said “I saw it on a restaurant… it was nice of them to use the English word for taco and burrito”!
This year, we are working at a neighboring colonia alongside Pastor Valente and his Missions Church. This colonia is up on a slight hill, and has very little around it. The bright blue church that has been planted, built, and grown in four short years. Amazing how God has allowed a Pastor with no regular income to not only pastor his own church, but plant another one on a grander scale!
Our team stopped at the church to meet Pastor Valente and his wife, Grace. We were amazed at how beautiful the inside of the church is with newly lain tile and new paint on the walls. The majority of the construction of the church has been done through volunteers on short terms missions trips like ours.
Our team then split into three groups to start the home construction. Site One is adjacent to the church. There is a small house on the property now, and a tin chicken coop that we are building the new home next to.
At this home, the father seems to have car that he uses to be a taxi driver, and several kids that in the afternoon do their homework sitting in the back of the car.
Site 2 is a short walk away. The site has an adjacent area next to it that is empty, but the house we are building has to fit it in a narrow area. This house was intended to be built last summer, so the mother has been storing the wood for the past 10 months. For various reasons, God was saving the home build for our team.
This site has several energetic and friendly kids. One boy evidently won an award at school today for a science project involving a small fan. The older girl of the family entertained the team by singing several Spanish versions of Children’s Christian songs.
Site 3 is a little bit further away, and is on the outside edge of the colonial.
[site 3 start] The site has several properties next to it that are owned by the extended family of the mother we are building the home for. She has a 2 year old daughter, and a 1 ½ month old baby. The team at site 3 has the youngest members of our team… nice pairing God!
Today the team worked at each site to construct the floor and frame several of the walls. Everyone jumped in, grabbed a hammer and got dirty!
The temperature was well over 90F… some 75 degrees warmer than when we left Essex. Plenty of water, lots of sunscreen, and a break for lunch kept us going.
Tomorrow a little more than half the team will spend the morning at the church leading our children’s program. Those not at the church will continue the wall construction, and then in the late morning and afternoon the teams will get a little more dirty painting! But the real work is getting to know the families we are serving a little more. The people here are very friendly to initial greetings, but take a little while to share more about their lives. And of course it takes us awhile to learn how to communicate with them through our “broken” Spanish.
We did have one member of the team who was unable to join us today in Mexico due to being sick. She is feeling much better tonight… but please pray for all of us to stay healthy as the long trip and the intense heat is taking a toll. Also pray for us to better understand the language (both spoken and cultural) as we serve these families and kids.
Thanks for your prayers! God's Blessings!
-Mike
Day Zero... the trip... Finally Here!
Saturday night our team met at the community center to pack up and go. We had a nice surprise visit from Diana and Tonya (team members last year) who prayed with us and helped us get ready.
We had moved up the time for our bus to take us down to Boston by an hour... God knew what he was doing because we needed the extra time! We made great time to the airport (Essex to Logan in 3 1/2 hours!)... but it turned out our bus was too large to go into the airport! Being 6' 4" tall, I'm used to banging my head against stuff, but having a 12' 3" bus going into a 11' 0" opening ... that would leave a mark!
Our bus driver tried to see if he could make it, but alas we were a foot too tall! (We actually never made contact with anything... nice to have an alert driver!) We called the airport police, and they were incredibly accommodating, including providing us a police escort to back the bus up... and even allowed us to go to the other side of the airport and backup to reach the backside of our terminal!
Between the oversized bus and a long security line, we crewed through the extra time. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. We arrived in Texas, excited and tired, but ready for the fun (and work!) of the trip to begin.
Monday we will start in Reynosa by going to the "Missions Church". From what we understand, this church is a plant from Pastor Valiente's church from last year. The wall just recently went up. We will spend a short time at the church, and then on to the three house sites. From a construction point of view, our job is to create the subfloor, and put together the four walls. From a relationship point of view, we will use our newly acquired "broken" Spanish and start to get to know the families.
Thanks for your prayers! God's Blessings!
-Mike
We had moved up the time for our bus to take us down to Boston by an hour... God knew what he was doing because we needed the extra time! We made great time to the airport (Essex to Logan in 3 1/2 hours!)... but it turned out our bus was too large to go into the airport! Being 6' 4" tall, I'm used to banging my head against stuff, but having a 12' 3" bus going into a 11' 0" opening ... that would leave a mark!
Our bus driver tried to see if he could make it, but alas we were a foot too tall! (We actually never made contact with anything... nice to have an alert driver!) We called the airport police, and they were incredibly accommodating, including providing us a police escort to back the bus up... and even allowed us to go to the other side of the airport and backup to reach the backside of our terminal!
Between the oversized bus and a long security line, we crewed through the extra time. The rest of the day was smooth sailing. We arrived in Texas, excited and tired, but ready for the fun (and work!) of the trip to begin.
Monday we will start in Reynosa by going to the "Missions Church". From what we understand, this church is a plant from Pastor Valiente's church from last year. The wall just recently went up. We will spend a short time at the church, and then on to the three house sites. From a construction point of view, our job is to create the subfloor, and put together the four walls. From a relationship point of view, we will use our newly acquired "broken" Spanish and start to get to know the families.
Thanks for your prayers! God's Blessings!
-Mike
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ready to Go!
Our team has been preparing and is ready to head to Mexico. We'll say goodbye to the snow on late Saturday night, and arrive in Texas Sunday afternoon.
Pray for us to have safe travel, no flight issues, and an easy journey down south. Keep checking this blog next week for daily updates.
Adios!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Preparations Continue
While it snows in Vermont, we are preparing for our trip to the warmth of Reynosa. Our team has 50 people on it this year, made up of 14 families and 3 other adults. This year our family includes several single moms and their kids, a traveling retired couple, a nurse who used to work in Reynosa, and a college student joining his family during spring break. We have 7 kids, 16 teens and 27 adults on the team.
During January, we will be putting together the kids and moms programs we will be leading at a local church in Reynosa. We have several folks on the team who are fluent in Spanish, but the rest of us need help! So simple Spanish training is in our future as well.
It is going to cost each member of our team $1450 to make the trip and pay for the materials we will need. We would love your prayers for us as we prepare. And if you are lead to donate, we would appreciate that as well. You can join our team financially by donating online at http://www.eacfusion.org/reynosa_donation.php. Our team would be grateful! (Especially some of our single moms who are trying to piece together their finances to go).
I'll be updating this blog as we get closer to the trip, and then will do daily updates once we are there.
God's Blessings!
-MJ
During January, we will be putting together the kids and moms programs we will be leading at a local church in Reynosa. We have several folks on the team who are fluent in Spanish, but the rest of us need help! So simple Spanish training is in our future as well.
It is going to cost each member of our team $1450 to make the trip and pay for the materials we will need. We would love your prayers for us as we prepare. And if you are lead to donate, we would appreciate that as well. You can join our team financially by donating online at http://www.eacfusion.org/reynosa_donation.php. Our team would be grateful! (Especially some of our single moms who are trying to piece together their finances to go).
I'll be updating this blog as we get closer to the trip, and then will do daily updates once we are there.
God's Blessings!
-MJ
Friday, November 16, 2007
Our 2008 Team is Formed
God is already busy getting ready for our trip to Reynosa in 2008! This year, we have had 50 people sign up to be on the team!
Our team had a day long training session at the beginning of November. More training and preparation will happen after the holiday season.
Please pray for us as we get ready! Pray that we will all start to pick up more Spanish and that God will provide the funds that will be needed for everyone to make this journey. Our airfares are higher than we had hoped... but we know that God will provide for us to do His kingdom work.
More as we get closer!
Our team had a day long training session at the beginning of November. More training and preparation will happen after the holiday season.
Please pray for us as we get ready! Pray that we will all start to pick up more Spanish and that God will provide the funds that will be needed for everyone to make this journey. Our airfares are higher than we had hoped... but we know that God will provide for us to do His kingdom work.
More as we get closer!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Welcome!
In February 2007, a team of 24 kids, teens, and adults traveled from Vermont to Reynosa, Mexico for a one week short term missions trip. God blessed us during the time as we ministered to families, built two small homes, and hosted a children's Bible program. (Check out our 2007 blog from the trip!)
It was so amazing, we are planning to go back in February 2008! The trip is open to families with kids age 8 and above, and to any teens and adults who also want to come along.
We are having two information meetings to explain the trip, the finances, and get folks to join in!
Tuesday - September 18 - 6:30pm
Wednesday - September 26 - 6:30pm
Both will be at the Essex Alliance Church Community Center.
You only need to attend one of these meetings. If you have any questions, send me an email or call 802-878-8213 x36. God's Blessings! - Mike
It was so amazing, we are planning to go back in February 2008! The trip is open to families with kids age 8 and above, and to any teens and adults who also want to come along.
We are having two information meetings to explain the trip, the finances, and get folks to join in!
Tuesday - September 18 - 6:30pm
Wednesday - September 26 - 6:30pm
Both will be at the Essex Alliance Church Community Center.
You only need to attend one of these meetings. If you have any questions, send me an email or call 802-878-8213 x36. God's Blessings! - Mike
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