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Team Report via Amanda Lerand |
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July 21
This morning started out with some of the team members meeting at Steak and Shake for breakfast. This was a wonderful thing - except they met at 4am! Pastor Paul met them around 4:30 and shooed them out the door around 5.
The goal was to leave the church at 6. However, the trailer lights would not work, so Mr. Baggech, Mr. Heavner, and Mr. Marks worked and fiddled and got the lights working.
The team seemed so excited and anxious to get on the road! Praise the Lord they were able to leave the church around 6:50 and the vans and trailer lights were working just fine.
The day was long. They had a few stops for gas and food but most were around 15 min. long. The end of the day was hot as the air in the vans started not keeping up with the hot Arkansas heat. They finally reached the hotel around 9pm and quickly went to bed. Praise the Lord for safety so far.
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July 22
Today started EARLY! Devotions were at 5am. The team had a wonderful meeting and quickly went to breakfast and cleaned out the hotel of their complementary breakfast.
Travel has gone well today. They have been in Texas the whole day and are hoping to arrive in Missions, TX by 8pm tonight. The last time we talked, they were going to make their goal. As far as I know, they will have dinner and orientation before they can go to bed tonight. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby should have flown down today to meet the rest of the team. The Lord has been so good to give them such a wonderful time so far.
The team arrived at OREMEX at 7:40 PM tonight. They had a quick bite to eat and sat down for orientation. Pastor Paul had been hoping that this trip would be a bit of a culture shock and a learning experience for these teenagers. Pastor Paul was so encouraged by the meeting and told me it will be a wonderful stretching time for all of the team. The biggest culture shock is that toilet paper doesn't go down the drain! Also, they are going to have to drink at least a gallon of fluids a day. Each day the team buys 25 gallons of water (enough for one per team member) and every person has to drink their water. They also offer plenty of lemonade, gatorade and other drinks they can have with their water. Praise the Lord they are going to stay hydrated. This was a concern of mine, but the Lord already had it all figured out! |
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July 23
The team was able to sleep in until 6:30 this morning. The OREMEX vans were repacked at 7:30 and breakfast was at 8. Then, they are going to load the vans and leave for Mexico. I can't wait to hear how the Lord takes care of them through the border crossing and trip into Monterey, Mexico.
The Lord answered many of our prayers today. The team was able to get visas without any trouble and had absolutely no problem crossing the border. At the first check point, they didn’t even have to stop! What a blessing!!
Paul said that there was an immediate difference between the US and Mexico. There are places like Wal-Mart and John Deere, but there are also many shack-like homes and street merchants crowding the streets. The city of Monterrey is beautiful! Everything is sandwiched together and color is everywhere. There are “Mom and Pop” like shops and lots of bugs – Volkswagen bugs.
The team arrived at the church around 3 pm. They unloaded the vans and prepared for the evening service that started at 4. The team sang "Servant’s Heart," Mallory, Sophie, Suzanna and JoAnna sang "A Child of the King," Brian and Shannon played a violin duet "What Wondrous Love" and Paul preached. After the service, everyone ate a Mexican meal the church prepared for them. It was a wonderful bonding time for the team and the members of the church. They had a fun time trying to communicate and shared many laughs. The Mexican teenagers shared some of their favorite games with our teens and again laughed and had a great time!
The dorm the team is staying in does have working electricity and the girls rooms have an air conditioner unit (which may not be working right now). There are also plenty of showers and it looks like the team will actually be able to shower every day! The food has been absolutely wonderful! Much better than many expected. There is ice cold Coke® on practically every corner (which Paul loves) for only 30-50 cents. There is such a wholesome attitude and a joyful spirit displayed by everyone on the team. Spirits are still high and the team is looking forward to seeing God work in a mighty way.
Tomorrow begins early again. Vacation Bible School begins around 9:30 in the morning. The team will arrive early at the church to hand out flyers to neighborhood children, help in VBS, and then have lunch. After lunch, the team will travel to a mission church, which evidently is a small church that is being started in a home, and will build benches for the church. There is also some sanding and painting that needs to be done.
One additional prayer request for the team is that they will be participating in evening services for sister churches in the area Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Paul will be preaching at at least one of these services.
They are having a wonderful time and all say “hello”. |
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July 24
The boys slept on the roof last night. It actually got cool up there. I am sure they were happy to get some relief from the heat.
VBS went very well today. There were between 30 and 50 children attending. Daniel Marks and Paul stood on the street by the building and played their trumpets to bring attention to the VBS. Our girls helped lead some Spanish songs with the children while Shannon Baggech played the piano for them. All of the teens made foam door hangers with the children. They are doing such a great job! They always seem to be looking for jobs to do.
After lunch, the girls stayed behind to clean some of the building and the guys left to go to the mission church in the area. The church already had four benches built that need to be repainted. They scraped and sanded these down to prepare them for painting tomorrow. Also, they moved dirt from a hill in the back of the house to an alleyway to clear more room for benches.
Additional prayer requests include:
Paul will be preaching Tuesday night and he is starting to lose his voice.
Nathan Klocek and Jeff Wolfe will be giving their testimonies during one of the evening services this week.
Praise:
Paul and some of the teens were discussing all the things they thought would be hard for them this week. This included things like the heat, lack of air conditioning, different food, water, language barrier and so on. A huge praise is that all of these things are not really a big deal at all. They have gotten used to the heat quickly, the food has been great and it is a fun challenge to communicate with these beautiful children. God is so good! |
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July 26
The team is staying extra busy with VBS and other projects. Yesterday, half of the team painted two rooms in the University they are staying with while the other half went back to the mission church and painted benches and built a canopy for their outdoor services.
Today in VBS, the team made wordless book bracelets with the children. They are doing a great job of reaching out and loving these children.
Tonight, they attended services at the mission church where they have been doing some handy work. It was interesting to see these people use a small home to hold their worship services in. After the service, Brian Terry and Zach Marks broke out their instruments and played "ho - down" music for the children. They laughed and screamed and had a wonderful time with the team.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Bible School. After the VBS, they plan on doing some sight seeing and shopping in downtown Monterrey. They will be having their last mid-week service tomorrow night as well and then will be attending a Testimony Time with the leaders of the trip to discuss the things God has taught them this week. Paul said it has been a wonderful time of growth for all of them. |
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July 28
Pastor Paul called me a few hours ago and let me know that they were back in the states. They are exhausted and ready to come home!
They went to a pizza place tonight for dinner and plan to get to bed pretty quick after that. They are leaving very early tomorrow
and will be staying in Texarkanna, TX again tomorrow night. Their goal is still to get back to Dyer before the end of the evening
service Sunday night.
I am very anxious to hear more details of how their week went. I can't wait to see them all! Let's keep praying for safety. They
still have a long trip in front of them before they are safely home. |
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July 30
After a few minor vehicle malfunctions, the team arrived mid-evening service tonight, safe and happy to be home.
We praise God for His blessings and safety to the team during their trip.
Welcome home - you were missed! |
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