Hey, enjoy all the countless hours of video footage edited down into a trip montage of the great moments!
Enjoy,
Josh Harris
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Umm... oh yeah! We made it back. :)
Hey,
I suppose it sounds kinda silly now, a month later, to inform everyone that we made it back safely. I hope you haven't been worried we got stuck in the Bermuda Triangle or kidnapped!
Everything on the way home went well. We arrived back in Orlando to a large banner and group of cheering and adoring fans, or families I suppose. They were laying in wait for us at the airport right when we came to baggage claim. It surprised us all, in a good way of course. :)
God did sooooo much! I have received word from the missionaries about how much they miss us already! (they were glad we left though because they got to eat our left over ice-cream hehe)
The Lord really blessed us financially this year and at the end of the trip I had plenty of cash left over. We were able to spread out and donate over $1000.00 dollars to the many missionary families we spent time with. Every year I find as cheap as possible ways for us to do this trip. This year Dawn Rigel, our cook and buyer, was able to feed our entire group for 11 days for around $800! Incredible!
Another God provided, guided, and empowered trip! We had a team follow up meeting last week and it was neat to see how they had each become better friends, how what they learned in Mexico is applying to their life here, and how God has given some of them new direction!
Below are a couple pictures and a video slideshow I wanted to share with you. Thanks for all your support and prayers through this whole journey with us. I can't wait till next year. ;)
- Josh Harris
I suppose it sounds kinda silly now, a month later, to inform everyone that we made it back safely. I hope you haven't been worried we got stuck in the Bermuda Triangle or kidnapped!
Everything on the way home went well. We arrived back in Orlando to a large banner and group of cheering and adoring fans, or families I suppose. They were laying in wait for us at the airport right when we came to baggage claim. It surprised us all, in a good way of course. :)
God did sooooo much! I have received word from the missionaries about how much they miss us already! (they were glad we left though because they got to eat our left over ice-cream hehe)
The Lord really blessed us financially this year and at the end of the trip I had plenty of cash left over. We were able to spread out and donate over $1000.00 dollars to the many missionary families we spent time with. Every year I find as cheap as possible ways for us to do this trip. This year Dawn Rigel, our cook and buyer, was able to feed our entire group for 11 days for around $800! Incredible!
Another God provided, guided, and empowered trip! We had a team follow up meeting last week and it was neat to see how they had each become better friends, how what they learned in Mexico is applying to their life here, and how God has given some of them new direction!
Below are a couple pictures and a video slideshow I wanted to share with you. Thanks for all your support and prayers through this whole journey with us. I can't wait till next year. ;)
- Josh Harris
Saturday, August 1, 2009
We're leaving on a jet plane....
We're back from the mountains. What an amazing time. God's glory is definitely revealed in the scenery of Copper Canyon!
Everyone is still in one piece and coming home in pretty good shape. You've heard of our bumps, scrapes, and bruises along the way but God has truly kept us safe! I'll try and fill you in on the past couple days...
Friday morning we got an early start and left for the Sierra Madres around 8:30am. There is a neat German Mennonite store we always stop at along the way to buy Vanilla and snacks. (Their vanilla is really good) We got to a town called Creel to reserve our hotel around 1pm. This year the hotel was remodeling so they put us up in some rooms just a few blocks down main street. We entered through a non-descript door next to a shop and walked up three flights of stairs. Along a long plain hallway were our rooms where we stayed. All they had were rooms with double beds! It was kinda wierd, but it worked.
After getting checked in we went farther up the mountain to an area called Copper Canyon. It's a breathtaking canyon much like the Grand Canyon except greener. :) I've been to the Grand Canyon and I'd have to say Copper Canyon is more beautiful. There are some big rocks to climb and trails that take you by Tarahumara Indians that live in the caves. We were enjoying our hike and occasional souvenir shopping when our hair started to stand up straight. A storm was rolling in and the electricity from the nearby lightning was making the hair stand up. So, we got off the mountain! It was ok though, we still got some good climbing and picture taking in.
The hotel we stayed at serves dinner. It was an interesting meal and a few ate it. (Camacho loved it) Then we headed back to our rooms and sat in the hall for a team meeting and prayer time. Some students went out to visit the town and shop. Then a few of us played a rousing game of Apples to Apples. I won! Hehe. It made me happy to see how well I actually knew the students. :)
We left early again this morning and headed for more mountains and rocks! There are an abundance here. There is another place where the Tarahumara Indians live and it is sort of like a reservation, so you pay a bit to go in. We visited a few caves where people live and then had a blast rock climbing. We found a good rock to all sit down and share our experiences from the trip. We talked about the hard parts, the easy parts, the parts that we'll take home with us and what God taught us. It was an encouraging time to hear from each other and praise God for what he did. The weather was perfectly chilly and comfortable. God has given us some graciously cool weather the past 3 days. It's been in the 70's and low 80's with a cool breeze. We don't want to come home to icky hot Florida!!
After some lunch at Veronica's, a delicious Mexican restaurant, we finished our shopping and headed back to the Ranch. The missionaries got together with us tonight for a send-off and thank-yous. They gave us some token gifts and talked about reaching the world with the Gospel. We are so thankful for their hospitality and love towards us on this trip. They have been a blessing to us as much as we've helped them.
We had our final team meeting and worship and the kids were so ancy. They were easily distracted and couldn't wait to go dye their hair and play "bottle cap dodgeball". Oh well, I suppose you have to have some crazy fun now and then! They are also very tired and can't wait to come home and hug all of you!
It's bed time now, I'm here trying to fill you in on the details but don't take my word for it, ask each of them when they get back. Ask what God revealed to them. Ask for their crazy stories. Ask what was hard. Ask them what they will do next, and then listen. And, if you really listen and watch their face you might began to feel as though you were here with us. That is why we write this blog, it's to include you in God's amazing and gracious redemptive work in and through each of our lives as we live out our relationship with God here in Mexico.
I'm very proud of each of the students. I do love and even like them, sometimes. :)No, I wouldn't do this trip every year if I didn't believe in and love each of these students. I want them to see how big God is and his passionate love for all nations. I want them to stop thinking of church, missions, and God as an event but as a continuous love relationship lived out in every detail of life. I long for them to find the creative and unique purpose for each of their lives above the adequate lifestyle of home. I hope that they take each element, lesson, and revelation from this trip and let it change the way they live.
In a later post I'd like to take some time to compliment each of them. For now I'll tell you that non of them let me down. They all worked hard, loved authentically, and embraced God's direction.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Love,
Josh Harris
Everyone is still in one piece and coming home in pretty good shape. You've heard of our bumps, scrapes, and bruises along the way but God has truly kept us safe! I'll try and fill you in on the past couple days...
Friday morning we got an early start and left for the Sierra Madres around 8:30am. There is a neat German Mennonite store we always stop at along the way to buy Vanilla and snacks. (Their vanilla is really good) We got to a town called Creel to reserve our hotel around 1pm. This year the hotel was remodeling so they put us up in some rooms just a few blocks down main street. We entered through a non-descript door next to a shop and walked up three flights of stairs. Along a long plain hallway were our rooms where we stayed. All they had were rooms with double beds! It was kinda wierd, but it worked.
After getting checked in we went farther up the mountain to an area called Copper Canyon. It's a breathtaking canyon much like the Grand Canyon except greener. :) I've been to the Grand Canyon and I'd have to say Copper Canyon is more beautiful. There are some big rocks to climb and trails that take you by Tarahumara Indians that live in the caves. We were enjoying our hike and occasional souvenir shopping when our hair started to stand up straight. A storm was rolling in and the electricity from the nearby lightning was making the hair stand up. So, we got off the mountain! It was ok though, we still got some good climbing and picture taking in.
The hotel we stayed at serves dinner. It was an interesting meal and a few ate it. (Camacho loved it) Then we headed back to our rooms and sat in the hall for a team meeting and prayer time. Some students went out to visit the town and shop. Then a few of us played a rousing game of Apples to Apples. I won! Hehe. It made me happy to see how well I actually knew the students. :)
We left early again this morning and headed for more mountains and rocks! There are an abundance here. There is another place where the Tarahumara Indians live and it is sort of like a reservation, so you pay a bit to go in. We visited a few caves where people live and then had a blast rock climbing. We found a good rock to all sit down and share our experiences from the trip. We talked about the hard parts, the easy parts, the parts that we'll take home with us and what God taught us. It was an encouraging time to hear from each other and praise God for what he did. The weather was perfectly chilly and comfortable. God has given us some graciously cool weather the past 3 days. It's been in the 70's and low 80's with a cool breeze. We don't want to come home to icky hot Florida!!
After some lunch at Veronica's, a delicious Mexican restaurant, we finished our shopping and headed back to the Ranch. The missionaries got together with us tonight for a send-off and thank-yous. They gave us some token gifts and talked about reaching the world with the Gospel. We are so thankful for their hospitality and love towards us on this trip. They have been a blessing to us as much as we've helped them.
We had our final team meeting and worship and the kids were so ancy. They were easily distracted and couldn't wait to go dye their hair and play "bottle cap dodgeball". Oh well, I suppose you have to have some crazy fun now and then! They are also very tired and can't wait to come home and hug all of you!
It's bed time now, I'm here trying to fill you in on the details but don't take my word for it, ask each of them when they get back. Ask what God revealed to them. Ask for their crazy stories. Ask what was hard. Ask them what they will do next, and then listen. And, if you really listen and watch their face you might began to feel as though you were here with us. That is why we write this blog, it's to include you in God's amazing and gracious redemptive work in and through each of our lives as we live out our relationship with God here in Mexico.
I'm very proud of each of the students. I do love and even like them, sometimes. :)No, I wouldn't do this trip every year if I didn't believe in and love each of these students. I want them to see how big God is and his passionate love for all nations. I want them to stop thinking of church, missions, and God as an event but as a continuous love relationship lived out in every detail of life. I long for them to find the creative and unique purpose for each of their lives above the adequate lifestyle of home. I hope that they take each element, lesson, and revelation from this trip and let it change the way they live.
In a later post I'd like to take some time to compliment each of them. For now I'll tell you that non of them let me down. They all worked hard, loved authentically, and embraced God's direction.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Love,
Josh Harris
Thursday, July 30, 2009
What a great day!
Well hey there!
Today has been so wonderful in so many ways. The first reason is that it's my little sister Emily's 13th birthday! Woohoo! I'm so excited, in some ways, to have yet another teenager in the house. Haha. I love you Emily!
Okay okay, on to our day.
We woke up to rain lightly hitting our rooftops and huge blasts of wind. It was great, though it seemed to make everyone a little more sleepy than normal. The rain and wind continued throughout the rest of our last workday and kept us all nice and cool, which was wonderful.
The workload, for some, was much less. Aleah, Ann and I got to clean up some of the empty apartments to help prepare for some families who are moving in, but poor Ann ended up going in early because of her back. Hannah, Cari and Kelly finished up with the trenches and pipes then headed to the soccer field to finish up with putting the lines down for the big game. And the guys mostly finished up filling the walls with cement. So it was all around a nice and easy last workday.
After work, we headed to lunch. We ended up eating an hour late because we had to help clean up a lot today, and Matt, Daniel and Josh Bastian went off to fix some of the holes in the road and nobody told them it was lunch time. So we waited, and waited, until finally somebody went and got them. Oops. Anyways, after lunch, a few of the guys used all of the strength to put the water filter in the back of Monte's van. That thing had to be so heavy. A few more of us then piled in to the van and we were off to our last trip to the brickyard. The whole ride there, Matt was trying his hardest to keep that filter from moving, and he did a great job. When we got there, not many of the were out, but that was okay, I was more excited about seeing the way the women reacted to the filter. After explaining everything to Allison about how the whole water filter operated, she started translating to one of the mothers who was in the church building, which is where we put the filter. She was so full of curiosity and she looked so excited. It was one of the coolest things and it made me so happy. After playing with the kids that were at the church, we said our last goodbyes and gave our final hugs.
As soon as we got back from the brickyard, it was straight to the soccer field for the event of the century. Well not really, but we'll go with it. This time, instead of just falling in to teams, we lined up and Aleah and a girl named Hannah(not from our team) picked teams. I just knew I was going to be last, but thankfully Harris made it to where Bastian was the last one picked and I was only second to last. How great is that? The game was intense. I don't think I have run that much in a long time, or even played that much soccer in a long time. The people Monte called over to play with us were crazy. The score ended up being 5 to 4, my team won. Haha. I didn't make any goals, but I think that if we had played just a little bit longer, I definitely would've made a goal.
Then it was dinner time. We had some very nice guests. They were the Amayas and they were old friends. After dinner, they joined us for our meeting time. Mr. Amaya gave us a little testimony. He is such a neat and happy guy who loves the Lord. Tonight we talked about planting seeds, which brings me to one of the many things God has shown me on this trip. We didn't just come on this trip to help the missionaries build things and help Allison with VBS, we came on this trip to harvest and water God's word in the kids at the brickyard. It amazes me so much that God chose to use us in such a great way.
Tomorrow we head off to the mountains for debriefing and I am so excited! Though I don't want this trip to end, I have been waiting to go to the mountains this whole trip.
Prayer requests.
- continued prayer for Ann's back as well as Monte's.
- safe travels for us as we head to the mountains in the morning.
- safety all around.
- the kids at the brickyard that they continue to learn about the Lord.
- for Allison, that she has wisdom as she continues to teach the families at the brickyard about the Lord.
Well, I should be off to bed. We have a four hour drive, but if Monte is driving, it might be a lot shorter. Haha.
Goodnight everyone!
Kaley
p.s. - I love you mommy, daddy, Alyssa, Emily, Megan, and everyone else! (:
Today has been so wonderful in so many ways. The first reason is that it's my little sister Emily's 13th birthday! Woohoo! I'm so excited, in some ways, to have yet another teenager in the house. Haha. I love you Emily!
Okay okay, on to our day.
We woke up to rain lightly hitting our rooftops and huge blasts of wind. It was great, though it seemed to make everyone a little more sleepy than normal. The rain and wind continued throughout the rest of our last workday and kept us all nice and cool, which was wonderful.
The workload, for some, was much less. Aleah, Ann and I got to clean up some of the empty apartments to help prepare for some families who are moving in, but poor Ann ended up going in early because of her back. Hannah, Cari and Kelly finished up with the trenches and pipes then headed to the soccer field to finish up with putting the lines down for the big game. And the guys mostly finished up filling the walls with cement. So it was all around a nice and easy last workday.
After work, we headed to lunch. We ended up eating an hour late because we had to help clean up a lot today, and Matt, Daniel and Josh Bastian went off to fix some of the holes in the road and nobody told them it was lunch time. So we waited, and waited, until finally somebody went and got them. Oops. Anyways, after lunch, a few of the guys used all of the strength to put the water filter in the back of Monte's van. That thing had to be so heavy. A few more of us then piled in to the van and we were off to our last trip to the brickyard. The whole ride there, Matt was trying his hardest to keep that filter from moving, and he did a great job. When we got there, not many of the were out, but that was okay, I was more excited about seeing the way the women reacted to the filter. After explaining everything to Allison about how the whole water filter operated, she started translating to one of the mothers who was in the church building, which is where we put the filter. She was so full of curiosity and she looked so excited. It was one of the coolest things and it made me so happy. After playing with the kids that were at the church, we said our last goodbyes and gave our final hugs.
As soon as we got back from the brickyard, it was straight to the soccer field for the event of the century. Well not really, but we'll go with it. This time, instead of just falling in to teams, we lined up and Aleah and a girl named Hannah(not from our team) picked teams. I just knew I was going to be last, but thankfully Harris made it to where Bastian was the last one picked and I was only second to last. How great is that? The game was intense. I don't think I have run that much in a long time, or even played that much soccer in a long time. The people Monte called over to play with us were crazy. The score ended up being 5 to 4, my team won. Haha. I didn't make any goals, but I think that if we had played just a little bit longer, I definitely would've made a goal.
Then it was dinner time. We had some very nice guests. They were the Amayas and they were old friends. After dinner, they joined us for our meeting time. Mr. Amaya gave us a little testimony. He is such a neat and happy guy who loves the Lord. Tonight we talked about planting seeds, which brings me to one of the many things God has shown me on this trip. We didn't just come on this trip to help the missionaries build things and help Allison with VBS, we came on this trip to harvest and water God's word in the kids at the brickyard. It amazes me so much that God chose to use us in such a great way.
Tomorrow we head off to the mountains for debriefing and I am so excited! Though I don't want this trip to end, I have been waiting to go to the mountains this whole trip.
Prayer requests.
- continued prayer for Ann's back as well as Monte's.
- safe travels for us as we head to the mountains in the morning.
- safety all around.
- the kids at the brickyard that they continue to learn about the Lord.
- for Allison, that she has wisdom as she continues to teach the families at the brickyard about the Lord.
Well, I should be off to bed. We have a four hour drive, but if Monte is driving, it might be a lot shorter. Haha.
Goodnight everyone!
Kaley
p.s. - I love you mommy, daddy, Alyssa, Emily, Megan, and everyone else! (:
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day Twelve!!!!!!! <3
Hello my friends!
It's day ten here in Mexico and we're all doing great! (minus all the people recovering and such, but they're doing pretty well too. heh)
Today it all started with an egg/potato/ham casserole. Yes that was the beginning.
Next we went out to see what helpful jobs we could do for Monty. Mine was digging a ditch around a pipe. It's being refitted for the new and improved drain system in the building we (the girlies) are staying in. That was, well, hard. But I will say that the mud we were digging in made thee best mud balls I have eva seen. :D Unfortunately, when not wet,the dirt was kinda like uh, rock. The benefits are that the job is closer to being done and we are more familiar with the earth out side our back door. ;)
While me, Cari, and Hannah were working on that, other jobs were in the works. Foundation preparation, welding, and odd jobs like re-chalking the lines on the soccer field, kept the rest of the team hopp'n.
After break I was able to help The magician in the kitchen prepare lunch and dinner for the day. A welcome break from the work in the sun.
After work we set off to our last day at the brick yard. This was a very busy day since it was the last day of VBS as well. All of us came and got to work. We played with the kids, preformed a skit and passed out food. Today was the day the gospel was presented. I don't know exactly when because I couldn't follow the Spanish very well, but I did see some earnestly listening faces on some of the mothers that were present. It was a difficult time for the team to say good bye to our new little friends. Tomorrow a few of us will be able to go back and drop off the long anticipated water filters. I was able to enjoy game time with a little girl named Lupe. We had a great game of making a certain sound effect at the same time. As I carried her we would walk from friend to friend mine and hers and show them our "song" .
As far as my personal encounter with God goes on this trip, I have been enjoying His creativity that surrounds me all day long. Mountains, people and the Mexican culture in general just shout how versatile God's handy work is and I am just loving the refreshing differences there are between this place and my home country.
It's very late friends so I'm going to bed.
with love from the team,
Kelly Irene
Please continue to pray for complete healing for all of our sick and injured team mates
and you can add Aleah to the list. (She scraped up her arm)
Also for safety on our last day of work tomorrow.
PS Glenna I love you and happy birthday!!! You're a doll. ;)
It's day ten here in Mexico and we're all doing great! (minus all the people recovering and such, but they're doing pretty well too. heh)
Today it all started with an egg/potato/ham casserole. Yes that was the beginning.
Next we went out to see what helpful jobs we could do for Monty. Mine was digging a ditch around a pipe. It's being refitted for the new and improved drain system in the building we (the girlies) are staying in. That was, well, hard. But I will say that the mud we were digging in made thee best mud balls I have eva seen. :D Unfortunately, when not wet,the dirt was kinda like uh, rock. The benefits are that the job is closer to being done and we are more familiar with the earth out side our back door. ;)
While me, Cari, and Hannah were working on that, other jobs were in the works. Foundation preparation, welding, and odd jobs like re-chalking the lines on the soccer field, kept the rest of the team hopp'n.
After break I was able to help The magician in the kitchen prepare lunch and dinner for the day. A welcome break from the work in the sun.
After work we set off to our last day at the brick yard. This was a very busy day since it was the last day of VBS as well. All of us came and got to work. We played with the kids, preformed a skit and passed out food. Today was the day the gospel was presented. I don't know exactly when because I couldn't follow the Spanish very well, but I did see some earnestly listening faces on some of the mothers that were present. It was a difficult time for the team to say good bye to our new little friends. Tomorrow a few of us will be able to go back and drop off the long anticipated water filters. I was able to enjoy game time with a little girl named Lupe. We had a great game of making a certain sound effect at the same time. As I carried her we would walk from friend to friend mine and hers and show them our "song" .
As far as my personal encounter with God goes on this trip, I have been enjoying His creativity that surrounds me all day long. Mountains, people and the Mexican culture in general just shout how versatile God's handy work is and I am just loving the refreshing differences there are between this place and my home country.
It's very late friends so I'm going to bed.
with love from the team,
Kelly Irene
Please continue to pray for complete healing for all of our sick and injured team mates
and you can add Aleah to the list. (She scraped up her arm)
Also for safety on our last day of work tomorrow.
PS Glenna I love you and happy birthday!!! You're a doll. ;)
Week two already????
Hello everybody!
Wow, where do I begin? The first week has already gone? This trip has been an amazing experience so far.
Well I guess I'll start with this morning. I woke up aboslutely exhuasted, so I prayed to God and asked Him to give me the stamina I needed to get through todays work. Instead God gave me a fairly laid back work day. Hannah, Kelly, and I loaded PVC pipes, steel railings, and cement blocks into the back of Monte's trailer and unloaded them in various places. After that job was complete I was given the task of throwing medium size rocks into wet cement, what for I really don't have a clue, but it was an important job!... I think :D. While I did this, the rest of the team finished the foundation we had been working on since day 2!
Josh Harris, Josh Bastian, Kaley, and Jacob stayed back while the rest of us headed for the Brickyard. Playing with the kids there is a real blessing. They don't care that you don't speak their language they just want to play. Its a wonderful thing to be apart of their lives and possibly lead them to Christ. Allison (the lady running the VBS at the Brickyard) had some of us preform part of a skit for the kids. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, tomorrow they'll get the end of the skit along with the Gospel message (so pray that goes over well).
At diner we had some missionaries, the Carillo's, give us their testimony's. They were telling us about a tribe, BG, they are minestering to. Right now they are trying to earn some money to go back to BG, and some partners to help along with the ministry trying to be given to the people.
One of the best parts of the day was worship. We had to quickly clean up after diner so we could have our devo time. So we had to wash dishes while we praised God, which gave this amazing atmosphere, everyone was so happy (especially Aleah) and no one saw washing dishes as a chore, but as a great way to show our love for God. It may seem weird that washing dishes made worship a lot more special but, for me anyway, I felt closer to God.
This trip is going by so fast, but I am so thankful for every moment that I have here, even when I have to shovel gravel into buckets, a positively grueling job. I am also SO greatful for the friendships I have been able to establish with my teammates.
~~Pray request~~
For Ann that she'll take it easy so her back will heal enough so she can enjoy the rest of trip.
Monte's back also.
For saftey and health, that no one else on the team will be injured or get sick.
And for those of us who are homesick, that we'll all just enjoy the rest of the time we have here.
~Cari-Moriah.
P.S.
I love you Mom, Dad, Shaan, Val, Erin, Bill, Kyle, Jeremy, Brett, Jordan, and Elise!!!!!
Wow, where do I begin? The first week has already gone? This trip has been an amazing experience so far.
Well I guess I'll start with this morning. I woke up aboslutely exhuasted, so I prayed to God and asked Him to give me the stamina I needed to get through todays work. Instead God gave me a fairly laid back work day. Hannah, Kelly, and I loaded PVC pipes, steel railings, and cement blocks into the back of Monte's trailer and unloaded them in various places. After that job was complete I was given the task of throwing medium size rocks into wet cement, what for I really don't have a clue, but it was an important job!... I think :D. While I did this, the rest of the team finished the foundation we had been working on since day 2!
Josh Harris, Josh Bastian, Kaley, and Jacob stayed back while the rest of us headed for the Brickyard. Playing with the kids there is a real blessing. They don't care that you don't speak their language they just want to play. Its a wonderful thing to be apart of their lives and possibly lead them to Christ. Allison (the lady running the VBS at the Brickyard) had some of us preform part of a skit for the kids. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, tomorrow they'll get the end of the skit along with the Gospel message (so pray that goes over well).
At diner we had some missionaries, the Carillo's, give us their testimony's. They were telling us about a tribe, BG, they are minestering to. Right now they are trying to earn some money to go back to BG, and some partners to help along with the ministry trying to be given to the people.
One of the best parts of the day was worship. We had to quickly clean up after diner so we could have our devo time. So we had to wash dishes while we praised God, which gave this amazing atmosphere, everyone was so happy (especially Aleah) and no one saw washing dishes as a chore, but as a great way to show our love for God. It may seem weird that washing dishes made worship a lot more special but, for me anyway, I felt closer to God.
This trip is going by so fast, but I am so thankful for every moment that I have here, even when I have to shovel gravel into buckets, a positively grueling job. I am also SO greatful for the friendships I have been able to establish with my teammates.
~~Pray request~~
For Ann that she'll take it easy so her back will heal enough so she can enjoy the rest of trip.
Monte's back also.
For saftey and health, that no one else on the team will be injured or get sick.
And for those of us who are homesick, that we'll all just enjoy the rest of the time we have here.
~Cari-Moriah.
P.S.
I love you Mom, Dad, Shaan, Val, Erin, Bill, Kyle, Jeremy, Brett, Jordan, and Elise!!!!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Giving up.... for the sake of Christ
Hello everyone!
So today we finally got back to work =) So much fun! Steven and I got the chance to do some mowing? Yeah, everyone else i guess just worked on the building, filling blocks with cement, welding, etc.
After working for the morning, I got a chance to take a small nap =) It helped considering i have to stay up later writing this, lol. Either way, it was really nice. Around one o'clock we left to go back to the brickyard! We helped out with VBS again. We had a great time playing with all the kids! I always enjoy going and just spending time with them, whether its just sitting with a kid on your lap, or singing songs you barely understand!
We got back around six-ish? We had an amazing super! Thank you Mrs. Rigel =)
I also got the chance to help Monte out with finding a drainage pipe! We have been having some trouble with the water draining, and the laundry room has been flooded a ton! But we finally found the right pipe and opened it up. I didn't get to help find the problem, but I'm sure it would have been fun :P
We also did a devo time, like every night! Which was really good, again.
As I think of the different things the Lord has been teaching me on this trip, a few things really stick out. First, how I really need to give up myself! To come to the point where I completely trust God. Its amazing how much the Lord has helped me in this, but at the same time, I have such a long way to go.
The second thing I have been thinking about, is just how the Lord can really use anything He wants to teach us something. Whether its good or bad, He can use anything to help us grow closer to God. Recently I have heard of some things happening back at home that are hard for some of my friends. It's so important that I trust God though. As I said, its hard, but its so important.
That's about all that's going on with me! Thanks for listening!
Davidc
Prayer requests:
-Trusting God!
-Sleep =)
So today we finally got back to work =) So much fun! Steven and I got the chance to do some mowing? Yeah, everyone else i guess just worked on the building, filling blocks with cement, welding, etc.
After working for the morning, I got a chance to take a small nap =) It helped considering i have to stay up later writing this, lol. Either way, it was really nice. Around one o'clock we left to go back to the brickyard! We helped out with VBS again. We had a great time playing with all the kids! I always enjoy going and just spending time with them, whether its just sitting with a kid on your lap, or singing songs you barely understand!
We got back around six-ish? We had an amazing super! Thank you Mrs. Rigel =)
I also got the chance to help Monte out with finding a drainage pipe! We have been having some trouble with the water draining, and the laundry room has been flooded a ton! But we finally found the right pipe and opened it up. I didn't get to help find the problem, but I'm sure it would have been fun :P
We also did a devo time, like every night! Which was really good, again.
As I think of the different things the Lord has been teaching me on this trip, a few things really stick out. First, how I really need to give up myself! To come to the point where I completely trust God. Its amazing how much the Lord has helped me in this, but at the same time, I have such a long way to go.
The second thing I have been thinking about, is just how the Lord can really use anything He wants to teach us something. Whether its good or bad, He can use anything to help us grow closer to God. Recently I have heard of some things happening back at home that are hard for some of my friends. It's so important that I trust God though. As I said, its hard, but its so important.
That's about all that's going on with me! Thanks for listening!
Davidc
Prayer requests:
-Trusting God!
-Sleep =)
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