Ecclesiastes 3:1
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
I apologize for my lack of punctuality. We have had some very long days and I don't believe I could have given my all and properly informed you of our day. So that being said:
Thursdays:
It was incredible how much we completed today. Thankfully, we woke to French Toast prepared by Scott. We arrived at the work site around 9am to complete the foundations we poured yesterday and continue to build the block walls. We have been blessed with some amazing weather to work in this week, but today was HOT! Today’s plan was to work at the church until 3:00 and then do outreach with Nigel, who is a missionary from Ireland. Finally, someone who speaks normal English…well almost normal. Nigel has been a missionary for 9 years now and he plans to speak the word of God on every street in Barquisimeto. His goal: 10,000 souls and he has already saved 2500! It is unbelievable the work he is doing down here. We drove to a remote area where Nigel had established a church to minister with the children and feed them the heartiest meal they would receive this week. While there, we: delivered groceries to families in great need (sort of a “meals on wheels”; however, we were on foot), played kicking ball, played Wii, and sorted cloths to give to the church. After about an hour, we all gathered in the church to feed the children. Every week Nigel gives them a Bible verse to memorize and they have to repeat it the next week; if they do it correctly, they receive presents. This week’s presents were the balls and barbies that we brought from home. It’s a good thing customs didn’t take them from us upon our arrival. After this we handed out the food to the children and watched as they inhaled their food. After a quick group picture we hoped in the van for the ride back. I have come to the realization that the only sad thing about this trip is the look on the faces of the children as we leave. They, however, are excited to know that we will be returning in a year.
Tomorrow is our last work day in Barquisimeto, and then we fly back to the missionary house in Caracas. Please continue to pray for us.
Friday:
Today was filled with joy and sadness. We started the morning partly packing for our quick departure from the seminary later today. We wanted to be able to spend as much time with our new brother's and sisters in Christ as we could before leaving the country. After filling our final foundation and completeing the last level of cement blocks for a wall, we all joined together for our last meal at the church. We were joined by everyone we had touched this week: Pastor Carlos, Samuel, Laura (Samuel's Wife), Pastor Alexander, Medardo, Gladys, Pastor Smit, and many more. At the end of the meal we were offered gifts for all of our help. Its amazing that with so little, these people still have the heart to offer us much of what they have to thank us. A true gift from the heart. We said our final goodbyes and with only knowing our new friends for such a short time, we were still very sad to part ways. I yearn for the opportunity to come back in a year and see my new family again.
We decided that it was best to fly back to Caracas, instead of driving like we did before, and oh what a blessing this was. Instead of 9 hours in a car, it took us less than 35 minutes to fly. We are staying in Caracas tonight at the missions house and our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:05am. We are patiently waiting for the opportunity to see you again tomorrow.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for being the biggest blessing. Without you this mission would not be possible. We thank you for your prayers, your financial commitment, your support, your love, your care, and your blessing. This mission was an amazing success because of YOU! We pray that with sharing our stories, we also share the Word of God. This mission doesn't end just because we are coming home....this mission continues in our hearts and gives us the strength and audacity to promote Jesus Christ.
This is the mission team signing out! SEE YOU TOMORROW!
God Bless!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday: Under Construction
Colossians 3:9-10
"Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."
We started the day very early in order to leave the seminary by 7:30am. Of course, in Venezuelan time, 7:30 means 8:30ish so we left a little later than we expected. On the ride to the church, Parker (probie) was interrogated on his intentions with the lovely Jessica by the entire van, however, mostly Scott and Matt. Parker squirmed a little, but did well under the pressure. Once we made it to the site and Parker could breathe a sigh of relief, we once again got right to work. Today we repeated everything we did yesterday, except the next row of holes over. The sun was still beaming down on us today, but thankfully our prayers were answered and we had times of overcast weather. At one point or another most of the group worked on filling holes around the foundations that were poured yesterday. Stacy had a unique leveling technique, using her body as a shovel after Agnes loosened the dirt for her. Parker and Medardo (Venezuelan Site Leader) worked together, with the help of Jessica's translating skills, to create the wooden boxes that the concrete foundations would be poured into. Scott, Smith (Pastor Smit), Kathy R., Dillon, Rick and Pam worked to mix and pour the concrete into the boxes for the columns that will support the second floor. John, Matt, Kathy G., and Steve constructed a new wall for the inside of the chuch which will seperate a bathroom and the clinic. The day concluded with a game of kicking ball with the children and balloon animals that Scott and Kathy R. created with the help of Kim and Matt pumping ability.
We finished up the amazing day with a devotion led by Kathy R. entitled "Under Construction." While your life is not always perfect, God is always working on your road.
We are over halfway done! Please continue to pray for us. We miss you!
"Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."
We started the day very early in order to leave the seminary by 7:30am. Of course, in Venezuelan time, 7:30 means 8:30ish so we left a little later than we expected. On the ride to the church, Parker (probie) was interrogated on his intentions with the lovely Jessica by the entire van, however, mostly Scott and Matt. Parker squirmed a little, but did well under the pressure. Once we made it to the site and Parker could breathe a sigh of relief, we once again got right to work. Today we repeated everything we did yesterday, except the next row of holes over. The sun was still beaming down on us today, but thankfully our prayers were answered and we had times of overcast weather. At one point or another most of the group worked on filling holes around the foundations that were poured yesterday. Stacy had a unique leveling technique, using her body as a shovel after Agnes loosened the dirt for her. Parker and Medardo (Venezuelan Site Leader) worked together, with the help of Jessica's translating skills, to create the wooden boxes that the concrete foundations would be poured into. Scott, Smith (Pastor Smit), Kathy R., Dillon, Rick and Pam worked to mix and pour the concrete into the boxes for the columns that will support the second floor. John, Matt, Kathy G., and Steve constructed a new wall for the inside of the chuch which will seperate a bathroom and the clinic. The day concluded with a game of kicking ball with the children and balloon animals that Scott and Kathy R. created with the help of Kim and Matt pumping ability.
We finished up the amazing day with a devotion led by Kathy R. entitled "Under Construction." While your life is not always perfect, God is always working on your road.
We are over halfway done! Please continue to pray for us. We miss you!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday: How salty are you?
"I will not give you a gift that costs me nothing" (2nd Chronicles 21:24)
Estamos muy cansados! (We are very tired) What a day, What a day, What a day! Where do we begin? The beautiful day began early this morning with the delightful smell of Scott's breakfast: eggs, bacon, and grits. We traveled to the site of the church and began work right away. Before long, children from the community came by to see what was going on. The work of the Venezuelan people is incredible and they kicked us right into shape. We worked on filling in holes where the rebar foundations has been poured, made concrete, poured new foundations, and most importantly built relationships...oh, and it was extremely hot outside! The highlight of everyone's day was playing kicking ball with the children and just spending time with the Venezuelans. We left the chuch for a quick dinner and returned just in time for the children's bible study. They were so excited and involved in the songs and story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. As a special treat, Scott preformed magic tricks for the children, which they watched intently. Just as we were leaving, all the children were so excited to hear that we were coming back tomorrow. A few of us had a good amount of Spanish terms down, but we jokingly thought the two Kathy's speaking ability sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown to the Venezuelans. (Whannn, Whan, Whannnnn, Whann...)
After the drive back to the seminary, we concluded the LONG day with a devotional by Dillon. He spoke on the costs of following Christ and concluded with the question: How salty are you?
All is so well down here, and we pray that you are doing well also. Continue to pray for us!
Estamos muy cansados! (We are very tired) What a day, What a day, What a day! Where do we begin? The beautiful day began early this morning with the delightful smell of Scott's breakfast: eggs, bacon, and grits. We traveled to the site of the church and began work right away. Before long, children from the community came by to see what was going on. The work of the Venezuelan people is incredible and they kicked us right into shape. We worked on filling in holes where the rebar foundations has been poured, made concrete, poured new foundations, and most importantly built relationships...oh, and it was extremely hot outside! The highlight of everyone's day was playing kicking ball with the children and just spending time with the Venezuelans. We left the chuch for a quick dinner and returned just in time for the children's bible study. They were so excited and involved in the songs and story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. As a special treat, Scott preformed magic tricks for the children, which they watched intently. Just as we were leaving, all the children were so excited to hear that we were coming back tomorrow. A few of us had a good amount of Spanish terms down, but we jokingly thought the two Kathy's speaking ability sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown to the Venezuelans. (Whannn, Whan, Whannnnn, Whann...)
After the drive back to the seminary, we concluded the LONG day with a devotional by Dillon. He spoke on the costs of following Christ and concluded with the question: How salty are you?
All is so well down here, and we pray that you are doing well also. Continue to pray for us!
Monday
Psalm 19: 14
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer”
Our mission team woke to beautiful morning here in Barquisimeto, VZ. Our day was spent at the seminary improving the grounds here and there. Before we started, Stacy began our day with prayer and an emotional devotional. Pastor Alexander arrived on his day off to assist us in construction. We also noticed that throughout the day we were visited by important people in the community (the Bishop and a local Pastor). The Venezuelan people are very appreciative of us giving our time to help them in any way possible. We were also visited by Yoe who in the past was a translator for our mission team. We were blessed to have all of the people come visit today and share in fellowship.
We had four goals that we set out to complete today: Custom built cement columns, Interior painting, repairing faulty wiring/installing lights, and hospitality. Kim and Stacy were hospitality and we could not have completed the day without the help of these two. “Water anyone?”, “Orange slice?”… I heard this echoing in my head all day. Their words of encouragement were also a necessity. John, Kathy Green, and Steve were in charge of rewiring certain light fixtures and an AC unit, and they put in new light fixtures on one of the exterior buildings. This group was very diligent in their task making them scarce all day, but when our amazing lunch was prepared the Green’s came’a runnin! Dillon, Jessica, Pam, Agnes, and I (Parker) were presented with the task of painting the two rooms on the interior of the women’s dormitory. With the quality of paint, it took 4 coats to complete each room. Once completed Pam did an amazing job cleaning the floors that received more paint than the walls. And Agnes put the finishing touch on the beds, making each with love and placing a chocolate on every pillow case. Last but of course not least, there was the crew creating the cement columns from scratch. Rick, Scott, Matt, and Kathy Reeves spent all day creating columns to be mounted on the exterior wall of the complex. During the several trips I took outside to see the progress, I always enjoyed seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces and hearing the constant laughter. To reenergize everyone near the end of the day, the song “Eye of the Tiger” was played. Scott once again took out his incredible dance moves to help bring laughter to the group. Unfortunately, I do think those are his real and only dance moves.
Dinner could not have come any sooner. Stacy and her lovely assistant Pam prepared sandwiches for everyone. I had a fried egg and cheese sandwich, and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!
Pam (woman of many wonders today) was also in charge of leading us in our nightly devotional. The exercise we did with Psalm 46:10 was extremely powerful and everyone took so much from this. With the room completely silent, we spoke this verse… “Be still, and know that I am God.” We are down here in Venezuela not only doing, but BEING who God has called us to be. Through being still and knowing, we continue to grow closer to Him each second.
We have thankfully been able to speak to some of you today and understand that some very bad storms are going through the Southeast. Just as you are praying for us…we praying for you. We are having an absolute amazing time over here. Please continue to pray for us, so that we may continue the work God has set us out to do.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God”
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer”
Our mission team woke to beautiful morning here in Barquisimeto, VZ. Our day was spent at the seminary improving the grounds here and there. Before we started, Stacy began our day with prayer and an emotional devotional. Pastor Alexander arrived on his day off to assist us in construction. We also noticed that throughout the day we were visited by important people in the community (the Bishop and a local Pastor). The Venezuelan people are very appreciative of us giving our time to help them in any way possible. We were also visited by Yoe who in the past was a translator for our mission team. We were blessed to have all of the people come visit today and share in fellowship.
We had four goals that we set out to complete today: Custom built cement columns, Interior painting, repairing faulty wiring/installing lights, and hospitality. Kim and Stacy were hospitality and we could not have completed the day without the help of these two. “Water anyone?”, “Orange slice?”… I heard this echoing in my head all day. Their words of encouragement were also a necessity. John, Kathy Green, and Steve were in charge of rewiring certain light fixtures and an AC unit, and they put in new light fixtures on one of the exterior buildings. This group was very diligent in their task making them scarce all day, but when our amazing lunch was prepared the Green’s came’a runnin! Dillon, Jessica, Pam, Agnes, and I (Parker) were presented with the task of painting the two rooms on the interior of the women’s dormitory. With the quality of paint, it took 4 coats to complete each room. Once completed Pam did an amazing job cleaning the floors that received more paint than the walls. And Agnes put the finishing touch on the beds, making each with love and placing a chocolate on every pillow case. Last but of course not least, there was the crew creating the cement columns from scratch. Rick, Scott, Matt, and Kathy Reeves spent all day creating columns to be mounted on the exterior wall of the complex. During the several trips I took outside to see the progress, I always enjoyed seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces and hearing the constant laughter. To reenergize everyone near the end of the day, the song “Eye of the Tiger” was played. Scott once again took out his incredible dance moves to help bring laughter to the group. Unfortunately, I do think those are his real and only dance moves.
Dinner could not have come any sooner. Stacy and her lovely assistant Pam prepared sandwiches for everyone. I had a fried egg and cheese sandwich, and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!
Pam (woman of many wonders today) was also in charge of leading us in our nightly devotional. The exercise we did with Psalm 46:10 was extremely powerful and everyone took so much from this. With the room completely silent, we spoke this verse… “Be still, and know that I am God.” We are down here in Venezuela not only doing, but BEING who God has called us to be. Through being still and knowing, we continue to grow closer to Him each second.
We have thankfully been able to speak to some of you today and understand that some very bad storms are going through the Southeast. Just as you are praying for us…we praying for you. We are having an absolute amazing time over here. Please continue to pray for us, so that we may continue the work God has set us out to do.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God”
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday
Colossians 3:17..."And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."
Day 3 started and ended with two very passionate worship services. It is truly unbelievable how spiritually sound and just excited the Venezuelan people are about God. Here we are as Americans living our day to day life with every necessity at our fingertips creating a barrier which is making it hard to hear God. We need to take time each and everyday to thank God for all that HE has provided for us, because without him life would be non-existent.
The first service we joined was at the church of Padre Carlos. With 14 Gringos (Americans) sitting in front of 200 Venezuelans you would think that we would be the center of attention, but we weren't...God was! Padre Carlos has a spirit about him that just grabs the attention of his church and leaves them wanting more. With that and the amazing praise music, it led us to one of the most powerful church services that any of us had ever attended. Thinking it couldn't get any better, Matt (our fearless leader) was called to the altar to accept the welcome (bienvenidos) of the Venezuelan people.
After church we headed to a wonderful restaurant to partake in some more of the local cuisine. The meal started with delicious fruit smoothies and plantains. Moving deeper and deeper into our meal the food became increasingly interesting. I don't know what was more disturbing, the mound of mystery meat the Matt, Scott, and Dillon shared or the feather I (Parker) found still attached to my chicken finger. All in all, it was a filling meal and it did help us to step out of our comfort zone just a little bit more.
An hour or so of our day was spent in the market purchasing gifts for our family and friends back home. With the exchange rate, it was easy to get a little carried away. With bags everywhere, I believe Kathy Reeves and Scott single handidly assisted in the massive upbringing of the Venezuelan Economy.
After a brief stay at the market we visited Yolanda, who is the first female seminary graduate and the pastor who started the orphanage we have beed working with the past years . She was thrilled to see us arrive which made it easy to quickly become relaxed and comfortable. Some of the local children, along with Yolanda's son came to see why strangers had just pulled into their area. Before long we were playing soccer and baseball with them. The smiles on there faces were enough of a blessing for me to conclude the trip right there, but I know I was called to do more. A short storm passed through the area giving us the opportunity to sing familiar worship songs with Yolanda's oldest son. All 20 of us huddled in a room no larger than a small truck and sang in both spanish and english. What a moment this was!
Once the rain stopped we walked from Yolanda's home to the sanctuary. Again, we joined in worship. This was a much smaller service, giving those who wanted to dance the opportunity to. We stepped far outside of our comfort zone on the this...some a little more than others. Kim, Scott, and Kathy R. led the charge with what looked like a bug squashing ritual or an overzealous twist.
Upon the end of the service, we gave our thanks and said our good-byes. It was already past many of our bedtimes. We concluded the evening with a meal at Pollo Sabroso, which is similar to a Zaxby's. Even though it was late, Scott still brought smiles and laughs with magic tricks and balloon animals at the restaurant.
John Green concluded our evening with our nightly devotional. The main theme I got from this was to be a servant to all without question. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Day 3 started and ended with two very passionate worship services. It is truly unbelievable how spiritually sound and just excited the Venezuelan people are about God. Here we are as Americans living our day to day life with every necessity at our fingertips creating a barrier which is making it hard to hear God. We need to take time each and everyday to thank God for all that HE has provided for us, because without him life would be non-existent.
The first service we joined was at the church of Padre Carlos. With 14 Gringos (Americans) sitting in front of 200 Venezuelans you would think that we would be the center of attention, but we weren't...God was! Padre Carlos has a spirit about him that just grabs the attention of his church and leaves them wanting more. With that and the amazing praise music, it led us to one of the most powerful church services that any of us had ever attended. Thinking it couldn't get any better, Matt (our fearless leader) was called to the altar to accept the welcome (bienvenidos) of the Venezuelan people.
After church we headed to a wonderful restaurant to partake in some more of the local cuisine. The meal started with delicious fruit smoothies and plantains. Moving deeper and deeper into our meal the food became increasingly interesting. I don't know what was more disturbing, the mound of mystery meat the Matt, Scott, and Dillon shared or the feather I (Parker) found still attached to my chicken finger. All in all, it was a filling meal and it did help us to step out of our comfort zone just a little bit more.
An hour or so of our day was spent in the market purchasing gifts for our family and friends back home. With the exchange rate, it was easy to get a little carried away. With bags everywhere, I believe Kathy Reeves and Scott single handidly assisted in the massive upbringing of the Venezuelan Economy.
After a brief stay at the market we visited Yolanda, who is the first female seminary graduate and the pastor who started the orphanage we have beed working with the past years . She was thrilled to see us arrive which made it easy to quickly become relaxed and comfortable. Some of the local children, along with Yolanda's son came to see why strangers had just pulled into their area. Before long we were playing soccer and baseball with them. The smiles on there faces were enough of a blessing for me to conclude the trip right there, but I know I was called to do more. A short storm passed through the area giving us the opportunity to sing familiar worship songs with Yolanda's oldest son. All 20 of us huddled in a room no larger than a small truck and sang in both spanish and english. What a moment this was!
Once the rain stopped we walked from Yolanda's home to the sanctuary. Again, we joined in worship. This was a much smaller service, giving those who wanted to dance the opportunity to. We stepped far outside of our comfort zone on the this...some a little more than others. Kim, Scott, and Kathy R. led the charge with what looked like a bug squashing ritual or an overzealous twist.
Upon the end of the service, we gave our thanks and said our good-byes. It was already past many of our bedtimes. We concluded the evening with a meal at Pollo Sabroso, which is similar to a Zaxby's. Even though it was late, Scott still brought smiles and laughs with magic tricks and balloon animals at the restaurant.
John Green concluded our evening with our nightly devotional. The main theme I got from this was to be a servant to all without question. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday
"You never know as far as you can go until you run"
Day two is now complete and what a day it was. The plan was to travel to Barquisimeto, VZ and eating lunch along the way. One thing I have learned so far on this trip is that surprises are part of everyday life. Overall our drive was suppose to take 4 hours. Little did we know that with the perfect formula of traffic and poor weather, this trip would take a total of 9 hours. This ultimately was a blessing in disguise because this long drive gave our team the opportunity to gain new relationships and connect as if we have been friends our entire life. However, you know that when Dillon starts getting grumpy it was time to get there. It also did not help that every 10 minutes Steve was reassuring us that we would get there in 15 minutes...this began 3 hours before our arrival!
The lunch buffet was a wonderful mix of familiar foods and new exotic delights. It seemed the desserts were the favorite among all, but when comparing it to pickled baby potatoes, there was no competition. On a serious note the newbies could breathe a sigh of relief to know the food was good, much less edible.
We arrived at Seminario Weslinario around 7pm and once Stacy released her death grip on the seat in front of her we were able to get out and view what will be our home for the next week.
The evening concluded with a very powerful devotion led by Scott. The main purpose I took from this time together was to allow God into your life by freeing all negativity from your mind, free time for you to be with God daily, to stop harboring sin, and to welcome God's messengers.
Jeremiah 7 was used to get this message across.
We are excited that tomorrow begins with worshiping at Father Carlos' church. Also, yesterday's comment about Kathy having to be bailed out of jail was a complete misunderstanding, and used to grab the attention of the reader.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And please continue to follow us with God.
Day two is now complete and what a day it was. The plan was to travel to Barquisimeto, VZ and eating lunch along the way. One thing I have learned so far on this trip is that surprises are part of everyday life. Overall our drive was suppose to take 4 hours. Little did we know that with the perfect formula of traffic and poor weather, this trip would take a total of 9 hours. This ultimately was a blessing in disguise because this long drive gave our team the opportunity to gain new relationships and connect as if we have been friends our entire life. However, you know that when Dillon starts getting grumpy it was time to get there. It also did not help that every 10 minutes Steve was reassuring us that we would get there in 15 minutes...this began 3 hours before our arrival!
The lunch buffet was a wonderful mix of familiar foods and new exotic delights. It seemed the desserts were the favorite among all, but when comparing it to pickled baby potatoes, there was no competition. On a serious note the newbies could breathe a sigh of relief to know the food was good, much less edible.
We arrived at Seminario Weslinario around 7pm and once Stacy released her death grip on the seat in front of her we were able to get out and view what will be our home for the next week.
The evening concluded with a very powerful devotion led by Scott. The main purpose I took from this time together was to allow God into your life by freeing all negativity from your mind, free time for you to be with God daily, to stop harboring sin, and to welcome God's messengers.
Jeremiah 7 was used to get this message across.
We are excited that tomorrow begins with worshiping at Father Carlos' church. Also, yesterday's comment about Kathy having to be bailed out of jail was a complete misunderstanding, and used to grab the attention of the reader.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And please continue to follow us with God.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday
Good Morning Family and Friends! If you have been left worrying as to whether or not we are here: WE HAVE MADE IT TO VENEZUELA!
Our mission began on Friday afternoon at Due West UMC joining in prayer and saying our final farwells to family and friends. After a slow treck to the ATL Airport, we swiftly made it through baggage check and security without a problem. Unless you consider John Green's patdown and Scott's faulty passport a problem. The flight took off at 5:30 sharp and featured, what Dillion classified, a tearful motion picture...Secretariate. The flight arrived at 10:30 to a RAINY VZ, but the smiling faces of Samuel, Father Carlos, and Willie. Before 14 willing missionaries officially entered the country, a suitcase full of Barbies stopped us in our tracks at Customs. Without the persuasive bargining of John Green and Jessica, over 100 young Venezuelan girls would be left without the joys of Barbie and Ken.
We were welcomed with open arms by our friends made in past mission trips. The rainy weather and broken down Tahoe were jacketed by the joy on everyone's face to finally be here. We finally made it to the New Tribe's Mission House and went to bed...well most of us did! TO BE CONTINUED!!
Saturday morning will be jam packed with devotions and traveling to Barquisimeto. Tune back in to see how we conjuered up enough money to bail Kathy Reeves out of jail. Stay safe and we'll do our best to do the same. Thank you for your prayers and blessing as we continue to do God's work!
Our mission began on Friday afternoon at Due West UMC joining in prayer and saying our final farwells to family and friends. After a slow treck to the ATL Airport, we swiftly made it through baggage check and security without a problem. Unless you consider John Green's patdown and Scott's faulty passport a problem. The flight took off at 5:30 sharp and featured, what Dillion classified, a tearful motion picture...Secretariate. The flight arrived at 10:30 to a RAINY VZ, but the smiling faces of Samuel, Father Carlos, and Willie. Before 14 willing missionaries officially entered the country, a suitcase full of Barbies stopped us in our tracks at Customs. Without the persuasive bargining of John Green and Jessica, over 100 young Venezuelan girls would be left without the joys of Barbie and Ken.
We were welcomed with open arms by our friends made in past mission trips. The rainy weather and broken down Tahoe were jacketed by the joy on everyone's face to finally be here. We finally made it to the New Tribe's Mission House and went to bed...well most of us did! TO BE CONTINUED!!
Saturday morning will be jam packed with devotions and traveling to Barquisimeto. Tune back in to see how we conjuered up enough money to bail Kathy Reeves out of jail. Stay safe and we'll do our best to do the same. Thank you for your prayers and blessing as we continue to do God's work!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Today is the Day!!!
To all those who have made this possible...
Thank you so much for your... love, prayers, support, food, ball gloves, bats, soccer balls, barbies, chocolate, letters, rides to the airport, facebook posts, hugs, kisses, and all. We wish you were going with us- we really fell like the ones who are BLESSED to go.
WE ARE READY!!! (well most of us- I am sure some of us are sorta frantic with last minute stuff) We leave today and head to Caracas. We fly out at 5:35 and arrive in Caracas around 10:00pm. Tonight we'll stay at the New Tribes Mission house which is about 3 blocks from the airport. Tomorrow is our drive to Barquisimeto.
We plan to post daily so follow along to see what YOU helped to do:)
Thank you so much for your... love, prayers, support, food, ball gloves, bats, soccer balls, barbies, chocolate, letters, rides to the airport, facebook posts, hugs, kisses, and all. We wish you were going with us- we really fell like the ones who are BLESSED to go.
WE ARE READY!!! (well most of us- I am sure some of us are sorta frantic with last minute stuff) We leave today and head to Caracas. We fly out at 5:35 and arrive in Caracas around 10:00pm. Tonight we'll stay at the New Tribes Mission house which is about 3 blocks from the airport. Tomorrow is our drive to Barquisimeto.
We plan to post daily so follow along to see what YOU helped to do:)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
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