Hey guys,
Our final day was filled with tears and a whole lot of hugs - a big bang to finish out the week.
We all woke up this morning in cruise control, happy mornings this week have definitely not been our strongest point but with the help of a nice cup of Joe we managed to find our energy. Our team enjoyed a lovely breakfast; made by different groups of us each morning, of pancakes, bacon, and sausage patties to start our morning off on a high note.
However, the real energy came along when we were greeted by 100 smiling faces, even more hugs, and the ubiquitous piggy back rides. We warmed up with some awesome games in the cage (a cement slab surrounded by fence) such as jump-rope, hopscotch, and the epic side-walk chalk, and then advanced on to music for some beautiful singing with our hand motion filled songs. The magnificent Courtney Boorman had our lesson today where she focused on God’s promise to take believers up to heaven someday. The kids got a nice snack from the crafts section today after they made edible humans from Oreos and Twizzlers. After enjoying a healthy lunch we headed back to the indoor pool for our final round of mentoring.
I don’t think any of us have experienced a harder goodbye than we did tonight in a very long time. I honestly think some of us ran out of tears. Who knew that we could come to love these kids so much in just one week? Only God did, he knew exactly what he wanted to do in us and through us this whole week and completely immersed himself fully in our lives. I sat down and contemplated really how God completely transformed me this week and rocked my world through the kids and showed the power of unconditional love. We knew nothing about our kids except that they needed to be loved on and it was our job to display that to them, but in return they did the exact thing to us. It doesn’t matter where we’re from or what stuff we own, we were all created by the same powerful God that loves us and sacrificed himself for our eternal life. Our different cultures collided, still God completely worked through us to further his kingdom. This “Re-revelation” established new meaning to the phrase “at a loss for words”, we legitimately could not grasp what God has done in and through us this week. We love our buddies and we’ll definitely miss them but this is just a temporary goodbye. We’ll stop by and see their shining faces and get those sweet hugs again soon. Praise God for such an amazing week. Thanks to all of you guys that helped us out in the prep work and those of you that helped us make this trip possible. There is absolutely no way we could’ve done this without y’all.
God Bless,
Patti White
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Day 4: The Dance Party
Hey guys!
This morning, Chris Merrell started off by encouraging us to carry over the excitement and energy from the previous days into this one. This was a much needed wake-up call for most of us, since we could hardly stand up long enough to put bacon and eggs on our plates for breakfast. We prayed hard that God would show up in amazing ways, despite the rain, in the lives of these kids and of their families. He definitely did.
When we arrived at the refugee apartment complex, the kids were already there to greet us, imminent rain and all. The worship team did a great job of getting the kids together and focusing their attention. "Our God is So Big" and "Praise Ye the Lord" have quickly become the kids' personal favorites. The theme of today was the Family of Christ and how people, not the building make up the church and how Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. Matt Kohman did a great job of really bringing this point home when he made a human pyramid, designating one of the kids as "Jesus." Lets just say we figured out how important the corner of a pyramid is.
After the normal Bible club, we hung out with the kids for a while, participating in an African tribal dance class, then headed back to the church where we are staying for a quick rest before going back to the apartments. When we got back to the apartments, the kids all had on their "African clothes" and were very ready to show off their new dance moves to their parents.
The really cool part about this evening was that we were able to spend time and interact with the kids as well as their other family members. Many of the families brought food authentic to their home country to share with us. We provided the watermelon and potato chips. After eating, and after the kids performed their dance, we just hung out with the kids and their families. Getting to meet my buddy's family was probably the highlight of my night. We danced to authentic African music very late into the night, then came back to the church for cereal, and finally bed. Josh Berry was able to lead one of the students that was there tonight to Christ, an awesome way to end an even better day.
Now it's off to bed for all of us. We are thoroughly worn out from all that dancing. Please be praying for tomorrow, since it is our last day, that we will have more energy than ever and really open ourselves up to let God do His work through us.
Tired, but very excited to see what God will do tomorrow,
Courtney Boorman
This morning, Chris Merrell started off by encouraging us to carry over the excitement and energy from the previous days into this one. This was a much needed wake-up call for most of us, since we could hardly stand up long enough to put bacon and eggs on our plates for breakfast. We prayed hard that God would show up in amazing ways, despite the rain, in the lives of these kids and of their families. He definitely did.
When we arrived at the refugee apartment complex, the kids were already there to greet us, imminent rain and all. The worship team did a great job of getting the kids together and focusing their attention. "Our God is So Big" and "Praise Ye the Lord" have quickly become the kids' personal favorites. The theme of today was the Family of Christ and how people, not the building make up the church and how Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. Matt Kohman did a great job of really bringing this point home when he made a human pyramid, designating one of the kids as "Jesus." Lets just say we figured out how important the corner of a pyramid is.
After the normal Bible club, we hung out with the kids for a while, participating in an African tribal dance class, then headed back to the church where we are staying for a quick rest before going back to the apartments. When we got back to the apartments, the kids all had on their "African clothes" and were very ready to show off their new dance moves to their parents.
The really cool part about this evening was that we were able to spend time and interact with the kids as well as their other family members. Many of the families brought food authentic to their home country to share with us. We provided the watermelon and potato chips. After eating, and after the kids performed their dance, we just hung out with the kids and their families. Getting to meet my buddy's family was probably the highlight of my night. We danced to authentic African music very late into the night, then came back to the church for cereal, and finally bed. Josh Berry was able to lead one of the students that was there tonight to Christ, an awesome way to end an even better day.
Now it's off to bed for all of us. We are thoroughly worn out from all that dancing. Please be praying for tomorrow, since it is our last day, that we will have more energy than ever and really open ourselves up to let God do His work through us.
Tired, but very excited to see what God will do tomorrow,
Courtney Boorman
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 3: Over the Hill
Hey again guys,
Chris Merrell started off the day warning our team about the dangers of coasting after the third day on a mission trip and challenged us to go into the final 3 days with the amount of passion, energy, and vigor that we had when we arrived. So with that charge we set off for another adventure on the Refugee Highway in Dallas.
We began our morning with the normal routine of controlled chaos at the refugee apartment complex and quickly settled into some singing and dancing. The worship team continued to get a bigger response out of the kids and even our teammates by doing what these kids love to do, pump their fists and jump up and down.
Each of the four stations (music, crafts, games, and bible lessons) really meshed together to deliver knowledge to the boys and girls about the topic of the day, Jesus. It was incredible to see the amount of comprehension and understanding even the younger kids had when we explained the life, death, and resurection of Christ. For me this really put into persepective the amount of work the leaders of Dallas Bible Church and especially Mrs. Mullens (our coordinator) have put into all the children in the complex, and the influence that people have when the follow and focus their energy towards God's work.
Now a few highlights of the day,
-All the boys including the one and only Doug Foxworth got their fingernails painted
-Jessi Simmons smoked us boys when we ran a mile late tonight, but I have to put in that we gave her a massive head start just to try and save whats left of my pride.
And on a more serious note...
-Two kids have accepted Christ so far this week through some awesome mentoring by Josh Berry and Nicole Lew!! Although without Gods power none of this could have happened.
I think I speak for the rest of my team in saying that we are totally psyched to see what God is going to do through us tommorow. WOOP!! (That was an exclamation of excitement, not an Aggie cheer fyi.)
With Love,
Matt Kohman
Chris Merrell started off the day warning our team about the dangers of coasting after the third day on a mission trip and challenged us to go into the final 3 days with the amount of passion, energy, and vigor that we had when we arrived. So with that charge we set off for another adventure on the Refugee Highway in Dallas.
We began our morning with the normal routine of controlled chaos at the refugee apartment complex and quickly settled into some singing and dancing. The worship team continued to get a bigger response out of the kids and even our teammates by doing what these kids love to do, pump their fists and jump up and down.
Each of the four stations (music, crafts, games, and bible lessons) really meshed together to deliver knowledge to the boys and girls about the topic of the day, Jesus. It was incredible to see the amount of comprehension and understanding even the younger kids had when we explained the life, death, and resurection of Christ. For me this really put into persepective the amount of work the leaders of Dallas Bible Church and especially Mrs. Mullens (our coordinator) have put into all the children in the complex, and the influence that people have when the follow and focus their energy towards God's work.
Now a few highlights of the day,
-All the boys including the one and only Doug Foxworth got their fingernails painted
-Jessi Simmons smoked us boys when we ran a mile late tonight, but I have to put in that we gave her a massive head start just to try and save whats left of my pride.
And on a more serious note...
-Two kids have accepted Christ so far this week through some awesome mentoring by Josh Berry and Nicole Lew!! Although without Gods power none of this could have happened.
I think I speak for the rest of my team in saying that we are totally psyched to see what God is going to do through us tommorow. WOOP!! (That was an exclamation of excitement, not an Aggie cheer fyi.)
With Love,
Matt Kohman
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Some Pics from Jon Moton
Hey all - This is Chris Merrell - This team is nailing it! They have been incredible. Here are a few pictures from the pool and one of the break times that you can peek at from Jon Moton's iphone. I'll try to have some of the students upload a few others tomorrow from our cameras! Please pray for us as you view these. Enjoy...
http://gallery.me.com/jmoton/100100
http://gallery.me.com/jmoton/100100
An amazing day unfolded today! Our team rocked it for the glory of the Father from the first minutes to the dodgeball game that just finished. God empowered us to do what we couldn't.
At the 'Bible School' in the mornings, we are walking the refugee kids through a broad outline of the bible. This mornings theme was God's incredible promises that He made in the old testament to Noah, Moses, and Abraham. Our goal was to change our game plan based on what we learned on Monday and involve the kids in tons of active learning at every station - crafts, lessons, games, and music. Each person on our team went in and led with energy and passion. It was a huge team victory. Even the most rambunctious boys were tuned into the lesson, crafts, and the music. We felt what it was like to trust Christ to do through us what we couldn't do the day before.
Our pastor, Jon Moton, surprised us by showing up just after lunch and stayed with us through the afternoon! After some bounce house 'fun' in the heat, we matched up again one on one with our kids and went to a great pool. Most of us have the sun burns to prove it but the good news is our rooms smell like aloe vera lotion now!
At the pool we had a blast playing with our kids and really bonding with them. At different points in the afternoon we pulled away one on one and did our discipleship lesson with them for the day. While a few of us have students that are very Muslim in their beliefs, most kids have been very open to the gospel and the message of the Bible. Some already know Christ and we are working with them to help them discover how God can use them in their families and amongst their friends.
We ended the night with some great Lasagna and Cheesecake (that's right!) and prepping for tomorrow. We looked at 2 Corinthians 4:5-16 and were challenged to think through how living out Christ's death in us creates life in others and that our value is based on the treasure of Christ that we have shining through our brokenness. Praying together was incredible.
We'll see what tomorrow holds! Time to sleep quick! Please pray that Christ would continue to show us that only by him can we produce fruit. Tomorrow we teach all the refugee students about Christ and really talk with them during our 1 on 1 time with the kids we are mentoring. We need prayer for courage, energy, and love. Tired but loving it!
At the 'Bible School' in the mornings, we are walking the refugee kids through a broad outline of the bible. This mornings theme was God's incredible promises that He made in the old testament to Noah, Moses, and Abraham. Our goal was to change our game plan based on what we learned on Monday and involve the kids in tons of active learning at every station - crafts, lessons, games, and music. Each person on our team went in and led with energy and passion. It was a huge team victory. Even the most rambunctious boys were tuned into the lesson, crafts, and the music. We felt what it was like to trust Christ to do through us what we couldn't do the day before.
Our pastor, Jon Moton, surprised us by showing up just after lunch and stayed with us through the afternoon! After some bounce house 'fun' in the heat, we matched up again one on one with our kids and went to a great pool. Most of us have the sun burns to prove it but the good news is our rooms smell like aloe vera lotion now!
At the pool we had a blast playing with our kids and really bonding with them. At different points in the afternoon we pulled away one on one and did our discipleship lesson with them for the day. While a few of us have students that are very Muslim in their beliefs, most kids have been very open to the gospel and the message of the Bible. Some already know Christ and we are working with them to help them discover how God can use them in their families and amongst their friends.
We ended the night with some great Lasagna and Cheesecake (that's right!) and prepping for tomorrow. We looked at 2 Corinthians 4:5-16 and were challenged to think through how living out Christ's death in us creates life in others and that our value is based on the treasure of Christ that we have shining through our brokenness. Praying together was incredible.
We'll see what tomorrow holds! Time to sleep quick! Please pray that Christ would continue to show us that only by him can we produce fruit. Tomorrow we teach all the refugee students about Christ and really talk with them during our 1 on 1 time with the kids we are mentoring. We need prayer for courage, energy, and love. Tired but loving it!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Arrival and day one!
Last night we arrived at Dallas Bible Church's youth ministry building after a long van ride and went to straight to an orientation meeting about what we're going to be doing this week along side another missions team from Dallas. On the way here, we stopped at an Ethiopian restaraunt in Pflugerville. For those that couldn't handle the spices and heat it wasn't good, but for the rest of us... including myself, it was by far some of the best food I've ever had.
We had a typical mission trip morning, some meaningful quiet times and a delightful breakfast, although it didn't sit well with Josh Berry. During my quiet time and after I felt a great sense of excitement about what we'll be doing this week. I've had a sense all along not to worry or fear anything, because I know that God has a plan for us, and I have accepted that. By that I am fearless. There is nothing but love on this trip, and you can tell by our collective attitude.
We drove to the refugee apartment complex after breakfast to participate and lead in todays activites with the kids. There is quite the age range and an array of maturity levels, as you can imagine. One boy nicknamed JuJu, who is a football player in fifth grade told me about how he loves to play football and injured seven people last season. He was born in Sudan. He lived there for eight months and doesn't remember much of it, as I'm sure most of the older kids who have lived in the U.S. longer don't. They are much more American-ized than I myself anticipated.
On the other hand, some of the younger children neither speak nor understand most English. During mid-day, my buddy JuJu had to go to football practice, so I was assigned another student. His name is Botrous, a nine year old in third grade. Botrous is a very curious and outgoing kid, he also has ADHD so it's hard to keep him following the rules especially when he wanders away.
Later in the afternoon after our VBS at the refugee apartment complex, we enjoyed taking the DART train in to downtown Dallas and going to the amazing Dallas Zoo with all of our assigned buddies! This was one of the best experiences I've ever had. We enjoyed walking around and talking with everyone on the mission trip team and their buddies, seeing all the animals and taking lots of 'zany" pictures! All of the kids enjoyed riding the train and looking at the African animals which are native to some of their own home countries. As a team we loved getting to talk to the kids about the gospel and ask them about their knowledge so far of Adam and Eve, and God's work in general.
At one point I could feel God showing me marvelous things on a very tangible and personal level. We entered a cafe in which one wall is completely glass and looks out into the lion exhibition. A gorgeous lioness sauntered over to the window and began to look around. In this instant I was imagining how God created this truly beautiful creature. The giraffes and elephants were also very stunning examples of God's power and ultimate creativity. To think that we take sights like these for granted some times is mind-boggling. God has so much to show us in our daily lives, but we must surrender to His will completely to understand some of it.
This is already the first day and I am filled with passion for this week. I value each individual on this team and pray intensly that through the love of Jesus Christ amazing things will be done within us, so that amazing things can be done through us.
Continue to keep us in your prayers, and continue to keep the children in your prayers as well. Do not fear for us, fear God.
With love and tired fingers,
Spencer Rutledge
We had a typical mission trip morning, some meaningful quiet times and a delightful breakfast, although it didn't sit well with Josh Berry. During my quiet time and after I felt a great sense of excitement about what we'll be doing this week. I've had a sense all along not to worry or fear anything, because I know that God has a plan for us, and I have accepted that. By that I am fearless. There is nothing but love on this trip, and you can tell by our collective attitude.
We drove to the refugee apartment complex after breakfast to participate and lead in todays activites with the kids. There is quite the age range and an array of maturity levels, as you can imagine. One boy nicknamed JuJu, who is a football player in fifth grade told me about how he loves to play football and injured seven people last season. He was born in Sudan. He lived there for eight months and doesn't remember much of it, as I'm sure most of the older kids who have lived in the U.S. longer don't. They are much more American-ized than I myself anticipated.
On the other hand, some of the younger children neither speak nor understand most English. During mid-day, my buddy JuJu had to go to football practice, so I was assigned another student. His name is Botrous, a nine year old in third grade. Botrous is a very curious and outgoing kid, he also has ADHD so it's hard to keep him following the rules especially when he wanders away.
Later in the afternoon after our VBS at the refugee apartment complex, we enjoyed taking the DART train in to downtown Dallas and going to the amazing Dallas Zoo with all of our assigned buddies! This was one of the best experiences I've ever had. We enjoyed walking around and talking with everyone on the mission trip team and their buddies, seeing all the animals and taking lots of 'zany" pictures! All of the kids enjoyed riding the train and looking at the African animals which are native to some of their own home countries. As a team we loved getting to talk to the kids about the gospel and ask them about their knowledge so far of Adam and Eve, and God's work in general.
At one point I could feel God showing me marvelous things on a very tangible and personal level. We entered a cafe in which one wall is completely glass and looks out into the lion exhibition. A gorgeous lioness sauntered over to the window and began to look around. In this instant I was imagining how God created this truly beautiful creature. The giraffes and elephants were also very stunning examples of God's power and ultimate creativity. To think that we take sights like these for granted some times is mind-boggling. God has so much to show us in our daily lives, but we must surrender to His will completely to understand some of it.
This is already the first day and I am filled with passion for this week. I value each individual on this team and pray intensly that through the love of Jesus Christ amazing things will be done within us, so that amazing things can be done through us.
Continue to keep us in your prayers, and continue to keep the children in your prayers as well. Do not fear for us, fear God.
With love and tired fingers,
Spencer Rutledge
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Brenda's prayer:
Father God, I ask that each one of us will prepare our hearts for something magical...that we can open our hearts to show a kind and gentle spirit, that we can find a renewed energy to reach out and touch lives. They will probably not remember our names, but they will remember a feeling, and smile, and a song. Lord, fill us up that we may give away your love during our stepping out to others in the Dallas area. In Him, Amen
Father God, I ask that each one of us will prepare our hearts for something magical...that we can open our hearts to show a kind and gentle spirit, that we can find a renewed energy to reach out and touch lives. They will probably not remember our names, but they will remember a feeling, and smile, and a song. Lord, fill us up that we may give away your love during our stepping out to others in the Dallas area. In Him, Amen
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