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Abigail’s response:
Before departing for Mexico I defined my hope and joy in the satisfaction and peace I had with myself. I found joy where there was laughter and excitement. Hope was defined by how satisfied I felt in my relationship with God and peace in who I was. My hope was reliant on the combination of mine and God’s strength. I was selfish and proud. Internally I would recite the mantra: those who hope in the Lord will not be disappointed, but because half of my hope was in myself I continually became disappointed –my flesh is so weak. Hungry and desperate for God’s reassuring voice I had become. So, finally in Mexico –after character building experiences at Master’s college and Magic Mountain –my perspective began to shake. The fact that God calls us to mission-al lifestyles convicted me and created internal conflict. Was I ready to surrender my whole life and strength to God? Yes!.... I wanna trust God that much. My previous understandings of hope and joy have become conflicted. It was not until I met Aurora, a 7 year old Mexican girl with long brown braided hair and a round face holding a constant plastered smile that I realized how surface level my joy was. How surface level and worldly my hope was. From my experience in Mexico, joy was in the constant smiles of children and colorful amenities throughout the community which beamed amidst the dull browns and greys. Joy was the chorus’s sung amongst the community of Christians together worshipping one God. Hope was being lulled to sleep by the distant screams, aches, and chaos of the city knowing that God alone was their hope, our hope. Hope is not how satisfied we are with life, but it is the reliance we presume on God. It is how we find joy in conflict, how we smile even though it hurts. It is how we sing even though we are lonely, how we use and raise our hands in worship even though we are afraid. Hope is seeing the color when the hues and shades have faded away from being dried out. Hope is God, not defined as satisfaction or comfort in life –God is our only hope. In Romans 5: 3-5 is says: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character,and character hope. And hope does not disappoint because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” This trip has taught me how to develop a character immersed in God, the discovery of a renewed hope. Interestingly enough, hope begins with suffering. Have I missed out on hope because life is so comfortable? Not entirely, Mexico has only been a reminder of how to genuinely hope. I want to merge back into a mission-al lifestyle that hopes and seeks out the uninvited.
Casey’s response:
Mexico was life changing, to say the least. I can honestly say that my life will never be the same. I had the opportunity to see how God is working in the vibrant culture of Mexico and I got a taste of what it’s like to experience the fullness of God through a missional lifestyle. I learned that missions are where God’s heart is, and with His help I plan to obey his command to go and surrender my future to Him. My life is no longer mine, and thanks to the things I learned in Tijuana, it will be thoroughly absorbed in His plan for me.
But besides having my life completely changed, I had the chance to practice my Spanish, learn how to hammer a nail and use a chalk line, spend time with adorable ornery children who like to hammer your nail apron into plywood walls, eat delicious carne asada tacos, drink Manzana Lift and horchata, laugh and cry with the new friends that I made, and serve the Lord’s people in the name of a big God who loves the world passionately.
Rachel’s response:
Mexico was more than I imagined…it was amazing to work with the children down there and to see my friends show God to them. This was a life changing experience because I have finally dedicated my life to God and become a missionary for him and who goes overseas and work with people but mostly with the children because they are my passion. I just know when I go home I’m not going to be the same little crazy ball of energy that I was going into this trip. I have cried a lot on this trip, and I have laughed but not as much as I have cried. I have made so many life time friends that I don’t want to say goodbye to because I will miss them so much because of how much we have bonded these past 2 weeks. I wish we all could just stay in Mexico for 2 and a half more weeks. I think everyone has noticed that I have come out of my shell a lot during this trip. I’m excited to go home tomorrow but at the same time I am sad because I’m going to miss so many of my new found friends. I really don’t enjoy getting to know someone really well then have to say goodbye to them. I just know that I’m going to cry. But I loved Mexico and I can’t wait until the next serve.
The kaleidoscope of sights, smells, and sounds at the border crossing provided a unique experience for all of us. We broke camp this morning (now yesterday morning) in record time and we were on the road by 9:30 (30 minutes ahead of schedule). We arrived at the end of the border line and immediately we were bombarded with vendors walking between the lines of traffic, selling their goods. There were churros, tacos, tamales, and ice cream. Blankets, jerseys, sombreros, and ceramic turtle-banks (named Curtis). For two hours, we bartered via the van windows filling our bellies with some final tastes of Tijuana and packing our gift bags for the folks back home.
The entire Serve team (19 vans, 2 cube tracks and a van pulling a trailer) all made it through the border with no difficulties. Other than the two hour wait, it was a perfect border crossing (especially the In-And-Out Burger lunch…with cold drinks).
Now that we are back Master’s College, we will take some time to consider what God has been teaching us this past week. We will meet tonight for worship and time in the Word and tomorrow we will gather together throughout the day.
The first thing I have to say about today was that it was very hot. While we all sat and listened to Dave Berdett this morning, many people were using newly received letters or other pieces of paper to fan themselves. After listening to what he had to say, our church loaded up into our three vans and left for an orphanage. Stepping out of the air conditioned van initially felt like opening the door to an oven. I am so thankful that God created trees, shade and breeze.
The orphanage itself was in a very poor condition. From what I saw, there were two rooms filled with bunk beds stacked two or three high for the girls. All of them had a mattress and a cover for the mattress but I don’t remember seeing all of them with pillows or blankets. In each room there was a bathroom containing one toilet, sink and shower. For the older girls, there was a closet with clothes for them all to share. The younger girls had no closet but shelves stacked up with theirs. I realized that they didn’t own any of their very own clothes except for a few who had their own undergarments hanging on the headboard to their bunk. The floors were picked up and clean (I noticed a caretaker make two little girls pick up some clothes off of the floor later that day and place them onto a pile that was on an unused bunk bed) but the bathrooms appeared to be less promising. The boys lived in a house that was directly next to the girls. I didn’t get to personally see them, but I heard that those rooms were a lot messier than the girls. That sounds pretty typical to what happens at home!
The children were all absolutely beautiful! They smiled, they played, the babies cuddled and clung to you and fell asleep in your arms. I saw so many little boys running around with newly decorated faces and masks that they decorated from the art box we brought. Some of us were giving the kids piggyback rides while others were kicking a soccer ball or throwing a Frisbee. And there were others who were just sitting and following some of the kids around wherever they led us. We got to enjoy pizza with them for lunch. It was truly a blessing to get to play with these children. I could spend hours describing all the individuals that I met there; but I’ll let other team members share those stories when we all return!
Finally, we would love to continue to have your guys’ prayer because we still need it. You can pray for the orphanage that we went to. In English, it is called Jesus Tribe. You can pray for the health of the children and caretakers. You can pray for the maintenance of the building there as it is run down and looking a little neglected. You can pray for the faith of the children and their parents; some children get to see their parents still and get regular visits from them.
Also remember to thank God for keeping our team safe and healthy so far. Pray for travel mercies as we are leaving Mexico tomorrow and will soon be flying back home. And lastly, pray that our hearts will be open to what God wants to teach us this week.
Oh, Elizabeth Pebley is alive. J She is doing very well!
Posted by Mollye Evans
Whew! Just got back from dunking my head in a bucket of water and I’m still hot J This trip has been so amazing for me! I’m getting to know more about my Heavenly Father’s heart for the world and learning to follow what he wants. I won’t write what we did today because that’s already been covered by Mollye. I’ll just say a couple quick points about what I’ve been experiencing. First of all, sleeping in tents is not that bad. The scariest thing we’ve had to deal with is a cricket in our tent and a mouse burrowing under another of the girls tent, (we named him Scott). Camp life is kinda cool. I imagine myself like an Israelite living in the desert in tents. Next, the culture in Mexico is AMAZING! I’ve never had people invite total strangers into their house for snacks. They are such an open and friendly culture. The first family I built a house for Florencio and Isabel and their six kids, I only knew them for two days but it felt a lot longer. They may be poor, but the more I think about it, the more I think that America is the one that is a sad place to live. Because, socially, we are not concerned for others at all. I think of the little amount I strike up random conversations with people, let alone invite them in my house! Ultimately, I built families a house, but I think I was the one who was blessed the most. The speakers here are wonderful and are really challenging my world view. I’m realizing how focused I am on solely myself. Not a happy realization but I’m glad I’m learning. Also, I know everyone says there is violence in Mexico and Tijuana is dangerous but I’ve not seen a single thing to worry me. Now we are taking a lot of precautions, but I feel really safe here. Our guards are so nice and we have a police officer on campus too. And, we got a police escort from the border! How cool is that? And we’ll get another one tomorrow back to the border. Please continue to pray for our team. We’re learning so much! I’m so blessed to be here and I’m so thankful you are praying for us! God Bless!
And Elizabeth Pebley is alive and well.
Posted by Lauren Fulton
Friday….. wow the time we have had here in Mexico has gone by soooo fast. This Serve trip has been very exciting, eventful, and full of Mexican ladies who like to give us delicious food. Besides that, this has truly been a hard week to get through. The night before we went into Mexico we (the team) sat in a circle and said whether or not we were ready for the trip with eyes open and ears listening. Most of us said that we were ready; however, me and a few others spoke up to not being “ready.” As I explained why I was not ready, I began realizing it was because I had not forgiven myself of sins of the past. That night I forgave myself and decided that I was ready to go. Then, last night (Thursday night) I approached Brad Buser the speaker from New Tribes Mission who had spoken that morning and began talking to him. I told him of my passion for ending human trafficking and that I was feeling very convicted because throughout this last week I’d really grown to realize that IJM (International Justice Missions) was my plan not God’s. I had realized I had created a plan to make myself look like a stronger follower of Christ then I actually was. I then told him that his talk that morning really hit me hard and I had decided to give myself to God and do something completely out of my comfort zone and join tribal missions with New Tribes. Brad then explained to me what I need to do were I need to go and how I need to do it. After about a 15 minute conversation with each other I had to go to sound check and play some drums, but Brad approached Alisa (my sister) and told her this “Your brother is ready”. When she told me this I really felt encouraged for the adventure God has planned out for me. Please be praying!! Thank you soooo much!
And Elizabeth Pebley is alive and well.
Posted by Joshua Vincent
It´s Wednesday and the weather finally got hot. We were all baked by the sun today at our work sites and quiting time couldn´t come fast enough. Thank God we have had a our water basin to soak our aching feet…it was a small reward for working hard all day in the heat.
Yesterday our teams finished our firstthree houses. It was an emotional time as the families prayed with us in their completed house. Many tears and smiles were exchanged and the feeling of joy was experienced by all.
PS - Elizabeth Pebley is alive!!!
Hmmm…it’s Monday, right? (Being away from a phone, calendar, watch, ect, makes me lose track of the day of the week—I love it!) Today we started building for our Mexican family. I would tell you their name, but they say their names so fast and with such a strong accent that I would probably say it completely wrong. Sometime between breakfast and lunch, we took off in our white 15-passenger vans to our build sites. Our youth group was split up into three smaller groups, and each group went to a different build sit. I rode with Jesse Duckett…that was crazy! I sat near the back of the van and every time we went over a speed bump Jesse would drive slow for the front end and then speed up for the back end…somehow this was better for the van…I’m not sure if he was serious or joking. However, he would like you to know that he kept all his ninos safe! Once we arrived, we met the family. I was super excited to talk with the family because they only knew Spanish. I finally got to put those 3 years of High School Spanish Class to good, real life use…it was amazing! A Caravan leader proceeded to instruct us on how to build the frame for the floor and 4 walls—this involved lots of hammering and sawing. I found hammering quite difficult and found myself feeling very unskilled when I saw a little Mexican boy hammer so much better than me.
iAhora voy a cenar, adios!
Ellie Evans (Ellie is a lot easier to say than “Elaine” in Spanish :)
PS - Elizabeth Pebley is alive! J (For Madre y Padre)
Michael Bunker:
It is day two of in the new country of Mexico. We have spent many hours in this strange thing that comes from the sky called the sun. It is a very nice thing, we should try to get it in Washington. But on a more serious note, today was the day that we started building, our crew started building little shack in this families back yard. The feeling I got from the family as we started and as we invited them in to help us out. It was much more fun to watch and work with them than it was to just work for them. The fellowship that came with working WITH them not FOR them was amazing. The trip so far for me has been a successful one. I have made the decision to surrender my life to God, true it is mostly impossible to surrender EVERYTHING but I am praying that I can get rid of all the extra stuff in my life and that I can just do things that please God and spread his name across the land. It is true that I am going to a school that is not known for their education program that is 7th best in the world, but it is more known for how often the people there party. But I plan on spending my time there spreading the word of the lord, not spreading the beer. It has truly been a blessing to be able to come down here and work with the people of our church and other churches all over Washington. Thank you all that helped me be able to come down here and thank you mom and dad for allowing me to be able to come down here ad not listening to the reports on the news. We are truly in a safe place and there is nothing to worry about.
I love all of you and I hope that you are enjoying your time in the sun in Washington, it is quite cool down here and very nice.
Hi All!
We have been in Tijuana now since Saturday afternoon. We had a police escort in, so our transition from the border to our campsite was quick and safe. Camp at Servelandia 2010 was setup quick as most of the teams had practice at our retreats.
Today we did our prayer walks through some neighborhoods. This was probably the first time the kids got to see what life is like in the suburbs of Tijuana. For dinner, we had carne asada tacos which were very tasty. Also being a cook does have its priveldes, being able to get the meat right, hot of the grille. Big thanks to the Pauls and Sharon Gentry for getting the team fed!
Anyhow, this is a fast update, we will try to get more updates as internet cafes are sparse. Please continue to pray for us as we start building tommowrrow for our families.
God Bless
Alan and the OSBC SERVE 2010 team.
Tonight we will finish our time of preparation as we worship together and open God’s word one last time before heading south to Mexico. It has been a great experience so far. The travel day went very smoothly (all except for the van rental fiasco). Our day yesterday at Magic Mountain was perfect…weather, fun, laughter and a Godly witness. Today we turned things up a notch and we really began to get our hearts in the right place before the God whom we serve.
Tonight we expect to do some final business with our Creator as we yield ourselves to him completely. Join us in prayer…seek the Lord of the harvest to send us into His field!
The team building retreat was cold, overcast and rainy but the team came together in amazing ways. We have a very large team but it looks promising that we will come together pretty well. The team performed very well in the initiative games and growth exercises and they learned that relationship is more important than task. Please pray that the Lord will draw us together while we are at Master's University in California and that He will allow us to enjoy sweet fellowship before we head into Mexico.
We picked up 4,905 pounds of trash along the road at S. 304th St. and Pacific Highway on Saturday, April 17th. It was a great team building event and a good fundraiser. Many people stopped their cars to thank us for doing the disgusting work of picking up other people’s garbage...and it was a lot of garbage!
This provides an interesting spiritual analogy. As a team, we are going to need to do the hard work of taking care of our own trash before we will be ready to go as ambassadors of Christ into a hurting world. Please be praying that the Holy Spirit will grant us discernment and compassion to clean up our own messes and that we will be able to go from a humbled and pure posture as a team.
Heading Home Today we start our journey home. The Paul's and Sharon Gentry left Monday morning to drive north to Federal Way. Today, the rest of us board a plane at LAX and return home from a trip of a life time. Please Pray That all of our travels will be safe and smooth. Ask the Lord to give our team insight and wisdom that will be needed to communicate clearly with their loved ones what God has done on this trip That we will have hearts to hear what the Lord is saying - even now - and a teachable spirit as we draw conclusion from our time together on Serve That our Creator will grant us rest and restoration...we are very fatigued and in need of His strength and rejuvenation. Ask the Lord to teach us what it means to be "Strong and courageous!" We desire the Lord to grant us a "broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51)...Ask Him to visit us with His Holy presence and ignite our hearts for His praise.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send us into His harvest field. Ask Him to provide all that we need to accomplish His purposes in and through us.