Norkenzie Youth Mission Trip '11

Acknowledgments

2011-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco mission team wants to thank:

God, for allowing us to serve Him in ways we did not expect,
The leaders of the City Impact Rescue Mission, for allowing us to stay with them and serve the community,
The Redding Christian Fellowship, for letting us use their facilities,
Sinita Wilson for taking care of the contacts and emergency stuff,
Tom, for being such an awesome leader,
The Moms who went on the trip, who basically took over the kitchen while we were there and kept us full.,
Our bus driver, John, for getting us there and back safely.
And finally, to all of the people who prayed for us while we were down there, and supporting us financially. Thanks Guys!

Day 7 - Home Sweet Home

2011-03-27T19:14:00.001-07:00

Home Sweet Home! After a week of serving God in the community of San Francisco, we were exhausted. After we woke up in the morning, the kind men of Redding Christian Fellowship cooked a hot breakfast for us. Aound 10 or so, we left Redding and headed for home. After 6 hours in the car, we entered the Norkenzie church parking lot. It was an awesome time, but it was good to be back.

Day 6

2011-03-27T17:48:00.003-07:00

Today we left the rescue mission and did a bunch of sightseeing. We left the building around 10 and went through the neighborhoods of San Francisco. The first thing we went to were the Painted Ladies. Among those was the "Full House" house, and the house from the old movie: "Mrs. Doubtfire". Another sight we saw was the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked to the first of the pylons and took some group pictures. Some of us went to the gift shop for souvenirs. After that we went to the famous Pier 39. We split up into groups (all with leaders of course!) and toured the wharf. We ate lunch at some different restaurants when it was lunchtime, but for the most part, we stayed there at the wharf, shopping for about 3 hours. After that, Tom says we are going to the Giradelli Chocolate Factory for some of their Famous Hot Fudge Sundaes! These sundaes were not your average sundaes. This was a giant Sundae! If you look at some of the pictures below, you'll know what I'm talking about. After we filled our stomachs, we took off for Lombard street. In case you didn't know, Lombard street is famous for its steepness. Most of us (a couple slept on the bus) started up the street to make it to the top. Some of us thought, "hey, wait, shouldn't we have had sundaes after the steep climb?" Once we got to the top, it was an amazing sight! Around 4 p.m., we headed for Redding! We sat on the bus and played games till about 9:30, when we got to Redding Christian Fellowship. We unpacked a little bit and then fell asleep around 11.

Day 5

2011-03-27T17:48:00.001-07:00

Today we had a blast. We helped out at the school and the thrift store a lot. Today was our last day working at the mission so the pastors had a meeting with most of the team to say goodbye. (Some of us were still at the rescue mission serving the meal during that time.) Tonight was also a social night. The leaders of the rescue mission put up some signup sheets on the wall for different activities. There was basketball, where some of us went over to the Salvation Arm gym. There also was: a yogurt walk, an evangelism time, a workout session, and a couple other really cool activities.

Day 4

2011-03-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

What an awesome day! we had a great time letting God work through us for His glory. Today, we had breakfast and then did some worship. After that, we split up into some ministry groups, and worked at the mission, on the streets, meals, worship on the street, and visited some of the residents of the neighborhood. We had a picnic at the park today, the kids from the school here came and played in the park while we had our lunch.

Day 3

2011-03-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Another day working for the glory of God! Every day is a surprise! Today we did a lot of street ministry, handed out blankets, groceries, hot meals, and flyers for the mission. A big part of the day was devoted(as usual) to the meals. The meals team were fantastic! They worked so hard for almost the entire day, and even though it was hard, they persevered through it. Cory did an amazing job today. Besides doing street ministry all day, he volunteered to preach a 20 minute sermon! We did another night street ministry activity tonight, where we gathered at the line, separating the Tenderloin District and the Business District. We sang some songs and praised God in front of passersby. We had an awesome and tiring day today, letting God work through us!

Day 2

2011-03-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

It was a busy day! We started the day off with breakfast at the homeless cafe. The we had some time of worship and were divided into ministry groups. Some of us went to the food pantry, sorted food and prepared outreach bags. One group cooked a thousand meals to be delivered to different people in the neighborhood. Another group worked organizing and selling in the thrift store(Jordan Schmidt and Zach Lingren dressed up for the occasion) while several served the elementary school. And yet still another group served 95 meals to the homeless and lead worship services. during lunch Brandon Hawks provided us with a rap to help our stomachs settle.(it did not help) Most of us participated in street ministry at some point in the day where we passed out hot meals groceries and blankets to those on the streets. And at the end of the day, we got to do night street ministry, and meet at the city hall for some worship and praising God with our prayers. It was a very long and busy day stretching many of us out of our comfort zones but it is exciting to see God working.

Day 1

2011-03-22T21:46:00.000-07:00

We made it!! After an hour on the road the bus broke down. After two and a half hours in the Seven Feathers parking lot, we finally got a temporary fix that allowed us to make it the rest of the journey. It was a long day on the bus. For dinner we stopped at In-N-Out burger, and had an awesome meal! Some of us got serenaded(sung to) to by some of the senior boys, while others tried to get a rest from the 15 trip. We finally got to San Fransisco at around 10:30, and collapsed in our sleeping bags.

(here are the people who participated in singing- Cory, Jesse, Jordan, Taisey, Brandon, and Cameron.)

Technical difficulties

2011-03-21T21:48:00.001-07:00

So after some delays (bus broke down, it got fixed) we arrived late last night. Had a busy day today. We'll post more when we have internet access for laptops. We're having to post from a cellphone right now.

We Leave for San Francisco on Sunday

2011-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we've had to change our plans. Due to the continued violence along the Mexican border, the team and church leadership felt it wasn't safe for us to go to K-57 this year. God is good and He's provided us with another opportunity to serve this Spring Break. We are going to San Francisco to serve with an organization call City Impact/Rescue 911. Their ministry is to spread to Good News of Jesus Christ to the hurting and homeless people of the Tenderloin district of San Francisco through a food pantry, homeless cafe, school, worship center and street ministry. We will have the opportunity to participate in all these different ministries. Feel free to check out there website - http://sf911.com/

Get your bags packed!

Mission Trip Retreat

2011-03-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

We had a great retreat last weekend at Camp Grove. There were times of worship, games and getting to know you activities. We also spend time in our ministry groups sharing and praying about our upcoming mission trip and the direction God was leading us. We left the weekend feeling much closer as a team and excited about our upcoming trip. Here are some pictures from the Retreat.

Mexico Lunch

2011-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Mexico lunch was a big success. Thank you to all of you who came and supported this fund-raiser - we appreciate your help. Thanks also to the meals teams - you did a great job. Check out the picture from this event.

Mexico Meetings

2011-02-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Come check out the fun we've been having at our Mexico meetings.

Leader Interviews!

2011-01-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

Emails have been sent out to all the leaders that are planning on attending. And I have already heard back from a few! So to kick it off, Matt's interview is just below Robbie and Zach's. For now I plan on having a standard 2:1 ratio for students to leaders on interviews(subject to change). So look forward to reading about more of our church members within the next few days!

Baja Fresh Fund-raiser

2011-01-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Help earn important dollars for our cause!   Get together with family and friends to help us, while you help yourself to some great food. With an event like this everybody wins. When you come to the location listed below, and bring a flyer. (Pick one up at the Norkenzie Christian Church) Baja Fresh will donate 15% of the proceeds to our cause!

DATE: Sunday, January 23, 2011

TIME: 10:30 A.M. to 10:00 P.M.

WHERE: Baja Fresh
                463 Coburg Road
                (541) 393-0183

Interviews!

2011-01-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

This last week I finally sent out the interviews to all the students going on the trip! Took me a lot longer than it should have to do this but its finally done. My current plan for the interviews is 3 people up at a time and changing them every several days (actual time between changes is subject to change). Next on my list is to email the leaders with interviews also! So in time we will not only have interviews on the different students that are going but the leaders as well. So for now enjoy reading about the first 3 students and stay tuned for the next batch going up later this week.

The Preview Trip!

2011-01-15T23:16:00.000-08:00

Yes we had our preview trip! I apologize about not catching everyone up earlier, but you'll be happy to know that the trip went great! Three amazing people took time out of their schedule to go down to Mexico for four days (December 30-January 2) and see what the needs are and where God might be leading us to be leading us to help. If you'd like to hear how the trip went personally the three were Tom Boldon, Dale Dick, and Kelly Carrier. But from what I got was that because of the resent earthquake they had down there, we'll be doing a lot of repair work to many people's houses. Thing like window replacements, to wiring. So I like the rest of the group am looking forward to the trip and seeing if we can make a difference! We continue to ask for your prayers for God's guidance. And we praise Him for all that he does! And thank you for your prayers!

One Hope, One Love, One Mission!

2010-12-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

We, the Norkenzie High School Mexico Team, have begun planning for our annual mexico trip to K-57. We are leaving the 17 of March and will be back the 26 of March. We currently have an advance team that are going down there to see what the needs of the local community are. They will be going there in early January. We would appreciate prayer for the advance team as well as prayer for the progress of the rest of our team.

Plans are aligning up and things are being set in motion. We are working on updating the website, so stay tuned for our progress!

Day Ten Pictures . . .

2010-03-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Nine Pictures . . .

2010-03-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Nine . . . [Friday]

2010-03-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke at 5:30 to leave at 7. We were relatively successful and made our departure by 7:15. Shortly before 9, a Saturn cut in front of the bus just prior to an off ramp. What the driver of the car failed to realize was that directly in front of the bus, veering for the off ramp was a double-long FedEx truck. Upon this realization, the Saturn hit the brakes causing the bus to clip the back corner. The car tipped forward and spun landing off to the side. The bus and following van pulled to the side of the freeway. Mike, Tom, Dale, Alan, and Matt reacted appropriately, checking on the driver, calling for help, putting out cones, and directing traffic. Fortunately the driver survived with only safety belt scars to speak of. No one on the bus or van was harmed in the least, nor was the bus so much as dented. We stayed until everything was cleaned up and taken care of, then went on our way to a much needed rest stop. The rest of our day went very well, no problems in the least. We made it to Elephant Bar just after 7 for our dinner stop. After dinner we went straight to the church for the night. . .

2010-03-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

We had our first accident in 12 years. A car cut off the bus and we clipped it, sending the car in flight. The driver is ok, but his car isn't. God was protecting us and nobody on our team was hurt whatsoever. We are back on the road. Thanks for your prayers. -Tom

Day Eight Pictures . . .

2010-03-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Eight . . . [Thursday]

2010-03-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today we continued our previous tasks on and off site, as well as prepared for the last day of Kids Klub. We were able to finish up the deck for the indian reservation house, complete our small Oleander trimming job, help in the classrooms, clean gum off the sidewalks, pick up trash, and sort through some things in the office. Additionally, several of our team members were shuttled to another work site to assist in a foam-house building project. For Kids Klub, our team held a carnival for the children, where we put a previously acquired pinata to good use. Tommy originally lined all of the children up, so each child could swing, but there was some slight confusion after the first four. . . and chaos ensued as small children tackled each other and tore the batman pinata limb from limb, candy spilling everywhere. No one was injured badly. After every shred of candy was claimed, we ate hamburgers and hotdogs with the kids. There were many tearful goodbyes for our team as the bus took the last of the kids home. We cleaned up the grounds and went straight to the chapel for a lengthy sharing time, during which Pastor Joe Jordan came to speak to us. He gave us his story and thanked us for everything we did throughout the week. Jordan Outreach outfitted the whole team with new Jordan volunteer tees. After sharing time we held a surprise party of sorts for Taylor's 18th birthday, before repacking all of our belongings for the trip home.

Day Seven Pictures . . .

2010-03-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Seven . . . [Wednesday]

2010-03-24T21:05:00.001-07:00

Today 15 members of our team returned to the Torres-Martinez indian reservation, to continue work on the mobile home and yard. The rest of the team remained at Jordan to trim Oleanders, clean/organize the storage unit, organize the clothing distribution room, and tutor in the classrooms. Due to the long days toward the beginning of our trip, we have had quite a few people take ill, so keep the health of our team in your prayers. The weather is hot, but not scorching, basically just the polar opposite of dear Oregon. Tomorrow we will hold a carnival for the last day of Kids Klub, as well as finish up some other tasks around Jordan.

Day Six Pictures . . .

2010-03-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Six . . . [Tuesday]

2010-03-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Today we drove to Slab City, just past Salvation Mountain, for outreach. We were instructed by pastor Rob and the pastor of Slab City to park at the church and hand boxes out there due to some concerns about inhabitants. It was so entirely different from what we've done before, to give outreach boxes to english-speaking Americans. In a lot of ways it was more out of our comfort zone, but that is how we grow. We were able to meet a lot of people from the city, talk to them, pray for them, and give them boxes. Pastor Rob walked part of our group to 'Karma Kitchen', a youth center of sorts for homeless and lost teenagers. The woman in charge had a seizure the previous night, and spent several hours in the hospital but she came out to talk to us. We brought them several outreach boxes as well as extra toothbrushes and t-shirts. A couple of the kids were on site, the rest of them would come throughout the day, she told us. They were so grateful for the small things we were able to do for them. The slightly awkward nature of the situation made it even more of a reality check than Mexico. When you see people in your own country wearing the only clothes they own and eating naught but a piece of fruit for breakfast, it makes you realize exactly how much you have - and don't need. After we finished distributing the boxes, we drove around Slab City while we ate lunch on the bus. On our way out we stopped at Salvation Mountain to visit Leonard, many of us for the first time. Leonard gave us a tour of his site, with his testimony - Don't get complicated, keep it simple, God is love. You can see his website here and his testimony here. After we left Salvation Mountain, we returned to Jordan for Kids Klub. Our childrens ministry team did an awesome job keeping the children entertained with colouring sheets, crafts, skits (with costumes!), and a good many other things. To finish off Kids Klub, the children had dinner with our team . . . soft tacos , which were a huge hit. Post-dinner arrangements were made to go on a secret 'mission'. . . to a certain yogurt-serving location. Hayden Randall dominated the yogurt-weight contest with the most frozen yogurt/toppings at the price of $10.37.

Day Five Pictures . . .

2010-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today. . . Click for pictures

Day Five . . . [Monday]

2010-03-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today we packed lunches and went to a nearby Indian Reservation to help with a huge work project. We met in their community center so the pastor could explain to us what they wanted our team to do. The mobile home they asked us to work on was a disaster. The whole inside needed to be completely cleared, including all of the flooring, cabinets, shower, etc. There were ample cockroaches, dead and alive, as well as that which said creatures produce. The yard was very overgrown and needed to be cleared away. Additionally, there was a front deck to tear off. By lunchtime, we had finished nearly all of the work projects they had laid out for us to finish in the three days we would be there. We left at 3:30 for Jordan, where we cleaned up and went straight to outreach. All in all our team worked very hard on 3 or less hours of sleep.

Day Four Pictures . . .

2010-03-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Four . . . [Sunday]

2010-03-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

This morning we rose at 4:30 to make sack breakfasts, get dressed and load onto the bus for a 10:00 church service in K57, Mexico. We arrived at 10:15, but due to cultural differences, no one else was there either, nor were they starting service as we pulled in. Service began around 10:30. Grace and Emma graciously translated the service for us, with minor use of charades. We had worship and our team played one song (in English) during the service. We had a very successful Sunday School, with 43 children. Afterwards, the women of the church made us delicious tacos for our lunch, during which Tommy, Hayden, Mike, Liesel, and Tom played the no-wipe game. For the afternoon we held VBS and went into the community to pass out outreach boxes. Our outreach split into 4 groups, each with spanish speakers. We spoke to many of the people that lived along the canal, many of which had been in church with us. They were grateful for the boxes and very willing to let us pray with them. After passing out about 75 boxes, we returned to the church to play with the children from VBS. We left k57 at 4:30 to follow pastor Gabriel to the home we helped build for his family last year. He gave us a tour of his home and backyard, where we were able to meet some of his family. For dinner we drove into San Luis to eat at the 'Chicken place' and 'Taco place'. We left our dinner stops around 7:30 to cross the border and return to Jordan, but due to the enormous line of cars doing the same thing, we crossed the border around midnight. We finally made it back to Jordan at 3:30 am for a few hours of sleep.

Day Three Pictures . . .

2010-03-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Three . . . [Saturday]

2010-03-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today our entire team crossed the border for the first time in two years. Art, from Jordan came with us to help. Our border crossing was very fast, with no hassle at all. We arrived in Mexicali at the orphanage around 1:00. We served lunch to the kids at the orphanage, as well as ourselves. We spent the better part of the afternoon giving them love, and toys (donated by JOM). Our team immediately bonded with the children and spent a lot of time just playing with them. The director of the orphanage recently had surgery, so she was very happy to have any kind of help. After leaving the orphanage, we drove to a nearby town to do some shopping. While the general arrangement was different from that of Algodones, we were still able to go to a lot of shops to buy trinkets, souvenirs and such. For many of us this was the first time shopping in Mexico. Very Exciting. We went through the normal and sundry business for our border crossing, but they were very speedy and really didn't hassle us at all. From stepping off the bus to getting back on in the US, it took us less than 30 minutes. We went to dinner in a nearby town and returned to Jordan by 10:30.

Day Two Pictures . . .

2010-03-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day Two . . . [Friday]

2010-03-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

This morning our team woke up at the nigh absurd hour of 6 am, to pack up our things for a 6:30 breakfast of bacon, biscuits, and eggs (graciously provided by the staff of Northpark). We departed at 7:30, and made record time getting to our lunch stop due to our relatively shiny bus. The rest of our day went quite smoothly and we were able to drive straight to Jordan Outreach instead of stopping for dinner. When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely Jordan staff and provided with an abundance of carbonated beverages, to complement our Dominoes. Post-dinner, there was a revival service in the chapel, during which we played with and entertained their children through various methods including a skit entirely in Spanish (David and Goliath of course). Tomorrow we will rise bright and early to pack community outreach boxes, which we will be passing out in Mexico by the afternoon, more to come . . .

Day One Pictures . . .

2010-03-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today . . . Click for pictures

Day One . . . [Thursday]

2010-03-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great first day, no issues to speak of. We made our regular lunch stop in Weed, where we also crossed paths with another church group on their way to San Luis. We stoppd in Stockton at about 6 for dinner. Our church stay for the night was at Northpark community church, we arrived shortly after 9.

Dec. 13th Meeting. . .

2009-12-16T23:08:00.000-08:00

December 13th meeting. . . click for slideshow. . .

Mission Trip 2010!

2009-10-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Preparations are well under way for the 2010 mission trip, our next team meeting is on Sunday November 1st at 3:00, be ready for pictures!

Day Ten

2009-03-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today we had a hot breakfast stop, Starbucks, Burger King, or a grocery store. Did our devotions on the bus, slept, and drove for a good long while before any rest stops. Lunch was tax free, as well as back in the clean Oregon air, much to our delight. After multiple rest stops, we arrived back at Norkenzie just before 6. With a record clean-up time for the bus. Tom still has multiple items in the lost and found...contact him if you think your luggage may be wanting.

Day Ten- Pictures

2009-03-28T20:45:00.001-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Nine

2009-03-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wake up call was 5:30, so we could get our things packed up, and the gym cleaned. We had a quick breakfast, loaded the bus and trailer, and had a time of worship before we set off. Our first rest stop merited some minor drama, the gas station had two potties, one (the girls) of which was out of order...needless to say, this took three times as long as any other stop. Back on the road, we drove for some time before making an uneventful lunch stop. Dinner was a little later than some might have hoped but entirely worth it. The Elephant Bar was amazing, and they seated our entire team in a fraction of the time it took last year. A short drive from dinner, we stopped at a church for the night, and went directly to bed.

Day Nine- Pictures

2009-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Eight

2009-03-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today was an earlier wake up call, at 6:45, so we could get a head start on the last few Oleander bushes before it got hot. While most of us were trimming, a few stayed back to stuff, stamp, and label Easter Cross Dedication invitations. Three of us helped in classrooms again for the last time.We were able to finish the oleanders by lunch, leaving a few hours before Kid's Club. Hence, they took us on a field trip, we went to Yogurt Island (think Coldstone self-serve, but with frozen yogurt), which was brilliant. We performed a David and Goliath skit for the school kids during their Chapel in addition to VBS, which we had another huge group for. Both groups loved it. We made david puppets for craft, had hamburgers and hot dogs, and played with them for the rest of the evening. After dinner and clean up Pastor Joe came and talked to us for a bit. In addition to inviting us back, they offered an amazing internship for a few that would be interested. They gave us all our own J O t-shirts, and enough snacks to last the entire bus ride home. We had an emotional sharing time, talked about everything that's happened so far- how we didn't plan any of this, but it's so much better than anything we could have orchestrated ourselves. God has blessed us so entirely with this opportunity, as well as many other seemingly small encounters that didn't make the blog (ask us!), and we are infinitely grateful. Tomorrow will be an early rise (5:30), so we can get to our stop for the evening. We will post more when we have internet again...

Day Eight- Pictures

2009-03-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click for pictures

Day Seven- Hidden Harvest & Narrow Door

2009-03-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

Wake up call was 7, with breakfast shortly thereafter. In addition to our continuing efforts on the Oleander bushes... Haley and Liesel have each broken a pair of clippers, and Jason got stung on the head by a bee, which turned out to be just one from an entire hive housed in the shrubs in question. For the morning we sent a small group to Hidden Harvest, a produce recovery program, to do assorted chores for them. We picked up pieces of roofing, sorted various items, and took shelves down until lunch. After lunch we filled and distributed food boxes with The Narrow Door, a Christian outreach program. The portion of our group that came loaded up in various vehicles and went to a mobile home park. They had about 85 families that gladly accepted the food, we passed out nearly half of the boxes we had filled. Jamison forgot 'Happy Birthday' (yes the song). Kid's Club went great, the attendance nearly doubled with 75. They had worship, made a craft, and ate spaghetti, french bread, string beans, and cookies for dinner. They love playing with the kids from our group. We had our closing meeting directly after clean up so we had plenty of time to hang out. We went swimming (in the oh-so-cold pool), played Ultimate Frisbee, and just hung out till bed time at 10:30.

Day Seven- Pictures

2009-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Six- Pictures

2009-03-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Five- Jordan Outreach

2009-03-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

We started the day off fairly well, got to sleep in until 7, much to the delight of the entire team. Had breakfast, worship, quiet time, and made lunches. Our intention was to go to Jordan Outreach for the day, but the bus refused to start. Somewhat stranded, our team prayed for a solution while Tom called Jordan Outreach to inform them of our situation. They sent vans for the majority of our team about an hour later, while some of the men stayed with the bus drivers at Southwest. Their facilities are about 20 minutes away from the church, and very well kept. The whole area is very tidy, fenced in with a playground (for their on location school), swimming pool, offices, chapel, and a good many other things. Unfortunately we dropped the ball on the lunch situation a bit. They were in coolers under the broken-down bus. We arrived at what would have normally been lunch, and they gave us a lengthy and informative orientation. Afterwards we had lunch (which arrived via Dale's truck), then helped out around the facility. We trimmed Oleanders, sorted food and clothes, pulled weeds, and planned children's activities for the following days. The chores were mostly successful, apart from some minor drama concerning Hayden, Chris, and a reasonably large serpent. Come dinner time, our bus remained un-repaired. They asked if we would stay on with them, temporarily solving the transportation problem as well as making schedules easier. We agreed. Most of the team went out on an outreach trip with JO. Meanwhile, Dale and a small team of helpers drove to Southwest to pick up all the big bags, sleeping bags, roll pads, and food. After numerous trips up and down the stairs and the elevator, we got it all loaded and returned. Due to lack of food and kitchen on such short notice, we had pizza (again!), which merited no complaints. The bus was fixed sometime after dinner (it took the mechanic all day to get there), and is now in running order. Despite this, we are staying here. They are allowing us to stay on in their Gym, inside their compound, as well as using their one shower on a rotation. This makes everything a lot simpler, as we don't have to load up for the day. In addition, we are allowed to leave our sleeping bags out, which was not previously the case. Tomorrow we will be trimming, running their store, helping with their kids program in the evening, and doing anything else they need us to.

Day Five- Pictures

2009-03-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Four- Salvation Mountain

2009-03-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

We started out the day with our own devotions and worship, then attended 'Video Cafe' for 9:00 service. Their worship team was amazing, it felt like a concert. They were all very welcoming. Second service we attended their High School Group, it was huge, but still very orderly. After church we ate lunch and headed out for a 'field trip', but only the leaders knew where to. It's a little difficult to explain, so here's a short video...when you're done check out the website beneath the video for more.

Leonard's Website...

Day Four- Pictures

2009-03-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for Today...Click picture

Day Four- Advance Team Pictures

2009-03-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Slideshow of pictures from the advance team...Click picture for more

Day Three- Pictures

2009-03-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...Click picture

Day Three

2009-03-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning Eugene! Today we are helping with two ministries, Marthas Village & Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. 3 students and 2 leaders will be helping Martha's Village & Kitchen serving and cleaning up meals, while the rest of the team goes to Mirage Desert High School to provide childcare and perform other odd jobs for Doctors Without Borders.

We were turned down at Martha's Village & Kitchen due to our attire, we had shorts and they require capris or pants. Shortly after, we arrived at Mirage Desert High School, which turned out to be a elementary, middle and high school all on the same campus. At first it was a little overwhelming, it looked a little like Mexico as we rounded the corner, the line of people waiting for medical care was out to the parking lot. Previously Tom had discussed having us help with child care, but they really wanted us to play a DVD they needed to show the attendees, and also reassure them they wouldn't lose their place in line if they watched it. Tom inquired about the child care before we were all put on a DVD play button rotation, and we were able to spend the entire day with the children. At first there were a lot of their workers in scrubs in the classroom we were in, but as we started to play with the kids, they left for other jobs. We also had the opportunity to run a fundraiser race they held on location, Coral, Hayden, and Todd all ran fabulously. It was amazing to have this opportunity, like a little taste of Mexico, being around the kids all day, they were a handful, but entirely worth it. After we left the school we returned to the church for a short break before going down the road a few miles to shop and eat dinner while the church held an event in the middle school room. Dale, Val, and Donna are on their way now, they planned to be here by 9:30, but were held up at a border crossing. They will join us early tomorrow.

Day Two- Pictures

2009-03-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...click picture

Day Two- Southwest Community Church

2009-03-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

We had a wake up call at the slightly ridiculous hour of 6, with runners and walkers about 5:15. Northpark made us a lovely breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and sausages. At present (8:25) we are waiting patiently for the bus to return, as Mac and Les took it to get petrol before we leave.
We made our lunch stop in the unimpressive area of Mojave, choice of Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Carls Jr., or McD's. Spent the rest of the afternoon sweating on the bus, with some debate as to which was more helplful - AC or roof vents, though neither improved conditions much. Got a little lost, but managed to get turned around before we were too off course. Arrived at
Southwest Community Church about 5:30. Steve gave us a brilliant welcome...we are staying in their Middle School room (bigger than our sanctuary) with dividers. We were able to enjoy a concert from a local band that attends church here, then ordered pizzas and ate in. Bedtime was fairly early as we had a wake up call of 5:00 to get ready for tomorrow's agenda.

Day One- Pictures

2009-03-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Slideshow for today...click picture

Day one- Northpark community church

2009-03-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our first day on the bus went smoothly, no technical issues or injuries to report. Stopped off in Weed for lunch. We attempted to watch 'The Fox and The Hound' on the bus...rather unsuccesfully. Picture, but no sound. Instead we tried to play BINGO...but everyone had the same card. After much ado, the leaders got it sorted and we were able to play several rounds with non-identical cards. Reached our Stockton dinner stop by 5:20, with a choice of In-N-Out, Subway, Jamba Juice, or Spaghetti Factory. The weather was perfect. Arrived at Northpark community church a little after 9. More tomorrow...

Mexico Retreat

2009-03-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

(Click picture for more...)

Mexico Lunch

2009-03-01T22:10:00.001-08:00

Huge thanks to everyone that attended the lunch!
(click the picture for more)

2008-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Plans for the 2009 Mexico Mission Trip are in full swing. We had our first meeting on September 14 and have been meeting since. We have 44 team members, going to K-57 in Mexico March 19-28. If you want to see who's on our team and begin praying for us, please see the team page. We appreciate all your prayer and financial support! Among our ministries, we will be building a home for Pastor Gabriel Ruiz Gonzalez and his family. He and his wife, Paula Rebera Ramirez, have 5 children: Marina, age 21, Gabriella, age 19, Josue, age 15, Sinahi, age 9, and Rebeca, age 5. We will also be distributing Love Boxes to families in the community. These boxes include many items such as personal hygiene items, school supplies, clothing, and a Spanish Bible. In addition, we will be teaching about the Good News of Christ in our Vacation Bible School ministry. Stay tuned to this site for updates as we prepare for our trip.

Day Seven

2008-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today began with packing of bags, de-tenting, and cleaning up. It took us a long while to get packed up, even with so many hands. We were able to pull out of camp at 11:00, to drive over to the building sites for one last goodbye. We took pictures and prayed over the families, and then departed for the border. Border crossing took only a little longer than expected, and though we had to deboard the buses, we were blessed with a hassel free crossing otherwise. We stopped in Yuma to gas up and have our lunch stop, before continuing homeward. The next few hours of the travel went very smoothly, although our beach trip in San Diego was cut short so we could be to our hotels at a reasonable hour. Thanks to our amazing bus drivers, we got to the Costa Mesa hotel safely. See you all in a few days!

Pictures for day five...

2008-03-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Pictures for day four...

2008-03-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Day Four

2008-03-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today we had a four a.m. wake up call, for half of our team to make the 5 am sunrise service in Islitas, and the rest to make the 6 am k57 church service. dly enough, one year of Tom-time just didn't cut it, so...we arrived in k57 right on time...Islitas time. We managed to nap on the bus for an hour after realizing once again, there was a one hour time difference, since k57 is in a different time zone. Islitas church service was awesome, despite the language barrier, everyone really enjoyed worship even when they didn't understand the words. Mac translated in Islitas, and Annie in k57. Mama Val gave us all mini easter bags, and eggs, so we had our share of candy. After our rather late morning routines, some of us dispersed to the two work sites, while the rest of us remained back at camp to fill Community Outreach boxes. With all the people we had helping we filled all two hundred boxes over the course of the afternoon. On the two work sites, we got siding put on, electical was dug, and run, we also put windows in the addition. At 6 pm we had a second church service in Islitas, followed by dinner, which was tostadas, fixed by the women of the church.

Quote for the day - "So...if Jesus died in April last year, why March this year?"

Pictures...

Pictures for day three...

2008-03-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Day Three

2008-03-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

After today's breakfast of hard boiled eggs, we have more than counteracted the showers we had... Shortly following, we went to Algodones for souvenirs and some really intense bartering, we parked on the U.S. side, and walked in. Next we came back across the border, boarded the busses, and headed to Yuma for our lunch stop. Our lunch stop was fabulously long, due to sending a few leaders to fetch the rental cars from the airport. During said break in travel...Rob Shepler ate a bug off the bus winshield, for $5...After much prayer, we had a smooth border crossing into the border town of San Luis. Going into San Luis for the first time was a real eye opening experience for some members of our team, we quickly remember just how blessed we are. We arrived in Islitas just three hours ago, the majority of our team is currently at the building sites, getting a move on the houses. Tommy is sitting on his rump. We hope you all have a great Easter back at home!

Pictures...

Day Two

2008-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today we all had an early wake up call, for breakfast at 6:30. There were more than a few tired faces
by worship time, but we managed to survive our quiet time without falling asleep, save Trevor. We had
potential problem with the "Fiestamobile", but we prayed, and it turned out to be nothing. Valorie and Braden used the P.A. system on the busses to play "Know your Mexico team mates". Rob Shepler ate ants at a rest stop for $1.07... We arrived relatively early at First Christian Church in Yuma, this church makes First B look small. The staff of the church also allowed us to use their showers which was a huge blessing all around.

Pictures for day one...

2008-03-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Day One

2008-03-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

To avoid confusion, our busses have been dubbed the "Locomobile", and "Fiestamobile". Today's bus ride started out tearfully, but quickly turned into an exciting trip. God has blessed us with no sickness' or bus issues...aside from the televisions
in one bus not working. We arrived at Clovis Hills, at 8:00, two hours ahead of schedule.

Pictures...

Dinner stop...

2008-03-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

5:45 - We arrived in Stockton for our dinner stop, pictures and more to follow tonight.

(Sarah)

Mexico Retreat '08

2008-03-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

2010 Memory Verses

2008-01-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

The Youth Mission Trip Verses for 2010 . . .

John 15:5
⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him. he will hear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Romans 15:5-7
⁵May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ⁶so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

1 Corinthians 1:18
¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 15:58
⁵⁸Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Galatians 2:20
²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Ephesians 3:20-21
²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 4:29
²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

1 Peter 4:10-11
¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.

2 Peter 1:5-7
⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.