MVBC Connection 01-19-12

Love God, Love Others, Reach the World

Hey Church, 

Just wanted to remind you about the special weekend coming up. We will be honoring Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this weekend. Cathy Gleason of Life Outreach Center will be with us to share about the ministry of Life Outreach. We'll also be receiving a love offering for them, so come prepared to give. If you are planning to write a check, you can make it out to Life Outreach Center. Brittany and the choir will be sharing a special song that reminds us that our Father loves us and knows everything about us. Adam and Anna will also be providing special music as well. It's going to be a great morning! Please be praying for the service, for all those who will be involved and for those who will be there whose lives will be touched by God!

Our small groups will be meeting Sunday night. We have five groups that are meeting each Sunday, and we anticipate expanding that number soon. Be sure to check out the times and locations for the groups that will be meeting and get plugged in!

Next Sunday (Jan 29) will be Baptist Men's Day. Wes Adams will be preaching that morning and Gordon Johnston will be leading the music. We need all of our guys in choir practice this Wednesday night at 6 pm to prep for Sunday. Andy Beltz will also be sharing his testimony. Be praying for this special service and be sure to invite someone to join you there. 

The date has finally been confirmed for our Mission Trip to Guatemala this summer; July 6-13. The cost for the trip is $325+airfare per person. We've already started raising money to help off-set the cost. If you're feeling called to go, don't let money be the determining factor; God will provide. We'll have applications available soon!

We'll have tickets available this weekend for our Wild Beast Feast coming up on Saturday, February 25. TWRA will be bringing out trailers for pre-meal activities. Keith has lined up a great selection of various wild game. We're still finalizing plans for a guest speaker, but rest assured we will be sharing Jesus so make sure you get tickets to your lost and un-churched friends and family. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under. The proceeds will go toward our summer mission trip to Guatemala, but the money isn't the most important thing, so if you have lost friends and family who can't afford the ticket, give them one anyway - we want them to hear the Gospel. Since our space is limited, tickets will help us keep track of the number who will be attending.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend! 

GIVING GOD THE GLORY #tim_tebow

The world is all abuzz about Tim Tebow. The Broncos' one-play overtime win over the Steelers yesterday has caused quite a stir among fans and critics alike. I watched a good bit of the game (around small group last night) and was impressed with Tebow's play; it was probably his best game as a pro. In fact, it was probably the Broncos best game of the season, they seemed to be in a good rhythm all night.

I've never been a Broncos fan, even in the Elway glory days, but I am a Tim Tebow fan (have been even when  he was a Gator). Here's why:

1. He is a passionate player - I love people who go all in no matter what they are doing, and Tim Tebow goes all in. He plays with enthusiasm and energy and it inspires his teammates.
2. He's a winner - he is not the best football player to ever play the game. He is not, and probably never will be the best quarterback in the league. But Tim Tebow still finds a way to help his team win. Kyle Orton was the Broncos' starting QB when the season began, and by all accounts, Kyle Orton is a better quarterback than Tebow, but Orton couldn't consistently lead his team to victory. Tebow believes he can win even if he is not the best player on the field, and he's got his teammates believing they can win also; and now they are winning more than they are losing.
3. He's humble - say what you want about his performance on the field, but when he is behind the microphone, Tebow is consistently deflecting the attention away from himself and directing to his teammates and coaches. He is always heaping praise on his linemen, his receivers and his coaches for putting them in a position to win. He also gives a lot of credit to kicker Matt Prater whose field goals have led to many of the Bronco's victories. A lot of people are talking about Tim Tebow, but Tim Tebow is not one of them.
4. He is a follower of Christ - I'm sure you expected this one to be at the top of the list, but I decided to save the best for last (lol). Yes, I like Tim Tebow because of his public stand for Christ. I don't think it is cheesey when he bows on the field in a brief prayer (Tebowing), and I'm not bothered when he first "thanks his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" in an interview. I'm glad to hear the name Jesus Christ used as something besides a curse phrase in a movie. I don't think he does these things for show; it is who he is and he has been this way for a long time. I'm glad to see a follower of Christ who doesn't turn it off and on depending on the context he is in. Yes, it is going to rub some people the wrong way, and he is going to catch some flack for it from all sides, but so did Jesus. So, I for one hope he keeps winning and people keep talking about him and to him, because he will keep giving God the glory. The number one search on Google today was John 3:16 - if all the Tim Tebow hype can get 90+ million people searching out John 3:16 and perhaps reading it and at least being exposed to the idea that there is a God who loves them enough to send His Son so that they could have eternal life, then I pray he keeps winning and giving God the glory!

SPIRITUAL GROWTH PLAN FOR THE NEW YEAR

For Christmas, my wife and I bought us a new GPS. Our old one had gone brain-dead a few weeks earlier and, though we don't always need a GPS, it comes in handy when we are traveling in areas we don't normally travel in. A GPS (Global Positioning System) is a small computer that enables you to get from point A to point B the quickest and most efficient way possible. It operates by satellite signals sent from high above the earth. If you program it correctly and follow the directions it will generally get you to your destination in a timely manner.

For the last couple of years I have been working on/from a spiritual GPS that I call a Spiritual Growth Plan (SGP). It is basically a goal-map that I develop (with the help of signals from above) at the beginning of each year and seek to follow it through-out the year. The ultimate goal is to grow spiritually, i.e. become more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15), the SGP is the tool that helps me reach that destination. Of course, spiritual growth is a life-long process, and I will never reach the ultimate destination until this life is over, but as a follower of Christ, I am called and commanded to be consistently moving toward becoming like Christ in every way.

For most of my Christian life I thought spiritual growth would happen naturally, like physical growth. But, as I have learned the hard way with physical growth, unless there is discipline and direction healthy growth doesn't just happen. Because I wasn't disciplined or directed in my physical growth as a younger person, I'm now having to make some significant changes in my behavior in order to improve my physical health. I also have to have the aid of medicine to keep my physical body functioning the way it is supposed to. Growth in my body occurred automatically, but health did not. A healthy body requires discipline and direction. Likewise a healthy spiritual life requires discipline and direction, thus the Spiritual Growth Plan.

On another page on this blog I have placed my SGP for the world to see. I'm a bit apprehensive about it, but I also realize that if I keep it just to myself, I have little or no accountability and can slide "off the wagon" anytime I want to. I'm hoping that the realization that other people in my life may read my SGP and may just ask me how I'm doing with it, will help keep me on track. So feel free to read it and check up on me throughout the year.

I also hope it will encourage you to pray about and begin to develop your own SPG. Yours will be different from mine, as mine was different from the person's who challenged me to develop it. Start by thinking about areas in your Christian life where you may need some work and then begin by praying about what the Lord would have you to do to strengthen those areas. For me, I saw a need to grow in the areas of Scripture, prayer and disciple-making, so that is where I am primarily concentrating this year. It will probably be a little different next year. Your areas may be similar to mine, but they may be different as well. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, and then follow His leadership.

One last thing about a Spiritual Growth Plan: it is important to remember that the SPG is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Sometimes when I am driving and using the GPS, I find that I become so focused on making sure I follow the directions to perfection, that I become overly stressed about the next turn and if I miss it, I nearly blow a gasket. I get so anxious about following the GPS that by the time I reach my destination, I'm too stressed to enjoy it. I have to remind myself from time to time that even if I miss a turn along the way, I will still eventually get where I need to go, because my GPS has this wonderful thing called "recalculating". So, even if I get off course for a little while, the GPS will get me back on track in a short time.

Spiritually speaking, we have a word for "recalculating"; we call it grace. Grace is that wonderful gift from God that allows us to get back on course even after we've missed a turn or two. So don't become so focused on fanatically following the SGP that you don't enjoy the journey. Even if you miss an element or two for a short-time, God allows for recalculating through His amazing grace.  

5 WOWS from the Past Week!

WOW is really how I feel! I praise the Lord for the great things He is doing and the great people He is doing them through! I have several reasons to say WOW!

WOW #1 - We had wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services this past weekend. We had several visitors during both services, but most importantly, the Lord was very present! I'm thankful for Mark Self coming forward for baptism, which we will be doing this coming Sunday on January 1, 2012.

WOW #2 - Thanks to the prayers of our family of faith, my daughter Lydia is back to her old self. We spent much of Christmas day in the ER at Children's Hospital with her. The initial thought was that she had a kidney stone, but the doctor diagnosed it has a nasty virus. Whatever it was, we give the glory to God and credit the prayers of God's people because by Monday evening she was feeling much better.

WOW #3 - My mom is continuing to recover from congestive heart failure. Though I'm writing this blog from the ICU of JMH, she has improved much over the last 24 hours. I'm "wowed" over the outpouring of love and support from our faith family - thank you for the numerous calls, texts, emails, visits and most importantly the prayers. We've been at great peace throughout this ordeal and I know it is because if the prayers of God's people. We are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful church family.

WOW #4 - Last night (Wednesday) our church approved a faith budget of $226,200.00. That is about a 7% increase over the previous year's budget. I'm thankful for the leadership of our Stewardship Team during the budgeting process, and the faith of our family to accept their hard work.

WOW #5 - (AND THIS IS THE BIGGIE!!!) After I left the hospital last night I stopped by the office to check messages, and on my desk was a note that read: "Lottie Moon Offering total - $10,264.33 (P.S. - total is after the "seed" money was put back in missions)". WOW! Our highest ever Lottie Moon Offering Goal has been reached, and in the first week of receiving it! Praise the Lord for answering our prayers and providing through His people! We'll continue to receive the L.M. Offering through January, so if you haven't had an opportunity to give, it is not too late. All of the monies received goes to directly support the 5,000 SBC missionaries serving the Lord outside of the United States.

We began the year saying that we wanted to be a church that gave away more than we kept. I don't know if we've reached that goal or not, but I know Magna View has given sacrificially this year, both to our budget and beyond. We have been a conduit of God's financial blessings this year, and it has all been to the glory of God. Thank you Magna View, for being open to God to do what He wants to do through you.

Final note: for the first time I can ever remember, I missed being at the last service of the year. I was in the hospital with my mom, and was unable to attend the Wednesday night service last night (Thanks to our deacons for taking care of the service). The last service of the year, whether it is on a Sunday or a Wednesday, is always one of my favorites. I usually share my goals and hopes for the coming year. I will do that at some point, but let me say for now that I'm praying that 2012 will be the greatest year of ministry that Magna View has ever experienced. I'm praying that we reach and disciple more people in more places than we ever have before. My theme verse for Magna view this year is Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." I believe that what God has done in the past year is barely scratching the surface of what God is going to do in the year to come. WOW! Glory to God!

THE PREVAILING CHURCH - OVERVIEW

Tonight we continued our discussion about the church, looking at what the Scriptures teach that the church is to be. I titled this section "The Prevailing Church", borrowed from Randy Pope's book by the same name which I'm using as a resource. Tonight was the overview, and borrowing an idea from Pope's book I contrasted the Prevailing Church with what Pope calls "the Precautious Church." But first, a definition of "prevailing"...

Prevailing: "Prove more powerful than opposing forces; be victorious; having superior power or influence."

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not PREVAIL against it. The church Jesus founded is to prevail against the enemy, but as we take a hard look at the church and its impact on the modern culture, it appears that we are being overpowered and losing ground. We seem to more resemble the Precautious church.

The Precautious Church

1. Has a "protect what we have" mentality - more concerned with keeping the people we have happy, rather than reach lost people for Christ. 
2. Provides a "comfort zone" environment - low expectations, and no challenges.
3. Focuses more on attendance than discipleship - is more concerned with building a crowd than building a church.
4. Resistant to change - a "don't rock the boat" attitude. While change is hard for all of us, the Precautious church is exceptionally resistant to change. The emphasis is on keeping the peace at all cost, and that usually means leaving things as they have always been. Change is seen as being too difficult and even dangerous. Jesus said, you can't pour new wine into old wineskins (Matt. 9:17). The precautious church would rather live with the rigidity of "old wineskins" than experience the power of the "new wine" of the Holy Spirit.

The Prevailing Church

1. Passionately committed to the Gospel - Peter's confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" is the passionate cry of the Prevailing Church and the primary message proclaimed inside and outside of the church. Jesus is the focus in the Prevailing Church.
2. Governed by Christ and His word - Jesus said, "I will build MY church." Jesus is the Head of the church and His word, the Bible, dictate the structure and activity of the church, as opposed to a church governed by a worldly business model, or the traditions of men ("this is how we have always done it.")
3. Intentionally living out the Great Commission - According to Luke 19:10, Jesus came to "seek and to save that which was lost." That was His mission statement. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, His last instructions to the church was to continue that mission by going and making disciples of all nations. The Prevailing Church intentionally and strategically lives out the Great Commission. 
4. Overcomes the opposition of the enemy - Prevailing over opposition, temptation, trials, and resistance (spiritual, cultural and physical). Victory becomes the norm for the Prevailing Church.

Over the next few weeks we'll look at each one of the characteristics of the Prevailing Church.

WEDNESDAY'S WORDS

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matt 16:18 (NKJV)

On Wednesday's we're doing a little "getting back to the basics" study concerning the church. Our discussion started by considering the perception of the church by those outside of it. As Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" I asked our church "What do people of our world say the church is?" The responses:
                    House of Hypocrites              Community Service Organization
                    Country Club                         Place to get help (financial, physical, etc...)
                    Social Club                            Place to receive comfort
                    Childcare service                   Place of Entertainment

There may have been a couple of others, but these eight summarize the thoughts from outside the church. I then asked, "What do you say the church is?"
                      Believers who are baptized       Organism
                      Bride of Christ                          Place/people of refuge
                      Family                                      Business (Father's)
                      Community (of faith)                 Organization
Again, there may have been a couple of others, but these are the thoughts of those from within the church.

It is important to have an understanding of the perception of the church from the community, and it is important to understand how the church sees itself, but most important is to understand what the church is from a Scriptural standpoint. Over the next several Wednesdays we'll be looking at the church through the lens of Scripture. Tonight we laid a foundation by looking at the first use of the word "church" in the Scriptures, Matthew 16:18. Here's a summary of the teaching:

1. The Church Belongs to Jesus - "I will build MY CHURCH"

• Jesus conceived the church (MY church)
• He chose the church (we are the chosen BRIDE of Christ)
• He bought the church (Eph. 5:25)

Though WE invest ourselves in the local church, we must avoid the thinking that it is MY church. We can have membership or partnership, but not ownership of the church.

2. The Church is being Built by Jesus - "I WILL BUILD My church"
Jesus is building the church, but He is doing it through us. We are the laborers, and He is the contractor which means to very important things:

• We have to stay in close contact with the Contractor - our job is to do His work His way, and the only way to know how to do that is to stay in constant communication with Him. Pray first, then plan and work.
• We have to follow His instructions - the Bible offers the blueprint for the church. The Bible instructs us how the Lord wants to build His church, not our traditions. 

3. The Church is Prevailing because of Jesus - "the gates of Hades (Hell) will not prevail against it"

• The church is to operate from an offensive position, not a defensive.
• "Building" implies expanding and the enemy cannot stop the church from growing (because Jesus is building His church). 
• Rather than trying to "hold our own" or protect the "territory" that we already have, we are to be actively taking territory from the enemy.

Next week we'll talk more about the "prevailing church."

It Takes Discipline to Be A Disciple

D.A. Carson once wrote: “People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience .. to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”

It takes discipline to be a disciple, because spiritual growth is intentional not automatic. If left to ourselves, we tend to move away from God and His glory. Just as our bodies atrophy without exercise and our minds weaken without challenge, so our spiritual life withers without, as Carson says, "grace-driven effort."

Jesus is committed to our spiritual growth. He is not content to allow us to wallow in spiritual immaturity. The Bible, in Ephesians 4:15 says, "...we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church." (NLT) Jesus loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. He's committed to enabling you to grow spiritually so that you become more and more like Him in every way.

That's why uncommitted Christians are spiritually miserable. They go to church, but get nothing from it. They sporadically read the Scriptures for their devotion, but see no application to their daily lives. Prayers are occasional, mostly before meals, but spoken from childhood memory rather than heartfelt devotion. They have a form of godliness (basically good people), but deny the power of it. They sense something is missing, but can't quite put their finger on what it is. Often, their solution is to withdraw and put the empty feeling on the back-burner of their lives. Because it is easier to ignore the problem than to practice the discipline needed to grow spiritually.

But it takes discipline to be a disciple. The apostle Paul wrote: Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Cor 9:24-27 (NLT)

Paul had a plan for spiritual growth:

1. He knew what the goal was - Paul knew the goal of spiritual maturity (Christ-likeness) and he went for it

2. He trained himself in godliness - Paul practiced the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study, obedience and others.

3. He lived with purpose to his life - Paul's goal in life was to glorify God in everything He did.

4. He mastered his fleshly desires - Paul made his body subject to his spiritual nature. Many times I've heard it quoted (and said it myself), "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt 26:41), but I'm afraid that verse often becomes the excuse for failing to discipline ourselves in godliness.

It takes discipline to be a disciple, because spiritual growth is intentional, not automatic.

September 18

Great day of worship at Magna View today. I really love the sweet spirit in our fellowship. We're different than any church I've been a part of. The atmosphere is relaxed, people are free to worship as they feel led of God, and the sound of laughter is heard often. It is a great place to be on Sunday mornings.
Great message from Bill Hall this morning. Bill is an entertaining speaker; he always has great illustrations and always has an object lesson. As anyone who was there this morning could tell, he's passionate about discipleship. Bill lives discipleship. He uses his construction business to move his guys toward God, and to be a witness for the Lord to the community.
Baptized one of our young men this morning with help from his dad. I love having the dads in the baptismal waters. It is such a special time for the family.
Tonight is Life Group night, our small group ministry. This is something new for us and we're still working out some issues. I love the small group ministry and here's why:
1. It's biblical - the early church didn't have special buildings to meet in, so they met in homes for fellowship, Bible study and discipleship. It was the time of greatest growth for the church.
2. It's effective - small groups build relationships and that is at the heart of making disciples. Jesus made disciples by investing in a small group guys, spending time with them and being in their homes and with their families.
3. It moves the church back toward New Testament Christianity - one of my concerns for the church in America is that we have become just another "institution" in society, where people come to get some religious instruction or encouragement. But the church Jesus started was to be a movement that infiltrates the world as salt and light and takes the Gospel to the world. Small groups get the church out of the building and into the neighborhoods.
We're going to keep working at it, and struggling with it because it is what God has called us to do.

PURE IN HEART

A few thoughts from the morning sermon:
I've always struggled with this Beatitude, bothered by the term "pure in heart." I think of PURE as being untainted or unstained. (Actually I think of the Disney character, "Snow White"; she was innocent and naive, untainted by the evil around here). I knew I didn't fit that category. When I think of my spiritual heart, I think it is dirty and stained up from the sin I've allowed into my life. Even though I am a Christian and I know I am forgiven, I felt like my heart would never be pure enough that I would be able to see God, at least not this side of eternity.
So, as I began to study this passage, I began to think about the people who "saw" God, or had a personal encounter with Him. I thought of Abraham, and God's visit to his tent to tell him that Sarah would become pregnant. Abraham, who lied about his relationship with Sarah, who went to Egypt even though God did not tell him to go. Abraham who tried to help God keep His promise by having a child with Sarah's servant. Was Abraham really "pure in heart."
I also thought about Jacob, who wrestled with God at the Jabbok brook. Jacob, the trickster, who stole the birthright and the blessing from his brother Esau; who tricked his uncle Laban in order to grow his wealth. Was Jacob "pure in heart"?
Moses had a personal encounter with God, and even spoke to God as a man speaks to a friend. But Moses was on the backside of the desert when he encountered God through the burning bush, and he was there because he was wanted for murder in Egypt. Pure in heart?
As I studied the Scriptures, what became clear is that "pure in heart" didn't mean to have a Snow White heart that had never been stained by sin. It means that your heart has been cleansed by God, the stain of sin removed by His grace and forgiveness. The word for pure that Jesus used is where we get our word "catharsis", which refers to a cleansing of the heart or mind. It is also a noun that means to be "unmixed, as having no double allegiance." Pastor Brian Bill gives a great explanation of what it means to be pure in heart: "A person with a passion for purity (a pure heart) is one who has been cleansed in character so that the way he or she looks in public is the way he or she is in private." A person whose heart has been cleansed by God is the same person all the time; he or she doesn't have a public persona and a private persona. To be pure in heart is the opposite of being a hypocrite. I'll expand on this more later.

GUATEMALA LAST DAY

Ran out of time yesterday, so I didn't get to post. I'll try to fill in the blanks. On Thursday we spent the day in San Antonio working at the student center. It is run by a Guatemalan lady named Anna Louisa with help from a couple from Germany. The student center program is called "Step by Step" and it provides after school educational programs as well as meals for children in the town. Right now, they are cooking on what is the equivalent of a 5 gal. bucket with a fire in under it.

We finished chipping away the paint and plaster from the outside wall so it could be refinished. We also finished pouring the concrete slab for the kitchen we are building. Some of our group went to the town square to play with kids and give out candy and tracts. The man Cecelia had spoken to on Tuesday was there and I had an opportunity to share the Gospel with him. He is interested in Christianity and has been reading the New Testament. He didn't accept Christ today, but we made sure he knew what he needed to do, and we left him a "Steps to Peace with God" tract.

On Friday we split up the groups and some went to the church that Mike and Carla attend - it is an inner city church in Guatemala City. It is also a student center, and they had a birthday party with the kids. I went with a group that went back to San Antonio to get the walls up on the kitchen for the Step by Step student center. We were able to get the walls up and the mission team that is coming in tomorrow will put the roof on and install a new stove. It is a drastic improvement for the center.

We're about to start evening devotions, so I'm going to stop for now.

GUATEMALA DAY THREE

Today was a great blessing. We spent the day in San Miguel, where we were all week last year. We saw the kitchen that we helped build; it is now being used by the school to provide hot meals for the kids. We also saw many of the children that we ministered to last year. They seemed to remember us. We weren't able to go to the "small school" so Jamie was not able to see the little girl she had connected with, but some of the others are in the student program being sponsored by Clubhouse Guatemala so we got to spend the day with them. It was great to get to be with the kids again.

We also installed four stoves in the village. Most homes in the village have open fire stoves that are usually found in out buildings near the home, but they have very little ventilation and the women  have to deal with the smoke while cooking. The stoves we installed were made of cinderblock and concrete but also have an exhaust pipe to vent the smoke. The new stoves also use 3/4 less wood than a typical Guatemalan stove, which will be more economical for the families.

At the first home that we installed a stove, when the installation was complete, Mike Parker shared the Gospel with the home owners, a man and woman in their forties, and they both prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. They were both raised Catholic, but were not practicing any religion. Afterward, Mike said this is the first family that he has provided a stove for that prayed to receive Christ. He has installed about 100 stoves over the last year and he always shares the Gospel, but most of the time the people claim  to be Christian because they belong to the Catholic church. Mike was on Cloud Nine today. We were thankful to be a part of two more souls for the Kingdom of God.

Tomorrow we return to San Antonio to finish the kitchen for the student center. We'll also go into the city square to minister to the kids and hopefully have a chance to share the Gospel. Please keep us in your prayers.

GUATEMALA DAY TWO

Just getting around to posting about day two of our Guatemala Mission Adventure. Was exhausted last night and went to bed early; had a productive but tiring day. We worked all day in San Antonio, on a student center that provides after school program for children. We prepared for and began pouring the floor to the new kitchen we are building for them; mixing cement on the ground by hand and moving it by wheelbarrow. We also began removing paint and plaster from an outside wall, using machetes, hatchets, hammers and various other hand tools. It is a long and tedious process. 

Some of the group went to the city square and attracted a crowd of kids. They played with the and loved on them. Cecelia had an opportunity to witness to a man who told her he didn't have a religion but he was reading the New Testament to help him learn English. She gave him a "Steps to Peace with God" tract. We are going back Thursday, please pray that Manuel will be there so that we can talk further with him. J-Bob witnessed to the Teresa who, along with her husband and a Guatemalan lady named Anna Louisa, run the student center in San Antonio. Teresa is from Germany and was Catholic but now says she is not "in church." J-Bob talked with her and gave her a Gospel of John and a tract. Pray that the seeds planted will grow and produce fruit. 

The other church groups we are working with have been great. The Youth Group from Bel Air Methodist Church has been impressive. They are eager to work and have done everything that has been asked of them. One young lady, Kendall, has worked circles around most everyone else. She is an athlete (placed 4th in her state in shot-put) and has worked tirelessly at some of the hardest jobs. Cecelia has made a friend from Gillespie Ave. BC in Knoxville. She and Mitchell pick at each other all day, and Cecelia is loving it. 

Well the bus has just arrived to take us to San Miguel. I'll try to post more later tonight.

GUATEMALA DAY ONE

We arrived safely in Guatemala yesterday (Sunday) and was picked up at the airport around 10:30 am Guatemala time. We picked up the other teams that are here. We learned that there is actually 4 teams here this week: the largest group is a youth group from a Methodist church in Maryland. There is also a group of 6 from Gillespie Ave. BC in Knoxville (including Kelly Woods nephew, Austin), and a family of four from Northstar Church in Knoxville, and our group of eight.

After picking up the other groups we all went to Antigua (Central America's oldest continuous city) for our down day. When we finally arrived back at the mission house, our team was exhausted. Most of us were running on 3 hours of sleep or less. We all slept well last night.

After breakfast this morning we headed to the village of San Mateo, a mountainous village about an hour from the mission house. Mike has partnered with a church in the village to do a "Character Counts" ministry for the local kids. We spent the morning leveling the ground in the church's courtyard preparing it for sod and seed. As it is, the dirt courtyard ground was sloped and drained into the building that housed their children's ministry. We leveled the ground (by hand) and tomorrow they will be bringing in sod. It is a real blessing to the church.

In the afternoon, we held a birthday party for the kids who are registered with the ministry center in San Mateo. There are about 55 children involved and we provided a pizza lunch, drinks, and balloon decorations. When the pizza was brought in, someone asked the children how many of them had ever had pizza before, only three out of the 50 or so kids, raised their hands. After the pizza party, the kids had a tienda, or toy store. The kids in the Character Counts program earn points by doing things like, learning memory verses, helping at the ministry center, helping at home, etc. At the tienda they can cash their points in for toys and games.

In the afternoon, some of the group went to the ministry site that we will be working at tomorrow. It is in a city call San Antonio, and is in the downtown area. A man and his wife operate a feeding center and an after school program for kids, but they don't have a kitchen to cook the food. Tomorrow and Thursday we will be building them a kitchen from the ground up. Today we cleared and leveled the area where we will be building. We also had to unload a ton of sand from a truck that was too big to fit through the gate of the place we are working. We unloaded it with shovels at the entrance to the gate, then we had to move the pile to another location so we could get in and out of the gate. It was a full truck load of sand and it had to be unloaded and moved all by shovel. Our groups will sleep well tonight.

Everyone is doing well. Brittany is battling a cough she had before she came down. She feels fine, just irritated with the cough. We'd appreciate your prayers for her. I'll try to post some pictures later on our Facebook page.