A Bonus Pictoral Update

The Church we are serving

The crew at Sunday's lunch

Two moms from La Puerta Esperanza

Amy and Kelso at lunch

Babies!

The crew leaving lunch

A few of our tools

Juan the master electrician

Mudding

More mudding

Sierra leading our kid's club

More mudding

Juan Carlos (pastor) and Dennis

Still more mudding

Caleb got some on the walls too

Jenimax in her element

Jenimax surrounded by babies

John put up ceiling fans in the new rooms

Caleb is eating with those mudded hands

G and Say with their new friend

Kelso with one of the babies

Jenimax in her element again

Amy too

She actually knows how to use that thing

Rik and Dave putting up a foyer wall

Juan is a master drywall hanger too

I told you she knew how to use it

G and Amy enjoying downtime

Amy and Avery at La Puerta Esperanza

Nap time after a hard day

This is the crew just after church Sunday

Mexico Team Day 4 Update

One of the most important things for our team and the thing that we want to convey most on this update blog is what God is doing and how we see him working as we work.

Kelso is a new friend of most of those on our team. I (Rik) met her last summer during my time teaching at Super Summer. She has connected with our group and it feels like she has been a part of our group for years. Kelso is the author of the post tonight.

I can’t say I’m the best person to be writing this today. I guess it’s because I didn’t spend a ton of time “serving” at the church. I played some rad soccer and Frisbee with the kiddos, snuggled babies and went to the market. But, while spending time with the babies and their moms, I was reminded of one thing: “Love is omnilingual.” Yes, that word is made up, and it may even be a bit foolish, but Rik said that in our first meeting for the trip, and it has stuck with me. (I may even try to fashion a little painting out of it when I get home.) I was reminded of this when I looked into those little babies’ eyes, when I saw Dennis pick them up and quietly speak to them in Spanish and when I observed the mothers. 

There’s something so massively fabulous about love. We don’t deserve it, but we all long for it. We all give, and receive, it in our own special ways. The Lord put on my mind that this little word, love, is why these young girls have these babies in the first place. They sought out the ‘love’ they didn’t receive from their fathers, mothers or other family members. So, they find someone who will show them ‘love.’ This love is satisfying for a moment, or maybe it’s not satisfying at all. And, I wonder if when they gaze upon their babies if they are reminded of their need for love. Do they try to love their daughters and sons greater, so they don’t seek out the same ‘love’ they did? 

I think their babies already know how to love greater. Yesterday, during church I held one of the little girls, well really, she held me. Lately, I have experienced loneliness. For the first time in a while, standing in the back of a church, dancing to praise music that I didn’t know the words to, this little one wrapped her arms around my neck and held on, and I did not feel alone. Maybe she sensed my loneliness, maybe she saw me crying, but either way, she held on. In that moment, she was Jesus to me. Jesus whispered his love to me, and I was so thankful. 

I hope that’s what these mommies feel when their babies hug them. I hope they find the love of Jesus through their children. I also hope, because of their babies, they no longer have to go look for men who are going to use and abuse them, because how glorious it would be to see these situations and the products of the situations redeemed. 

So, I’m not sure this meets the criteria of what I was supposed to write. Nor do I really have the best recap of the day, but I know what they Lord has been teaching me. He’s been teaching me, once again, that his love is available to all, and all need his love. Also, I am never above needing his love, nor am I above being “out-Jesused” by a child.

Mexico Team Day 3 Update

Our team, Dennis (far left), Pastor Juan Carlos and his wife.

Amy Kuntz is the sister of Dave and she is on the trip with us. Amy is a great writer and Dave and I asked her to write the update for today. Here it is, enjoy!

This morning we piled into our fifteen-passenger van and crossed the border from Texas into Mexico just like we have the past two mornings. But today our agenda wasn’t to gather children in preparation for kid’s club or to strap on tool belts to mud and tape drywall. This morning as we walked through the doors of Iglesias Baptista Acuna we were greeted with the sounds of worship music playing and smiling faces extending hands of welcome as locals gathered for their Sunday church service. We took our seats front and center as we waited with much anticipation and some curiosity about what the next couple of hours would bring.  As the praise team took the stage and began singing songs in Spanish a very powerful thing happened. The Spirit of God crossed barriers. Language. Cultural. Comfort level.  There we were smack dab in the middle of a room full of people we couldn’t understand. Singing songs of praise in a language we didn’t speak. The songs lyrics flashed across a screen overhead and every now and then an easily recognizable word like hallelujah, holy, freedom, and Christ is Lord would give us an aha moment. It was just enough insight into the passionate praise we saw demonstrated around us as young girls danced with ribbons at the front of the stage and women gathered in the aisles with tambourines. Voices, hands, hearts and instruments were lifted in sincere adoration to Jesus Christo. Different language. Different culture. Different styles. Same God.

As the praise music ended, Pastor Juan Carlos took the stage and began to preach in Spanish. His text for the sermon appeared on the screen. The only part I could read was the reference. As I turned to 2 Corinthians I was especially thankful for my English Bible and prayed that the Spirit would teach through Pastor Juan and through His Word. Do you ever come across passages of Scripture you know you have read before, but perhaps haven’t seen? I mean like really seen. As the Pastor spoke on being content where you are and living a life of thanks expressed through action, I found myself stuck on this one verse found in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth.

I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. 2 Corinthians 12:15

We do a lot of spending in the American culture. We spend our money, time, thoughts, attention, energy and on and on. We are in the business of spending and our spending does in fact keep us busy. But I think the really challenge here from Paul is do we “spend” on what matters, ultimately people’s souls? And do we do so “most gladly”? It’s often times easier to gladly spend and be spent for souls when we are on mission trips. I mean isn’t that ultimately why we are here?  Of course we are going to do that. Seven days. Check. Going home. But if we shrink our lives and our mission down to that we are missing it. Jesus came for more, He died for more and the abundant life in Christ offers us more. 

So our mission here reminds us of our ultimate mission at home, to reach beyond the barriers of culture and comfort level. To intentionally spend ourselves on the things that last and to do so gladly for the souls of those the Lord has placed in our path today.

We are so grateful to you for your prayers towards us as we minister in Acuna. Tomorrow we return to kid’s club and construction. We have two full days of ministry left. Please pray for strength, rest and the health of the team and for the gospel to continue to go forth in all of our efforts here.  We are thrilled at the relationships the Lord is allowing us to build this week and we can’t wait to see what future ministry will look like here. 

Blessings to you today.

Amy

  

Mexico Team Day 2 Update

Day two is in the books and there is a lot to let you know about. God has been faithful and showing us favor and answering lots of prayers.

Our construction team is ahead of schedule. Almost all of the drywall is hung and more than half of it has been taped and mudded. The kids team told the story of David from the Jesus Story Book Bible today. We had 16 kids today in the kids club.

The next update is something I am very excited about. The elders of North Church have been praying since we started talking about going to Mexico about finding a church that we can establish a partnership with. We did not want this to be a single trip. We want to have a long-standing partnership that takes several trips each year. In order to do that, we want to have a church to partner with that has a vision for reaching their city. We want that vision to be rooted in reproductive discipleship. We want to partner with a church that disciples its people and sends them out on mission.

To tell you about how that is happening, I need to tell you about two people. Luis is a man I (Rik) met on Wednesday. He works for an organization called Cross Vision. Luis lives in Acuna and his job is to equip churches in Mexico to be on mission and reproduce themselves. Luis and I were spending Wednesday night in the same house and talked about his work and the work that we hoped to accomplish with our trip. His vision, the vision the NC elders have prayed for and the vision of NC are all in sync.

That night, Luis and I prayed that the church we were to work with would be open to the vision that God had given us. We prayed for an opportunity to do more than just do some kids ministry or construction. We prayed for an opportunity to begin to help train leaders for reproductive discipleship. We prayed for opportunities to help this church begin to develop a vision to start new churches. We prayed that we would be received in those things.  We did not want to be arrogant or come off as though we had it all figured out.

The next day, Dennis (our contact and leader of the La Puerta Esperanza), introduced me to Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos is the pastor of the church we are working with. Within a few minutes of meeting Juan Carlos, I knew that God had ordained this relationship. Everything that Luis and I had prayed, and Dave, Mike and I had prayed, was in his heart already. God had paved the way for the conversation to happen. Juan Carlos has two families in his church that will be sent out soon, each to start a new church.

I have written about most of the above already. Last night I began to pray that Juan Carlos and Luis would get a chance to talk. Luis has a big vision for Acuna and is an apostle for the churches there. Prior to today, Luis and Juan Carlos had never met. Today, as we worked, Juan Carlos and Luis talked for more than an hour. Luis was very encouraged with that conversation and Juan Carlos is seeking his help in training his leaders to begin to think about reproduction.

All of this is an answer to prayer. We have begun to establish a partnership with Juan Carlos. We have established a relationship with Luis. This trip is way more than a kids Bible club and four rooms built in a church. This trip is step one in a fulfilled mission and vision.

Tomorrow we will be attending church in Acuna. Chance are we will not understand much of what is happening. But, I have been given an opportunity to share why we came to serve this church during their service. Pray that God would give me words and pray that they would be translated well.

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying.

Rik

Mexico Team :: Day 1 Update

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Well today was the first official day “on the field” serving in Acuna, Mexico.  It was an amazing day full of the Lord’s provision.  After a long 17.5 hr drive and arriving late last night into Del Rio, TX, we were able to get a decent night sleep and an early start this morning.  We anticipated the potential of some issues crossing the border into Mexico with all of our construction tools (nail guns, saws, etc) but by God’s grace we were waved through and the van wasn’t even checked.  Incredible!  Praise God! 

When we arrived at the church in Acuna our teams got after it, getting their jobs rolling—construction folks began framing out walls for classrooms and those working with the kids club started preparing and recruiting kids.  The kid’s club brought in 20-30 kids, who were able to hear the gospel.  Pray for salvation and the hope of Jesus to be firmly planted in this community. 

After the kids club, the girls were able to head over to meet and minister to the single moms, all of which have been taken advantage of and are desperate for hope in their life.  Pray for all these relationships to be established throughout the rest of our time here, as we seek to bring the hope of Christ.

My crew, working construction, had a very productive day.  Our task during our time here is to turn one giant room into 4 rooms, 3 enclosed with doors and 1 open.  Going into today, we were hoping to get all the framing done, which consisted of 84 2x4s.  Not only did we get all the rooms framed but we also got the electrical ran and almost completed dry-walling one of the rooms.  For a crew of 5 people, that’s not bad. 

The team is exhausted after a long day but we were able to wind down with some amazing dinner (thanks to Jen!) and some competitive 4-square.  During dinner we all shared how we saw the Lord today.  Pray that we will continue to be moved by His presence as we seek to bring the hope of His presence everywhere our feet touch the Mexican soil.

My prayer for today and this week comes out of Isaiah 64:1-4.  Would you join me in praying this for our time here:

1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence-- 2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil-- to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

Thanks for your prayers!!!

Dave