Mobil Mission Pt. 1
-
Upload
vision-2-hear -
Category
Documents
-
view
221 -
download
1
description
Transcript of Mobil Mission Pt. 1
[1]
EFP: Eternal Family ProjectCan’t wait to go back!
MOBIL 2011June 2011
Vision 2 HearEveryone’s Going Somewhere
SUMMER MISSION TOUR PT. 1It’s hard to believe that the first
part of our Mission Tour is over already!
But oh how wonderful it was! God
worked in some awesome ways!
We left on June 9th for San Pedro
Sula to work in Honduras for a few
days. Two of our teammates were
already there working with their church,
New Vision. So the rest of us flew in
and got settled at Flamingoes hotel.
Wow! What a great place to stay, with
wonderful food and an incredible view!!
Our work over the next couple
days had us meeting with Allison
Alexander’s girls at Eternal Family
Project and World Wide Heart 2 Heart
Ministries (pictured above). I personally
didn’t realize I had worked at wwh2h
several years ago! So it was great to
return and see a couple of the kids from
then and how they had grown!
We spent Friday afternoon at
Allison’s and wow! It was awesome
seeing those girls girls! We all fell
in love with each of them. It was great for me to see them again
and how they have grown under
Allison’s love and care! Sara White was
also there spending her summer
vacation serving the girls and Allison. It
was great to see her ministering in such
a way! I was proud to say she had been
part of V2h!
We hung out a couple of hours at
EFP playing and sharing a meal. Mr.
Gallo taught them Hide and Seek and
we all enjoyed working a few sign
songs together. It was a great way to
start our trip!
[2]
Heart 2 Heart Worship ServiceFriday evening we went to Heart 2 Heart
church, where Oscar and Amy serve. They are
the ones who founded the orphanage and
church and were our main contacts in
Honduras this time.
We shared some songs in Spanish and
then I was able to speak (with Oscar
interpreting). At the end of the service I gave an
altar call and the Lord moved! 20 people
stood signifying they had given
their lives to Christ!I was really surprised to say the least! It
was amazing to see God move in that way and
I praise Him for using someone like me!
Heart 2 Heart OrphanageThe next day we went by bus to the
orphanage that Heart 2 Heart runs. They have
over 70 children there ranging
from infants to 18 years old. What was really cool for me was when we
got off the bus, I saw a kid that I recognized. I
had forgotten that I had been to this place once
before so when i saw him I was really excited.
In fact, the last time I was there I had snapped
a picture of him before we left and never
thought I’d see him again! And yet there he
was!! I pulled out my computer and showed
him the picture from 3 years ago; it was a really
cool moment. His name is Fernando.
We spent several hours there hanging out
with kids, taking funny pictures, and just loving
on them.
It was also their birthday celebration day
so we all sang to them and watched them get
their gifts and then we all had cake!
After a while longer of hanging out,
jumping rope, and taking pics, we left for the
hotel to grab our stuff for church.
What was really funny about this visit was
that we ran into people who were from SODDY
DAISY, TN! They attend a church less than a
mile from my house! And there we were serving
in the same orphanage! It’s a very small world!
The guy from Soddy was actually gonna
be speaking at the church this night. So we got
our stuff and made our way back. We
performed a couple of songs at the church and
the service went well.
Sunday morning came and we were
scheduled to leave early so we could pick up
kids for church but our battery and other issues
kept us in the hotel parking lot for over an hour
later. We finally decided to do as the Hondurans
and pile in the back of a pick-up truck! It was
certainly one of the highlights of our trip: 10
Gringoes in the back of a pick-
up!We ended up at church much later than
expected but they waited and we simply rolled
with the flow. We did a couple more songs for
them. Another amazingly funny thing
happened; when we got there more Gringoes
were there. In fact, the lady just happened to be
Aaron’s pediatrician from
Hixson! Simply amazing! She was there
serving at EFP (The girls from EFP attend the
church at Heart to Heart). I had been praying
for more connections in TN and now I had
them! God was working out some really cool
things!
We went to a river after
church, had lunch and watched
several people (a few from the
orphanage) get baptized. It was a
great afternoon, playing around, swimming, and
bonding more with kids from the orphanage!
However, I did incur a minor injury. Amidst all
the horseplay, I lost two of my earrings and my
industrial go ripped. The kids were jumping all
over me and one grabbed my ear and ripped
the earring a good centimeter! Needless to say
it hurt! But all is well now :)
As I look back now, those were simply
wonderful days in Honduras. It was great
watching Mr. Gallo be so animated with all the
kids! It was a blessing to see all of our team
interacting with the kids at EFP. It was
awesome having Gloria around to help us
interpret what was being said! It was such a
blessing to have air conditioned rooms
( especially for Caulette and Yvette to recover
from their previous week of service). Our team
was working and serving well together and we
had already been seeing God do some cool
things! We left the next morning for El Salvador.
Transitions are not always easy but this
one was beautiful, albeit long! We arrived at the
bus stop after a really funny evening/morning.
We had mistakeningly gotten up several hours
ahead of schedule because of the time change
and setting our alarms wrong. so after getting
up twice, we made it to the bus stop on time
for our 7am departure.
To say the roads were narrow at times
would be an extreme understatement. To say
that our driver and other drivers were crazy at
times would also be an understatement. There
were times we were passing people and they
were passing us on curves and stretches of
road that only lunatics would try...and yet we
survived!
The bus ride was very long due to brake
issues and I’m glad he took his time with that
being the case! our 6 hour trip turned into 9
hours but we mostly fared well aside from some
horrible odors from the bus bathroom. I won’t
give any more details than that!
El Salvador June 13-28We were greeted by Jorge at the bus stop
and he and others car pooled us to the church
which wasn’t very far from there. We had the
first of many PriceSmart doughnuts and a quick
debriefing of the upcoming activities. Then
everyone was off to their host homes.
It was good to be in El Salvador now and
the anticipation of the skateboarding events
was certainly building up!
Over the course of the next couple of
days, we acquired materials for building the
ramps and we practiced some music quite-a-
bit to prepare for performing. The team was
doing well with learning En Su Victoria, whereas
I was simply unable to master it! (I will be
relying on them to help me stateside!)
All of our folks had been doing pretty good
with health but by the second day in ES, people
were falling out with illness. We were not sure
what it was but some people had some
stomach issues, while others had thrown up at
various times and then there were some with
fevers and aches etc. Aaron and “little” Carl
were both holding up like true soldiers with high
fevers. Even though we all knew they were
really sick, they worked hard. The next couple
of days they stayed home per doctor’s orders.
With a shot of penicillin and ample rest they
recovered from what was said to be strep
throat.
[3]
Chapel ServicesMiramonte has a Christian School of which Jorge’s mother is
the principle. They asked us to perform in the chapels for the
students on Thursday and Friday mornings that first week we were
there.
During the first chapel we shared with middle school kids and
God moved more than I really expected! After we did several songs,
and the message was shared, I challenged the students to really
take a stand for Christ. About 40 of them came forward
to signify their commitment to living more faithfully.The next day’s chapel was much like the first. we did some
music and a few of the team mates shared testimony. at the end,
there were about another 13 that stood for renewed
commitments! It was really awesome to see God moving in such ways!
Christian Deaf SchoolWe have been to this school before but it’s always nice to revisit
and see the growth of the school. It’s not far from Miramonte so
after the first chapel meeting on Thursday, we went to perform and
share with the students the Christian Deaf School.
As I walked into a few rooms, students began to remember me
( I guess a bald guy with earrings from America is easy to
remember) and they began to get excited signing my name and
saying they remembered me being there doing music.
We gathered everyone together in the courtyard and did a little
program for them. They all loved it!
Elevate ESOne of the main reasons we were in ES this year was to help
launch the skateboard ministry. As the week continued, there were
several ES skaters, along with Aaron and Buddy, who helped build,
weld, and prepare the ramps for Saturday’s big outreach event. God
had already been moving in the hearts of many of the local skaters,
shops and even other churches to bring this event together.
By Saturday everything was in place and ready to go! That
morning we gathered early to share at the homeless ministry,
performing a couple of songs, then serving the meal. Afterwards, we
set up for Elevate. Were we ever surprised! More than 400
people came out for this event! There were close to
150 skaters and the rest were simply people who
came to watch, serve and enjoy the competition. God moved in a big way, opening the eyes of many to see the
opportunity to reach so many people and revealing His power to
bring such an event together!
The Team at the Public Deaf School
Me and some of my friends at the Christian Deaf School
Some of the 400 people that showed up for the Elevate Outreach
[4]
After school Elevate, Public Deaf School and Final DaysElevate had been a huge success and little did we know even how
much God had been doing! On Tuesday June 21, we had scheduled a large
group demonstration of Elevate for Miramonte. This was a great time to do
so since that day was also Go Skate day in El Salvador. The entire student
body came down for a two display of skating, sign language and
testimonies. Our skaters and a couple local skaters shared testimonies and
we shared with them about how we were offering and after school program
to teach students about skate boarding, help with physical fitness and raise
awareness to one of the fastest growing sports.
LIttle did we know that the Channel 4 News would be there! The crowd
was electric and the skaters did an incredible job of displaying their talent
for God’s glory! The news people did interviews with one of the skaters,
Jonathan Amaya, Jorge Campos and me.
That afternoon we had our farewell dinner for half the team as they
were scheduled to return to the USA. Our hosts and team were served a
wonderful meal, given lovely tokens of appreciation and a chance to share
our stories of how the trip impacted us. It was a glowing farewell.
After returning to our host homes, we anxiously awaited the channel 4
newscast to see the spot about Elevate. About an hour-and-a-half later
there is was a 5 minute story on V2H Elevate in ES! The
news did a wonderful job displaying our venue, purpose and intent. God
gets the glory! It was awesome seeing His work on TV
for free!
With half our team departed, it was a little more difficult for those
remaining. Not that we didn’t want to be there but there was a definite hole
as we all missed our friends and family that had just left us in ES for the
next 7 days.
We had a fairly busy schedule though, making a couple of visits back
to the Public Deaf School to perform, taking a trip for a day out to
Suchitoto, which is a village where the ES team does some ministry other
times of the year, and then sharing in some graduation festivities for Natalia,
one of our ES teammates.
Another God thing that happened was that Jorge and I were invited to
sit with their city council one afternoon and talk about Elevate and the work
we were doing in ES. After a short introduction and explanation, the
council offered to help us locate a building where
we could have an indoor skatepark! And they
would simply allow us to use it! They are currently still
looking for that place.
As our trip came to an end, it was easy for us to all recount several
ways that we had seen God move while in Honduras and El Salvador. I even
spoke with Jonathan yesterday about the after school program and he told
me it went very well with 10 showing up to learn and be mentored. Thanks
to you all for your prayers and support of this effort and mission! To God be
the glory for He has done great things!
SUCHITOTO
[5]
It hasn’t even been a week since our return
home and there are many things happening
even now! Two of the girls from the ES team are
here in the states visiting and traveling with me
for the next 2 months. Natalia, who just
graduated and Mayrita (Jorge’s sister), who also
graduated last November. They will be joined by
Gloria (Jorge’s cousin) July 10 when we all get to
Miami for George Camp! Pray for them as God
has allowed us and them the opportunity to
serve together here in the states! It’s a great and
wonderful chance we have as V2H to continue
to invest, mentor and allow God to bless
through us.
Elevate ESAs I mentioned on the previous page the
after school program is off and running.
However, we were unable to take the needed
boards and pads and helmets that we promised
to them on this last trip. We had some issues
with our distributor. But that has been cleared
up now and I intend to take them with me on a
return trip back in August.
Jonathan and others will meet with the
Elevate Outreach Today at Miramonte again and
will start the weekly Saturday meetings! This is
very exciting as they will begin building the
essential relationships in winning people to
Jesus!
Pray for the ministry there as it was only
two days after our large event that someone
broke into our storage unit and stole the tools
we had. The storage unit has been refortified
and the tools replaced but we need your prayers
of protection over the tools God has provided to
continue His work.
Lesa Bible TranslationOne of the things we all learned about
while in El Salvador this time was the need for
help with a Bible translation for the deaf. A great
friend of ours, Toni McAndrews shared some of
her vision and work with us on this project. They
have almost no support for this effort and I
would like to see the V2H WAVE Teams adopt
this project and help them with financing the
staff and translation! We can do
that! I’d like for each team to
consider raising at least $100 over
the next month so I can take it with
me and surprise them with a
boost to keep them moving
along. Sponsoring them
with another $100 a month
from V2H would also be a
much needed help. If your
team would like to adopt
this project, please let me
know!
August RevisitI Have been invited back in August for a
couple of reasons. However, I would need your
help and financial support to make the trip. As I
have already mentioned, we failed to get the
boards, helmets and pads over there this last
trip. I need to deliver on that promise for the
program to function the way it needs to.
Furthermore, with the city council looking for a
building for us to use, another trip there would
afford me the chance to help them find a
location that would best fit our needs and
ministry usage.
Another very important reason for a return
trip so soon is so I can help in some training and
mentoring of our Elevate disciples, V2H Wave
Team and about 8 other American interns who
are committing to a year in ES with a program
called GAP. These students will be working with
a close friend of mine who has asked me to help
in some discipling and training as they step into
this new program.
Finally, the last but not least reason to
return is to be part of my family’s birthday
celebrations. Gloria (Jorge’s sister) will have her
15th birthday party, which is a very big deal in
Spanish culture. I have been invited to speak
and act as her “father” figure at the party.
Obviously it is an honor to be invited to share in
such an event!
So, I am currently making plans to leave
from Miami in August with the ES girls who have
come here. We hope to leave somewhere
around August 23 or so. I am asking for
your prayers and support of this effort.
Tickets and travel right now are about $350 RT
from Ft. Lauderdale. I will need a couple of
hundred more to cover the shipping of the
skateboards. Please consider and pray about
helping me get back this soon. I know it’s a
challenge on all of us in these times and
economy.
Thank you again for all you have already
done and for your continued prayers and
support of V2H and all the things we are trying
to do to win people to Christ! I plan to update
you with stories and testimonies from our
teammates as the weeks progress but I wanted
to get this update out to you now so you would
know all that God has done and is currently
doing! Have a great 4th of July weekend!
Sincerely,
George
WHAT NOW?The plans and even what is happening now since we have gotten back from the Overseas Mobil Tour.
Jesus said “Go”. I
think He also meant “Keep
Going”.