Back home safely in Columbia!

On the ground in Atlanta. Off to Kansas City soon, and then back home in Columbia tonight.

Wrapping Up

It looks like adding pics and giving a more thorough overview of the trip will have to wait until I can get alone from my laptop back home, but still thankful for the chance to send out updates here and there. Our trip to Ixtapa with several of the high school and college students from the church and mission was an interesting experience, to say the least: driving around central Zihuatanejo at night trying to find a safe beach (the first one we got to had a sign about "cocodrilos"; turns out it was a fenced in nature reserve but we weren't takin any chances), meeting three salvavidas Mexicanas up close and personal (I got to experience a riptide - other than sunburns, I was the only one that encountered anything potentially serious), and learning the cultural nuances of doing a youth trip in Mexico vs. the US. All in all, we enjoyed the break after a very full week, as well as the chance to get to know some of the people we've been working with better.
Today we'll be traveling to Guadalajara, and then getting up early in the morning for our flight home tomorrow. We should be back in Kansas City around 4pm and then in Columbia tomorrow night. Thanks for praying for us; it's been a good trip, and we look forward to sharing more when we get home. Pray for safety as we travel over the next two days, and for the ongoing ministry with El Divino Salvador and Mision del Valle.

Finishing Bible School in Mision del Valle

We finished our last day of Bible school yesterday and wrapped up the week with a special service for families that tied into the regular weekly Bible study at Mision del Valle. Around 10 families were represented this week in attendance at Bible school, with several others attending last night's evangelistic concert. One Christian family came by when they heard the music and were excited to find out that a Bible study was meeting in the neighborhood. Many contacts were made with families in the area, and the church has discovered needs that they can now strive to meet as they continue outreach in Mision del Valle. This update is shorter, because I am only able to update from my phone, but the following are a few prayer requests:
1. Follow-up from the week, as the church seeks to keep up with families that attended.
2. On-going ministry that will take place through the weekly Bible study and youth and children's programs that will begin soon.
3. Noe and Sol as they continue to lead the ministry in Mision del Valle, and Eduardo, David, and other leaders from El Divino Salvador.
4. Wisdom and resources to determine whether to take an offer to rent a larger building for the mission that was offered by a realtor this week (a larger home with two more rooms for approx. $200/month).
5. Continued growth for the mission in Mision del Valle, hoping to launch it as a church next summer or early fall.

We're almost through the week of Bible school, and we have consistently had around 20 kids attending. This week has been eye-opening for the church, as they are now more clearly able to identify the needs of the community in Mision del Valle. Our soccer outreach was moved to today; we start at 4:00pm with a large group of boys we ran into yesterday. Pray for us as we share the gospel with them and finish out Bible school.

First Few Days in Morelia

We have finished two days working with the people of El Divino Salvador in the community of Mision del Valle. It has been an answer to prayer for both our groups to see the small rented house full of life energy, the fulfillment of a vision that began in March. The Bible study that outgrew the home of Noe and Sol Soto began meeting in the house this spring, and is the basis for El Divino Salvador's church plant among the 1,000 homes of the Valle area.

We have had the privilege of helping with Bible school in the mornings and other outreaches in the evenings. 12 kids and 2 parents came to our first day of Bible school, and 20 kids, along with a couple teens and parents, attended today. Jordan is teaching memory verses, Lydia is working with the puppet team, and Debi is coordinating crafts. Because of the evangelistic nature of the Bible school, we've been using the same Wordless Book theme as last year with Iglesia Jerusalen.

The Montemayor family is leading the ministry from the church's side. Nena has been our consistent translator and liaison, her sister Mine is the director of the Bible school, and her dad, David, is the general director of the outreach this week. Eduardo is leading the afternoon and evening outreaches. Yesterday was good, but a little rough as everyone figured out how to work things best in a new area with a combined team, but the efforts for the gospel were effective nonetheless, as both parents that came Monday expressed interest in the Bible study and a desire to know more. We also have a unique opportunity to impact a couple of students who are helping with the BSU and have been involved this week, but are not yet believers. One girl accepted Christ a few weeks ago, an her friends have come because they are interested in what they have seen.

Prayer requests:
1. Smooth continuation of the Bible school this week that results in confidence to attempt another one next year.
2. A movie outeach for kids tonight and a soccer outreach for teens tomorrow evening.
3. Strength and focus for all involved in ministry this week.
4. Karen and Tania, the two girls who are not yet believers.
5. Claudia and Yvonne, two new believers in Mision del Valle, as they and their families get plugged into the ministry this week.

We go settled into the Montemayors' apartment last night and enjoyed a full night's sleep. This morning we joined El Divino Salvador for church. This evening we will be meeting with the church members to coordinate plans for this week's outreach in Mision del Valle.

Our team is enjoying dinner with David Montemayor and his family tonight in Morelia! We will be joining El Divino Salvador Baptist Church tomorrow and then meeting to plan the week in the afternoon.

The Mexico team arrived safely in Guadalajara last night, after a delay in departure from Atlanta. A small delay in picking up the rental car this morning, but we'll be off to Morelia this afternoon.

Waiting to board for Guadalajara. Working on Sunday's sermon in John 13:34. Discovered an old book, The Training of the Twelve by A. Bruce.

Mexico team is at the airport in KC... Off to Atlanta, and then Guadalajara.

Nearing the End

As we approach the end of our time in Sharps Corner, we have experienced several good surprises. In the beginning of the week, we prepped the volleyball and basketball courts to get them ready to play in the evenings. On Thursday evening when we came out, we found that the people of Sharps had put up a brand new volleyball net, mowed even further around the outside of both courts, and taped the basketball net to keep it from coming down. We had been concerned about whether or not we would find them intact each night when we returned; it was quite a pleasant surprise to see that the community had stepped up to take even better care of what we had helped to begin.

Thursday afternoon Randy, Sam, and Daniel were able to go to White River and reconnect with Pastor Harold and several kids that they had worked with the past two summers. Katie had the opportunity to share the Wordless Book with a little girl named Kaitlyn; she responded to Katie's invitation to accept Christ as Savior!

Overall, clubs have finished incredibly well this week. After a rough day Thursday with only one kid staying through the entire club in Manderson, Friday was their best day ever. Several kids were engaged, listened attentively, and even got onto others that tried to create distractions. The clubs at Sharps have also gone well, and almost all of our team has had the chance to share the gospel through the Wordless Book or have a spiritual conversation with someone.

Last night was our community barbecue, and at 6:05pm, we weren't sure if anyone was going to show up. Fifteen minutes later we were serving what would be 80 people from the area - mostly families from Sharps Corner, and a few from Evergreen. Last year we had a decent turnout for the barbecue, but we mostly served families from the church and kids that had been at clubs. This year was the first time we've seen some of the adults that we've played volleyball with bring their families to the church grounds! It was incredible to see the number of people that were willing to come, not just to eat, but to talk, visit, and share together.

Our partnership with Pastor Brennan's ministry here at Sharps Corner, marks the beginning of a new chapter in our five year tenure, and it is exciting to see what God has been doing. We have had the great opportunity to continue investing in several that we met for the first time in the summer of 2006, including Destiny, Jamie, Jeremy, Delayne, Tony, Cody, and Jamie, among others, and many other dear friends that we have met along the way between that summer and this. It has been thrilling to play a small role in the ministry of the gospel, as we have sought to share not only the gospel, but our lives as well with the people of Sharps Corner through the ministry of Sharps Corner Baptist Church.

As we prepare to leave, please pray that clubs finish well today, and that our team will have additional opportunities to share the gospel. Pray for safety as we travel, and that our return home will also be a new beginning for our team, as we strive to live a mission life at home. Some of our team have been fighting illnesses; pray that they can be on the mend before returning home. Pray for the ongoing ministry of the Brennan family and the church; they have a team from Pennsylvania coming in today to construct a garage and continue with ministry to the Sharps Corner community. Pastor Brennan has a big vision for the area; this week we saw him bring in a bus to use for transportation for kids and tipi poles to be used for a camp, hopefully as soon as next summer. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer and support; nothing this week could have been possible without your faithful prayer on our behalf.

Great turnout for the barbecue!

Hope Bible Church's club

Talking with kids during clubs

Playing volleyball with a new net!

Basketball

New midweek post from the Lakota 2010 mission team! http://ping.fm/Lm1JG

Halfway Through

We're finishing up our third day of clubs after doing some sightseeing yesterday. We finally feel like we have our feet underneath us, and for most, today was the best day of clubs so far. A group of 12 year old boys came from Evergreen, but instead of being a distraction, they were the most attentive group. Eric had the opportunity to talk through the gospel with them. The Manderson club has struggled some; today only one girl stayed through the entire club, but the team is making connections with families and kids in the community. Alec, Spencer, and Erica were able to go with Pastor Brennan and a group of teens, including Delayne and Tony, to do some hiking today.

Continue praying for us as we wind down the week. Tonight is probably our last chance to join the Sharps Corner community for volleyball and basketball in the evening. Tomorrow is a community barbecue that we will be hosting at the church, and we hope that many families will attend. We have had a very friendly reception from most of the families in the area, and we hope they will translate that to the church. We have two more days of clubs, and all of our team members are praying for opportunities to have spiritual conversations with kids about the gospel. We have been able to successfully share our lives with many of the kids, but we hope to also balance out our 1 Thess. 2:8 goal by sharing the gospel with them as clearly as possible as well. Pray for strength to finish the week well, both in clubs and among our team relationships. We are doing well, and we want to finish the week even better than we've begun. Thanks for your faithful prayer and support!

Sightseeing pics:

Having some fun at Mount Rushmore

Conquering the Badlands

New pics from Lakota 2010 uploaded! http://ping.fm/R552N

Mowing the prairie... preparing the volleyball court to play.

Club inside the youth center in Manderson.

Team pic overlooking Evergreen after passing out fliers for clubs.

Starting Off the Week

We had a good day on Sunday in the church service at Sharps Corner with Pastor Brennan and the local congregation and then passing out fliers in Sharps Corner, Evergreen, and Manderson in the afternoon. We have four 5 Day Club teams with the addition of the team from Hope Bible Church in O'Fallon, so Pastor Brennan encouraged us to look into having a club in Manderson (a town about 15 minutes from Sharps Corner). For the past couple of years I've been intrigued about possibility of reaching out into Manderson in addition to Sharps Corner, but the opportunity wasn't there. This year as Pastor Brennan has been involved at Sharps Corner, he is also hoping that another couple interested in serving on the reservation will take on a church plant in Manderson. We have the opportunity to help plant seeds for this church plant that will begin in the near future, as God leads. We went on a little bit of a wild goose chase trying to find the guy that runs the youth center in Manderson where we were hoping to hold the club, but we were able to find him and use the facility this week.

All of our clubs began yesterday, and while attendance was a little down the first day, we had a great kick-off. Old friendships were rekindled, and new relationships are beginning to form. Clubs started off with a lot of energy and enthusiasm; each went very well, and even though we have a large number of first-time students this year, they all did great with their assignments and with the kids. We had to mow the volleyball court and fix the basketball goal again this year in the Sharps Corner housing, but our work paid off with over 40 people coming out from the Sharps Corner community to play basketball and volleyball and hang out last night.

As we continue the week, please pray for a few requests:

1. Energy and rest; we've settled into our schedule for the week, and it can be draining.

2. Opportunities for spiritual conversations; our theme verse is 1 Thess. 2:8, and we pray for opportunities to share our lives with the kids in ways that will open doors for spiritual discussions centering around the gospel.

3. Repair on the Hope Bible Church van; their van had a flat about an hour and a half away from Sharps Corner on our way in; pray that the working out the logistics with the rental company will go smoothly.

4. Two kids (10 and 12) committed suicide over the weekend, and at least one is a relative of a couple of the kids attending. There's also a sundance taking place this week, which is a traditional ceremony steeped in spirit worship. Pray that these potential distractions will turn into opportunities for the gospel.

I'll post pics soon!

Just north of Grand Island, Nebraska, on our way to Sharps Corner! We've tried an alternate route this year, and so far, so good. Having a good time with the Hope Bible Church team along, and making decent time on the road. Should roll into Sharps Corner around 8:00pm tonight.

Lakota 2010!

Our 2010 Lakota team leaves on Saturday morning with 16 members from Grace and 5 from Hope Bible Church in O'Fallon, MO. Join us for team prayer around 6:30am Saturday if you'd like to see us off!

10 days and 4000 miles later, back in Columbia.

Bienvenidos, er... Welcome to Missouri! Some delays along the way, including I-35 closed south of Dallas, but a reasonably good trip back.

Good drive to the border chauffered by Heber (what a guy!). 2 hour wait to cross, but now in Texas and headed home.

Great Easter services this morning (in spite of 2nd daylight savings time). Encouraging to see church healthy & alive in spite of obstacles.

Full day w/ friends, seeing what God is doing in Morelia. Now Monarcas futbol & preparing message from Luke 24 for Easter sunrise service.

Met w/ Noe in Mision del Valle, where we'll b serving this summer. He's leasing Buble study in his home. 6000 houses, no church for miles.

Helped w/ invitations for an Easter outreach campaign yesterday morning; 2 people accepted Christ after watching the Jesus film last night!

Met w/ missionary friends in Gdl, kids met new friends at parks. Traveling to Morelia now to meet tonight w/ leaders of El Divino Salvador.

Arrived safely in Guadalajara early this morning; no real trouble crossing the border, & a good trip on to Guadalajara w/ no real problems.

or the summer.

Dates are finally set for the summer Lakota trip to Sharps Corner, SD: July 3-11. Debi and Conrad leave Sunday for Mexico to meet with leaders and plan f