VBC Outreach and Missions

Day 10: the end

2011-07-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

The team is currently in Barstow, CA and should be home around 10pm tonight. 16 people were baptized yesterday including Lauren Wooley, Charlotte Biggs, Haven Boss, Hartley Boss, Tanna Boss, Natalie Pierce, Kaitlyn Crawford, Jasmine Liew, Johnnie Motta, Jose Duenas, Lindsey Parkinson, Hunter Beck (MSM!), Andrew Kenney, Jessica Roberts and Chantal Clark. The team had a great trip. More pics and updates (hopefully) to follow.

UPDATE: The team should be arriving at VBC around midnight.

UPDATE 2 (11:15pm): The team should arrive at VBC by 12:30.

Day 9: The end is near

2011-07-23T09:31:00.001-07:00

The team is leaving Sedona today. They will stop in Grasshopper Point on the way home for baptisms and swimming. 10 people from the team are getting baptized! Many people (including Navajo and members of the VBC team) gave their lives to Christ this week, which is incredible. God has done some great things this week. The team will be staying the night in Kingman, AZ tonight and will be home tomorrow evening. Updates should be semi-regular so stay tuned.

Heading home...

2011-07-22T20:13:00.001-07:00

All we have for updates at this point are pictures. At least they depict signs of life right?

Suns out and feelin fresh....

2011-07-19T13:08:00.001-07:00

Hello friends!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, we have very very limited internet access and it has been a difficult task. All 19 vehicles arrived safely late Sat night. Pulling in to the rez felt just like home to many of us and the start of a new adventure for all of us. Sunday we hiked to Greenvalley ( aka mini grand canyon) for Morning Watch (devo's) & communion and had time back at the mission for drama/dance prep as well as time to rest before our long week ahead of us. Monday we all got assigned out work sites..there are about 20 different work projects( including our "lifeline" prayer team, our "foodles" who work in the kitchen and our TLC - hospitality krew) so we are keeping plenty busy. The basketball camp is a hit this year with over 40 kids attending! The kids have been great and the coaches are running a tight ship. It was super hot yesterday but we are thankful for the beautiful clouds in the sky today. During devotional time this week, we are all sharing our 2 minute testimonies. What a great group of people to serve with! Feel free to ask us about them when we get back! Check out facebook.com/VBCHSM for more updates and pictures!

Day 3/4: People are alive and well...Internet not so much!

2011-07-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hello folks. The team made it to Immanuel Mission safely and began their respective work projects today. Tonight the team will go to various Navajo family homes for VBS. The internet has had some issues so the updates may be sporadic at best, but we will try! Enjoy the pics (from Ari Byers).

Day 2: Cracker Barrel and Driving

2011-07-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

The team had a hearty breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then hit the road for the Rez. They should arrive at Immanuel Mission this evening. Stay tuned for updates. Also check out the HSM or MSM facebook pages.

Day 1: On the Road

2011-07-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Outreach team (120 strong!) left VBC at 6:30 this morning. We will be updating the blog with pictures, prayer requests and info throughout the trip. Today's pics are brought to you by Lynne Clark, Ari Byers, Pat Espiritu, Kristi and Kortney Shannon.

UPDATE: The team arrived in Kingman safely. Tonight's menu is taco salad, with watermelon and juice. "Everyone is pooped-not the yucky kind. Just tired. We are all in good spirits" - Pat Espiritu

Seniors!

Arizona Outreach 2011

2011-07-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Preparation for the 2011 Arizona Outreach has begun with missionaries:

fasting from some sort of media/technological item, praying, memorizing scripture and many other requirements.

This is a 9 day trip that takes us into the heart of the Navajo Indian Reservation where owe spend 5 days doing the following:

participating in dramas, kids clubs, basketball camp, work projects, and much more.

As these missionaries prepare we would love to have you do the following:

1. Pray

- For the missionaries going on this outreach.

- For the Navajo that they will see the Saviors love for the first time or be encouraged in their faith

- For everyone that we come in contact with to see Christ's love through how we interact with other team members

- That we can encourage the staff at Immanuel Mission

2. Help

- Getting supplies ready for this outreach.

- Renting a vehicle to get us from Pleasanton, CA to Sweetwater, AZ

3. Interacting

- Come to our drama showcase on July 13th @ 9pm in the Celebration Auditorium at VBC.

- Coming with us! (Talk to the HSM ASAP if you want to come)

If you have any questions about this outreach feel free to talk the HSM staff (Kristi or Tim) in person, or by phone 925.227.1301 ex. 21

Here are a few past Arizona Outreach videos from over the years for your viewing pleasure.

Az '1o from James Watts on Vimeo.

Arizona Outreach 2006 from matter video on Vimeo.

Arizona Outreach 2005 from matter video on Vimeo.

Arizona Outreach 2004 from matter video on Vimeo.

Arizona Outreach 2003 from matter video on Vimeo.

Belize/ Guatemala Spring Break Outreach 2011

2011-04-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hey there.

Jenna and Kristi coming at ya live from Punta Gorda, Belize. We all arrived safely and have been busy at work since we got here. As soon as the kids heard we were in town, they came running...literally :) We have been able to minister to them and spend time with them everyday, including trips to the Caribbean Sea. Yesterday, some of the guys on our team ( Matt and Mark Pine, Tim Barley, Stephen Greenaway, and Matt Sill) helped build a bunk bed for one of the families. ( for those of you who are familiar they built it for Jamilla, Jamika and Mikey) Becky and Janet, our interior designers, outfitted the bed with new sheets and new chairs for the room as well. In the meantime, we've also been able to visit and pray for the local hospital. It was such an encouraging time of prayer and conversation with the nurses and patients there. We've met great people from the Machaka ministry, a discipleship training ministry. Today we're busy at work helping to projects at Da Wata Founatain and more work projects for some more of the locals. We've had many funny moments, memorable moments, encouraging moments, and many meaningful moments. Overall its been a great experience already and the team is so united and just excited to continue to share God's love with these kids and this village. Tomorrow we are taking a water taxi to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. Thanks for your prayers! :)

Belizean Photos!!

2010-11-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

***Disclaimer: Even though it seems as if we have disappeared in Belize...Our team has been busy working the Lord's will and ministering to the citizens of Belize. We are sups excited to share our experiences and at a later time. Today was our RELAXATION day to re-energize for the rest of our sweaty week.**

We woke up to the beautiful sunshine and the sparkling crystal water of the Caribbean ready for what adventures were ahead. Today, we took a day to admire God's creation in the nearby jungles of Belize. Our excursion consisted of a mile-long hike along Blue Creek, which led to a massive clearing with majestically flowing waterfalls and a monstrous cave. We swam with small headlights about a half mile into the cave and discovered a in-cave waterfall. In awe of God's creation, we turned off the head lights and sang "Amazing Grace" in the intense darkness as our voices echoed throughout the caverns. We came back tonight to eat dinner and hung out for the night with our Belizean friends at Da Wata Fountin. Lauren and Stephen shared encouraging testimonies and Tim shared about Jesus calming the storm. Afterwards we created clever crafts and twisted balloon animals for the kids...who of course didn't want the sups fun to end.

**Pictures to be uploaded....so come back! Love Y'all!**

Belize Update!

2010-11-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hello all! We are so sorry we have been slacking on updating the blog. Belize is wonderful and we are all so excited to be here. We got in Saturday afternoon, after a long day of travels. Immediately we saw Gideon and his family. Tim gave all the newbies a tour of Punta Gorda, and they got to see the walkabout children. The rest of the team went grocery shopping. Sunday morning we woke up early to eat a delicious Belizean breakfast and got the opportunity to visit Gideon's church. On Sunday afternoon the dental team began the clinics, while they were working on teeth the rest of the team prepared for the week and the presentations that they will be doing in the schools. Sunday night we had takeout dinner and ate it at the clinic with the walkabout kids, after we went back to Gideon's church to show a movie to some residents of the community. Sunday night also came with a wonderful surprise! Our dear friend, Rachel Howden, arrived and surprised the team; we all thought she could not make the trip this year. Monday, was our first full work day. The dental team did a great job and treated numerous patients all day, while the rest of the team embarked into the jungle to teach dental hygiene to over 200 students. After a delicious dinner of beans and rice, shrimp, fish, and chicken we headed to the town center in Punta Gorda to show another movie. That night we had devotions and went to bed to rest up for today! Thank you for all your prayers, we feel them daily! We will update ASAP! :)

Belize two-thousand-ten

2010-11-21T20:36:00.001-08:00

This week a group of 22 people embarked on a journey to a little city called Punta Gorda, which is nestled in the country of Belize in Central America. This group left Friday and arrived safely.

While here they will be preforming dental exams & procedures on the Belizian community. They will also be teaching good hygiene in the schools down there and doing other random service projects throughout the community.

Arizona 2010 Video is here

2010-08-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

For all of those who have not seen it yet, the Arizona Outreach 2010 video is up and running. Thanks to James Watts for filming and editing this year:

Here it is:

Az '1o from James Watts on Vimeo.

Drama Night Showcase @ the mission

2010-08-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the final product of the dramas for the 2010 Arizona Outreach. Enjoy:

Arizona Outreach 2010 Drama showcase

Day 10: VBC bound!

2010-07-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...

Matt Howden just informed me that the team should be back at VBC around 10pm. Updates to follow.

Saturday drive

2010-07-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Picture from the road:

Day 9: Flagstaff to Kingman

2010-07-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

After morning baptisms in Sedona, the team will head back to Kingman for their final night together. Pics and info to follow.

Matt Howden sent me this gem this morning.

Baptisms in Sedona

Day 8: Heading Home

2010-07-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

The team is on the road again and heading to Flagstaff, AZ. Today is a recreation day and the team will split into various smaller groups and do different fun/outdoorsy activities on the way to Flagstaff. Tomorrow morning the group will go to Sedona for baptisms and swimming and then will head to Kingman. Pictures and updates to follow.

Today's pics went sent in by Lauren Wallace via her handy-dandy iPhone as well as Darnlene Tanisawa and Matt Howden.

Sonic Burger

Willie Stafford @ the Grand Canyon.

Sweet Thursday is calling me back up to Monterey

2010-07-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

Hello All

Technically it is Friday here on the mission (because they do not believe in daylight savings) and we are tired and excited. Today we finished our work projects and prepped for our party with the Navajo. So this took up a good chunk of our afternoon.

Fast forward to the night: We greeted our new friends with a great Californian hello at 6 when the party started. This party consisted of face painting, basketball, shooting hoops, bracelet making, coloring, pizza eating, and talking with the Navajo.

When our program started we went through our dramas. They were performed with perfected and all the hard work and practices paid off. These were perceived extremely well by the Navajo. We finally gave gifts to our new Navajo friends and said our goodbye.

I believe all the prayers for this trip paid off since it seemed flawless.

Tomorrow after breakfast we leave the mission and go our separate ways to different recreation locations and will meet up tomorrow in Flagstaff to sleep.

We will try to update the blog on our way home like we did on the way to the mission.

No pictures tonight (i am too tired to find people that took some today):

By Wednesday I can't sleep (but thats not a problem for us here)

2010-07-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone thanks again for your prayers it really helps. Our team has had the minimum amount of injuries and sickness is not a problem for all of us 95 missionary journeyers.

Today is Wednesday and our official full workday on the mission and throughout the Navajo community. Tomorrow we will have some teams going out to work until 12 to finish off what tey have left at their work sites.

A fun fact for all of you is when our team comes to the mission we accomplish about an approximately 30 man hours of work combined. This is amazing and truely encourages the people here at the mission or on the rez.

Tomorrow night we have our annual "pizza party" where we invite all the Navajo to come and eat with us and watch our dramas. Please pray that we can encourage the other believers within the community and that the gospel message will be clearly presented through all the hard work with the dramas.

P.S. The dramas are so good that we might start touring the country, so be prepared parents for your children to away longer.

Love Letters Home (father and son edition)

2010-07-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Tom and Tommy Sidebottom & Chris and Joel Pearson

Tuesdays gone with the wind Literally

2010-07-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Love for Christ is in the air! The VBC Team has been hard at work, from working in the kitchen to digging ten-foot trenches. It is a blessing to see a smile on every persons face, and to know we are doing this for the love of Christ.

Today, the Hospitality crew cleaned the housing site for all the hard workers, and put cute encouraging notes with candy on each pillow. Quotes like, “Chancho. When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun.” (Nacho Libre) Or, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” (Obi-Wan from Star Wars) These funny, crazy girls had a great time doing their hostility thing.

Ashley and Rachel, two of the girls’ part of the hospitality crew, cheered up the sweaty work crews with Otter Pops. Wahoo! Something cold! The icy treats were a delight to have when you are working for seven hours in 102-degree heat.

With a long days work, it was time for grub, and the Kitchen Crew cooked hamburgers! This geared the team up for Kids Club, which was a success! The team made cute cloth fishes and played games with the Navajo children.

It is an uplifting feeling to know that the LORD had brought together the VBC Team to do such great thing. Please keep us in your prayers on these last couple if days we want to thank everyone who has supported the team. ☺

<3 Ashley Rodondi
P.S. Mom and Dad, I love you and thank you for giving me the opportunity to come on this adventure!

P.P.S. Tony loves you all - <3 Tony DiBlasio

Here are some pictures from our photographers on the trip:

Love Letters Home

2010-07-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

From Dave Luck and Rob Boss

Just another manic Monday out on the rez.

2010-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of work projects, some on the mission and some at Navajo homes out in the community. Projects included mending roofs, replacing roofs, building additions onto existing structures, painting play equipment, and -our favorite!- weeding the ever-encroaching tumbleweed. Some lucky students got to shovel lovely piles of horse manure, while others organized supplies for the missionaries here.

We've had great times of worship and prayer. Kids are making new friends and gaining new experiences, such as praying out loud for the first time and talking to people they don't know.

Currently most of our team is out in the Navajo community having kids clubs. These kids clubs consist of a Bible story being told or acted out, crafts, games, and getting to know the kids and other relatives that show up to clubs. Unfortunately my kids club was not around so we came back home (our temporary home for the next five days).

Here is some pictures from today:

Sunday morning rain is fall, well not in Arizona

2010-07-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family at home and all around the world. Today was a day of prepping for our outreach starting tomorrow. This morning we drove to Green Valley for our worship and communion service! This was a time of reflecting on what the Lord has done through the cross for us. During the end of this service a flock of sheep and two dogs came down to the area where we were worshiping. They were looking for water and it seemed they knew that we were singing and praising God. They left after we stopped singing. We thought it was funny and awesome.

Our afternoon consisted of community bonding through card games and sports. We had our first Immanuel Mission World Cup where both teams tied. The tiebreaker will happen sometime before Friday. Well I got to go, we are going to play battle-ball. Thanks for your prayers and keep praying.

Here are some pictures from yesterday traveling and some from our morning service.

We Made It....

2010-07-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

We currently arrived at the Mission about 30 mins ago despite a long day. Everyone is in high spirits. This day included: a minor accident (a minor fender bender with no injuries between both parties), thunderstorms, a 5 o'clock lunch at Rod's house(Devin Dodgen's brother), and a magnificent sunset. We will post more pictures and stories throughout the rest of the week. Good by and goodnight.

Day 2: On the Road Again!

2010-07-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

The team will be leaving this morning for Immanuel Mission and should arrive there around 8-9pm tonight. Pray for them as they drive. Pictures and updates to follow.

UPDATE 1: 11:48am - The team is leaving Kingman and heading to the Rez.

Here is today's route map.

View Larger Map

Today's pictures are provided by Lauren Wallace, Kristi Shannon and Tyler Conley.

Cracker Barrel in Kingman, AZ. View Larger Map

An elephant in the clouds.

Day 1: On the Road

2010-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The team made it to Kingman in record time (12 hours) with no car trouble. Off to the Rez in the morning. Updates to follow.

----

The team left VBC before 6:30 this morning and is making great time. Updates and pictures throughout the day.

The following pictures have been taken, and sent via cell phone, by Kristi Shannon, Lauren Wallace, Tyler Conley, Matt Howden, Nicole, Emily and Daniel Gillette.

Arizona Outreach 2010

2010-07-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Let the training begin. . . .

4:30 am

95 ambassadors of God shall embark upon this years Arizona Outreach

Keep us in your prayers and keep checking the blog for updates (maybe a video or 2). '

We are also showcasing our drama tomorrow night @ 9pm (Wednesday, July, 13, 2010) for everyone in the VBC family to see and we would love to see you there.

VBC in Haiti

2010-04-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. The first VBC team has arrived in Haiti (Chad Clelland, Steve Foster, Angela Fairfield, Ben Stanley and Nate Darnell). They will be working on the orphanage project and other various work projects. Check out the new website dedicated to our ongoing efforts in Haiti: www.vbcinhaiti.com

Here is the final video from the fact finding trip we took in March.

New Mexico Outreach, Thursday.

2010-04-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family! Thanks for the comments, we loved reading them. Here's an update for y'all. The rest of Tuesday went well. We painted the church sanctuary and it looks wonderful! It was such a blessing to be able to help this church out and make their sanctuary so beautiful! After painting, we prepared for the Tuesday night service that we were leading. Dan did worship and Jill, Michael Marvive and Rachel shared their testimonies. They did such a wonderful job and a lot of people were touched by their stories. It was great to be able to spend more time with the youth that lives here.
Yesterday was Wednesday. We got to sleep in a bit, which was refreshing. Luanne worked her magic and got 100 loaves of Artisan Bread donated for us to pass out to the local community. A team of 8 of us went out to deliver bread and flyer's [talking about God being the bread of life] to houses. It was one of the most impactful experiences we all have had. All the individuals receiving the bread were incredibly grateful and it encouraged all of us. We asked everyone we came in contact name how we could be praying for them, and also prayed for many on the spot. While we were passing out bread many others stayed back at the church finishing up the painting. On Wednesday night we headed to do another outreach to the community. We drove to an apartment complex to have a carnival. Pastor Sammi [he's from England] prepared a Nigerian Stew for all of us to eat. The night consisted of music, crafts, balloon animals, face painting, and playing with children. It was incredibly fun and all of us wished we could have stayed for longer. At the end of the night while we were driving away all of the kids ran after the van. Even though we had only spent a few hours with them they were already asking when we were going to come back. After the outreach we headed to get a snack at a restaurant. After we finished eating and devotions and were heading out the door to leave, we realized that the keys had been locked in the car. The adventure of calling AAA, and waiting 40 minutes for them to arrive and unlock the van is one we will never forget. The person is to remain anonymous until further notice.
This morning we had breakfast and began to clean up the Church. We are also working on a special project to bless Luanne. She has a room at the Church that she meets in with her girls. The room was pretty run-down and plain when we arrived, so we are brightening it up. We painted the walls green and blue, got some free furniture donated, and are beautifying it like no other. Tim left around 11AM, so now is when the party begins. [just kidding :)] Tonight we will be taking 12 people out to dinner. They are all individuals that have helped us out throughout the week. This trip has be so fun and we all agree that it has gone by fast. We can't wait to get home tomorrow night and tell you all of our stories. God is doing amazing things in all our or lives. Much love from New Mexico.

P.S. Now that Tim is gone, we will be bringing home a Ferret.

New Mexico Outreach 2010

2010-04-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hello All! We are sorry for the delay in a update, we have just been so busy!!
We arrived in Albuquerque on Saturday Night, and had a wonderful surprise. Larisa Wagner and her mother drove from Colorado to pay us a visit! "It was one of the top 10 moments of my life" quotes Rachel Howden. We were all so excited to be able to spend some time with her. After we collected all our baggage, the group went to a Delicious restaurant to have a late night snack. There we met some local pastors and enjoyed getting to know them. We also got to catch up with Luanne. Our sleeping arrangements are split up between 3 different locations. The men are at Delano's [one of the members of the church]. Jill, Stephanie and Rachel are at Floria's Apartment [another member of the church]. Last, but not least Olivia, Whitney, and Kelsey are staying with the wonderful Luanne Henderson!
Sunday was Easter, as you all know, and we had a packed day! We woke up before the sun and headed to the church to cook pancakes for the congregation. We probably made around 200 chocolate chip, blueberry, and plain pancakes; we also prepared mounds of bacon and sausage. Then the team helped out with the childcare during the church service. It was so fun to play around with the kids! After church we had some down time, so we headed to Starbucks to have a "meeting". There we got our wonderful Easter bags and letters. THANK YOU, for all who contributed--they were lovely. :) After that we headed to Jim and Pat's home for Easter dinner. They live out in the country of New Mexico and own about 10 acres. While dinner was being prepared we spent our time gazing into the coy pond, exploring the property, playing horseshoes, being serenaded by Dan, and having photo shoots. Dinner consisted of, Ice Tea, Mashed Potatoes, Potato Salad, Ham, Turkey, Meatloaf, Cold Slaw, Easter Cookies, Cake, Fudge Brownies and much more! Post dinner we had a time to prepare our testimonies and object lessons that we will be sharing throughout the week.
Yesterday [Monday] we started the day off with a wonderful cereal and bagel breakfast. From there we went to have a tour of the ECM [Eastern Central Ministries]. A little bit of information about ECM; it is a ministry in the most run down part of town, also known as the "war zone".The area is righ along Route 66, and used to be triving. Once the interstate was created The area is 1 square mile and it is mostly run down apartment buildings. ECM is a place for after school tutoring, Bible studies, and job provision. They manufacture their own pottery where they make Ollas [pots buried to help with irrigation for plants], have dental and health clinics, gardens, and much more. It was so amazing to hear what this ministry has done throughout the past few years! We visited Casa Shalom, the housing complex that ECM has re-done and provided inexpensive condo living for 14 families. We were all blown away by the way God is working through this ministry. [They have internships and Rachel is super interested..] After that we went to lunch at the famous Frontier Restaurant, and then had a lovely walk through the University of New Mexico campus. Then we headed to Juntos, which is a children's program every Monday Night. We got to lead the children in songs, play with them, and share with them. Tim, Dan, Michael Chew, Stephanie, Kelsey, Whitney, Olivia, and Jamie all shared their object lessons and did a great job. After Juntos we ate some dinner and went to bed.
All of that brings us to today. We woke up early and came to a prayer meeting at the church, ate breakfast, and are preparing to paint the church sanctuary. Tonight we will be leading the mid-week meeting where Jill, Michael Marvive and Rachel will be sharing their testimonies. We are eating well and the food here is so delicious! Thank you for all your prayers--they are appreciated tons! We love you! :)

P.S. Ferrets are legal to have as pets here and Olivia and Rachel want to bring one home.

Psalm 5:3 In the morning O Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Haiti

2010-03-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

On March 28, Valley Bible Church will be hosting a benefit for upcoming work projects that we will be taking part of in Haiti. The following video was shot at an orphanage in Port au Prince (PaP) on March 9, 2010. We will be helping build a new orphanage for these children as well as various homes and churches in the PaP area.

Belize '09 Wednesday (sorry for the delay, no internet!)

2009-11-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Today we took the day off from the Dental Clinic, work projects and the Dental/Nutrition Education to go enjoy the local waters. Steve, Chad and Michael (Chew) left early this morning to scuba dive at Laughing Bird Caye. After a 2 hour bus ride, 15 minute water taxi ride, and a 45 minute boat ride they arrived at the Caye. The guys dove to about 95 feet and saw a huge tarpin, Moray eel, crab, shrimp, 100 pound grouper, and dolphins. The rest of the team headed to the West Snake Caye, which was absolutely gorgeous, to snorkel, swim, and swing in hammocks. We also saw dolphins, along with a huge lobster and a leopard ray, and our guide found us a boa constrictor to hold and take pictures with.
Returning to Punta Gorda early afternoon, we were off to Da Wata Fountin for a time of ministry with the local kids. Some of the team shared how their relationship with Jesus has given them hope and a renewed life. Maylin treated us to a delicious home cooked meal of chicken, biscuits, potato salad, rice & beans, and carrot cake. We finished off the evening with devotionals at the hotel, a round of Apples to Apples, and an early bedtime to rest for another day of work and ministry. Pray for us to be effective these last couple days, and that we would continue to seek God for our strength, understanding and endurance.

Belize '09 Update: Thursday

2009-11-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a great Thanksgiving day. We all agreed that it was one of the most meaningful Thanksgivings we've ever experienced. The dental team worked their longest most demanding day so far. The education team spoke at yet another school and were received so well by teachers and students alike. And the construction team has nearly completed all their projects for the week.

We still spend a lot of our time with the same group of local children--Clayton, Keith, Shadeen, Jamilla, Jameeka, Mikey, Anthony, Christian, Trevonn, Eliela, Daniel, Josephine, Ralph, John (and others that come around occasionally). Some of their stories are heartbreaking but yet they just love being near us, and soaking up our attention. There have been numerous to pray for them and talk with them about the gospel. Please pray that God will soften their hearts to really seek him and desire him as their Savior!

We actually enjoyed a turkey dinner tonight! I found a local restaurant that was serving ham, turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, rice, and even pumpkin pie (all for $6.00 per person!). The restaurant was located right on the water and we enjoyed a cool breeze while we spent the evening devotion time sharing about all for which we have to give thanks--particularly as we spend this holiday in Belize. It was a memorable night and the team was very thankful for how we've bonded as a family (Rachel, Stephanie, and Kortney actually wrote a family tree of how we would all be related if we really were--it was quite humorous). God has been so good to us--we're blessed beyond measure.

Tim

Belize '09 :Tuesday

2009-11-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Our days start out with wonderful breakfasts at 'The Snack Shack,' a little thatched roof 'hut' about a block away from the Caribbean. Today we were served Belizian scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits. Cathy, Ed, and I did devotions for the group-our topic was 'encouragement' and everyone wrote two letters of encouragement to other team members. After a short, but meaningful discussion we all split up into our groups for our daily service assignments. The education group went to another elementary school that was behind the Forest Home Dental Clinic and was once again was able to visit all the classrooms. The dental team was, as always, very busy and working hard. The work group (my group) fixed old desks that were literally falling apart at one of the schools. We started constructing a HUGE picnic table that the school children are helping us build. I can’t wait--it’s going to be great and the kids at the school will really get a lot of use out of it.

After school Children's Ministry has been going smoothly and kids are memorizing verses from Bible stories. We promised them a special prize for the efforts that we'll give out on Friday. So far they have had the verses Luke 10:27 and Genesis 1:1. Tonight we went back to Marenco’s for good ol' hamburgers and ice cream. For devotions we shared something that we've done on this outreach that we'd never experience before. I shared about using a skill saw for the first time. Then, before going to bed, a group of us played an intense game of 'Spoons.' Tomorrow the team is going to take the day off for some snorkeling with turtles and sharks while Chad, Dad, and I are going scuba diving! Thanks for all your support and encouragement. Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Michael Chew

Some Pictures...

2009-11-24T06:47:00.000-08:00

Making signs for Da Wata Fountin.

All dressed up for Chruch!

Darlene playing the violin at the Sunday church service we attended.

...Sorry there arn't many, the internet is really slow & it takes forever to upload anything, but I tried. :)

Belize '09 Update: Sunday

2009-11-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

The early crew had breakfast at 7:15 and the late crew at 7:45am at April's Snack Shack. The ham and bean burritos had a fresh thick tortilla - even Chad has his fill. The team walked over to the Methodist Church and joined them for worship. Tim had the opportunity to share a few words of thanks and Darlene played her violin. The dental team drove out to Forest Home and brought some of the Walk About Children with them. The education team went to the new location for Da Wata Fountin. They removed debris in the back yard to open a space for the kids to enjoy patio and painted signs to advertise the new Wata Fountain location. Everyone was so excited to be reunited with the same children we enjoyed from previous trips. With his shades on, Tim was like a movie star with kids throwing themselves at him to shouts of TIM-OH-THY echoing down the street The rest of us were greeted with slightly less enthusiasm. Even without his cape, Tim had a fabulous day saving small children from drowning in the ocean, pushing ladies out of the way of oncoming buses and arranging dinner for our group of 22. We were all awed as Tim downed a bottle of Marie Sharp's hot sauce with his fried chicken, beans & rice, plantains and coleslaw. We grabbed some ice cream, took a walk along the water front and had our evening vespers. - Kim Chew

Belize '09 Update: Saturday

2009-11-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

Belize '09

Today the rest of the group woke up at two to drive the San Francisco International Airport--the Nannini’s and Chad went on their own flights. We got at the airport safely and we were off! We arrived at Houston around noon and caught our connecting fight a half an hour later. We got to Belize International Airport around five and got through immigration and customs smoothly-yes with all that dental supplies. We boarded the small twelve passenger propeller airplane. After flying over the mountainous landscape, accompanied by the beautiful sunset to the west, we landed in the lit up town of Punta Gorda, Belize. Most of our bags made it-one is coming tomorrow morning-and were able to check in the Charleston Inn shortly after our arrival. The kids and Mailin and Gideon Richards met us there. After unpacking our bags we headed to dinner at Marenco’s. We had fried chicken, stewed chicken, beans and rice, plantains, coleslaw, and potato salad. After a satisfying dinner we took a tour of the town with our Belizean friends along the vast Caribbean with Puerto Barrios lighting the sky. We settled down and had our vespers without any music-just our BEAUTIFUL voices. Now, off to bed for tomorrow--church and our first day of the clinic and service projects. Keep praying and we’ll update y’all ASAP. Michael Chew

Another great day in Belize!

2009-11-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Hello again! We're still having a great time! Thanks for all the comments, they were encouraging. Since we wrote last we have done lots of new things. Yesterday, we went on a chocolate tour to see how the chocolate is made here(all by hand!). We swam in the Caribbean with the children, and got attacked by shrimp and had to make a quick escape to the dock. Later that night we went to Da Wata Fountin and cataloged hundreds of books! We woke up bright and early this morning to get a good start on the day, ate some yummy breakfast. Bought some paint and wood to make signs for Da Wata Fountin and painted them. While we were waiting for them to dry, we headed to the Saturday street market for a bit. Later today we will be going to a Futbol game, searching for the best supermarkets, and greeting the rest of the team at the "airport". Thanks again for all the prayers. We would love to read comments from you!
Note to Howden Family: Please don't cut down a Christmas tree without me!! :)

The Methodist School where we'll be doing Dental Hygiene Education.

Mikey.

The Kids after we went swimming, trying to warm up on the dock.

All the boxes of books we cataloged.

Punta Gorda at night.

Painting our hands yellow, a BIG mistake.

Some of the fresh fruit at the market.

:)

Belize Outreach 2009

2009-11-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here we are (Jill, Kortney and Rachel) if you didn't already know, we headed to Punta Gorda a few days ahead of the rest of the team. The flight was smooth, and we arrived late afternoon on Wednesday. Within an hour of landing in town we saw our favorite kids, and we went running to them, as they came running to us. We attended bible study at Da Wata Fountin, got some tasty Belizean food, and headed to bed early. Thursday was Garifuna Day, where they celebrate the arrival of the Garifuna people in Punta Gorda. We woke up at 5:30 AM to see the re-enactment of the landing of the Garifuna people; followed by much dancing, drumming, chanting, parades, and other festivities throughout the day. It is safe to say the town is hoppin. We spent the morning at a missionary's house helping them put together goodie bags to celebrate Jesus' Birthday. She needs to put together over a thousand bags for children in the Mayan villages, we were glad to serve her, and make a dent in the enormous amount of work she had to do. Later, we walked around the town, hung out with the kids, and did some exploring. Today, we are planning on making some signs for Da Wata Fountin, and doing whatever other work God leads us to do. The rest of the team arrives tomorrow, and we are so excited for them to join us. Belize is feeling more and more like home. We are having so much fun, and loving every minute of it. Thanks for all the prayers, we have been blessed so far. We miss you guys! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy! :)

So excited to be on our way to Belize, in the SFO airport.

View of the Carribean from the plane.

View of Punta Gorda, from the small airplane.

Playing with the kids at the futbol field.

Garifuna Day!!

Tracing, cutting, hole punching, tying for the goodie bags.

Keity and Mikey.

Who doesn't love jumping pictures?

Breakfast! :)

India: October 21

2009-10-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 25
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

We’ve decided to start off each morning with a team devotion. One person will lead this each day. Today, we were challenged to consider our own personal reasons for being here and make sure they were truly in line with the Lord’s plans and purposes for us.. Then we reported to the Operation Mobilization (OM) dining hall for a tasty Indian taco breakfast before heading off to visit the Good Shepard’s School in a village called Uddamarry, about a 45 minute drive from the OM Campus. The School greeted us with a whole presentation and had us sit down on stage in front of the whole student body (pre-kindergarten to high school). We were given flower leis and the children sang a series of songs, recited the Indian pledge, and quoted Bible verses. We were then each asked to say a few words in front of the 400 students and faculty members. We went from class to class, led by the principal of the school, and we were introduced to each of the teachers and the students in all the classes.

The manager of the school then taught us about the other ministries of the Good Shepherd schools. This is the official name of all the OM schools in the country. Since the Dalit uprising in the early 2000’s, OM has made it their commitment to provide education for as many Dalit communities as possible. Once the schools are established, OM makes it known to the local community that they also provide services including micro loans, health and dental care, local church participation, and helpful seminars on parenting, women issues, etc. We were all so impressed by all the services that OM provides for the Dalit communities.

We were then driven a slum area where we were greeted by more smiling Dalit children who move with their parents from job to job. We walked into the middle of their makeshift shanty town, filled with homes made of tarps and mud. The children and adults that came to greet us seemed no different from those who approached us in the downtown areas of Hyderabad. But their lives and homes were quite different from the city dwelling Indians. Remarkably, OM has set up a school in this slum and has even made the school out of tarps and mud to fit in with all the other dwellings.

We all are so drawn to these kids! They are so open to us and so happy just to receive our hugs, hold our hands, and take pictures with us—and they never asked for anything! I was so taken back by that—they didn’t ask for food, money, nothing. I left their homes so convicted by my lack of appreciation for what I have in the USA. These children are content with virtually nothing, yet I always find myself wanting more. I found myself wanting to give them anything--everything I had, yet they didn’t ask me for a thing. They seemed to be content just to be with us and touch us. The Dalit “Untouchables” (as they are sometimes called) had been touched by four guys from America, Ambassadors for Christ.

The rest of the afternoon, we were in meetings with lots of OM staffers and leaders. We learned about everything from how their finances are handled, to the child sponsorship program, to the advocacy work that’s being done, to the books and resource materials that are being sent out all over India by OM. The more we learn, the more impressed we are with how God is at work here and the level of integrity of the team he has assembled to serve him in India.

India: October 26

2009-10-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 26
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

Today we took a train from Delhi to Agra, home of the renowned Taj Mahal. After deboarding the train, we were swarmed by taxi drivers and we ended up renting an auto rickshaw (three wheel taxis which is like a covered motorcycle with a bench seat attached to it). The drivers offered to take us to the Taj Mahal and any other sites we wanted to visit in Agra for 500 rupees (approximately 10 bucks) for the entire day. It sounded like a good deal to us and so we hired them. We arrived at the south gate of the Taj Mahal and as it came into view, we understood why people travel from all over the world to see it.. It truly was a magnificent site. The ruler who had the Taj Mahal built did so as a tribute to his deceased wife. She had died from medical complications after giving birth to the couple’s 14 child. Aaron kept commenting about how deeply he must have loved her to have built such a monument.

Our drivers took us to lunch and we enjoyed fine Indian cuisine (butter chicken, naan, basmati rice, roti, and other Indian delicacies). Afterward, we were taken to a bunch of shops around Agra where merchants pandered marble, carpets, jewelry, and textiles. We soon realized that our taxi drivers were probably getting kickbacks from all the places we were visiting!

Finally, we visited the Red Fort (or Agra Fort), another big tourist attraction in Agra, The walls were huge and the views spectacular, but the most fascinating attraction for us was the monkeys that roamed wild around the courtyards. We took a lot of pictures and made a lot of memories, and met some great people, but man, we were beat by the time we got on that train back to Delhi! We’d covered a lot of ground and it was nice to nap on the train. A driver from the hotel picked us up at the Delhi train station and took us back to the hotel. In no time, we were all in bed, anticipating the trip back to Hyderabad and ultimately, home.

India: October 25

2009-10-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 25
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

This was a big day for our team! We woke up, had breakfast, then Tim, Adam, Aaron and I prepared for our parts of the worship service at the Gundla Pochampally church (Pastor Solomon).

Before we left we went to the OM service where we were able to hear the VBC missionary, Dr. Joseph D’Souza, preach part of his sermon. We had hoped to spend time with Joseph, but due to his hectic schedule and some family health issues, we were unable to do so. Although it seemed that spending time with Joseph was supposed to be a priority for us, we all began to realize that there were other important matters to occupy our time and not seeing Joseph was going to be okay with us.

We were greeted so warmly at the Gundla Pochampally church by a round of applause and an introduction. There was a lot of singing, and a time spent for each person in the church family to present an offering to the Lord. Then many church members shared testimonies and prayer requests. We couldn’t understand a word that was being spoken but the Spirit was definitely prompting us to pray as we felt led.

We presented a skit demonstrating the way as humans we often find ourselves rebelling from God’s plan and rejecting our need for the Jesus. Yet Christ always waits for us with open arms and patient love. Adam and Aaron did a wonderful job sharing and challenging the church to grow in their faith as they have grown in theirs. Tim gave a powerful message on what it means to give our full lives to Christ not just bits and pieces. We all sensed by the reaction of the people that they received the message with open hearts, judging by the line of people wanting to talk to us and have us pray for them.

The love and message of Christ has been shared profoundly during our week in Hyderabad, and this team from Valley Bible Church now has some wonderful new friends/brothers and sisters in Christ in India!

India: October 23

2009-10-30T16:55:00.001-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 23
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

Not as many meeting were planned for us today which gave Tim and I time to prepare for the sermons we are to share at two different churches on Saturday and Sunday. Aaron and Adam would be sharing their testimonies as well over the next couple of days.

We went to a lunch with a few of OM founding leaders. They informed us about how OM was started and of all the ways it has grown over the past years through the provision of God and his people. They asked each member of our team to tell share from own lives because they really wanted to get to know us, too. We spent a lot of time sharing and listening and encouraging one another and this was one of the best meetings we’d had so far. For Aaron, especially, this seemed like a breakthrough day and he began to see his purpose in India and on our team from a new perspective. It seemed that his excitement about being here was completely changed and even more open to God’s plans and desires than before!

After our lunch we were taken by a local pastor named Bangaraju (Bong-a-ra-joo) to what the people around here call the Pipe Villige. It’s a Dalit community that has built homes in discarded, large, cement pipes provided by the local cement factory where many of the Dalit work. As I most of the slum areas we’ve visited, there was trash and debris everywhere surround the dwellings, but on the inside, their living areas were clean and well kept. We were greeted by some of the most loving and beautiful children we’ve met so far, and their parents welcomed us into their ‘Pipe’ homes with open arms. They even asked us to pray over a newborn infant born to one family just a few days ago.

We arrived home early enough in the afternoon to walk around the campus and we stumbled upon a group of OM staffers playing badminton. We all joined in for a few games and had so much fun with them and they with us. Our new badminton friends, Christopher Wilfred, Babychee and Babuchan encouraged us to come back every afternoon we had available to play with them. We all hope we’ll be able to!

God continues to care for us so faithfully! We’re all safe, well-fed, comfortable, and we’re meeting so many amazing people and seeing so much of what God is dong here. It really is an honor to be here.

India: October 22

2009-10-30T11:05:00.001-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 22
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

So today after breakfast, Sanjeev, one of our OM drivers, took us to the Dalit school called in the village of Nandigaon. We were met by the school’s Principal, John, and he introduced us at a school assembly of a little over 100 Dalit children. They performed some songs for us and we actually taught them a song of our own (Brother Friend). They were a beautiful group of kids and so excited about life and their dreams of becoming doctors, teachers, police officers and pastors some day. The school was actually a rented home built of sticks and mud and the permanent school is under construction, a few kilometers away.. John and Sanjeev took us to visit the new school site, another project funded by OM and their contributors. The school’s goal is to eventually reach the 10,000 Dalit children living in the area.

Later that day, our favorite OM driver, Subrahamanyam, picked us up and took us to an old fort called Golkonda in the middle of Hyderabad. It was huge stone fort built during an ancient kingdom to provide protection and oversight. It had a beautiful view of all of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. We did a lot of exploration and took a lot of photos. Then Subrahamanyam took us to the old city of Hyderabad. It was an amazing area, filled with shops and people and lots of activity. Unfortunately, we found ourselves trapped in a mammoth traffic jam created by an Islamic ritual that was taking place in the middle of the old city. Traffic was backed up for miles around and we were stuck with no air conditioning and rolled down windows in one of the most polluted and congested parts of the city!

But there was an amazing end to our traffic nightmare—we found a McDonald’s for dinner. We were bummed that there was no dollar menu (or beef!) but the chicken sandwiches were the best EVER! We eventually made it back to the OM campus and went to bed exhausted, but with bellies filled with good ol’ American fast food.

India: October 24

2009-10-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 24
Submitted by: Luke Greenaway

Today was a BIG day! Tim and I were asked to share in the sermon at a youth meeting at the Erukula Church, in a Dalit Village. An OM pastor (Bangarraju) met us at OM headquarters and we drove to the village along with Isaac, another OM staffer.

Tim and I prepared for the majority of the day, but we continued to have great fellowship with Adam and Aaron, and even took in another round of badminton with some OM staffers!

Bangarrau and Isaac drove us to the church, positioned in the middle of the village and about 20 teens and young adults showed up. The service started with a lot of traditional Indian worship music and even thought none of us could understand a word, we all joined in the with clapping and worshipping as everyone else sang their hearts out. Tim gave his testimony and then our team led a song for the youth (Every Move I Make). They all sang with us and laughed at our hand motions and it was really a great experience for all of us. Then I shared a message on 1 Peter 1 and talked about being strangers in this world, the struggles of teens in the USA, and the common trials we share with youth in India. I wanted to share with them that we should not be storing up worldly treasures but rather as followers of Christ we should be storing up our treasures in heaven as Christ called us to in the book of Mathew.

The message went well and the youth seemed responsive to the word and to us throughout the whole night--even though the song, testimony, and message were translated.

After the drive back to the OM base, we spent the rest of the evening resting and preparing for ministry the next day. Aaron, Adam, Tim and I will all be sharing tomorrow at another church in a different village. God is blessing us so and giving us amazing opportunities to see his hand at work and allow us to be used to share his power and love with so many!

India: October 18-20

2009-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Destination: OM (Operation Mobilization)
Team: Aaron Bailey, Luke Greenaway, Tim Barley, Adam Burke
Duration: October 18-28, 2009
Assignment: Education, Encouragement, Evangelism, Adventure
Today’s Log: October 20

Hello everyone! This is Luke I am writing you from the flat (i.e. guest room) that Tim and I are sharing at the OM (Operation Mobilization) headquarters in Hyderabad, India. Our flight from SFO was amazing with lots of food, sleep and fellowship. After 16 hours of sitting next to each other on a plane, Adam, Tim, Aaron and I become very comfortable with one another and bonded as a team, ready to touch a new part of the world with God’s love and the message of Christ.

Our first stop was in Dubai where we had a 9 hour layover. We all enjoyed walking the streets, walking through a local mall, and driving to the Burj Dubai, currently the tallest building in the world (it’s still under construction and will be completed in December 2009). Our next stop was Hyderabad, India. We walked off the plane and the first thing we heard from the people and saw written on the signs was the saying “Glorious India.” We’d find out very soon if that was true or not!

Our driver from OM headquarters picked us up and we drove to the OM campus. Let me tell you--that was the drive of a life time! What a local in India considered a normal drive through town was more like a suicide mission for me! I heard more bus and car horn honking than all the horns combined I’ve heard in my lifetime. The drivers are so aggressive and they swerve around other cars and motorcycles, coming literally inches from smashing into each other. Fortunately for us our driver, Subrahamanyam (try and say that three times fast!) has been a cab driver in India for over 15 years took very good care of us.

When we arrived at the OM campus, we were taken to our flats. The room Tim and I share is about 15 feet from Aaron and Adam’s. We were soon greeted by a lady named Manju who is the guest relations coordinator (she will be taking care of us the whole time here). She brought us to meet the associate director of OM India, Raja, and we talked with him about many of the current projects and ministries of OM over some Indian tea (which Tim says it’s the best he’s ever tasted!). Then Manju took us to lunch where we ate a meal consisting of rice, noodles, meat, yogurt, banana, and some soup which was poured over rice—a real taste of India!

Manju then took us on a tour of the whole campus we met sooooo many people--there is a college, supply center, and three warehouses filled with Christian books and supplies that are distributed all over the country. We learned about how the Gospel is spread through Bibles, CDs, books, movies, and OM is involved with all these areas of production and distribution. It was amazing to see how the Body of Christ is working as a team so effectively in India.

We then had dinner and decided to go out into the street to see what the night life consisted of. Not much other than more traffic, strewn garbage, stray dogs and lots more people. We spoke to a few locals outside of the OM campus and they were all people interested in what we were doing in a place like Hyderabad. Aaron and I have been taking a lot of pics so we will see if we can get them up on the blog for you. Everyone is well and happy and tired and speaking of tired I’m actually going to bed right now.

Good night until next time…

Coming Home

2009-07-26T10:40:00.001-07:00

The team just arrived on California soil and will be back at VBC this evening around 10pm. Come to the church to welcome the team home! Sarah and Allison just sent these pictures of the creatures they smuggled across our border. Kristi sent a pic as well.

Sedona to Kingman!

2009-07-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

The group arrived in Kingman around 6:00 tonight. They spent the first part of the day in Sedona, where they did baptisms and had some recreation time together. Enjoy these pictures from today.

QUICK CATCH UP. . .

2009-07-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hello my fellow blog followers. Sorry for not updating the blog since Tuesday because we have been extremely busy!!! So since our last post we have finished up our work projects on the mission and off the mission. Wednesday we put the finishing touches on the projects and went to our Navajo families houses for the last time and invited them to the pizza party last night (thurs.)

On thurday we finished our projects by noon and started preparing for the pizza party later that night. We were all anxious to preform our dramas and interact with the Navajo for our last night serving them. This night was a great success!!!! We had a huge turnout from the community that came to our party. The dramas were preformed perfectly and really showed the message of Jesus in an interesting way. Jerry (one of the mission staff) gave a gospel message while our very own Cody used his amazing drawing skills to give a visual on what Jerry was talking about. We ended our night by saying our goodbyes to our Navajo families and got all their contact info. This was an epic night that God provided for us to further his kingdom.

Earier today we left the mission and headed to our recreation options. As I type right now we our in a church in Sedona that overlooks the beautiful red rocks (but its night so I cannot see anything). Our agenda for tomorrow is we will head to Grasshopper Point where we will perform baptisms and have our morning devo time. We will then head back to Kingman and have our last night together as a team.

We will try to update or send pictures to Dan and he will update it because of a lack of Internet connections.

Pics to follow. . .

On the Road Again

2009-07-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Here are a few pictures to tide you over. The team was not able to update the blog the last couple days but they sent me some pics today (Allison and Charlie). Everything went really well and tonight they will stay in Flagstaff after a day in the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Check back tomorrow for more.

A Look at Today by Two of Our Own

2009-07-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

YAH AH TAY!

So today was a great day! God blessed us with nice cool weather. Many of our offsite projects consist of building and painting things. The basketball staff and some of the Navajo had a very competitive but God-focused basketball game after lunch. Right now we’re having free time and some people are showering, playing basketball, and taking a nice nap. Anyway we’re getting ready for dinner and after dinner we’ll all be heading to our kids club sites. By the way - this is Patrick Colin Espiritu and sitting to my right is the amazing Rachel Howden. As I am typing right now she is making me a bracelet. This morning, I and five other people, gave a devotional on what focusing on God looks like and how we can have a heart that thrives for the Lord. Kirsten Kline supplied a testimony that a lot of other people found encouraging! The blog admin team is booting me off because I am typing too much! But I hope everyone is doing well in CALIFORNIA!!! Can’t wait to come home! Miss you and love you guys!

Greetings Valley Bible community! God is so good. Thus far the trip has been absolutely incredible. God’s love has been poured over all of us and the blessings are countless. With servants’ hearts, we are all giving up ourselves in many ways, hot and tired we press on. As we encounter personal struggles, we continue to learn and grow, seeking God despite any physical and emotional circumstances. (“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” James 1:12.) For God works greatly through out pain and difficulties. I’m so amazed by the work God is doing in his children here in Arizona. Everywhere I look I see the Spirit moving and there is nothing more exciting and encouraging to me than that. Continually smiling down on his people, God has provided us with more and more testimonies that acknowledge His awesome power. He has healed many of us physically and emotionally, forever holding true to His promises. Thank you so much for all your prayers and please continue to pray for all of us here, our journey, and the Navajo.

Attention James Foster – Hey Pop! Thinking of you today – wanted to wish you a very, very happy birthday! We are Soooo glad that you were born. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil 1:3). Bless you, Dad.

FOR THE WIFE

2009-07-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hi My Love,

I am having an incredible trip. It has been great getting to know the students, leaders and the Navajo families that we have been working with. Last night we went to the Clark family home and had a time of fellowship and bible study. I was able to share the story of how God’s leading brought me on the trip at the last minute.. it was great. God is definitely at work in my life through this opportunity.

I miss you so much. Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday night when we return.

Hi Jackson! Hi Helena! I miss you too! I hope you are all having a great week and have a great time at Grandpa Matt’s and Grandma Kris. Jackson, I have been taking good notes and pictures every day. You are going to love to hear about the trip when I get home.

Hugs, kisses and my Love to everyone!

Love,

Dave

Working Day One...

2009-07-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Today is July 20th, and the first day of our work crews. I'm painting a house with a couple of people, it's pretty fun. The family we painted for was great; they told us this fantastic story of spitting guard llamas... random I know! But today was great, no major injuries sustained! I hope all you don't miss us too much!

Love you all!

Aspen

Candice Harvey:

Chello madre! just letting you know that i am still alive and well. Ive been putting sunscreen on everyday so I'm perfectly fine. its been a lot of fun, and i got to play with puppies today and met a lama who spits poisonous acid. its been great. Say hi to lulu for me and I'll see you on Sunday or whenever we get back.

love you,

Nicole

Tonight was the first time we met our at our kid club sites. We are all amped to see what God will do with these families. Tonight's' crafts surrounded David and the Lions den. On our way home from kids club we had an amazing light show by God in the form of lightning.

For the Wives

2009-07-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

SPECIAL HUSBANDS ONLY POST. . .

To my honey,

I miss you. I love you. And I will see you soon I’m having a great time up here.

Lots of hugs and kisses to my grandkids!

Love your honey,

Kaleo

____________________________________________________________________

Hi Becky,

I cannot tell you HOW MUCH I am missing you. Mission trips are a lot easier when you are along; particularly the sleeping. You cannot believe the snoring. Our trip has been totally amazing. The Navajo are so gentle and humble. We could all be better Christian if we learned a few of their ways. Can hardly wait to share all the stories.

Love,

Mark

Sunday Sunday Sunday. . .

2009-07-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

our day started off this morning with a wonderful breakfast! shortly after we loaded up and drove off to a place called Green Valley. it is a beautiful sight where God's majesty and creation are clearly displayed. there we had an amazing time of devotions, worship, and communion. the fellowship and setting couldn't have been better. on the way back we did have a few technical difficulties (mini vans stuck in the sand, one of which, 4 girls had to push out) but all turned out alright. our day then proceded with lunch, drama practice, free time, dinner and a hike. the hike was to the top of a mesa where we watched the sunset. it was yet another beautiful sight! today 6 more of our team members drove 14 hours straight to meet up with us at the mission. we are having such a great time getting to know all of the wonderful people God has placed on this trip with us. we greatly appreciate your prayers, they have been SO effective already!! we can't wait to be assigned our work crews and kids club teams tomorrow and begin serving the Navajo people.

authors note: we would try to be wittier, however, we are tired, sweaty, and in great need of a shower. PS: HI MOM!! (love, Rachel and Kortney)

UPDATE: The Late Group

2009-07-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

A group of 6 students and leaders (Jason Hicks, Kaitlin Sill, Chad Clelland, Charlie Meng, Chantal Clark and Becca Howden) left Pleasanton last night at midnight and headed to the Rez. They had various prior obligations that held them back from the rest of the group but they made it to Kingman at 8am, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and should be at Immanual Mission around 6pm. Pray for them!

UPDATE of the UPDATE:
The "late group" made it to Flagstaff at noon and had lunch and should be to the mission around dinner.

We have arrived. . .

2009-07-18T23:51:00.000-07:00

10:07pm

Arrived at Emmanuel Mission

tired. . .

weary. . .

a bit sore. . .

but in GRAND spirits.

none left behind.

no shark attacks.

photos and journey details coming tomorrow.

Day 2: Kingman to the Rez

2009-07-18T18:08:00.001-07:00

The team left Kingman around 8am this morning and are en route to the Rez after an early morning Cracker Barrel run (an AZ Outreach tradition). Around 2pm the group stopped in Flagstaff for gas and lunch. Enjoy the pics and videos. The team will be updating the blog tomorrow from Immanuel Mission.

A friend in Kingman.

Weber takes on Spencer at the Cracker Barrel.

Flagstaff lunch stop.

Steve getting gas.

Tim talking to the credit card company @ a gas station.

Day 1: Heading to Kingman, AZ (Part 1)

2009-07-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. The team left VBC this morning at 7:15 and are en route to Kingman. The drive has been uneventful (in a good way) so far and everyone is looking forward to arriving in Arizona. We will continue to update the blog today and tomorrow with pics from the voyage. Here are some pictures from the ride that were taken via cell phone by Allison Auser, Matt Howden, Cody Jorgensen, Cathy Farrar, Kristi Shannon and Sarah Burns. Enjoy.

UPDATE...

The team arrived safely in Kingman around 7:30pm. After a very restful night of sleep in one of America's most beautiful towns (ok that was an exaggeration but Kingman does get a shoutout in Pixar's Cars), the team will hit the road in the morning and head to the Rez. Everyone should arrive at Immanuel Mission around 8pm.

Orientation

Departing VBC

Blake, the rookie.

Not sure if the "Z A" was intentional or not?

Sleepers.

Brentooth technology.

Josh reading Narnia.

Balmy.

Arizona Outreach '09

2009-07-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Let the training begin. . .

4:30 am

120 ambassadors of God shall embark upon this years Arizona Outreach

Keep us in your prayers and keep checking the blog for updates.

Reaching Out and Being Stretched

2009-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

The second half of our time in Germany was spent in Hiedelberg, working with the Calvary Chapel church. To say they treated us well, would be a gross understatement. They continually went above and beyond in showing hospitality, and honor in serving, and botherly love, as Romans 12 tells us we should. During worship times the sermon is in english and then translated to german, some songs are sung in german and others in english, but the common bond of Gods goodness and grace is international and knows no bounds.
Our main objective during our stay was to reach out to the community. We did our best to engage people in conversation, in hopes it would turn to spiritual matters. People were invited to church and to a showing of the Passion on Friday night. This was an uncomfortable endeavor for some, but God is good, and when you step out in faith He is always there! When the weather permitted we played football by the river and invited those we played with to church. The MVP of the game was voted to be Becky Pine, who knew?
We hope you will pray for the Calvary Chapel church, that their love for Jesus will change this community one person at a time, and God will bless them so they may Glorify Him even more. What a wonderful group of people, hopefully we were able to encourage them like they did us.
We meet so many wonderful people on this trip, who have a heart for God, and attachments were created in a very short time as we shared our stories and hearts. The team also grew closer daily with new appreciations of each other and the different talents and gifts we each brought to Germany. It is sad as the time draws near to go home, but we hope your prayers will not stop when the trip does. God has us each on this trip for a reason, now it is time to find out how to use what we have learned and to take the next step in serving and living for God. It was a special time of drawing near to God that we want to continue even when we find ourselves back in familiar surroundings once again.
May Gods will be done on earth as it is in heaven, with Him recieving all the glory!!!!

Catching You Up...some Pics...Words to Come Later

2009-04-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Lunch in Heidelberg

Hospitality House in Bitburg

Kid's Club in Bitburg

Creation Story

Heidelberg Street Ministry

As Larry mentioned in the last entry half of our team had a fun opportunity to help out mothers whose husbands have been deployed. We so enjoyed being able to give them two free days of freedom to run errands and catch up on housework. Their children were delightful...we sang songs with them, had center time (playdough, art, puzzles, etc), told stories, played pretend dinosaurs...and more!

On Wednesday before leaving we had the wonderful opportunity to visit Farmer Mark's pig farm (Sheila and Roger's neighbor). It was an oinkin good time! ...gotta run, but will definitely share more later...we are all safe, well and happy! The Lord is good!

Serving in Germany

2009-04-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday several of us undertook a number of major improvements at the hanger, (Roger and Sheila's house). The weather was perfect for working and we accomplished much. Among other things, we tore out some bushes and grass to create a safe and more direct route to their front door, which by the way, seems to be open to anyone anytime who needs a Mom, Dad, Friend, Mentor, etc....We also cleared out a huge area for a future fire pit, which will be one more place to have some wonderful, and warm fellowship when visiting. In addition, two strawberry patches were planted and some bushes moved.
Hard work? Yes! Rewarding? OH yeah! We will sleep well again tonight. Much ibeprofen has been administered, but not one complaint. The stories you share and the friendships you build while working together are more than worth a little soreness! What a wonderful place they have created here for the military personel to hang out and be loved. We are honored to have been able to lend a helping hand around the property, what amazing hosts they have been. They are building a website, www.spanghanger.net if you are interested in learning more about their ministry here in Germany.
We will try to get you an update on the childrens ministry shortly, which is where the other half of the team has been serving. Thank you again for all your prayers, please continue as we have much left to do. Dan seems to be feeling better today, and his ailment has not spread to anyone else. We will be heading to the base one last time tonight for dinner and fellowship and leaving in the morning for Heidelburg for phase two of the trip. We love you and miss you all!

The Germany Team

Some Pics and Prayer Requests

2009-04-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

Everything Drama
Easter Sunday Morning

Tim Preaching Sunday am at Hospitality House "Barn"
Hey All

Hi Guys...this is Cathy...we would like you to especially pray for Deej. He is very sick and down emotionally as well a bit. We did get him on an antibiotic, but please be praying for healing for him quickly for a couple of reasons...he was supposed to speak to Lauren Wallace's Young Life club tonight and Dan also has surgery scheduled the day after he returns from Germany. Thank you soooo much!

The entire team was blessed in ministry yesterday. Half of us held a "day care" for mothers whose husbands have been deployed. They were very appretiative of the freed up time to get some time freed up. The other half did work projects around the Hospitality House.

We're off right now for a full day of ministry today as well, but we will post more later on today...it is so great knowing we are loved and supported by such an awesome church family. Thank you all for the notes and comments on the blog...please keep um comin'!

Easter Sunday in Germany

2009-04-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

God has blessed un with another beautiful day in Bitburg. Made all the more beautiful by remembering Jesus ressurection and looking at His Love and infinite beauty. Chimes rang out from the town church this morning after being silent since Good Friday, and children walked through town celebrating the risen Saviour with bells.
We celebrated Easter in a loft called "the upper room", out behind "the hanger" which is the name given to Roger and Sheilas hopitality house. Some of the highscoolers put on a skit, Dan led some singing and Tim read and talked on John 20-21. This celebration was shared with about 50 people from the nearby military base. Afterwords we all enjoyed fellowship and another amazing meal prepared by Sheila and company.
We had enough time for an afternoon stroll before we headed to Spangdahlum Airforce base for the chapel service. After which once again we continued meeting military families, and enjoyed building friendships, and being encouraged by their stories and comitments to God. When asked to share who had brought visitors, Lauren was able to announce she had 19 visitors this week!
I am so blessed; First for the love, suffering and redeming work of our Lord Jesus, second for the followers of Christ who are in the military living thier lives for God, thirdly from our own team members who continue to serve selflessly before men and God. Your prayers are coveted and we all look forward to sharing more details of Gods and work in Germany when time permits. Love in Christ

Safe and Happy in Bitburg, Germany

2009-04-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Some of our girls "playing" flight attendant during our 11 hour flight

A little downtime in Trier

Nicole and Tiffany

....just wanted to write a quick update to let you all know that we arrived safely in Germany. We had a great flight and sailed through customs. We were met at the airport by our very own Lauren Wallace with two vans provided by our gracious hosts Roger and Sheila Nielson.

Roger and Sheila work with Cadence International (www.cadence.org), a ministry that reaches out to the military community around the world to share the gospel. Here in Landsheid, Germany, Roger and Sheila have a hospitality home where they have young men and women based here in Germany over several times a week for Bible studies, dinner and just fun "hang out" time. This week we are the grateful recipients of their hospitality!

Our drive into Bitburg from the airport in Frankfurt took about two hours. After unloading our gear into our rooms here at the Nielson's we traveled about 30 minutes into Trier, the oldest town in Germany. We had a delightful day hanging out with some of the students and leaders in Lauren's Young Life club...we even got to pretend we were gladiators at an ancient amphitheater!

We had a delicious dinner prepared by Sheila. Most of us were, by then, barely able to keep our eyes open, but we were challenged by our devo team tonight (Tim, Lea and Natalie) to be diligent in taking care of our bodies, minds and spirits. They shared scriptures with us from Ephesians and Corinthians reminding each of us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and to be actively putting on the whole armor of God.

...to be continued tomorrow! Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. Please do post notes and comments on the blog...we'll be updating and checking it daily!

Happy Easter to you all...our Lord is RISEN!

Outreach Germany '09

2009-04-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

We'll begin blogging on this blogspot after we arrive in Germany on April 11, 2009. Please begin praying for our safety, effectiveness in ministry and the spiritual growth of our team.

Belize Outreach '08 - Thanksgiving Nov 27

2008-11-27T15:32:00.000-08:00

I just finished up my time in Punta Gorda and I'm up in northern Belize for Thanksgiving with a few of the team members (Josh Keen, Will Roeder, the Chew family, the Gong family, and Kim Chew's family from Texas). It was an intense week of ministry for us. The dental team saw scores of people, many of whom were in miserable situations with their dental health and there were many heartbreaking scenarios for them. They commented on how they worked longer hours, under stressful circumstances, receiving no compensation (THEY had to pay to come here!), and in more primitive conditions than any of them have back in the Bay Area. However, they all unanimously agreed, by the end of the week, that their work at the clinic was by far the most rewarding dental service they'd ever provided. The patients they saw here in Belize were so genuinely grateful for what they were receiving and the dental team's hearts were so full of appreciation to be able to serve such a thankful community.

For the rest of us, we spent the week loving on the children of Punta Gorda. Many of them were street kids whose parents, for a variety of reasons, are unable (or unwilling) to invest in raising their kids. I'm talking about ten year olds and younger who are literally raising themselves. This is why so many of the children are starving for interaction. So from the moment we got up in the morning until the time we were ready for bed, these kids were right by our sides (or on our shoulders, backs, and laps!). One family in particular touched us deeply. The Fitzgibbon children--Clayton, 'Keetie', and Shadean (11, 8, and 5 years old, respectively)--were with us all week and all of the team fell in love with them. We found out their dad had died of AIDS a few months earlier and their mom, for whatever reasons, was not meeting their basic needs. One of the local restaurant owners told us that she feeds the kids breakfast in exchange for their attendance at school. She said they rarely miss a day of school--and even if they do, she very firmly finds out why they missed class, and even if their reason isn't legitimate, she still feeds them, after a stern but loving lecture. In spite of all they lack by US standards, you will not find a happier, sweeter, more loving trio of children anywhere. It was amazing to see how the Lord was using us to literally by His hands, feet, backs, shoulders, and voice of love and truth to these children. We're still trying to figure out the details of how we can continue to support these kids and others we met, but many of us have committed to regularly write letters to them, and let them know we WON'T forget about them. We want to communicate God's love and the message of Jesus to them for as long as we can in prayerful hope that they will one day call upon His name and experience the fullness of His grace.

I write this to you on Thanksgiving Day because of how God has filled my heart with such gratitude for so much--too much, if you know what i mean. I have so much more than I need and yet, I'm often not fully satisfied. But I hope because of what I have experienced here, I will let Him purify my thoughts, desires, and goals and become more aware of the needs of others (especially in our own community!).

He also reminded me over and over again this week of how thankful I am for the High School
Ministry Leaders. I serve alongside a team of extraordinary men and women, committed to the Savior and our students and their families. What a blessing it is for me to know you and to be a co-laborer in the Lord's Kingdom with them. May you all each enjoy a meaningful celebration of Thanksgiving today. May you all be reminded of how powerfully God is using your life and gifts, and how much MORE he wants to use you in the days to come--to touch even more lives, proclaim His eternal truth, and meet the needs of those who desperately need the touch of the Father shared through His children. With much love and gratitude for you all...

Tim

Philippians 1:3

Belize Outreach '08 - Last Day - Nov 25

2008-11-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

Bright and early we had French toast at the Snack Shack. The education team and dental team took our places early to get in as much work done as possible.
The education team taught 2 more classes on dental hygiene. After the presentations, the team headed to DaWata Fountain and helped Maylin catalog some books so that kids could check them out. After lunch, they returned to the school to hold volleyball clinics for the older classes. The teachers and staff presented Belize key chains to the education team as a thanks.

The dental team worked at a furious pace all day. Dr. Gong saw some of the hardest, wiggliest, most scared patients we’d seen all week. A lady who had arrived at 10am that morning to get a cleaning appointment, gave her appointment up to her own brother. Amy took the brother and completed an extensive 2 hour deep teeth cleaning on wobbly teeth. Amy explained that she did the best she could, but that he would probably loose a couple of teeth. Even after enduring 2 hours of deep cleaning, this man wept with gratitude and gave hugs and thanks to everyone. The dental team left feeling satisfaction for the day’s work. In all we saw 103 patients, did 20 extractions, 93 fillings, 69 cleanings, 12 consultations, repaired 1 denture and had 4 runners. (people who found out they had to get a shot, and suddenly had “other” places to be!)

That night we had our favorite rice and beans, plantains, fish and chicken at Marian’s. We shared our favorite funny moments around the dinner table – fleeing from spiders, holding wet children, Amy yelping from being bitten by fish, Tim teaching flossing.

We were able to close the evening by sitting on a roof deck, overlooking the ocean and sharing words of gratitude and appreciation. Everyone was so thankful that God gave us the opportunity to join in His Plan for Belize.

We closed the evening with Rachel Howden's baptism in the Carribean Sea. We used our headlights to illuminate the event. We went to bed that night with fond memories and pondering our future roles as missionaries in Punta Gorda.
Kim

Belize Outreach '08 - Monday, Nov 24

2008-11-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

We started the morning with a Belizean breakfast of fryjack, refried and eggs. We had time during devotions to meditate. The education team headed to the Methodist school and helped lead devotions and visited 4 different classes of kids ages 4 to 12. We were going to teach 4 more classes, but they took one look at Jill and recognized her crazy volleyball skills. We taught 2 basic volleyball clinics – the kids loved it. After school the team took some kids swimming in the Caribbean – it was rough but someone had to do it. Most of the kids are not swimmers, so they clung to the team in the water like barnacles.

The dental headed team headed to the clinic and got to treat a jaguar hunter, missionaries with Child Evangelism Fellowship and interns from Machaca (a Christian camp for kids) along with the locals. Some people had come from far away villages, and waited for hours for their first dental visit. We had a little excitement at lunchtime when Josh backed the van into a ditch. McGyver Marcus and Josh engineered the van loose with boards, a car jack and lots of pushing. April from the Snack Shack made sack lunches for us each day that we devoured.

In the evening we went to Da Wata Fountain, the ministry set up by Valley Bible’s missionary Julia DeShong for the walk-about children of Punta Gorda. Gideon and Maylin, the directors of Da Wata Fountain, invited us to sing songs and play with the kids. We were able to pay for the Monday dinner that was served by Maylin and Stephanie to the 40 kids and our team– beans and rice, Johnny cakes (biscuits), chicken, coleslaw & juice. The kids are starved for interaction so we shut down the street, played volleyball and swung them around. Carrying the kids and loving on them was one of the highlights of our trip.

Belize Outreach '08 - Sunday, Nov 23

2008-11-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

We started this beautiful, sunny day with a delicious breakfast at the Snack Shack consisting of homemade banana bread, eggs, and starfruit. Then we were off to the Punta Gorda Methodist Church for 8:30 service, which was led by the ladies group. We were blessed by the message, which was about serving people as if we were serving Jesus. The ladies and the congregation were thankful for this group of Californians coming down to serve the people of Belize. They invited us to teach them a new song and we had fun filling up the church with praises.

All 18 of us piled into a van which sat only 11 officially (don't tell anyone) and headed off to our next adventure. After another delicious local meal, we visited the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun. Walking amongst the grounds, we saw the pyramid remains and ancient ballcourts, and learned about how the Mayans got corn. After lots of fun photo ops, we piled back into the van and headed off to Blue Creek - HoKeHa cave.

We hiked through the rainforest (with lots of Deet on our skin), scaling rocks and climbing with hands and feet grabbing onto vines and tree roots. Our final destination was a cave that was about 3 stories high. We swam into the cave with headlamps on. At one point we all turned off our headlamps and sat in such darkness that we couldn't even see our hands in front of our faces. The fact that we were all together emboldened us. Being part of this missionary team has helped us to hone our individual roles and bolster our unity.

The Lord gave us sunshine all day, and a big rainstorm once we arrived back at the hotel. Our evening vespers encouraged us to not miss what God has to say to each of us while we're still here.

Kim and Jill

Belize Outreach '08 - Saturday Nov 22

2008-11-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

The dental team of Steve, Ken, Wesley, Darlene, Becky, Amy, Kim and Marcus started seeing patients at 9 a.m. It was difficult triaging patients, but we did our best to see the kids and those in pain. A highlight of the day was Maylin's homemade tamales - wrapped in banana leaves. Cathy, Michael and Lauren kept the kids and adults entertained in the waiting room with origami and other crafts. Stephanie, Josh and Kortney joined the dental team and helped entertain the kids and clean up the clinic.

The school/swim team spent the morning planning the swim lessons. Gideon, the Belizean pastor, found us 36 kids to teach. The swim teachers Jill, Tim, Will, Michael, Rachel were able to do a few swim tests, but once the kids found out the water was only 2 feet - chaos insued. Many had never seen a swimming pool before, so they played and enjoyed the day.

A spider the size of an apple chased Darlene across the street - someone yelled "SNAKE" - and Will and Michael pushed the girls to the side and sprinted to the van, diving in while the girls went to check out the spider! That's life in the jungle!

We have been followed by a band of children since we arrived. They arrive when we get up in the morning and stay with us until our evening devotions. They each have their own stories--some are without dads, some have parents with big issues of their own to deal with and aren't capable of giving care and attention to their kids. But they love to be with us, listen to us sing, talk about the Lord, and welcome them to go with us wherever we go. Pray that as we spend time and share with them, that their hearts will be open to receive the gift of salvation and adoption as children of God.

Kim and Tim

Belize Outreach '08

2008-11-22T09:28:00.001-08:00

Belize, C.A. November '08
Thursday/Friday

At about 4:00 p.m., our team of 18 assembled in the small, Belize City airport. We'd been divided among two flights originating from the Bay Area, and without incident, we'd all been reunited in Belize. We quickly boarded two tiny twin prop planes and flew south to Punta Gorda, home for the next week. The flight was spectacular, hugging the Caribbean coastline as the sun set in the west. It was the first time we'd ever arrived in P.G. at night (some of us have been here over a half dozen times) and it was the scenic flight yet.

Our host, Gideon, and his family met us at the landing strip and escorted us to our hotel, the Charlton Inn, a modest hotel in the heart of P.G. After settling into our rooms, we walked to a local restaurant for dinner (stewed chicken, rice and beans) and saw several familiar faces along the way, including 'Juney', a local resident with special needs who won our hearts during a previous visit in the spring of '07.

We spent time at our evening devotional gathering (Vespers) thanking God for all his mercies shown to us throughout this day and being reminded of our focus for our time here--to share the love and message of Jesus with as many folks as possible in as many ways as possible! We all headed to bed with a lot to think about, much for which to be thankful, and with lots of anticipation about what tomorrow would hold.

We woke up Friday morning to a symphony of roosters and lots of activity around the Charlton Inn. New guests were already arriving, employees were watering plants and hanging cleanly washed bedsheets on the outside clotheslines to dry in the Caribbean breeze. We gathered for breakfast at 'The Snack Shack' for pancakes and tropical fruit, then divided into two ministry teams for the day.

The 'Dental Team' drove several miles outside of town to an abandoned dental clinic that was made available to them for use. Miraculously, it was only recently abandoned and much of the equipment is in remarkably good shape and quite modern. By the end of the day, the team had seen about two dozen clients. Some had as many as ten teeth that needed to be extracted, others had been in need of root canals for who knows how long, and others needed cleanings that required hours. There was no question that the clinic was meeting needs--one family traveled more than five hours just to get the free services that were being offered. While patients waited to be seen by the Dental Team, a 'Waiting Room Ministry Team' took care of them, playing games with children that led to ministry opportunities for families.

The 'Non-Dental Team' was assigned to visit a local elementary school and present dental hygiene presentations to several classes. Our audience ranged in age from two to six year olds and they were quite a lively crew! We used all kinds of creative techniques to teach them about the importance of good dental care and they LOVED it! We had them each 'color' their teeth with a temporary dye that showed where bacteria had accumulated and then gave them mirrors to check out their smiles. Then we gave them toothbrushes to get rid of the "bugs living on an between their teeth." We passed out little hourglass timers and to each child and told them they had to brush for two minutes, until all the sand had fallen to the bottom of the glass. They were so absorbed by the whole process! Then I demonstrated how to floss. Steve Chew, one of the dentists on the team, had brought an oversized set of lifelike teeth to demonstrate how to brush and floss. As I was demonstrating how to floss, Rachel Howden held up the teeth while I inserted the floss between each tooth and said, "You pop the floss in and pull it out." I did this several times, saying the same thing until on the third tooth, I said, "Pop it in and pull it..." and right when I said "out", the model tooth I was flossing came flying out of the plastic gums into the audience! The children gasped, me and my teammmates rolled in laughter, and I'm sure those children will probably never floss again! We salvaged the moment and quickly moved on to the next part of the presentation... Finally, we concluded by praying with all the children, thanking God for the teeth he'd given to us, but most of all, for the gift of Jesus! We can live without teeth, but God doesn't want us to live our lives apart from Christ.

During the afternoon classes, we were asked to referee a volleyball tournament and that's where we were reunited with so many children from our spring '08 visit--Clayton, Mikey, Keetie, Jem, Anthony, Shadeem, Jameeka, and so many more! It was one of the most amazing reuinions EVER! Clayton came running up to me, practically knocked me over in excitement and said, "I thought you were never coming back!" nearly breaking my heart! We spent the rest of the afternoon with the kids, playing, swimming in the sea, and then meeting up with them again and again all over town. They jumped into the arms of all the team members--even the ones they didn't know. God has convinved these kids that we love them and that there is something different about us--the love HE has shown to us that we now share with others.

We were so taken by how these kids were absolutely ecstatic over our presence here. We could have played with them for hours and they would have never tired of us being with them. We passed a little ball with them for so long and all that mattered to them is that we were there, and we wanted to be with them. Pray that the Lord will use us to clearly share His message of unconditional love and the universal truth of the gospel with them. Our prayer is that their hearts, and the hearts of their families, will be softened to this message and planted eternally within them...

On the way home

2008-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

After a great week the team is on their way home. Here are some videos and pictures from the voyage. Enjoy.

Thumpin' Thursday

2008-07-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

We are just about to end the basketball camp and get ready for tonight's Pizza Party outreach to the Navajo. Please be praying for our conversations with our Navajo families, drama ministry, and for opportunities to share the message of Christ. This night tends to be the pinnacle of our outreach here and we are really looking forward to it.

Tomorrow we will leave the Reservation for a day of fun and then spend the night in Sedona. We will try to update you of our progress as much as possible but please also call the hotline at 925-227-1301 ext. 34.

Wonderful Wednesday

2008-07-23T11:54:00.001-07:00

So we just finished lunch and are heading back out to finish up our last full day of work.

We had one of the most unbelievable storms that we have ever experienced on the reservation last night! Luckily all of our Kid's Club crews got back from their sites before the rain really started. The storm lasted at least five hours (late into the night) and caused the lights and power to go out off an on the whole evening. The lightning was amazing and the thunder was really loud. At one point we could see the lightning all around us. It was a very inspiring experience to be surrounded by God's power and we were all very appreciative that we had shelter and flashlights!! We had an incredible worship service while the rain poured and the lightning flashed outside.

Please pray that God will continue to have His hand of protection over us and that our group would continue to persevere and finish our work on the Reservation strong.

Terrific Tuesday

2008-07-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was our first night reuniting and meeting with our Kid's Club families. There were several long-awaited reunions!! We can't wait to spend the rest of the week with them. We also met several new families and are excited to spend time getting to know them.

Today we were slow to get up after a late night of amazing devo's but ready to work after lots of caffeine. We had an tasty breakfast and got to work. We are eating a wonderful meal made up of Chinese cuisine and getting ready to head out to Kid's clubs yet again!

We will continue to update you of our adventures here serving God. We are definitely feeling your amazing prayers...keep them coming!

P.S. A special message for Mr. Jim Foster...Happy Birthday Pop! Hope you feel respected, appreciated, loved and celebrated today - because you ARE!! We love you. Love, Natalie and Jason.

Monday means Work-day...

2008-07-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Immanuel Mission late on Saturday night safe and ready for bed. We went straight to bed after unpacking and we were rested and ready for our time on the Reservation to start on Sunday morning. We woke up and went out to Green Valley for our traditional Outdoor church and communion. We found a wonderful spot (in the shade this year) to have our service.

We woke up this morning ready to go to work. We currently have four teams working offsite doing things like roofing, painting and building a shed. We also have four teams working on projects around the mission such as

cleaning out the cattle crossing, weeding, trimming trees and building a retaining wall.

We are also leading a basketball camp for the Navajo children. They are already working hard and learning lots of new skills. There are about 24 children attending and I am sure t

hat number will grow throughout the rest of the day and evening!! It should be a lot of hard work and fun for that team.

We are all very excited to get to our Kid's Club sites tonight to reunite with our Navajo families.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We can really feel God moving and motivating us to work hard for Him!!

Arizona Outreach Day 2

2008-07-19T15:35:00.001-07:00

Hello again everyone. Glad to see so many comments on the previous post. As tradition would have it, the team dined at one of Boron's lovely rest stops for lunch yesterday in the balmy 111 degree heat The team arrived in Kingman, AZ in record time and had dinner at the church. Jason Moog led the evening devo's and surprise guest, Ryan Weber, led music. Then it was off to bed. Today a majority of the group went on one of Tim's secret errands to the Cracker Barrel at around 5am. It was a long night's sleep for Tim. Then it was time to hit the road. In Flagstaff, heavy thunderstorms awaited. Pat Brown met up with the group but the weather sort of nixed the lunch plans. Luckily Devon Dodgen's brother owns a ranch nearby so the team headed there for lunch. The group should arrive on the Reservation around 7pm tonight. Tomorrow will be a pretty laid back day as everyone recovers from the drive and adjusts to the mile-high atmosphere. On Monday the work projects and basketball camp will begin. We will try to update the blog as much as possible so keep checking back for more pictures and updates. Thanks for the comments and prayers.

Cracker Barrel (no sound for some reason???)

More driving.

A giraffe and GPS are essentials.

Some Flagstaff shots.

A mission trip essential.

Arizona Outreach 2008

2008-07-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the ever-changing VBC blog. We promise we will not change the web address (URL) again. The team is on their way to Kingman and then will head to the Reservation near Four Corners tomorrow. Everyone is enjoying themselves so far and we will continue to update the blog with pictures and stories as time and internet access allow. Thank you all for praying for us!

Sarah Burns asleep on I-5.
Ashlee & Aspen's first mission trip.
Brent...can you see him?
Gotta love rest stops.
The Ton Face Cruiser.
Senioritis.

Day 12

2008-05-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

Day 12:

Lyon's Gate

Bethesda - St. Anne's

Leaving Jerusalem....

Tomb of Samuel

Emmaus

Looking for smooth pebbles in the creek where David found his.

Last afternoon in Joppa

Goodbye Israel....

Day 11

2008-05-27T16:36:00.001-07:00

Day 11:

The picture on the left is from the current street level (~30 ft above street level at the time of Christ)

While visiting the Temple Institute, we were shown the components of the Menorah. Spike is holding a reconstruction of the top of one of the seven candles. The actual 6 ft. version is shown on the right!

We visited the Western 'Wailing' Wall. Visitors can place their petitions to God on a small piece of paper & tuck it into a crack.The prayer area is divided into men & women sides

Below is a video clip of the Wailing wall on Shabbot. The Jewish worshipers are nicely dressed for this festive evening.

The narrow streets through the Muslim district of Jerusalem are lined with shops that display their colorful wares. This was along the Via Dolorosa.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is one of two sites thought to be where Jesus was laid to rest.

Day 10

2008-05-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Day 10:

There were two Hezekiah tunnels, a wet one & a dry one.... Tim lead the Wet tunnel team! Both Teams ended up at the Pool of Siloam.

This is by the Southwest corner of Jerusalem in the Archaeological Park. Notice the impact of an earthquake on the street pavers.

Rick is sitting on the same steps that Jesus taught from. About 30 feet below the current street level the street paver stones are found where Jesus carried His cross.
We finished up the day with a visit to Abraham's Tent. It was a delightful re-enactment of what life would have been like 4000 years ago.

Day 10 Redux:

We started our day at the south end of the temple mount on the teaching steps. According to Jewish tradition this is where the “just” shall enter on Judgement Day. The Umayyads (Muslims) blocked the Hulda gate in the 8^th century to prevent such an occurrence, but I don’t think they’re accounting for the “chance” of an earthquake or some other such handiwork of God.

After a short visit, we went down into the City of David and saw the initial exploration and diggings in David’s palace. The archaeological work here is still on-going and many great finds are anticipated to shed more light on the time of David. We also saw in the Stronghold of Zion the house of Ahiel. This was a wealthy house (two-story) belonging to one of the scribes listed in Jeremiah 36:10-13. They found signs of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem here including arrows and royal seals made from clay (survives and even strengthens when burned) and dating to the 6^th century B.C.

We had the opportunity to go on adventure here as we descended into the water source of Jerusalem: the Gihon springs. We had the opportunity to enter the water tunnels that Hezekiah had dug to safely reach the Gihon spring which was on the outside of the city walls. Rather than extend the walls to include the spring, which would have diminished the high-ground advantage of the city, Hezekiah dug a tunnel to the spring (2 Kings 20:20). Not only that he dug it from both ends and managed to make both ends meet in the middle! Remember, he had no compass, no laser alignment, no power tools or even steel tools. The tunnel is about 1750 feet long and about 80 feet below ground. The five most adventurous among us (Tim, Cathy, Cheryl, Jayne & Colin) grabbed our flashlights and headed through the tunnel with water rushing by nearly up to our waist. The water was cool and a welcome refreshment from the hot Judean sun on the surface. We ended up at the Pool of Siloam (Jesus heals the blind man – John 9:6-7) where we met the rest of the crew who had gone the Canaanite way. There was an interesting mural here showing the Pool of Siloam with several people around the pool in the 1^st century A.D. Our guide pointed out one older boy walking with his father and a younger boy riding on his father’s shoulders. This was done to show that at that time, there was a debate amongst the Pharisees from the school of Hillel and school of Shemiah as to when a boy was able to go to the temple. One rabbi said when they were old enough to walk and the other said when they were old enough to ride on their father’s shoulders. I wonder how they decided?

In the afternoon we went into the old city through the Herod’s Gate (aka the Flower Gate, aka the Crusader’s Gate) and walked to the Struthion Pool. It was through this gate that Godfrey de Bouillon entered the city in 1099 during the First Crusade – the only crusade that captured Jerusalem. Godfrey, unlike most of his fellow crusaders, sold all his possessions in France before going on the crusade. It was his intention to stay permanently in the Holy Land. He got his wish. After he captured Jerusalem, he was invited to visit the Emir of Caesarea. He graciously accepted and enjoyed dining with the Emir. Unfortunately, he got a bad tummy-ache immediately after and died when he returned home.

But enough about the crusaders … as I said we were heading to the Struthion Pool. This is the water source inside Herod’s Apolonia fortress. Herod was a pretty smart, albeit paranoid, guy. He felt he needed his own mercenaries nearby the temple because he knew the people hated him and might try to take him out at any moment. He also knew that having a personal guard that could be besieged without water was as good as having no guard at all so he built a cistern to hold plenty of water in the fortress.

The Romans garrisoned soldiers at the Fortress and they left behind evidence of a macabre game they liked to play: the King’s Game. In this game they would choose a “king” and would pretend to follow his orders and pay homage to him for a period of time. Then the “king” would have to take his own life. The Romans realized this wasn’t such a wise idea for the soldiers to be killing themselves off so they modified the game to select prisoners to be “king”. It was a poignant reminder of the royal robe and crown and the taunting that the Roman soldiers gave our Lord.

We closed the day by returning to the temple to walk the tunnels at midnight! No, it wasn’t anything spooky or mysterious about doing it at midnight, it was just the only time we could get a reservation. We walked underneath the western wall and at one point were very close to where the Holy of Holies would have been up above. This is a highly venerated site by the Jewish people and they have set up a small prayer enclave here complete with candles and censers. We walked most of the length of the wall and stopped at a broad paved street that was being constructed at the time of the death of Herod. We saw the base of the wall go all the way down to bedrock and the amazing precision construction that Herod used with massive blocks of solid rock. Thus ended a very long but rewarding day.

Day 9 Israel

2008-05-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Day 9: I have to admit, that if it wasn’t for journaling and blogging, it would be virtually impossible to keep up with all the events of each day. They are so full—unbelievably full—but so very rich at the same time. We are in our third day in Jerusalem. We’ve now divided up the responsibility of leading morning devotions to groups of ‘tribes’ (families and individuals) and it’s been so great to hear from different people and how they are being impacted by our journey. Today, Neil & Brenda Roberts shared, along with Marla Hazen and her sister, Pat

Robison. They prepared us well for our visit to the Mt. of Olives and Gethsemane, the garden where

Jesus had his passionate night of prayer before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested.

Just before we went to Gethsemane, we drove to a scenic overlook at the Mt. of Olives and took a group photo overlooking the ‘Old City’, Mt. Moriah (where the Temple mount is located), and scores of other important sites. As we looked down on the ancient city below, we saw a gate in the wall beneath the Temple Mount, sealed up with stone blocks and mortar. This was an attempt by a rule centuries ago to prevent the return of Christ because it had been prophesied in Ezekiel that the Messiah would return through the Eastern gate (also known as the Golden or Beautiful Gate). We pondered what that moment will be like when Christ indeed does return and enters through that gate—and how no one or nothing will be able to stand against him as he fulfills prophesy and heralds in his millennial reign!

It was sheer chaos getting to the Gethsemane—there are so many tourists here to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel. If there is a question in anyone’s mind about Israel being too dangerous for the world to visit—it’s certainly not keeping tourists away! Tour groups are here in what must be record numbers! But despite all the throngs of people, we were able to find a quiet place in the olive gardens of Gethsemane and enjoy a time to reflect on Scripture, pray, and meditate on the events of Jesus’ final hours before his arrest and execution. The Fransicans have built a church in the middle of one olive garden in the area to commemorate Christ’s night of prayer. We briefly toured the church, then ate lunch at a nearby kibbutz.

Next, we drove across Jerusalem to the Israeli Museum. We were able to walk through collections of century old Israeli artifacts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. This was a very important moment for us all—to actually see the scrolls preserved for the world to see was so validating to our faith and moving to our hearts. God’s faithfulness to allow these scrolls to be discovered and protected for so many years is an amazing story (I won’t go into all the details here, but you really must read about it for yourself!). Next to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit is a detailed model of biblical Jerusalem. The creators of this site had recreated the city of Jerusalem as it existed during the time of Christ. Everything was built to scale—even according to the elevation of the land—just on a much smaller scale (approximately 50:1). It was so helpful to see the entire city, spread out in a way that we could take it all in at once.

Our last stop for the day was at a site many believe was the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial—the Garden Tomb. The traditional site where many believe these events happened is now housed under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the Jerusalem’s Old City. At any rate, it was a wonderful visit and our guide (Ken) explained why many believe that this is the actual site where Christ died. He reminded us that wherever it all occurred, either way, both tombs are empty!

We came back to the hotel and some of us walked down to Ben-Yehuda Street—a local open air mall that’s really just a closed off street. The Sabbath was just ending and so people were coming out to socialize and shops & restaurants were opening up—at 8:30 at night! We enjoyed just walking the streets and taking in the local flavor of the city. Continue to pray for us—for our safety, our energy, our witness to the unsaved among us and to the Israelis and Palestinians that we encounter each day.

Day 8 - Mount Zion & Yad Vashem

2008-05-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

We awoke this morning, our first in Jerusalem, with anticipation of things to come in the City of David. Our first destination would be Mt. Zion and the traditional sites of King David’s Tomb, the Upper Room and Caiaphas’ house.

The Upper Room is right above the traditional site King David’s Tomb (how convenient!) and has changed hands from the early Christian church to the Persians back to the Church to the Crusaders and the Franciscans to the Muslims and finally back to the Franciscans. So we now have the remnants of a mosque on top of a Jewish holy site that is supposed to be the Christian holy site of our Lord’s Last Supper – most confusing.

Further on down Mt. Zion, we found Caiaphas’ house where we looked out towards the old city and the south entrance of the temple where the dome of the rock now stands. Beyond we could see Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Offense where Solomon built pagan shrines for his foreign wives. At the base of the Mount of Olives is an ancient graveyard and Tim reminded us of the word pictures that Jesus used to describe the Pharisees and teachers of the Law: white washed tombs.

I forgot to mention that our hotel, the King Solomon, is right next to the King David Hotel – what a coincidence! The King David happens to be the preferred accommodation of visiting dignitaries, heads of state and Hollywood stars. To give us a full appreciation of Jerusalem during Passover or other holy pilgrimages, President Bush decided to visit the city: streets were jammed, security was tight, people were edgy, and the routes to our hotel were blocked. In my imagination, it was just how Jerusalem would have been with Christ entering the city for Passover. It also meant that our plans would be altered and then altered again as the President wanted to visit the Israel Museum on the same day as us. He wanted to visit it on his own and we agreed that would be best.

This gave us more time for Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, which definitely merited it. Pilar lead us with her passionate and sympathetic manner through the Children’s Memorial, Janusz Korczak square, Pillar of Heroism and the new Holocaust History Museum. We probably could have spent all day here; in fact, the staff came through half an hour before closing to inform me that they would be closing in 30 minutes and I was only 1/10^th of the way through the exhibit. Yad Vashem is a disturbing yet fitting memorial to the 6 million Jews who lost their lives in the holocaust. It reminds us just how thin our veneer of civilization is and how morally depraved unregenerate man really is. It also takes us all back to that time to show the culpability of all the nations, not just Nazi Germany.

We left Yad Vashem emotionally drained and some returned to the hotel to end the day early while others ventured on to Bethlehem. I did not go, so you will have to hear about Bethlehem from the others.

- Colin for Tim