Sunday, June 21, 2009

Today was a wonderful start to our trip!! We left Clear Lake and drove into rain shortly outside of town. This followed us until we hit Missouri… then we were met with super sunshine and the usual heat, humidity, and wind as we traveled through Kansas. The van ride is going super and we are enjoying the beginnings of getting to know everyone on our team. The stops are super efficient (YAY!) and we even have time to stop for pizza dinner at Simple Simons just north of Oklahoma City.  We rolled into Our Lord’s Lutheran Church about 8:15pm had a lil’ team hang out time before bedtime. Tomorrow will be a longer trip, so we’re getting an early start at 7:30am.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The traveling is going well today. We awoke to sunshine and have had it all day long. We made quick time through Oklahoma, then Texas….New Mexico got a bit longer; the topography was a bit long and flat (like Nebraska).  We stopped for dinner in Gallup and knew the rest of our trip would be the shortest part of our day. We crossed into Arizona about 7:30pm Arizona time… (that’s 9:30pm Iowa time) and arrived in Pinetop about 9:15 local time. That made for a 15 hour travel day. We were all thankful to have arrived! We met Pastor Ernie from First Baptist (our host church--FBCP) and Ron from AYM. After moving in and finding ‘homes’ for everyone to sleep, the crew was fairly quick to bed.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Our first day of training!! Thanks to Steve’s early shopping trip, we began our day with an array of cereal for breakfast! The accommodations are great… plenty of showers to go around and a kitchen for cooking. We are meeting in the church’s Life Center for most of our large group team times. (We call it the “Purple Room”, because it is set up with tables that have purple table cloths. They have their Saturday night service there). Our day began with “First Word” devotions, followed by new prayer groups of 3. Then team worship and teaching… which led into Small Group Time. We broke for lunch – yummy deli sandwiches and our favorite Kettle potato chips.  Then everyone went off for their own personal ‘quiet time’. The rains moved in, so our afternoon schedule got changed up a bit. We drove down to Whiteriver, just to see a bit of the town where we will be on outreach next week. There are lots of houses that look like government homes, many dogs and horses around, and people walking … all of these things seem a bit strange to us. We are intrigued and look forward to learning more about their culture and actually meeting people there! We returned to Pinetop for a team building adventure. The youth were split into 3 teams and sent out to accomplish a digital camera scavenger hunt. It rained a bit off and on, but they all accomplished all the tasks…even finding ‘famous people’, an ‘alpha & omega’, and the “magic apple”… they’ll have to explain. J Steve and crew whipped up a delicious carrot, asparagus, and pesto pasta for dinner, a bit late. Yet we were still able to pack in Family Groups where we will study a different nature/character of God each day. During Pow-Wow I, we watched “Beyond the Gates of Splendor” (the dramatic story of missionaries in Ecuador in the 1950s). and in Pow-Wow II, spent some time debriefing about our day. Everyone was pretty tuckered out, adjusting to the time change… so we were all in bed by 11pm.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Good morning again!!! We were greeted with a beautiful morning and have the privilege of spending time today with some youth and young adults from our host church, First Baptist Church Pinetop. They arrived at 9am to make breakfast—about 11pm we enjoyed a delicious French Toast, Eggs, and Bacon Brunch outdoors then joined in for a Bible Study on Proverbs 24. It was great to share our faith and hear their strong faith during a great discussion! We spent the afternoon at a local park, doing some more team building; walk’n talks on the 1-mile trail around the lake and a challenging ‘marble run’. Then, we dug into small group time and quiet time while still at the park… plus we were treated with Snickers ice cream bars – yay! The rains moved in again late this afternoon; we learned that Monsoon Season has arrived a couple weeks early.  So, we’ll probably see some more of this. We are chillin’ tonight with the FBCP youth.  Thankfully the rain passed quickly. We hung out in the parking lot watching the guys ramp with skate boards and bikes… we all ate pizza, played 5-Base and Ultimate Frisbee. When the sun went down, we went inside for worship and teaching in the purple room.  It was a fun night and as we ended the day with our team pow-wow, we shared how we had seen God at work… challenging us, changing us, and reminding us of who He is and desires to be in our life, everyday!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Today began with waking up after a good and long night of rest! We’ve been kicking off our day with morning devotions by two Christian comedians, The Skit Guys; each day watching one or two videos of them doing hilarious skits with a point. It’s been a fun way to kick the day off with laughter and with foundational faith truths. We beat the rain, by taking a 20 minute walk’n talk; It was good to get some fresh air. Our morning routine continued with worship and teaching, then moved into small groups which have been a great way to dive into God’s word and seek answers to some questions. We’ve been able to really dig in. In the afternoon, we split into guy vs. girl teams to create a cheer/song/rap that involved our theme and verse: Alpha-Omega…”He is before all things and in Him, all things hold together”. Colossians 1:17. The girls came up with a very well done ‘cheer’ and the guys created a bit of a comedic song with dramatic characters. We all laughed a TON! Then, we moved into a team building challenge, the “Labyrinth” where we were forced to use our individual memory & brain power, without communicating, to accomplish a team goal together. This forced us to use our eyes more and our mouths less…. It was pretty challenging, but we succeeded! The team is becoming more unified and more understanding of our need to include everyone and appreciate the abilities and ideas each person can contribute. Ron, from Apache Youth Ministry, was able to come and give us some background on the White Mountain Apache Tribe, how their culture/community functions, and how the AYM began in 2000. Tomorrow, he will be back to share more… it’s exciting to think that our time of ministry is getting closer. We really do trust in whatever God’s plans are for our time there, since we are confident He is the one that brought us here. After a wonderful dinner outdoors tonight, we’ve taken some quiet time to ponder the story that God is writing in our life by the witness of our faith, as the sun sets; each of us is preparing a ‘testimony’ of God’s work in our lives so we can be more prepared to share as God provides opportunities for us to share in the next week, month, and years of our lives.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Today was our last official day of training… We poured into some morning worship following our devos and then dug into small groups again. It’s become more evident today that the team is really growing together. In their interaction & conversations, they have become more at ease, interested, and caring about one another. We can also see the hunger they each have for growing in their faith & understanding God’s word. Our prayer groups have also been a real joy; today we moved from just praying about our own growth, to praying for our outreach and the growth that God continues to do in so many as He works through the Apache Youth Ministry. We are getting super excited to get started.  Ron from AYM came and talked to us more about understanding the natural differences of the culture due to social economic divisions (hidden rules & mindsets in each social class) and also the effects of generational poverty on the reservation.  It was very helpful in framing what we will observe & experience. Also in the afternoon, we dove into a final round of official team-building with a twist on the labyrinth and a final challenge…. The Web! The team accomplished both. As they finished the web at sunset, we gathered together to consider each team member’s strengths, weaknesses, and how they had grown during this particular exercise. The team leadership offered encouraging comments to affirm each person’s recognition of their shortcomings and how throughout the challenged they were recognized and worked to overcome them. We were VERY proud of each of them…and again, this continued to bring the team together! We closed out the night with a special dinner out at an Italian restaurant across the street to celebrate.  

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Today is our last day at First Baptist in Pinetop. Following breakfast, we cleaned up their contemporary worship space that we have borrowed this week; Saturday night service tonight! Looks super-- ready to go now. Then, we spent about 30 minutes in prayer for our ministry this coming week. As a partial “free day” we found a local trail, jus t north of town. The Mogollon Rim has a beautiful view of the pine-treed valley below. Then, we returned for lunch, cleaning up all our leftovers from the past few days and dinner out last night. Then, we had some quiet time for personal devotions, bible study, and prayer.  It’s another blue sky sunny day, so many of the team found a spot outside. Then, we headed out for another fun adventure at the local Family Fun Spot: go karts, arcade, and mini-golf. A super fun time was had by everyone… not sure who actually won the Golf Tourney. .. guess it’s more about the fun, right?! Now, it’s back to work. We returned to FBCP to clean up our space and ready for departure. After covering the  kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms (aka: Sunday school class rooms), and  our Jungle Room meeting space, we loaded everything into the vans. We are just eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers now before we head to worship at 7pm. Ron from AYM will meet us following worship, and we will settle into our new home in Whiteriver tonight at the local elementary school. Looking forward to an exciting week of ministry there! Hope we can get online and keep you updated on the amazing ways God will continue to work “in” our team and “though” our team. “He who has called you is faithful, and he will do it”-I Thess 5:24

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Welcome to Whiteriver! We arrived last night about 10pm. We met Ron at the Kennel (the youth center) and he took us to the local Elementary School where we will be staying. It’s really new and super nice accommodations! There is a locker room for us to use for showering… so, that will go fast! Our morning is going smoothly; we found a Lutheran church (Wisconsin Synod) just down the street and joined them for worship. There was a guest pastor there from El Paso; his youth group will arrive today and is leading a VBS this week. We hear another group from Wisconsin is also coming to town. We are hanging out at the Kennel now, waiting for Ron to join us for lunch and make a plan for the afternoon. Another local church just showed up with their youth for Bible Study; they have a guest youth group from Indiana. So we are running into lots of people on a mission here – which is wonderful! God must have big plans for Whiteriver this week. We are a couple thousand feet lower in elevation than we were in Pinetop; we can feel that… a little bit sluggish today so far. It will also be warmer here… so, as you cool off, we are heating up. We think we will be working on some outdoor projects here this afternoon. Not sure what the rest of the day will bring--- that’s missions!!  Also, we have no cell phone service here, so if you need to reach us, please us the alternate phone numbers provided. Pray for physical strength, God’s guidance, creative ideas, and our team’s continued unity as we serve our Amazing Lord! 

Monday, June 29, 2009

Sunday we were excited to locate a street vendor; we walked down the road a bit and enjoyed Indian Tacos and Apache Burgers made on homemade frybread for lunch (SO DELICIOUS!). Back at the Kennel, we dove into afternoon work projects. Three teams: Shed Team, organized and cleaned out the work shed full of tools and supplies. Nice work ladies! Rock Team, cleared lots of rock from around the basketball court out back and then worked to even out the surface to prep for lining and dumping landscape rock all around the court’s boundary. Court Team, swept & power washed the outdoor basketball court, then started the painting projects to freshen it up! After a long and very hot afternoon (the team worked SOO hard), we enjoyed a veggie/pasta dinner and returned to the school around 8pm to clean up. We relaxed the rest of the evening and enjoyed watching Les Miserables (the movie version from the 90s). What a wonderful story of redemption we can relate to in our relationship with Jesus as we receive undeserved mercy and are covered in such amazing grace! Monday morning began with resuming projects at 9am. We had a few random projects and continued work on and around the basketball court. At lunch we found another street vendor and tested out the local tamales with our PB&Js. After a good respite from the heat, we returned to projects as the storm clouds lingered over the mountains. Though several brief showers delayed us bit, most of us joined in the Court Painting projects and finally got it 95% completed. YAY~ Great Team Work! The Kennel (A.Y.M. Youth Center) is now “open” from 3-8pm. So, we are just hanging out inside, talking to youth as they come to hang out. There is pool, ping pong, foosball, and a pinball to enjoy. Plus, an elevated lounge and computer lounge on opposite corners. AYM’s focus is relational ministry; so we will strive for positive interactions and building relationships during these ”open “ Kennel”  times the next 3 days; as we support them and further their mission and connection to the local youth.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Late yesterday afternoon we learned difficult news from home; one of our sister’s in Christ, Hannah Hall was critically injured in a car accident in the morning. We were able to reach Tyler, her brother, and were devastated to hear the severity of her injuries. Our team prayed for her as we closed out our day, trusting in the hope of Jesus Christ.  Tragically, we learned in the night from Tyler that Hannah had left this world, for her eternal home with our loving Father. We rejoice in her new life, but are stunned by the loss for her family, friends, and our Body of Christ. Today the team continues to press on in the work God has given us to serve Him with our lives today, but our hearts are heavy as we now pray for all of those who know and love Hannah. Please lift them up in prayer today with us. We are cared for and comforted by an amazing God in our grief, as one who understands the loss of a loved one and the pain of separation from those He loves so much. We continue to keep our eyes on the cross and look to our Lord to be the constant presence and peace beyond all understanding in our lives as we grieve.