THURSDAY, JULY 31

It´s been a long night-we just got out of an incredible worship time with our team. The Holy Spirit showed up in a very real and powerful way. Our students and adults have been working so hard all week and pouring themselves out, and He just showed up and used them to minister to, encourage, and challenge each other. I just can´t explain what happened-one of those rare ¨God¨ moments.

Please pray for Joy Sanchez and her family. She received word tonight that her grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Our kids ministered to her and Marianna in a very powerful way.

Our last full day is tomorrow. Tomorrow evening the Chima kids will perform all the skills they learned in the music and drama classes for their parents. Our team will give some evangelistic skits and present the Gospel. Pray for Marissa Moschetta as she shares a very powerful testimony. Pray for a harvest from these parents and kids, many of them in rough, at risk situations at home. It's a long night for us here, pray for strength and focus tomorrow. Grace from the God of all comfort (as we've all seen first hand tonight) . . .

JJ



(warning... this is a very long post. Props to you if you finish it!) Well, this week has been incredible to say the least. I went into this mission trip hoping and praying God would show up, but I wasn´t really expecting him to. After tonight, I have been proved wrong, and I now know that God DOES show up in mighty ways. Although I would love to tell you every minute of my experience during this week, I´ll spare you and just tell you about the last day or so. Last night, I had seen God work in big(but what I thought was small) ways, and I was dissappointed and discouraged about God showing himself in an enormous way. Being frustrated at the same time that was happening led me to pray. After some long and hard praying, I finally turned in for the night. This morning, feeling mostly refreshed (despite getting little sleep), I headed out for the day hoping God would do something that would amaze me, but not expecting it to happen(again... I was not expecting God). Once the team got the the church in Chimalhuacan, we helped run the VBS for the extremely spiritually hungry children in the city. Although I had been with the younger kids (aprox. 2-5 years old) during the previous days, I decided to go with the bigger kids (elementary and younger jr. high age)just for a change, and to see how they played out the different roles with the bigger kids. I played on the Verde team, (we play Osana(awana) games, and met this wonderful little boy named Cruz Gustabo. Cruz, who´s probably about nine or so, hit it straight off with me, and we were buddies for the rest of the morning. He was so sweet, although he did find it very humorous that I speak very little spanish. He accepted Chist today, and was excited when I told him I would be there tomorrow. That was just the beginning of my ¨God showed up¨ day. After lunch, we prepared for our youth music lessions (I was helping with the voice lessions), and the girls I helped teach did wonderfully. They knew the songs well, and I am confident that they will be ready for their concert tomorrow. While on the way back to the school(where we sleep), Kendra Hughes and I talked about frustrations we had, and she told me and encouraged me that I not just pray hard, but pray and expect God to become fully present to me. During our Bible Study tonight, Mrs. Sanchez broke the news to the team that her grandmother had passed away today. God moved in MIGHTY ways, and us as a team being used by God, tried to love on her and Mariana as they start their intense grieving journey. After MUCH crying, I saw God in an extraordinary way! A few days ago, one young man, was telling me and a few other people that he would not cry for anything, he didn´t believe there were real Christians who lived their faith out, and he was tired of faith, was touched by the Holy Spirit, and broke down. He realized that he NEEDED God in his life. For a few days, I had been praying without failing that he would find a reason he was here, and that God would show up in HIS life, and He did just that!! It was such an incredible time, and God was glorified. God used a death(she was a Christian and is now in Glory) to bring upon a new spiritual life in God! He found that there are real Christians, and we helped him realize that! It has truely been an indescribable night. To wrap that all up, I saw God work in an incredible way, and I know that I will never forget this experience. Pray, and expect that God will show up, because He does.

To serve the One and Only,
Loribeth



I went on this trip because I thought it would look good for college. Apparently God had other plans. For a long time I had given up on people and my faith was completely dead. I thought that everyone was a fake Christian or wasnt even interested in being a christian. For the first couple of days on the trip I kept thinking that no one was really getting saved or they werent going to keep up the faith for more than a few hours. Everyone I have met until now has claimed to be a Christian but havent even tried to live right, so I expected nothing more from these people. I had different people from time to time talk to me and try to convince me that I need to have faith in people, but I wouldnt listen. Tonight during our meeting, one of our members had a death in their family. My dad died when I was five, so I could relate, but for some reason this time it struck something deep inside of me to where I finally was willing to listen to God and accept what he had to offer. I have been a Christian my whole life but have never really felt the power of God. This group is something special and they all have been used by God to help bring me back to Him. I now know that there are good people out there still and I have promised to God to live for Him. I never thought I would be one of the ones being saved on this trip, but God works in strange ways.

a changed person thanks to God,
Cody McKnight


Well, it's 2:30 am and God is still working in many of our students lives tonight doing some incredible things. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been very evident tonight. A few of us blogged, but most of us are pretty drained emotionally and spiritually, with still another day of ministry ahead. You'll probably hear from more of the students on our last day tomorrow. Good night, or good morning.

JJ