A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)
Mission Trip Recap
Hello Brothers and Sisters,
This past week, I was blessed once again to travel down to Mexico with a small team of 8 from The Garden. The primary focus of this trip was not the community surrounding Brazos de Amistad, but the families that serve there day in and day out. Thanks to donations and prayers from our wonderful church and its members, we were able to bless the seven full-time ministry families of Brazos de Amistad and Calvary Chapel Guadalajara with a retreat in beautiful Puerto Vallarte. God was ever present leading up to the trip and during the retreat, and we are so grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity to serve Him once again down in Mexico.
For months leading up to the mission trip, we prayed for His guidance and His protection in planning and in travels. And He was faithful. Before leaving, and even during our retreat, there were moments we felt ourselves in the midst of spiritual warfare. There were moments of discouragement, despondency, and frustration. But we knew God had something amazing planned, and we trusted Him to see us through. He did. Our God is so much stronger and so much greater than anything the enemy attempts to do. And it is not those moments of discouragement or frustration we will remember about this trip; it is how God responded when we sought after Him.
As we prayed for protection and planning, we also prayed for His will to be done, not our will, but His. And it was amazing to see how He worked out His plans when we had something else in mind. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Our sweet sister Christy Duff was supposed to fly down and speak to the women at the breakout session. She was unable to make it down to Mexico, and on the morning of her session, we scrambled to find a video platform in which she could teach the women as Ana translated. The video stopped working before we even begin, but the audio was there--the audio on our end anyway. Christy could not hear Ana translating, so she wouldn't have known when to stop and when to continue. Thankfully, even when technology fails, the Holy Spirit does not. Christy poured into these women with Ana translating, and it flowed as smoothly as if they were both in the same room. Every single one of the women were blessed beyond measure. God spoke deep into their hearts. The Holy Spirit moved them. Martha from Brazos de Amistad said that even though she was sad Christy was not there to join us, God worked everything out according to His plan and that the affect of His words through Christy's message was even greater than if she was there.
At the same time as the women's session, Pastor Jason delivered a message to the men while Steve translated, and Pastor Rob delivered a message to the youth while Gama (Pastor Alfonso's grandson) translated. Eica, Chad, and I attended Rob's message where he spoke about the importance of supporting and helping our brothers and sisters in ministry. Whether your live in Indio or Guadalajara, we are all part of one body, and God calls us to help other members of our church family when ministry feels heavy and overwhelming. Just like Aarron and Hur who held up Moses's arms, we can support our friends and family during difficult or tiring times.
In addition to the breakout sessions, Pastor Jason delivered Spirit-filled messages as part of three other sessions, in which they worshiped, read God's Word, and partook in communion. After the worship time of each, Erica, Rob, Chad, Holly, and I took the youngest kids to play games and to love on them. (So much fun!) One evening, before the night session, Holly surprised the families by offering to take family portraits of them on the beach. She took pictures of each family as they stood in front of God's beautiful ocean. Silvia, Pastor Alfonso's daughter-in-law, expressed how truly grateful she was for the family photo. She said that she hadn't had someone take a professional picture of her family since her two now teenage children were toddlers. Things like family photos, things that we don't even think twice about in America, is a luxury for those who have little.
One of the most fun events was a boat ride and snorkeling expedition that Erica orchestrated. Many members of the families joined in on the fun, and they all said they had an amazing time. Even living in California, just a few hours away from the ocean, I've had few experiences where I get to hop on a boat and explore God's ocean. Those times were amazing to me, and even more amazing to our brothers and sisters from Guadalajara, whom many never get to even see the ocean!
The retreat was a time of refreshing for the families of Brazos de Amistad and CCG. It is something they will never forget. They are truly thankful for all that was provided, and afterward several of them told me that God certainly refreshed them and filled them.
After the retreat concluded, Chad, Holly, and I packed into the vans and traveled back to Guadalajara with the families. We stopped at roadside stands several times on the 9 hour drive home. The drive itself is only 4.5 hours, but most of the families don't get to take trips like this. They don't get to travel the state of Jalisco, like we may travel the state of California. The ride itself wasn't the means to get to our destination; it was a time of sightseeing, fellowship, and street tacos....delicious street tacos. :)
Chad, Holly, and I spent only two days in Guadalajara, but we we blessed by every moment of it. My heart was filled with joy when I saw the children of the soup kitchen. I truly didn't realize how much I missed them. This was my fifth trip down to Guadalajara, and over the past several years, I have watched these children grow, I have witnessed the amazing things God is doing there. Tears of joy streamed down my face as I hugged these kids, as I spoke to them in broken Spanish. There are several team members from TGF who have attended the GDL mission trip multiple times. And I can tell you that a piece of our hearts is down there with them always. Just like The Garden is our home, so is Brazos de Amistad. It's so joyous to be there, and so difficult to leave. Even thinking about them now brings a longing to my heart to return.
While there, we had an opportunity to see how God is growing His ministry through Calvary Chapel Guadalajara. A few months ago, a married Christian couple sought out CCG, and said they were moving to California, but wanted their house in Mexico to be used for ministry. The house is about 30 minutes away in the city of Zapopan. And like the neighborhood CCG is in, this neighborhood is poor, and there are many children in need of love and attention. More importantly, however, there are families in need of The Gospel and of our Savior. So our brothers and sisters in ministry prayed, and they were faithful to God's call. Yadira, the Director of Children's MInistry, and her husband Mauricio, oversee a kids club at the house in Zapopan. This was their third week of the Sunday evening kids club, and 30 minutes before the program began, we walked the dirt streets with her and handed out lollipops to families inviting them to join us.
By 6:30 pm, a dozen boys and girls from the neighborhood timidly entered the house. A few of us painted kids' faces. Others played a unique game of kickball/baseball. The bases were buckets, home plate was a piece of a torn foam mattress, and there weren't any teams. But none of that mattered because the children were enjoying themselves tremendously. When play time came to an end and the teaching began, we were excited to see three of Pastor Alfonso's grandchildren and one of the other teenage girls from CCG lead the other kids in worship. And we were blessed to see Pastor Alfonso's oldest grandchild, Angeles, teaching The Gospel. Angeles is 19 years old, and has been in ministry most of her life, as all her cousins at CCG have. Over the past four years, I've watched not just the soup kitchen kids grow, but Pastor Alfonso's grandchildren grow as well. I have seen how God uses them just as much as He uses their parents to minister to the kids who attend Brazos de Amistad, and now the kids in Zapopan. It's inspiring to see these young men and women raise up to serve our God. It's a new generation sharing God's Word with others, and they do it with love an humility.
Mama Adela told us that God has put it on her heart to start a Saturday morning breakfast club in Zapopan, along with the Sunday night kids club. Her family is praying for food donations and people to serve. Chad, Holly, and I believe we witnessed the beginnings of a new soup kitchen on this mission trip, a new Brazos de Amistad. And I believe God wants us to share this with you. No one knows what God has planned for this new ministry, but we ask you all to be in prayer for them. Pray for the resources and people needed for a breakfast club and whatever else God has in store. Pray for the people of the neighborhood to come to kids club, to come to breakfast, to hear God's Word, and to accept Him into their hearts.
Every time I leave, I am blown away by what God is doing through the ministries down there. If you are ever called to serve as part of the team, I hope you answer that call. Also, pray for how God can use you in our own valley. Pray for how He can use you in our own church. We serve a awesome God!
Love,
Noelle
This past week, I was blessed once again to travel down to Mexico with a small team of 8 from The Garden. The primary focus of this trip was not the community surrounding Brazos de Amistad, but the families that serve there day in and day out. Thanks to donations and prayers from our wonderful church and its members, we were able to bless the seven full-time ministry families of Brazos de Amistad and Calvary Chapel Guadalajara with a retreat in beautiful Puerto Vallarte. God was ever present leading up to the trip and during the retreat, and we are so grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity to serve Him once again down in Mexico.
For months leading up to the mission trip, we prayed for His guidance and His protection in planning and in travels. And He was faithful. Before leaving, and even during our retreat, there were moments we felt ourselves in the midst of spiritual warfare. There were moments of discouragement, despondency, and frustration. But we knew God had something amazing planned, and we trusted Him to see us through. He did. Our God is so much stronger and so much greater than anything the enemy attempts to do. And it is not those moments of discouragement or frustration we will remember about this trip; it is how God responded when we sought after Him.
As we prayed for protection and planning, we also prayed for His will to be done, not our will, but His. And it was amazing to see how He worked out His plans when we had something else in mind. Proverbs 16:9 tells us, "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Our sweet sister Christy Duff was supposed to fly down and speak to the women at the breakout session. She was unable to make it down to Mexico, and on the morning of her session, we scrambled to find a video platform in which she could teach the women as Ana translated. The video stopped working before we even begin, but the audio was there--the audio on our end anyway. Christy could not hear Ana translating, so she wouldn't have known when to stop and when to continue. Thankfully, even when technology fails, the Holy Spirit does not. Christy poured into these women with Ana translating, and it flowed as smoothly as if they were both in the same room. Every single one of the women were blessed beyond measure. God spoke deep into their hearts. The Holy Spirit moved them. Martha from Brazos de Amistad said that even though she was sad Christy was not there to join us, God worked everything out according to His plan and that the affect of His words through Christy's message was even greater than if she was there.
At the same time as the women's session, Pastor Jason delivered a message to the men while Steve translated, and Pastor Rob delivered a message to the youth while Gama (Pastor Alfonso's grandson) translated. Eica, Chad, and I attended Rob's message where he spoke about the importance of supporting and helping our brothers and sisters in ministry. Whether your live in Indio or Guadalajara, we are all part of one body, and God calls us to help other members of our church family when ministry feels heavy and overwhelming. Just like Aarron and Hur who held up Moses's arms, we can support our friends and family during difficult or tiring times.
In addition to the breakout sessions, Pastor Jason delivered Spirit-filled messages as part of three other sessions, in which they worshiped, read God's Word, and partook in communion. After the worship time of each, Erica, Rob, Chad, Holly, and I took the youngest kids to play games and to love on them. (So much fun!) One evening, before the night session, Holly surprised the families by offering to take family portraits of them on the beach. She took pictures of each family as they stood in front of God's beautiful ocean. Silvia, Pastor Alfonso's daughter-in-law, expressed how truly grateful she was for the family photo. She said that she hadn't had someone take a professional picture of her family since her two now teenage children were toddlers. Things like family photos, things that we don't even think twice about in America, is a luxury for those who have little.
One of the most fun events was a boat ride and snorkeling expedition that Erica orchestrated. Many members of the families joined in on the fun, and they all said they had an amazing time. Even living in California, just a few hours away from the ocean, I've had few experiences where I get to hop on a boat and explore God's ocean. Those times were amazing to me, and even more amazing to our brothers and sisters from Guadalajara, whom many never get to even see the ocean!
The retreat was a time of refreshing for the families of Brazos de Amistad and CCG. It is something they will never forget. They are truly thankful for all that was provided, and afterward several of them told me that God certainly refreshed them and filled them.
After the retreat concluded, Chad, Holly, and I packed into the vans and traveled back to Guadalajara with the families. We stopped at roadside stands several times on the 9 hour drive home. The drive itself is only 4.5 hours, but most of the families don't get to take trips like this. They don't get to travel the state of Jalisco, like we may travel the state of California. The ride itself wasn't the means to get to our destination; it was a time of sightseeing, fellowship, and street tacos....delicious street tacos. :)
Chad, Holly, and I spent only two days in Guadalajara, but we we blessed by every moment of it. My heart was filled with joy when I saw the children of the soup kitchen. I truly didn't realize how much I missed them. This was my fifth trip down to Guadalajara, and over the past several years, I have watched these children grow, I have witnessed the amazing things God is doing there. Tears of joy streamed down my face as I hugged these kids, as I spoke to them in broken Spanish. There are several team members from TGF who have attended the GDL mission trip multiple times. And I can tell you that a piece of our hearts is down there with them always. Just like The Garden is our home, so is Brazos de Amistad. It's so joyous to be there, and so difficult to leave. Even thinking about them now brings a longing to my heart to return.
While there, we had an opportunity to see how God is growing His ministry through Calvary Chapel Guadalajara. A few months ago, a married Christian couple sought out CCG, and said they were moving to California, but wanted their house in Mexico to be used for ministry. The house is about 30 minutes away in the city of Zapopan. And like the neighborhood CCG is in, this neighborhood is poor, and there are many children in need of love and attention. More importantly, however, there are families in need of The Gospel and of our Savior. So our brothers and sisters in ministry prayed, and they were faithful to God's call. Yadira, the Director of Children's MInistry, and her husband Mauricio, oversee a kids club at the house in Zapopan. This was their third week of the Sunday evening kids club, and 30 minutes before the program began, we walked the dirt streets with her and handed out lollipops to families inviting them to join us.
By 6:30 pm, a dozen boys and girls from the neighborhood timidly entered the house. A few of us painted kids' faces. Others played a unique game of kickball/baseball. The bases were buckets, home plate was a piece of a torn foam mattress, and there weren't any teams. But none of that mattered because the children were enjoying themselves tremendously. When play time came to an end and the teaching began, we were excited to see three of Pastor Alfonso's grandchildren and one of the other teenage girls from CCG lead the other kids in worship. And we were blessed to see Pastor Alfonso's oldest grandchild, Angeles, teaching The Gospel. Angeles is 19 years old, and has been in ministry most of her life, as all her cousins at CCG have. Over the past four years, I've watched not just the soup kitchen kids grow, but Pastor Alfonso's grandchildren grow as well. I have seen how God uses them just as much as He uses their parents to minister to the kids who attend Brazos de Amistad, and now the kids in Zapopan. It's inspiring to see these young men and women raise up to serve our God. It's a new generation sharing God's Word with others, and they do it with love an humility.
Mama Adela told us that God has put it on her heart to start a Saturday morning breakfast club in Zapopan, along with the Sunday night kids club. Her family is praying for food donations and people to serve. Chad, Holly, and I believe we witnessed the beginnings of a new soup kitchen on this mission trip, a new Brazos de Amistad. And I believe God wants us to share this with you. No one knows what God has planned for this new ministry, but we ask you all to be in prayer for them. Pray for the resources and people needed for a breakfast club and whatever else God has in store. Pray for the people of the neighborhood to come to kids club, to come to breakfast, to hear God's Word, and to accept Him into their hearts.
Every time I leave, I am blown away by what God is doing through the ministries down there. If you are ever called to serve as part of the team, I hope you answer that call. Also, pray for how God can use you in our own valley. Pray for how He can use you in our own church. We serve a awesome God!
Love,
Noelle