Brentwood Team’s Sunday Service

Hey everyone! Just thought you guys might be interested in checkin out the Brentwood’s teams service in which they gave testimonies and such as we did in ours! Its just a chance to hear about what God did in Mexico from more perspectives!

To listen to the service go to the link,

http://www.calvarybrentwood.org/Inspired_Word/

It is the August 2nd service. It says Youth Mexico Missions Trip on it. You can either download the service or you can just listen to it on the website!

Thanks guys! Hope you guys are havin a good week!

God Bless,
Drew

“He has delievered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved son, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins!”
-Colossians 1:13 and 14 [ESV]

Have a blessed day!

Mexico Day 10 - Thursday the 30th (Drew)

Hey everyone! I am sad to say this is my last time writing to you from Javier’s wonderful house!

Just a last entry thing for you guys to cover the past couple days! Yesterday morning we split the teams up into two groups! One group went to the prison and went to the church service there and also bought sodas for the guys there! I wasn’t in that group so I don’t know like personally what it was like this time, just from my memory of the trip there on the 2006 mission trip! Hopefully I can get someone to write about it before we leave!   The other team headed to a special needs orphanage. There we played with the kids for a while and then we did a meladrama (spelling?) and a couple of us gave their testimony for the kids! We played a little music and danced with the kids too! It was an awesome experience! One little boy stood out to me there. His name is Victor. He is 5 but looks like he is 1. I don’t know what he has but he is just tiny, can’t talk, needs people to feed him but yet he was still happy! He was just so excited when we came in and he just layed on the ground until we went in because he can’t walk either! It was an awesome time at both the orphanage and from my understanding, the prison also!

Last night we went to the Wednesday night bible study at Javi’s church and hung out there! Jessica gave her testimony and we had a reunion Redeemer performance consisting of the Dream Team! Jimmy, Blake, Lindsay, Callie, and Angela all did the skit for the church! It was funny to see all the different past groups combined to create the Dream Team haha!

After church we all went to a team dinner at this nice restaurant called Panchos! We ate there and hung out with each other. Some of the church came to dinner with us like Pony and Carlitos and Carlitos’ girlfriend! It was a really fun time!

After dinner we went to the beach (Panchos sits on the edge of the beach overlooking the ocean) and Javi talked to us about “destiny.”   The talk was about seeking where God wants us to be!  He shared from Genesis  the story about the group of people (I can’t remember the name of them) who were to go to Canan but along the way passed through Herron and they liked it there so they stopped.  It was an awesome time and one of my favorite parts of our trips down here!

Well, now that I have it all caught up it is time to say that we are about to leave! We just ate breakfast and are about to go back to the hotel to pack. We leave for the airport around 11 and should be back around 1 in the morning! Prayer for safe travel and smooth transitions would be greatly appreciated! Also prayer for a few individuals who are not feeling is much needed!

Thanks everyone! See you soon!

God Bless,
Drew

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!” - Isaiah 41:10
Playlist Day 10 -
Live For You - Connersvine
Oh Praise Him - David Crowder Band
Made to Love - TobyMac
Hold My Heart - Tenth Avenue North
God of This City - Kris Allen

Mexico Day 9 - Wednesday the 29th

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn’t get a chance to write more yesterday!

Just to get you guys caught up on everything. Two nights ago we had this really cool time doing this thing called eye to eye prayer.  The concept is that you pray for each person on the team for approximately a minute while you and the person look in each others eyes. After that two of the guys from the team let free some things they have been holding onto for the past couple of years and it was just such an awesome time!   That night there was a really cool storm too! It was the first time on any of my three trips the power has gone out from a storm! It was really cool to watch, especially seeing it in the distance as we walked down the light house!

Yesterday was fairly easy. It was our beach/shopping day.  We got up in the morning and grabbed some food for breakfast and headed out to one Javier’s favorite surffing spots called Stone Island.  The waves were so sweet! They were like one after another! You could get hit by a wave and come up for a breather and get smoked by another! It was crazy! We got some surf lessons too while we were there! And before we left offered a chance for anyone who wanted to be re baptized or even if it was their first one! That was a really cool experience also!  After that we had a shopping night so we went to Javi’s surf shop and went to the coffee shop owned by a family in the church which totally beats out Starbucks!

Today is our last full day. One team is headed to the prison and the other team is headed to a special needs orphanage to hang out with the kids.  And tonight we are headed to Centro De Vida for Wednesday night church!

Hope everyone is doing great! Talk to you soon!

God Bless,
Drew

Quick Update - Day 8

Hey whats up everyone! Once again I am running short on time but just a quick update! Last night we did this thing called eye to eye prayer which is so powerful! It is by far one of my favorite experiences of these trips! This morning we are all about to head out to Stone Island and catch some surf with Javi and some his guys from the church! They are going to teach those who want to learn, a basic surf lesson! It is going to be sweet!

Well everyone, its time to jet! We have a free day today to shop and stuff when we get back from the island so I’ll write more details then!  Can’t wait to tell you more! Surfs up!

God Bless,
Drew

Mexico Day 7 - Kayla Annarino on the Experience

First off i want to thank everyone that gave me many anywhere in the past few months. It was a lot to save. this has been one of the most touching weeks of my entire life!!! all the little kids are so cute and they love to be played with and love balloons! ha ha they are all so beautiful when you look at them with a loving heart even if they were dirty or didn’t smell as nice as the little kids back in the US smell, and even if they did live in a dirty house and had no shoes or no shirt, they live and live happily with all that they do have. I wish i could live that way. because as an American we seem to take advantage of all the things we have.

These people here well most of them, they are the sweetest people and they really love God. I think it is safe to say that we have done a good work and God has allowed us to do great and wonderful things to glorify him!!! none of this would have happened if it werent for him. so i am eternally grateful i got to come and experience this with these people in our group and the Nashville group! they are all so kinda and loving and understanding. so much fun to be around. we have had a lot of laughs and some cries but they are worth it.

I know we planted some seeds for sure and touched some hearts and now that is done i would be ok with going home. i do love it here, it is BEAUTIFUL a little hot but i manage. but we have accomplished some things i know God wanted us to, and i also know he has more in store for us. and i’m really excited to see what it is.

The last thing before i go because we leave for the light house in 10 mins to watch the sunset, but the last thing i am going to say is that God is wonderful and you can do anything through him. we are all a body and we should all act as one even if one has nothing and the other has so much more.  we are all one and we should all work together as one to make this a better place. and i believe we did that in these few days we were here.

Thanks so much again and God Bless.

i miss you guys!

-Kayla Annarino

Mexico Day 7 - Lindsay Behr on Night Evangelism

¡Hola! ¡Buenos tardes! Or in english, “hello, good afternoon.” :)  I just want to share with all of you a beautiful story of a wonderful little girl named Ana Patricia. We met her last night during our street evangelism. This little 5 year old girl was a joy right from the start. From the get go she was just completely enthusiastic and ready to go and play and have fun and love on us.

I have been on six mission trips in my life. Four of which in Mexico. I´ve always had a heart for these people and I´ve always been so blessed when I´ve visited. But I can honestly say that I´ve never been quite so impacted as I was last night with this precious little lamb.

When we first met Ana we were all talking amongst ourselves about how cute she was and she goes, “I can´t understand you because I don´t speak English!” (At least that´s the rough translation.) It was love at first sight. We asked if she wanted to come play with us and she just jumped up and shouted, “Yo, yo!” (Me! Me!). It wasn’t long before she started giving us all kisses and squeezes. I’ve fallen in love with so any girls here, but none of them have been quite like this one. She was truly captivating;joy overflowing.

After playing and getting to know the kids we sat them all down for the clown skits, testimonies, and dramas. She was so ready to sit on our laps and hold our hands during the program. I have never seen anyone quite so involved. Every time Javier asked for help during the clown skits she jumped up and ran to him. We just couldn’t stop laughing at how absolutely adorable she was!

When we were done with the skits we began with the dramas. People Get Ready was first. Ana and her friend Felicia, who is eight, were so interested in what was going on. They were asking questions about what was going on and only by the grace of God, in my broken Spanish, I was able to explain to them everything that was going on-AND THEY UNDERSTOOD! I told them that Brittany couldn’t be with God because she didn’t receive him, and their response was, “So she’s dead?” The most honest answer was, “Yes, she is dead.” They understood that concept and it made them sad.

Ok, now here comes the most powerful part. Go and grab some tissues because I can almost promise you that you will need them. We began Redeemer. They asked what was happening and once again, God gave me the grace to explain it all so that they understood. So the drama went on and they knew what was happening, comlete understanding. If you ‘ve seen this drama you know that man is first beat, and then God stops it, puts the sin upon Himself and takes the beating for man. As soon as He stepped in Ana jumped up and shouted, “¡No! ¡Dios!” No! God! as He was beat and He was hit and He was whipped this precious, beutiful little girl was truly there. She was sitting on Megan Risners lap and she just kept crying out. I’m going to try and give you this picture, but I just don’t know if words wil suffice. As she cried out she desperately tried to do whatever she could to stop what was happening. She tried to get us to stop them and when we didn’t, she tried to jump out of Megan’s lap to do it herself. And then she noticed Shane, who plays man, on the ground crying. She tried to jump up to comfort him. At first Megan tried to stop her from touching him, but I just told her to let her be a part of it. “She’s there, she’s feeling it, let her experience it” I said. And so she let her. Her little five year old heart went out to Shane, she tried to do all she could to help him. She started by patting him on the head, telling him it was ok. The she patted his hand, doing all she could think to do. Tears rolling down her face, she then clung to Megan with all her might. You could just see the battle within. It was as if she couldn’t stand to look, and yet, at the same time, she could’t stand to look away. I’ve never seen such a desperate, aching look on such a little face. We tried to tell her that now it’s sad, but in the end it’s good, that God did this for her, but she was so caught up in the tragedy of what was happening that our words fell straight to the ground. And just as Ana could do nothing but cry, Megan and I found ourselves in the same situation-we could do nothing but cry.

When it got to the point where she could bare it no more, when she finally just buried herself in Megan’s shoulder, when Jesus died she told us through foggy eyes that He had died. Then the music changed and she looked. Jesus had risen. She couldn’t contain herself she practically leaped out of megan’s lap and loudly exclaimed that God was alive! That he wasn’t dead anymore. Her sorrow was truly turned to joy. Her tears of ultimate grief became tears of ultimate joy. (Even now, as I recall this moment, I can’t help but cry). As she jumped up and down with pure excitement Megan and I just looked at each other, speechless and in awe, hearts and eyes full.

Javier followed up with an alter call. It couldn’t have come sooner for this little lamb. She jumped up and ran as fast as she could towards Javier and accepted Christ as her Saviour.

I have seen this drama since I was five years old, since I was Ana’s age. I could probably perform it in my sleep I’ve seen it and taught it so many times. You can ask any of the other leaders on this team, I have become almost numb to it, I’ve grown almost weary of it, it had started to lose it’s effect on me. All of that changed last night. I have never seen anyone so completely captivated and caught up in it.

Looking back I don’t know if I’ve ever been that caught up or captivated by the Gospel. Has it touched me? Has it changed my life? Has it seriously affected me? Yes, yes, yes. But not like that. I watched as this five year old, little girl wept for her Saviour, reached out for her Saviour, and as she tried to comfort man. Wow. Wow. Wow. Her testimony is strong and powerful. This baby girl has changed my life and my perspective. Even as I watched Redemeer for about the millionth time today, I cried. I wanted to weep, just remembering how this girl cried in desperation and wanted to dance when she saw that He had risen. I wanted to weep in realization of how powerful the Gospel is and what He has done for me.

Praise be to the Lord God Almighty! I love the thought of  how Jesus watched Ana cry, and rejoice. I love thinking that He was right there with her, crying with her, rejoicing with her.  The Spirit worked in her heart, He used her, He spoke to her. What a beautiful picture! How He loves His sheep! Amen! Hallelujah!

If you want to see a video of Redeemer, here is a video of the team practicing it in Evansville teaching it to some people. ! 

(Added by admin: Or just click here to view it here on the CCF website!  This is a video of the Pre-Mexico Orientation weekend and the Redeemer skit is in there about half way through)

Mexico Day 7 - Monday the 27th (Drew)

Hey everyone! Just a quick update! I have to make it quick  because the taxis are on their way to pick us up! But just a quick update. Last night was the street evangelism and this morning some of the team is going to Javi’s church to paint the childrens room while the rest of us go to the rehab center to do skits and things! Ill give a more detailed entry when we get back! Talk to you soon!!!

God bless,
Drew

Mexico Day 6 - Sunday the 26th (Drew)

Hey everyone!! Sorry I am running behind on this thing! This entry might be a little bit longer but I want to get it all caught up for you!!!

Yesterday morning the team got up and traveled to the dump! The dump is one of my favorite places because it is a really powerful experience! The dump itself is at the top of a hill and all of the workers families live on the side of it. We went and got dropped off on the hill and passed out bread, koolaid, and candy to the families and kids there. We also played hot patato with the kids! One of the boys, Claudio, was there playing with us and remembered our group from last year! After that we walked up the hill to the dump itself. There was a nice breeze coming off of the ocean so it wasn’t too bad of a smell up there.  A couple of us helped throw bags of cardboard and plastic into a truck for this lady while the others passed out food and talked to the workers. It was just an awesome experience!

Last night we went out to a place almost out into the boonies. We had been to the area before to go to a place called Church on the Hill. This area was totally new to everyone.  It was Javier’s first outreach in that area so that was really cool! We played some games with the kids and did some dramas and Megan Alanzo (Brentwood Team) and Grant Short (CCF Team) shared their testimonies to the crowd.  One of my favorite parts was seeing all the little kids come up and gathered around each other and repeated a prayer Javier prayed. It was just an awesome thing to see!   After that we went and had dinner at this awesome taco stand!  Then about 7 of us went to Centro De Vida (Javier’s church) to clean and set up for the Sunday service.

This morning we all got up and did our devos and then walked to Javi’s for breakfast and then we went back to the hotel for about an hour or so! Then we all got in taxis and went to the church service at Centro De Vida. It was really cool to see all of the familiar faces and them recognize you too! One of them had even saw on facebook about our youth groups benefit concert and asked about it!

Tonight we head out to another area close to where we were last night for another outreach, so prayer that things go smooth there would be greatly appreciated!

Also, an update on our sick girls! Most of them are feeling much better and back to good health! A few of them still have some moments of feeling sick and not very good so if you could all continue to pray for that!

Thank you so much everyone! We appreciate it more than we can describe!

God Bless,
Drew

P.S. -
Soon some of the kids will be writing a few paragraphs on what we have been doing also! So look out for that!

¨Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.¨ Matthew 5:6 Read more

Mexico Day 5 - Saturday 25th (Drew)

Hey everyone!! Que pasa? How’s it going back home?  Things are going good down here! Just giving a little fill in thingy mabobber for ya!

Yesterday we did a whole lotta nothing!  When we got to the hotel we found out that our rooms weren’t ready and we ended up waiting for two hours to get our rooms when we got there.  We just chilled outside in the pool and  played frisbee and guitar and stuff! It was tight but frustrating at the same time if that makes any sense! With the wait we ended up not going out to Javier’s house just so everyone could rest and relax.

This morning was what we called G2D2, Gender Group Devo Day. The girls got up and went to the pool area to do theirs and the guys got up a little earlier and ran to the beach for ours! It was an awesome time!

Also, some of our girls are feeling a little better, but others are starting to feel under the weather now! We have 4 staying back from this morning from our trip to the dump! So prayers for them would be great!

We are about to head out to the dump in a couple minutes so I’ll talk to you guys soon about that!

Thanks everyone! We appreciate every thing you guys are doing back home! It means a lot!  And also feel free to keep in contact through comments and things! They are a tremendous blessing to be able to read to everyone!

God Bless,
Drew

¨For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life!¨ - John 3:16

Playlist Day 5
Don’t Miss This Chance - Forgotten Tragedy
Glory Be - Connersvine
Hold My Heart - Tenth Avenue North
Love Is Here - Tenth Avenue North

Another Mexico update from Chris

Dori, Ikaika and Callie pass on thanksgiving for all the prayer for their time in the village and the program last night…..it was not a welcoming, easy place at all for the team’s first ministry outreach……..in answer to prayer, the initial heaviness and resistance they sensed in the people was overcome………it was definitely a praise as to attendance and how well the people received  the preaching(Javier/Toby), skits and dramas. …….they said our team is doing great, and has been in good spirits, maintaining good unity as they are being stretched in new situations …..I know the kids have been really blessed at the gracious hospitality of the pastor and his family who slept on the floor so some of the team could have their bed!!……..thanks to everyone who prayed, and please continue!!!!!!……..in His love, Chris

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