Daniel
Cenci
This summer, I had the privilege of going to Sells, AZ to do the work of the Lord. During this trip, I was
able to help paint a
church building, pick up trash, and help with a Vacation Bible School.
I believe that the VBS was the most enjoyable outreach, because
we got to share the love and joy that comes from Christ alone. I
pray that God will continue to work in my life and in the lives of
those I met.
Mark Warner
This was my fifth missions trip and was one of the most interesting
ones I have been on. From not knowing what we were doing until
Tuesday - to having to build our own showers. Every trip
that we go on, there is always one event that sticks in my mind.
The event was the evangelistic service we had on Thursday night.
Just seeing how many lives were affected because of that, it changed
my life.Rachel Ficek
This was my first missions trip and I was
really nervous, but every single person on the team was continually
assuring me and encouraging me. I thought that was so cool,
people took the time to listen and talk to one another. Everyone
on the team showed an impressive amount of self control and dedication
in their work. I owe a big thanks to Mrs. Donna. Without
her constant reminding I would have gotten real sick from dehydration.
Also to Carrie and Jessica for being really cool friends.
Thursday night was great! It was real cool to see the people
that came. It was a great experience I will never forget.
Donna Warner
When I looked around the town of Sells, I
thought, "Where is the hope for these Native Americans?" The
reservation is in the middle of nowhere. The Border Patrol is
everywhere looking for illegals. There aren't any signs of
industry. The road between Tucson and Sells is full of crosses
marking where Natives died from a time of drinking in Tucson.
During VBS, children came in starving for love; just wanting hugs and
piggy back rides. Many of these children come from difficult
home situations (the missionaries quoted 80% abuse and about 60%
incest in the homes). Many seemed lacking in academic skills.
Where is the hope? Only in Jesus Christ. Hopefully
by going to Sells, being willing to do highway trash pick-up, giving
hugs and piggy back rides (oh my aching back), painting in 100 degree
weather, sleeping on floors and taking outdoor showers, we have been
able to show the love of Christ. The trip was a very humbling
time. Being a teacher it was hard to deal with the organized
confusion at VBS. It emphasized how everything we do - even
picking up the trash - is a witness for Christ.
Please continue to pray for the people and the missionaries
who continue to work in the areas. Without Christ, there is no
hope. |
Dave
Newmann
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ! Thank you for allowing us to serve the Indians in
Tucson, AZ; namely the Tahono O'odum Tribe. The situations that
many of the children grew up in are abusive and lack affection.
what touched me most was their desire to just be hugged, that is if
they couldn't get you to give them a piggy back ride for about 20
minutes. It was difficult to leave the children at the end of
the week, however, we must trust God to water was
sown.
Although the temperature was 106 plus, God did bless us with some
clouds and wind a few days to give us a little relief. That was
much welcomed as some of us were working on a roof and the rest were
painting the outside of the Church building we stayed in.
My first experience was very rewarding and I look forward to next
year. Thank you again, in His love!
Rebekah Cabell
This has been my fifth missions trip, and I
had the honor of being with such wonderful people. They took
care of me both physically and emotionally. This trip had it's
ups and downs, but we prayed about it and gave it to the Lord.
He taught us to rely on Him and everything would be all right. Before this trip I had all these bad feelings about how the weather
and the living conditions were going to be. The Lord proved me
wrong and gave us a wonderful trip with shade from the hot sun and air
conditioned rooms to sleep in and eat in (with the help of David
Newman). We painted the Church building and I participated in
the group that chose to do VBS. So I hoped that we made an
impact on the children we met as much as they made an impact on me.
Beth League
A typical day in Arizona started like this:
The group that went to an older lady's house to fix the roof left at
five in the morning. Then my group would get up a little later.
Some people from the church came early to fix breakfast for us and the
group that left early came back for breakfast with us. My group
had the project of painting the Church Building. We had to
scrape off some of the old paint with wire brushes. Then after
that we had to put down a tarp so we didn't get paint on the ground.
We also had to put plastic up on the bricks so we didn't drip onto
them. That part was tricky because the wind was making the tape
stick together and made it hard to keep the plastic from blowing.
After we were done with that we got the scaffolding
up and started to paint. Painting took the longest but wasn't
that hard. But somehow we still managed to get a little paint on
the bricks.
Since it was so hot during the day we couldn't
be outside painting on the hottest part of the day. So we
stopped painting at 11:00 and the other group came back, too.
Then some of us ate lunch early and went to basketball camp. The
people who didn't help with basketball helped with VBS. I helped
with basketball and it was fun.
This year was my first year going on a missions trip and I am so
glad that I was able to go. I really appreciate
all the prayers and support of the Church members, my family and
friends. Thank you to everyone who sent money and prayers.
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