Corpus MIssion Trip Day Three

Corpus Mission Trip Day 3 Every mission trip has a "big day." That would be yesterday. With our church shuttle down for the count, I called the church administrator (a girl I went to school with) to ask for a recommendation for a mechanic shop. When she heard about the shuttle she immediately brought me the keys to their new church van and she and her husband even packed up ice chests for us for our Family Fun Day sno cones. Then, at the very last minute she said, "oh yeah and we have a block party trailer full of games and inflatables if you want that! So, she gave me the keys and the permission and it took our Family Fun Day to a whole new level to have a three story football, soccer and baseball inflatable. God is good. We arrived and started the massive job of setting up pop up tents, children's games, tables, sno cones and more. At starting time we were a little worried because there were only two families there. We scrambled our forces and sent people door to door and to McDonalds and Whataburger (both very near the church.) To my surprise both managers loved this little church and both started immediately handing out our flyers with every meal. The crowd grew and by the end we were singing and presenting the bridge to life to between 60 and 80 people (including some members from River Hills Church that had come to work side by side for a harvest. When I brought brother Ronnie Morales, the pastor up to give the altar call 19 people prayed to receive Christ! And that's the reason for the blood, sweat and tears! Special thanks to all CHFBC members and leadership for your prayers and for supplying the games, vehicles, and the support it took to pull off such a fantastic mission trip. Also, a special thanks to the Richeys for hearing a call from God and investing their lives in our Young Professionals ministry. We are leading worship today at River Hills Oak Park and then heading home. Thanks again for your prayers. This trip started with prayer at the altar in Grace chapel and this is why people were saved and we were protected despite all our vehicle problems. One inspiring story. For some, like Terry Walker, this is their very first mission trip. I know it won't be their last, especially with stories like this one. Terry immediately bonded with Corey. He is going into 7th grade this year and he was one of the oldest boys that attended the Family Fun Day. He was drawn in by the football inflatable and showed incredible accuracy in throwing through the various holes in that station of the game. Terry asked if he's played football and to his surprise he stated he had not. Terry simply said: "you've got a real arm and all the right mechanics, you'd make a great quarterback." Corey lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed like no one had ever paid him a simple compliment. Later, at the bridge to life presentation Corey prayed to receive Christ. But, when one of our team members asked him if we could fill out a follow up card, he refused. Terry went to talk to him and found out the best we can tell- he was embarrassed because he and his father lived in Austin but his father had dropped him off with his grandmother here in Corpus Christi probably because they don't have a permanent address right now. David Spann made an interesting observation. Someday when Corey is the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and he is interviewed after a big win he will say: I never believed I could do it, until one day this group came to Corpus Christi and...

Corpus MissionTrip Day Two

YP Mission Trip Day 2 Day 2 (Friday) started with us loading up on the church shuttle to find that it wouldn't start. So, no problem, (a favorite saying of ours) we used another vehicle to jump start it and got on the road to make the 15 mile trip from the church where we are staying to the church at which we are ministering. 5 miles down the road the engine went dead at 60 miles per hour. But God is good...we put it in neutral and coasted off a nearby exit. Thanks to the grace of God (and the YPs are convinced...thanks to everyone leading forward) we coasted off the freeway and right into a parking lot of a dance studio in the middle of nowhere. After a bit, we got it started again and limped over to the church where we met waiting church members from River Hills Church at Oak Park. The next two hours were spent with them going door to door giving out flyers for our Family Fun Day. We hit all the streets surrounding the church as well as several apartment complexes. Our hope is that this kind of outreach blitz will help put this church on the map in this area of Corpus Christi letting residents know there is a loving church waiting to minister to their families. From there we enjoyed awesome seafood and steaks at Nolan's and it was back to work...this time at my parents house. As most of you reading this know, my parents have both had lots of physical problems lately especially my dad who had extensive GI surgery and then fell while recuperating and broke his hip. Then, at age 83 he underwent a hip replacement and has only been home from rehab a few days. So, they were blessed to the point of tears by our group taking time to mow and weed eat the yard, replace a leaky drain pipe, clean windows and redo our front flower bed. My father prayed over us at the end of our time and not only prayed a wonderful blessing over all the group but asked God to move in a mighty way as we ministered here in the city. In the meantime I took the van over to run some diagnostic tests that were inconclusive. The van started right up after lunch so we decided to chance it and take our scheduled evening off at the beach. We came out to load up at my parents home only to find a flat tire on the rear tire of our shuttle bus. We aired it up and limped into Discount Tire where there was a two hour wait. I told the group to pack into the waiting area and be obnoxious which I figured would get us at the head of the line! (o.k. so I thought about doing that.) But as everyone waked over the Wal Mart we made friends with one of the guys in the shop and we were back on the road in less than an hour. We finally headed for Padre Island and had a restful time before the big day tomorrow that ended with a praise and worship circle with the guitar that was a good witness to all.

Corpus Mission Trip Day One

Young Professionals Mission Trip Thursday, July 4th I am definitely older than I have ever been! And this deep truth was never driven home more deeply than yesterday when I trying to keep up with this bunch. We have such a dedicated, enthusiastic and energetic group of YPs that although they can make you feel old...they also inspire everyone around them to be more for The Lord. Our day started yesterday with loading and loading and loading. It was clear this was a spiritual army deploying by the amount of hardware and equipment we were stowing. Food, children's games, a bouncy house, cups, plates, napkins, tracts, bridge to life boards, giant cross, power generator, sound system, publicity flyers, suitcases for 16 people and on and on it went until there was just room left for people to squeeze in. After an awesome season of prayer we were off. After settling in at our gracious host River Hills Church of Calallen, we loaded up and headed for the Bayfront of Corpus Christi. By 5p.m. the crowds were swelling and The Lord showed us an awesome place to park for free. We lugged all the necessary stuff across water street to the base camp and set up our pop up shelter. After setting up all our equipment and generator I realized we had left the box with our extension cords back at the church 20 miles away. I called my mom and dad and they immediately got some cords ready. I picked them up along with a homemade brisket sandwich to eat on the way and we got our sound system operational. We then got in our evangelism teams and took off handing out friendship bracelets to families who were sitting around relaxing with hours to kill before the fireworks display. I am still amazed that God uses such small and foolish things to do mighty works of glory. Every child wanted one of these beaded bracelets with each bead representing a truth of the gospel message. And- most of the parents wanted them too. After kneeling in the grass and tying these bracelets on we would offer to explain what the colors meant. Again, no one refused and our 5 teams shared the gospel over 100 times in the next couple of hours. We returned to base camp and started singing about an hour before sunset. We sang praise songs that the Corpus Christi wind carried to hundreds of onlookers but no one really gathered around us. They simply went on grilling and chilling with family as we sang over them. Then it happened. A few kids gathered and started listening so we got on the microphone and offered to let the kids come up "on stage" and sing with us. Within 60 seconds there were dozens of kids dancing and singing silly songs like The Fruit of the Spirit's not a Coconut! By the third silly song parents had come over to see their kids sing and the iphones had come out as they shot video of their kids singing and dancing in the park. This is what we prayed for- an audience to whom we could present the gospel. The Bridge to Life presentation was ready in the background and we quickly transitioned to this dramatic demonstration that shows the futility of trying to get to God through good works or religion. The kids were surprised when the bridges of good works and religion broke sending me crashing to the ground and they cheered right on cue when I made it across the valley of sin on the strong wooden cross! As I led in the sinners prayer at the end several children and adults prayed to receive Jesus. This was it...why we came...and Jesus honored our prayers...your prayers and already people have given their hearts to Jesus. We did stay and watch the fireworks but really, after seeing God move it was pretty anti climactic. Two great reports. One of our evangelism teams stopped to talk with two teenage boys (not the age we typically try to impress with a beaded bracelet). When we offered the bracelet one of the boys put his arm out but then drew it back and asked: "is this a religious thing?" At first the team took this as a negative but in reality he was glad. He shared that he had suffered a severe asthma attack and had just spent 5 days in the hospital. His spiritual interest was high and both he and his friend bowed their heads and prayed to receive Christ. Also, one of our teams shared with a guy that had been saved recently out of a life of severe addiction. And, as God would have it, one of the ladies on this evangelism team works with our Celebrate Recovery and was able to really encourage him along his path to healing in this area. Thank you again for your support and your prayers. Today we will be hitting the neighborhoods around the little church we are here to support. We will be handing out flyers for our block party tomorrow so please pray that each flyer will be anointed to draw families to River Hills at Oak Park church.