Christian Missions: This week, the epidemic that had the world holding its breath affected Pearlington in a most unusual way. With the Swine Flu virus sweeping across Costa Rica, First United Methodist Church out of LaGrange, Georgia changed their travel plans at the last minute, leaving behind the Caribbean Islands for hurricane relief work in the heart of the South. They met up with a YoungLife group out of Illinois and Main Street United Methodist from North Carolina at Pearlington to help finish up the last projects of the summer.

Since it was the second to last week of the summer, the Experience Mission staff was thrilled to have the extra help.  Even though work has flown by each week, there were still several key jobs to be finished before both the Bennett’s and Nick could move into their respective houses.  Because of this, one of the most exciting parts of this week was the amount of quality work that got completed throughout the city. From cranking out electrical projects to demolishing houses, teams tore through any and all tasks they were given. The Bennett’s saw their massive porch cover finished, kitchen tiles and electrical installed and Nick’s crew finished roofing, siding and decking. All the while, other smaller groups finished up incredibly crucial jobs at the O’Neal’s, the Crepeau’s, the Ackers, the Vince’s and the Vincent’s.

However, it wasn’t the work ethic that stood out on these youth mission trip teams, but their willingness to do anything and everything to help those in need. These teams left a fantastic impression on every family that they worked with this week. The community adored the servant’s hearts that they worked with, and many went out of their way to thank the volunteers over and over again. The week was a huge success, and Team Pearlington is praying for one final great week to wrap up all of their projects and end the year with a bang. And if God needs to use Swine Flu again to make that happen, then we are all for it.

*This summer wraps up 3 years of rebuilding in Pearlington, MS. The town is 85% rebuilt! Stay tuned for our new Hurricane relief locations, and check out other locations that we serve in, at New Orleans mission trips.

Hurricane Relief in Mississippi: We’re Alive! Team Pearlington survived a youth mission trip team of 150 people this past week and we had an awesome time!  Houston First Presbyterian Church is our largest group of the summer. Literally, our entire summer has been in preparation for this short term missions trip.  We have been making sure that things are lined up to accommodate this many people.  It was interesting to see how God worked this week because we found that even with all of the preparation we had done, problems still arose. The first work day we awoke to torrential downpours and it seemed like the week was going to be disastrous because the majority of the work projects we had lined up were outdoors.  We also had some last minute worksite cancellations.  We were sweating it out and praying that things would turn around.  

However, God helped details to fall into place and the week was a “home run”. He presented other opportunities for work projects and blessed us with eager and high spirited students and leaders who were flexible and energetic.   We were also blessed with beautiful weather on Thursday and Friday.  It is truly amazing how our Lord works even in the difficult times. This was definitely a lesson on trust in Our God, and it became very obvious that sometimes it is so hard to let go of all control in a situation and just give it over to Him. This team from Houston was a huge blessing to the community of Pearlington, Mississippi and the hurricane relief work, as well as to the Experience Mission Staff. We were very encouraged by the entire group’s positive attitude and dedication to work hard. There was never a moment when this team wasn’t asking how they could help whether it be in the kitchen or on the worksite. This team worked in a total of 15 worksites doing various things such as shingling, siding, demolition, flooring, decking, interior & exterior painting, staining, porch covers, and general cleanup and yard beautification.

Something that was very unique to this mission trip team was their tight knit community, which is surprising considering their large size. Their evening programs were very exciting and intentional.  We had fun dance parties each night and moving talks given by Brune, Scott, and Tim.  They have an interesting approach to missions.  They use it has a tool for evangelism.   About 2/3 of the students that came on the trip with First Presbyterian Church did not necessarily have a relationship with Christ.  The philosophy this group has about short term mission trips is to show students what it means to live out a Christian lifestyle through serving. Their theme for this week was in 2 Corinthians 5:20 and being “Christ’s ambassadors.”  Many lives were changed this week and many relationships were built both within the team and the community.

-Jim and the Pearlington team

*Interested in joining in the work of Experience Mission? Check out our website at www.ExperienceMission.org for more information and to sign up for upcoming 2010 mission trips!

Rural Mission Trip: Just checking in from Costa Rica. The summer has been a challenging one but it’s been amazing to see how God continues to work in ways that we did not see possible. This last week we travelled up to Alto Coen; which to give ya’ll an idea of the kind of trip it is, just to get to the location where you are staying you take an hour boat ride in a banana boat, an hour bus ride, and then a 5 hour hike up roughly 1500 feet on a muddy, rugged terrain. It is an amazing experience but you definitely get a workout. Anyways, throughout the week Ali and I had the privilege of getting to know the people, specifically the women and children while the men worked on the bridge, which was our main focus for traveling up to Alto Coen- to assist in the building of a suspension bridge that would connect two sides of a village. It was a stretching experience as I battled not being able to fully communicate with women and children however it was amazing to see how God worked through my weakness to still do His work. As I sat under a tree constructed structure with a leaf roof, I found myself exchanging my English language with their BriBri language. While the time was spent learning small phrases such as How are you?, What is your name? Where are you from? And how to count to ten, the bond that formed seemed to go deeper then the simplistic phrase exchanges. It was an exchange of lives, a sharing of each others’ hearts and the joining of lives for a moment.
Team Costa Rica

*To learn more about the mission trips that Experience Mission is sending out, visit www.experiencemission.org.

Hey guys,
Team Costa Rica here checking in. Just wanted to fill y’all in on the rest of the happenings during this week’s mission trip. It’s been a busy week but God has been truly at work. Along with project Christina, the teams have also been serving the community in Costa Rica through two other work projects as well as VBS. The two projects consisted of the construction of a roof for a family of 6 as well as the laying of concrete for a kitchen. The teams worked hard through the heat of each day and the uncertainty of the rainy season in order to get as much completed for these families. They were a hardworking group as they hauled sand, mixed concrete, carried wood, and all the while intentionally interacting with the families they were serving to create friendships that would remain after the projects were completed. Teams worked alongside the Costa Ricans and found language differences to be of little barriers as they taught one another Spanish, English, BriBri, and a little Southern as well. Each day teams would return with tales of laughter and joy that was the fruit of the relationships between them and the families they had the pleasure of serving. While the teams have left Costa Rica, and the projects will be continued by future mission trips, the relationships that were formed will forever be remembered.
See y’all in the next blog,
Team Costa Rica

**To learn more about what Experience Mission is doing, visit our website at www.experiencemission.org.

International Mission Trip: As I sit here at a hostel in Puerto Viejo reminiscing about last week’s mission trips, I find myself once again amazed at God’s beautiful mosaic that He is creating out here in Costa Rica. This mosaic, which is composed of the hearts of the Costa Rican people, us summer staff, the various teams from throughout the U.S. and also those who have been praying for us back home, may be in its beginning stages however it is showing itself to be a breathtaking view.
Two mission trip teams made camp at the Finca Educativa this week and began serving throughout the BriBri people. One of these work projects proved itself to be of grand necessity. The teams had the joy of getting to know a woman named Dona Christina, who is an elderly woman whose house was completely infested by termites. Upon arrival to the site, one could not only witness the slow deterioration of her house but could see the giant termite nest that was the quarters of thousands of termites that were destroying her home. She was literally being eaten out of house and home. This past week the teams had the privilege of beginning the process of not only forming a relationship with this beautiful Costa Rican woman but also in the destruction and construction of a new living space. Equipped with diesel and Penta-cell, the workers were able to completely fumigate the home, destroy the termite nest, and begin the destruction of her home so that the next team can build her a new, safe home. More importantly then the building of her new house, the teams placed seeds in her life that contained the love of Christ in them. Their hard work, encouraging smiles, and willing hearts laid a strong foundation upon which future mission trips will be able to build upon. Not only were they able to meet a need but they were more importantly able to love with Christ’s love and servant hearts.
Over and Out for now. Peace.
-Team Costa Rica

*Note: Interested in going on a trip with Experience Mission? Visit our website at www.experiencemission.org to learn more and watch for our Summer 2010 trips.

Christian Mission Trips: Week one of our short term mission trips is in the books, and what a crazy week that it was. We on the Experience Mission team were blessed beyond words by the youth mission trip team that came this week from New York. We felt a part of their team and they really understood the goal of The Root Cellar and got to see the hearts of the people that work here everyday.

We spent their last evening under a gazebo on the water and reflected on the week. One of their ladies led us in worship and we poured over accounts of scripture that were on our hearts that last night. It was a very fitting way to end the week, and they were rightfully exhausted. Many of their days began at 5:30 or 6 and went until 10 or 11.

The group had been doing a series on Ruth that I thought I would share with everyone. Everyday they read a chapter in the morning for devotionals and at night they would bring their thoughts and questions up with the group. The advantage to having only one group here this week was that we were able to join them after our evening service. Ruth was such a great example of being in a foreign land and trusting in the Lord and being blessed. The group used her example as a springboard for how they should act and treat all of the refugees that are a part of this community. What a blessing.

They left early in the morning, and then the three of us fell back to sleep and have spent the day rebooting for next week.

Please be praying for next week, the group will be three times as large, and the weather report is not good. We are trying not to look at the forecast and put the weather in God’s hands, but it is hard sometimes. Pray for health as well, two out of three of us got it this week, and hopefully Cori will be spared.

Mainly, pray that the kids will respond to a new group. It could be hard for them to meet new people every week, pray that this transition happens smoothly.

God Bless,
Portland Team

Check out www.ExperienceMission.org for information about upcoming Summer 2010 mission trips.

Short term Mission Trips: The restoration project in Pearlington has become a national affair. With the four year anniversary of Katrina making land coming up in August, Pearlington is still in need of volunteer efforts to completely recover. In the last two weeks, youth mission trip teams from California, Chicago and Houston have come to Pearlington to play a part in the rebuilding effort following Hurricane Katrina. The groups have made significant progress on houses for four deserving families in the community, including an elderly woman who looks to move into her finished home in three weeks.

The mission trip teams have been working hard on insulating the walls, installing hardwood flooring, tiling the bathrooms and getting the electrical outlets up and running. In the two weeks that teams have been over at the O’Neal house, the site has been transformed from an empty house that had just been walled in, into a beautiful home that is a couple weeks of touchup work away from being completed.

Every week, Ms. O’Neal, a vivacious 76 year old woman who doesn’t look a day over 50, stops buy to offer her encouragement to the teams and tell them how inspirational they are for the community. On Friday the 19th, Ms. O’Neal and her fiancée cooked up 30 pounds of turkey necks, an enormous pot of sausage as well as corn on the cob for lunch for the mission trip team from Chicago. We ate and laughed and talked about the future of Pearlington and the importance of a continued rebuilding effort. Ms O’Neal had to fight legislation for nearly three years before her plans for a house were finally approved and properly funded. After partnering with community member Glenn Locklin and Experience Mission, her dreams are finally coming to fruition. She told us that “without people like y’all, we wouldn’t ever have our homes back.”

Ms. O’Neal has been an inspiration for the Experience Mission staff in Pearlington, and her incredible attitude is a driving force for every group that comes to her house. We are excited to finish her house soon, and look forward to seeing how God uses her testimony as an example of hope for the community.

*Note: Check out our website at www.ExperienceMission.org for information about upcoming Summer 2010 mission trips.

This week in Toko’i, New Mexico, the mission trip team from Luke Airforce Base near Phoenix, Arizona is awesome! For every person on the team, this is the first short term mission trip they have ever been on! They have been working so hard and have made not only some really beautiful improvements on several homes, but also some very meaningful relationships during their time here.

One woman we’ve spent a lot of time with during this week is Etta George. Etta was originally the founder of the church we are working with, Victory Life Christian Fellowship. We came to her house this week to finish some siding and paint the trim around the house. She immediately made us feel welcome on the first day, ushering us into her home and sharing with us each day more little bits and pieces about her life.

Behind her house there is a large outdoor stage area  and she told us that each year the area is packed out for a camp meeting revival that she has hosted for many years. We were amazed as we heard her stories and saw how many lives she has touched in her lifetime. What a woman! When we stood in her kitchen after Chris replaced her old washing machine with a new cabinet she wanted, she cried and thanked us for the work we had done. She also made fry bread two different days to thank us, and gave us watermelon as well!

The kids all talked about how awesome it was to see that Etta was so grateful and sweet. What a woman to learn from! This youth mission trip team certainly has had an incredible first mission experience!

-Navajo Nation staff

*Note: 2010 mission trips will be posted soon! Check out www.ExperienceMission.org to find out the new communities that we will be working with next summer.

So I have been in Washington serving as an Experience Mission Logistics Coordinator since the middle of May, and I have yet to write a blog. Go me. I don’t know why I don’t write more… it’s not like there is a ton to do around here. Apparently, I just find it too cumbersome. Nonetheless, I feel the need to start writing some blogs… so here is the first one, and I promise… there will be more!

This internship consists of living in the middle of nowhere in southwest Washington. While I know this might sound glum and boring, surprisingly it is anything but that. Cara McKenzie (the other intern this summer) and I have been on many adventures around town and we tend to be able to keep ourselves busy despite the lack of activities that are available in Chimacum and the surrounding area. Just to give you an idea of how out of the way we live; it is a good 40 minutes to the nearest Wal-Mart. The only thing this area really has to offer is extreme hippies, old people, and everything organic. Who would have thought that I could go though such culture shock in my own country?  Not me, but believe it or not, it happened.  This culture is far what I am used to in my Midwestern state of Indiana.  And so is the scenery. This, however, I am not complaining about. In fact, the scenery is by far the greatest thing about being out here. Ok, maybe not by far because my job is pretty sweet and I love everything that I am learning, but the mountains make my time here only that much better. 

This summer has definitely been a stage in my life that I am doing a lot of learning and growing.  I never would have realized this, and I rarely thought about it, but the amount of work, time, and energy that goes into running a mission trip is mind blowing. But Experience Mission does it, year after year, and I have to say I am rather impressed. I was completely unsure of what to expect when I agreed to come out here, but I knew it would be an experience I would never forget, and I was right. I have enjoyed every minute of working alongside the staff of Experience Mission (which, surprisingly, is about a whole 5 people!) We have had many good times in the office and we have quite a few inside jokes that have kept us laughing all summer. This has truly been an experience of a lifetime and I will treasure my time working with the staff of Experience Mission, the summer interns that are serving in various locations domestically and abroad, and the teams that make this mission organization possible.

Pray for God to continue to move and work in my life as a finish out my last month and a half in Washington. I know it is going to be an incredible journey, because it already has been.

Also, stay tuned for more updates on my experiences here as well as a blog from Cara and I about what exactly being a Logistical Coordinator for Experience Mission looks like.

Through Him,

Andrea

Note: Check out all the exciting things that are going on with Experience Mission on our website www.ExperienceMission.org

Also, check us out on Facebook (become a fan!) as well as www.twitter.com/LiveYourMission

Rural Mission Trip: Here we are!  Gary, West Virginia.  Since we arrived on Monday we have been hard at work preparing rooms for our mission trip teams to stay in and places for the leaders to gather.  Yesterday we met a woman and her sister from the community who are going to be cooking dinner for us for the summer.  We are so thankful to have them!  From what we have tasted, we can tell that they definitely know their way around the kitchen.
Today we have been assembling and bunking beds as well as cleaning and finding our way around the community.  The school that we are staying in is in the process of being remodeled by our community partners, Jack and Brenda, who run an organization called the School for Life.  It is amazing to see Jack’s passion for the people here.  Just today he took us down to Gary Bottom and introduced us to a woman named Candy and her two sons and told us a little bit about her struggles.  We are excited to get to know her story better and build a relationship with her.
This place is different than anything that we have ever experienced before.  Yes, it is full of poverty and the culture that goes along with it, but the people are loving and so kind.  We have so much to learn from them and we are excited to share the Hope that we have with them as we build relationships with them. We know that this summer’s mission trips will be full of challenges and growth.

Team West Virginia

Note: Do you want to be a part of the change and assistance happening in this Appalachian Community? Sign your team up for a mission trip with Experience Mission. To do so go to www.experiencemission.org.