Diogo helping build his house

Greetings!  This week has gotten off to a great start with an energetic team from Jupiter First Church (Florida).  The team arrived in San Jose on Sunday afternoon and after our 5+ hour bus ride, we arrived on the Bribri reservation.

This week we have chosen four different sites within the Watsi community: doing Kids Club, building a house, building a porch, and repairing a community center.  Though many this week are feeling the struggle of communicating in a foreign language, so far the teams have accomplished a great deal and seem to be having a lot of fun.

The house that we are working on this week is being built for a woman named Karen and her family.  Since Karen is currently studying English in school the group is doing a great job conversing, partly in Spanish and partly in English, in order to get to know each other.  It has been wonderful to watch the relationship grow between the team and Karen’s family.  Karen’s four-year-old son, now being more comfortable with the team, brings smiles to everyone’s faces as he runs and chases them around their home.

Karen has been very hospitable and has offered many refreshments to the team, including a native sweet and sour fruit called the guanabana.  The team has been appreciative of her gratefulness and is noting the love and hard work that emanates from each member of her family.  The bond that has been forming within this group of people is just one of the many ways in which we can see God working in our lives this week.

Team Costa Rica

June 8, 2010

To learn more about Costa Rica mission trips, visit www.experiencemission.org.

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.

When I stop to think about it, I simply cannot believe how fast this summer has gone. Far too fast. Every week has had its unique people, unique challenges, unique work projects, unique victories and unique stories of God’s grace. With five weeks behind me and only three ahead, I am sad to be on the tail end of the most wonderful summer I’ve ever had. I’ve worked HARD and sweated a LOT, but it has been so enjoyable. I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity to be working for the Kingdom and seeing God’s work up close and personal in so many others’ lives.

Out here on the Navajo reservation I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned about a slow paced life, one that treasures each conversation and is in a hurry for no thing. I’ve seen families care for each other, brothers and sisters tend to each other’s needs with such love. I’ve learned the significance of saying “thank you,” and meaning it. I’ve learned the importance of getting my plans out of the way and letting the Lord work his miraculous plan. I’ve seen first-hand how much more meaningful it is to work with someone instead of for them. I’ve learned a whole lot about self-less-ness. I always have to break that word down as I say it, because honestly, it’s more than I can chew.

Only by God’s help have I been able and willing to give up my “rights” and expectations for the good of those around me. Sometimes with my teammates I have to pull 60 percent while they are pulling 40, and the next day they pull 75.  In life, most relationships are not even or fair, they are a beautiful push and pull, give and take, and if each is selflessly giving their all- it always comes out even in the end.  Mostly God has taught me how to love others, not for what they do or even necessarily for who they are, but because they are my brother, sharing One Father, Creator of the Universe- each one created as a special miracle with the Lord dwelling in them, making them absolutely priceless.

Much love in Christ,

Laura Marie

Note: Want to see first-hand the remarkable ways of the Navajo people? Experience Mission offers short term mission trips to the reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Find out more information on our Summer 2010 trips at www.ExperienceMission.org

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.

Rural West Virginia: Besides the construction duties, cooking, cleaning, and keeping a group of 35 organized our EM team has also had a few other success stories.  While in West Virginia, Crystal, Robby, and I want to make sure that we are changing people’s lives through help and relationships, if we do this then a natural change will occur in us as well.  During this week’s mission trip, while at the Eaton family home our team was surrounded with nothing but love, giving, and selflessness.  The grandmother, Dot, of the family’s home was with our team every step of the way.  She was constantly walking around making sure we didn’t need anything, giving us cold bottled water, offering food, and of course offering to help.  She not only was attending to the needs of 14 people while we worked, but she was also watching her three grand children and her special needs brother, Chubby.  I really can’t even begin to describe how being able to hear a little of Dot’s story, playing tag with the kids, or laughing with Chubby when some of the kids got in a water fight has already changed mine and I know many others lives after just one week.  Sure we worked hard and successfully finished the house but more importantly we made connections, built relationships, and slowed down long enough to hear other people’s needs above ours and it is an amazing feeling.  Trying to describe the kindness and hard working grandmother Dot was is impossible, trying to explain how perfectly Chubby sanded a piece of ceiling tile for me is indescribable, and trying to share how Montana Eaton (10 year old girl) made a new best friend on our team, who may be inspiration for her later on down the road is unreal.  What I can tell you is that after one week of hard work and many emotions my life has been changed and I have truly been touched by the Eaton family and the mission trip team I got to work with this past week.  Even trying to briefly type out some of the feelings makes me emotional.  The Eaton family kept saying “this is truly a blessing”…all I can think is how blessed I feel to have been able to meet and work with this family in West Virginia.

Signed,

Alisha Butler

Note: If you would like to help with the restoration that is taking place in Rural West Virginia, join one of Experience Mission’s trips to the Appalachia. Go to www.experiencemission.org to view our trip dates and watch for our soon-to-be posted 2010 trips!

Appalachia, West Virginia: Well its day four of our adventure in West Virginia and we have done and seen so much.  Today we spent the day with our community leader Jack; he drove us all around the windy roads through different towns in the Appalachians to set up places for our upcoming short term mission trips.  Although some of us got sick, not naming any names, we survived the drive!  We met a lot of really nice people and saw a lot of work that needs to be done.  We spent a lot of the day driving through a nearby county that has recently been hit by a flood; it was crazy seeing what the flood had done.  Some homes were falling apart from the inside out and in other homes the damage was not as easily visible on the outside but the inside damage was equally devastating.  Floors, walls, porches, cars, and many other things were ruined.  Also, most of the time the roads we were driving on followed the river which was the cause of most of the flooding and in the river was so much trash and debris it was unbelievable.  There were house doors, bed frames, mattresses, blinds, and so much more in the water or stuck in trees and bushes near the water because of how high the flood had been in some areas.  It was really hard to see but also hopeful because we knew we could do a lot of good in these areas.
All the people we have met thus far are so nice and have such positive attitudes.  Even though they have been through so much and the flood has ruined so much they have they are still kind, welcoming, and hopeful.  We met the Eaton family today and they were victims of the flood, a single mom and her two daughters live in the house, but today the sister, mother Dot, and a few other people were at the house helping to restore the floor and walls.  We got to visit with them and see what they would need help on and we also met their neighbor who had literally moved into the house a week before the flood hit.  She was also very positive and one thing that really stuck with me was the hope she had when she said “May was one of the toughest months ever…but June will be better, I know it.”  All the people we have met in the Appalachians of West Virginia so far have carried this hope and kindness about them and it is amazing to see even in the midst of disaster and devastation.

Signed,

Alisha Butler

Note: Experience Mission sends out short term mission trips to Appalachia, West Virginia throughout the summer. Go to www.experiencemission.org to find out more!

Summer Mission Trips: Team Pearlington has truly been tasting Southern culture during Prep Week.  During this week we have been prepping a home for inspection so that the first of our summer mission trips team is able to legally work on the house.  It has been a ton of work!  We have learned so much construction and worked ten hour days.  The house is being built for the Bennett Family.  The hospitality of Stacey, Eddie, and their thirteen year old daughter, Miranda, has truly stolen the hearts of the EM summer Staff. They constantly come to the work site to chat and offer help or a cold drink.  We have truly gotten to know them and now consider them friends. 

The Bennetts have lived in Pearlington their entire lives and survived Hurricane Katrina.  Unfortunately, their home did not survive.  Stacey, Eddie, and Miranda evacuated from their home and took refuge at NASA for about a week.  After the storm the Bennetts realized that they had lost everything.  The Bennetts lived in a FEMA trailer for a period of time, but the mold negatively affected Stacey and Miranda’s allergies and asthma.  They currently live in a trailer that is too small and also affects Stacey’s allergies.  Another local community partner, Glen, feels very strongly that this family is well deserving of this home.  They do a lot for others in the community and truly have servant hearts.   On Friday night, the Bennett family took us to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. What a great meal!  Afterwards, we went to Miranda’s softball game with Stacey and Eddie.  We had a great time watching the game and talking. It was a much needed break from all the construction.  Team Pearlington is already amazed at how much we have been served and blessed in the short time we have been here. 

We look forward to see our relationships with the Bennetts continue to grow as God reveals his plans for us in Pearlington this summer. 

Note: Experience Mission will begin the third year working in Pearlington to help families rebuild their homes and lives after the devastation of hurricane Katrina. Summer volunteers from youth mission trips and adult mission trips will provide over 500 energetic workers. If you’d like to join a mission trip with EM for 2010, visit us at our website www.experiencemission.org

After a fantastic weekend of camp meeting I was exhausted, but ready to start a new week of service. As the teams rolled in from California and New York, I realized that God was going to wonderful things this week. For these two teams we had one gigantic project for them to tackle. We set up 20 or so team members working on Grandma Suzy’s roof and the exterior of her house. Suzy had been having trouble with her roof for some time and has been asking her family for help for years, however no one had helped her. To keep the rain from coming in the house she had been nailing tarp to her roof to patch holes.

This was incredibly dangerous for a woman of her age to be doing this and thanks to the grace of God she never hurt herself. The team completely tore the existing roof off and replaced everything to protect her house from the weather. This was an enormous task, but by the end of the week we had the entire roof replaced and had painted the outside of her house to create an almost entirely different looking house. For me the best part about this week was seeing how much time the team spent with Grandma Suzy. The team sat down and talked with her and took interest in what she was doing with her life, and by the end of the week a lot of special bonds were formed that would leave a lasting impact.

This really reminded me what mission work is all about. It is not about the physical side that we accomplish with our hands, but the emotional and social side that we touch with our hearts that truly impact the people of this world. When all is said and done the roof will get damaged again some day and need replacing, but Suzy will always remember the people from California and New York that took time out of their lives to come help her and be her friend. That is what mission work is about and truly inspired me to take that lifestyle to heart.

-Chris

Yet again the oddness of West Virginia weather kicked in, and kicked us out of a morning of work on Tuesday, and for part of the afternoon on Wednesday. Rain is usually our biggest problem because so many of our work projects are outside, but luckily we do always have the fall back of working inside at the school, and there is never a shortage of work to be done around here.

This determined group of 26 from Maryland was not prepared to let a little rain stop them though, and thought they saw a break enough in the clouds to take smaller groups out to the work sites and try to get as much work done as they could. So the groups packed up and headed out, and you know the saying that science only goes so far and then comes God?

Well, our weather forecast could only go so far that day because the prediction was rain, but when the two teams got to their outdoor work sites, the rains stopped and left only a cool breeze behind. The sun was soon to follow, and the day turned out to be a success! Then it didn’t start raining again until after the teams were done for the day. God is so good, and I know His plan will be completed no matter what; He always makes a way.

Tuesday was not the end though, God has much more in store for this particular week. I love seeing the unique relationships that are being cultivated at kids club, and with the families at each work site.

The youth leaders from this team have a real focus on teaching the kids in practical ways, whether it is how to use a saw or how to minister to troubled youth. Each person has brought something different to the table, and I look forward to see how the Lord is going to use each and every one of those things.

Thank you for all your support! All your thoughts and prayers and such a blessing!

Lovin’ the Lord in West Virginia,

Leanna

The Fed Church rolled up to the church in their big blue bus this week ready to serve God to the best of their ability and truly made a lasting impact on the Navajo Nation. Being here three weeks now I am starting to see the gigantic need throughout the Navajo Nation, and am inspired by these teams taking time out of their lives to help their fellow Americans.

This week we split up into a few different teams, but I mainly followed a team that went to Grandma Margie’s household. Margie has been suffering a great deal with cancer, and has been in and out of the hospital for quite awhile. She does not get much support from her family, because the family wants her to rely on the Navajo traditional religion to heal her. During this week she was gone in the hospital for some treatments and we set out to surprise her with some aid. The team tiled her floor, painted her walls, and created a shade for her to enjoy the outside with.

The most amazing part about the experience we had with this family was that her husband and sister were with us the entire week. People pushing her to rely on the traditional religion were able to see the love of Christianity and truly moved them. They even began to ask questions about Christianity which was a gigantic step in the right direction. My prayers will be with them and I am sure the team will continue to pray for the family as well.

-Chris