Alamosa 2007 ~ Report 5 ~ Friday Morning

Friday ~ June 20th ~ 10am ~

I just got off the phone with Lisa and all is GREAT with our kids :)

They left Alamosa on schedule and are right on track for their scheduled return.

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Lisa reported the following:

Last night was awesome as the youth reflected on their time and how they want to change their lives when they get home ...It was very special having God give the team the opportunity to serve Him and that it is obvious God is working in the Alamosa community

and it was great blessing to join up with Him and witness His impact.

Some of the comments included one student realizing that Jesus died just for Him and another noting how much she really has and how she wants to think of others rather than herself.

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Lisa said that every single parent can be proud of their child ...

every single one worked so hard physically and was impacted so meaningfully spiritually.

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Thank you for your prayers for our struggling student ~
Lisa reports that he is doing AWESOME and he is so glad that he came on the trip and stayed through the end... Thank you Lord for such an great gift of comfort and growth,

undoubtedly He will use it mightily in His Kingdom building for years to come!

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As they drive home today, their discussion question will be to explore

how they can help one another follow Jesus and be close to Him once they return to their regular day-to-day lives ... what wonderful, precious memories they will have as well as opportunities to encourage and be encouraged in their walks forward.

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Much love,

Sherrie

(Lisa shared with me that Trey has been a great motivator, very energetic, and a hard worker ...
we can't wait to hear his stories of this great adventure! Love you Trey!!!)

Pix from Trey's Mission Trip to Alamosa!

Alamosa 2007 ~ Report 4 ~ Wednesday Night

Wednesday~ June 20th ~ 8pm ~

I spoke with Kaylene this afternoon and things are going well in Alamosa ...

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Here's her report:
Yesterday and Today have been very busy and fun-filled days and evenings :)

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Today the teams switched projects so that the

VBS team doing kids club changed to the service projects

and the Service Project teams changed to VBS.

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The three service projects include cleaning and painting a home, cleaning and organizing in a thrift store, and spending time with long-term patients at a hospital. Kaylene's team of 10 was part of the thrift store brigade and the operators said our team was the hardest working team of the whole year that they have had in there ... Kaylene said she was so proud of how hard-working and helpful the students are being.

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At VBS, the teams are having fun doing games, skits, singing Christian songs, reading, and sharing scriptures.

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Kaylene again emphasized how wonderful the kids are from the other youth groups, and how friendly, loving, and very well behaved they are which has provided great modeling to our youth and really blessed their hearts. I shared with Kaylene how important to me, as a parent, it is that our youth group provide an environment that (of course!) supports fun and relational interaction AND ALSO does so in an environment where respectfulness and kindness are expected / required. I am so pleased by her report of how respectful our youth are being and the appropriate mindset they have relative to the value of their service to the Lord and the people of Alamosa. And yes, they are having a lot of fun, too!

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Kaylene also shared that the evening times have been very special.

The hot springs on Monday were really fun, and on Tuesday, youth works did a "poverty simulation" that really impacted the kids with the issues that are faced by those living in poverty. They broke again into small groups by gender (which seems to help them focus more :) and the youth shared in very open and vulnerable ways as to what they were learning and they were asking great probing questions. I'm excited to witness the growth in our youth over this week and to see the changes and deepening of hearts that will come about.

As a prayer request, please pray for one of the Grace Chapel boys on the team who is struggling a bit with homesickness and tiredness. I am touched by the spiritual heart of this boy and am excited about what God is doing in his life through the uncomfortableness and stretch that this mission adventure has provided to him in his journey of faith.
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Kaylene reports that the rest of our group is doing very well. Trey has been engaging and funny and very hard-working and brought much joy to others on the team and in the community of Alamosa. Reminds me of his "idol" serving in Kenya right now!

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Please also continue your prayers for the people to whom our teams are ministering to ~ that this not be a simple time of fun and service but that they would be impacted eternally for Christ's sake and that we would be able to share the joy of their salvation together in heaven.

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Much love,

Sherrie

Alamosa 2007 ~ Report 3 ~ Monday Night

Monday~ June 18th ~ 8pm ~

Lisa called and left a great voice mail for us! Here is her report ...

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The teams had a great great day!!

They are headed to the hot springs pool for their evening activity and expecting a fun time

and were not able to pick up when I returned the call.

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But from Lisa's happy, tired, encouraged, and fun voice mail, here is our report:

Everyone is doing great and had wonderful days ...

One team did kids club

One team worked at an elderly women's home painting and scraping

One team worked did yard work and painting at an area high school

And some of the kids worked with a homeless team at a thrift store.

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The teams worked hard, everyone is doing well, and all are healthy ~ Praise the Lord!!

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Aren't Mission Trips Awesome?

Can we believe that the Lord blesses us in this way?

I love God's economy of blessing the givers!

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Joining you in missing & praying for our kids

and all whose lives they touch this week.

Dear Lord ~ We Are Excited by YOUR work for eternity, Amen!!

Alamosa 2007 ~ Report 2 ~ Sunday Night

Sunday ~ June 17th ~ 10.20pm ~

Kaylene just called to report on the wonderful evening our youth have had...
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1. There are two other church groups that will be with our Grace youth this week. They had already arrived when our team arrived and warmly welcomed our youth making a great impact of kindness and friendliness that touched our youths hearts ~ awesome modeling of reaching out in love!
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2. The three church groups will be divided and interspersed to form three Alamosa teams. Tonight to help everyone get to know each other they played games in their teams and participated in corporate worship. Then one of the staff leaders gave her testimony and talked about doubting Thomas and the difficulty in seeing God at times but the ability to readily see the effects of God and her journey of faith.
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3. The youth did a lesson individually writing down what they think of themselves, youth group, the missions trip group, the other church groups, and also what they think God will do over the course of this next week as they serve together. They broke into smaller groups and interacted with and offered great questions about faith, knowing how to know the Christian faith represents the truth, and where their hearts are with issues of faith.
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4. It sounds like it was a great evening of community and discipleship leading the way to a great week of service. Our older son (Ryan is 19 and serving in Kenya this summer) has shared with us his appreciation for those mission trips where discipleship and development of a deeper relationship with God for those serving has a great emphasis and value in addition to the service given in reaching the lost for Christ ... and at this tender age of middle school, perhaps this may be even more true! In any event, I found myself celebrating in my spirit as Kaylene shared about this first evening of sharing and challenges and strengthening of real faith issues.
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5. Prayer requests ~ two students from a Texas youth group are at the hospital tonight due to altitude sickness. Please pray for their bodies to heal and adapt to Alamosa ... where the altitude is 7500 feet above sea level!

Alamosa 2007 ~ Report 1 ~ Trey's Team Has Arrived Safely!

Tim & Kaylene have called to report that they have made it to Alamosa

and already have enjoyed dinner!

Kaylene added that the trip in her van was very fun with the kids

singing the Sound of Music as the drove over the pass

and that the staff team who they will be working with are very neat people.
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Please join me in praying for our Creator God to be REAL to Trey and his team during this trip

and for them to see GREAT things this week that only He can do!
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I'll report more as the info comes in...

In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures from earlier today :)

50 Questions ...

50 Questions to Ask Loved Ones on Their Return from Mission Trips ...

We'll get to ask Trey first since he's going to Alamosa
on his first Mission Trip next week!

1. What was the biggest highlight of your trip?
2. What was the hardest thing you faced on your trip?
3. What did that hard experience teach you?
4. What things surprised you the most?
5. Do you feel like you were prepared for your trip?
6. If you could do it all over again, what would you change?
7. Do you have any regrets?
8. What was the food like?
9. Where did you sleep?
10. Tell me about the people you met and ministered to.
11. Did you connect with anyone that you might keep in touch with?
12. Did you get a chance to share your faith?
13. Does your view of the world and your life look any differently now?
14. Do you see Jesus any differently now?
15. Did you see anything gross?
16. Did you get sick?
17. What was the scariest thing you experienced?
18. What was the weirdest thing you ate?
19. What was the church you worked with like?
20. How was their form of worship different from ours?
21. Did you get a chance to meet anyone’s practical needs?
22. Was there ever a time that you really felt like God was directing you?
23. What was the funniest thing you experienced?
24. How did you work out any differences you had with your team?
25. What was it like in the evenings? What did you do?
26. What were your worship times with your team like?
27. Did you miss me?
28. Did you pack enough stuff?
29. Did you really miss me?
30. What was the weather like?
31. Did you cry when you thought about me because you missed me?
32. Would you ever want to go back?
33. Do you think you would consider being a full-time missionary?
34. What was the biggest thing you saw God do?
35. Do you think you’ll go on a short term mission trip again?
36. What’s going to be the toughest thing about being home now?
37. Do you think anything will change with your friends that weren’t on the trip?
38. Do you think you have changed in any way? How?
39. Is there anything you smelled on your trip that you’ll never forget?
40. Are you tired?
41. Has this changed anything in your relationship with Jesus?
42. What were some of the ways you ministered on your trip?
43. Did you get to share your story of how you met Jesus with anyone?
44. Did you get any ideas of how you could minister here at home?
45. Was there anything you saw that just broke your heart?
46. Did you give anything away?
47. Is there anything you HAVE to do this week after experiencing what you did?
48. Was there ever a time you felt completely out of control in a situation?
49. What’s the number one thing you are thankful for?
50. Did you catch yourself praising God for stuff? Like what?