1 John 4:12

"No one has ever seen God; IF we love one another, God ABIDES IN US and his love is PERFECTED IN US." 1 John 4:12. This verse has been on my heart for the past few days. Jesus makes himself known to the lost and needy by acts of love by his children. We can see what God is like when we submit to everything he is and truely live out ouf life for him. This verse says that we can actually see God's character if we love one another! God wants us to understand him and to discover who he is! Praise God for this truth!

Friday was a very long, but very awesome day. We started out with the feeding program routine, and as usual told the kids to wash their hands, prayed before they ate, and then played with them/babysat them while they waited on their rides. But instead of the usual 15 kids, we had about 30 some! I was so thrilled to see so many people come out to the CTC, it was a blessing! Some ladies from a church in Texas came down this week and were holding a "ladies day out" at the CTC. They pampered them with nice things and gave them free things to take with them. One of the ladies actually cried because she was overwhelmed with the love that was being shown to her. Not only did she enjoy the ladies day out but she was so happy about some of the construction of her house being completed by mission groups working with Buckner. Buckner had put shingles and windows on their house. I have had the priviledge to get to know this ladies children. What a blessing that has been! I've got to share my testimony with them and answer their questions about Jesus and various things about the bible and why I am here. :)

With so many children at the CTC Friday I got very overwhelmed. Although at times it was hard, I enjoyed reading to the kids, talking with them about their life, and sitting and just hugging them. We went outside and got to play dodge ball and do sidewalk chalk as well. Some of the kids have learned my name and are starting to ask more questions about me and why I am here and where I am from. This is what missions is all about! About the friendships and connections we make in this community. Two of the volunteers at the CTC asked for my picture with them. I had never really spoken with them since they do not speak english but I had seen themc oming in with some children and to help clean/volunteer with the feeding program. I felt special as they asked me to take a picture with them. It warmed my heart that they can be so warm and accepting without even knowing me or speaking with me much. I think it is the act of just being there and helping out their communities children that makes them appreciate what we are doing. In the Colonias near the CTC most poeple know each other and they live as a family sort of. I really admire that they take care of each other and spend time with each others famlies. That is something I wish American's would do.

As the children were waiting to be picked up I was talking to this one girl that I have got to bond with this week. She invited me to a block party in the evening. I hadn't heard anything about it until then but I told her i'd love to come and I would try to. I know that Buckner has held block parties before but I didn't really know exactly what went on. She told me that they have popcorn and pizza and movies and a moon jump thing (not sure if that's the right terminology). So I was looking forward to that after we got off of work. I have been wanting to spend time in the neighborhood with the famlies that I have come to know over the last 3 weeks!

After work was over we got something to eat and were on our way back to Penitas when we got a call from one of the staff members saying that there wasn't a block party and that some of the people were out waiting for Buckner to come (they had heard from someone it was friday night). Needless to say, there was a communication problem so there was no block party on friday night in the area they thought it was going to be. There was one a few blocks down. We were driving through one of the neighborhoods where we thought it was going to be and all the sudden we see 5 kids running to the van (they knew it was us since its the van that picks them up for the feeding program). My heart melted as I saw them smiling and asking us if there was going to be a party. They got their hopes up and it just killed me and Samantha. We told them we would see them Monday and that we were very sorry! After that we went and spent time with some of the teens/kids that we had come to know. They enjoyed us being there. Two of the little girls wanted to play this paper game with us where you pick numbers and it tells you something. The teenage girls showed us all their animals; their goats, chickens, chicks, dogs, and ducks. They loved being able to talk with us about that. They also told us taht it was dangerous there at times, and that people steal other peoples chickens and other sthings, as well as violence occuring pretty often.

As the sun was setting I was just in love with spending time with this precious familiy and just so heartbroken at the same time to hear how it isn't safe to live their and to hear some of their personal struggles. I pray for them that God will be their hope and their light in the dark areas of their life. I felt a lot of different emotions as we left...I just felt so overwhelmed that that was the way life is for them, they are used to it, and who knows how long they will live the way they do. I know God has them in his hands and I pray that they will trust him to guide them in this life.

After we visited them we drove through to see if one of the pasters we had met was at his church, sure enough he was, and we randomly just chatted with him for a while. lol. Since we just got the van to ourselves we were going to the areas we had been to to fellowship with the children and adults we had come to know. We had such a great time. We also saw some of the kids we had met through a VBS the first week...they were playing soccer and some were having a church bible study at a house. That was so neat to see! It just melted my heart...there were teens, adults, and some young children sitting together under a tree. I asked one of the young boys about it and he said that they meet there every friday to talk about the bible. Praise God! He is alive and active and he is doing a mighty work in some of these communities! After our random talking with people..and Samantha speaking a little bit of spanish..(our only hope to actually communicate with some of them)...lol...we headed home. We all three enjoyed the time we had to visit people in the colonias..and to spend a little bit of time with them. I am looking forward to this last week. Now that we have a vehicle to drive we will will hopefully be able to spend time with the kids! I am just so grateful right now that God has brought me here and has shown me what he is doing. I am so excited to see what is going to happen with these families. I believe God is going to bless them so that he will be glorified. I believe also that I need to really pray and support this mission down here. I think that is one of the reasons God put it on my heart to come here. I now feel a connection with the area and these people have a piece of my heart. I will always be thinking about them and hoping/praying that God takes care of them! Please pray for me this last week as I continue my mission work on the border!!! May all the wonderful things that happen show how great our God is!!!

Serving with compassion

Today and yesterday I have had the opportunity to help paint houses with a church group from Dallas, Texas. I have really enjoyed being outside and working and seeing the finished product. I have also enjoyed the teens and youth leaders...they are all great and it's so nice to meet people who love the Lord! I love getting dirty, sweaty, and splattered with paint with a group of believers. It is still hot...but a breeze has been blowing which makes it a little bit more bearable in the hot Texas heat! I am starting to feel at home down here. I don't want to think about leaving yet. The other day I found the prayer garden at VBR and have been going there in the morning and evening to pray. That has made a big difference I think. Just setting time apart to spend with my Jesus makes me feel his presense more all day. When things get hard or I get frustrated I can easily lean on him because I feel him near and I am reminded of the word and his truth. I love being a part of this mission down here! It is really neat to think about how God is doing a work here and I get to be a part of it. I get to help make a difference....in Jesus' name! Nothing is better than that! :-D

"Sow the seed instead of eating it"

The main reason I wanted to post is because I wanted to share what I feel like God is showing me. He never fails to lift me up when I am down. I have found that he is faithful to his children, to those who call upon his name and put their trust in him! I was finishing up my bible study homework of the psalms of ascent this evening and really felt the spirit moving. It was about psalm 126. Recently I have been feeling down and frustrated because I don't know what my purpose is here. I am having fun and enjoying my time, don't get me wrong, but I haven't really got to share my testimony with anyone or share what Jesus has done in my life. I want to share psalm 126:6 with you. " Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves." Beth explained  that when she was in Africa on a mission trip someone there explained to her that the reason the people were starving was because they eat the seed rather than planting it and bringing forth its harvest. She then went on to explain that this statement made her wonder why some people see results of the word and others don't.  "Many times we apply biblical truth to our theologies without applying it to the actual practicalities of life." -beth moore. I need to apply the word of God into my life, and not just read it and not really take it in and apply it to my life. I need to believe what Galations 6:9 says. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." So instead of "eating" the seed (which is the word of God) we need to plant it deep within our hearts and water it, take care of it, so at the right time we can reap the harvest that God wants to give us.

Keep your eyes on Jesus...first week summary

Hello friends! It is a little after 5 p.m. here in Mission, Texas. It is hot and sunny as usual. Samantha and I just got back from the pool. Now we're just hanging out until Isaac is finished cooking dinner. This first week was a long one. Our routine started out with serving kids breakfast and lunch/babysitting/cleaning until around 1 p.m. After that we would go to the Buckner Colonias Office to sort  for things that we needed for the CTC office. It has been more of a job than I had expected. This first week I haven't made any connections yet. Thursday was the first day I got to spend some time with some local kids at a bible school that a church was doing in the area. That was fun. However, next week us interns will be leading a bible school at the CTC with the help of some short term missionaries from another church. I'm looking forward to it. I will be teaching, with some help from other, the kids about the creation. The week after that we will be helping out another church group with their bible school, most likely at another church in the area. I hope that I can make an impact on some of the children/teens. I know I was brought here for a reason, God put it on my heart and worked it out for me to be here at this time, for this amount of time. So now I just have to wait on the Lord for him to lead me and show me where my ministry really is here.

Yesterday was a fun day with the Buckner staff. We went to the Olive Garden for Becci's birthday. After that we went to the Valley's Outlet mall which was a lot of fun. Then we went to another Mexican restaurant which was good. It's great to get to be here long enough to form relationships with the Buckner people down here. Next week we will be going to Padra Island on Friday. I'm looking forward to that after i'm sure what will be a long and tiring week. But I am so happy to have the opportunity to help with a bible school in this community. It is a poor community that needs the light of Jesus, especially for the teens. I met some teenagers that were telling Samantha and I how dangerous it was to live around here. She then shared her story of how someone was trying to take her brother and how she had to defend herself and how it happens all the time. I hope a lot of older kids come out to bible school so we can show them the love of Jesus! I've had so much fun really...Isaac is hilarious...Samantha and I have a lot in common and we get along well...and we are being treated really good here. On Thursday afternoon we did feet washing which was a good experience. It was humbling and I think the children really liked their new shoes. It really is like you are in Mexico down here. Since it's the so close to the border you get a feel of what Mexican culture is like. The people I have experienced are nice, patient, polite, and humble. They seem to be thankful for what they have and get by with what little some of them have. Overall, the first week has been good. I've enjoyed the time spent with the children and getting to know my team better. I still wish I knew more Spanish. Everywhere you go you hear it...sometimes I get frustrated because I don't like not knowing what people are saying..lol. But almost everyone knows English as well...or they understand it. In the bible study of the psalms of ascent I have been doing, the focus of the past few days as been on fixing our gaze on Jesus because when we do that we listen to him. I am trying to spend more time every day writing and doing the study. It makes me feel a lot better whenever I do it. And it reminds me to keep my focus on God, because once I do that everything else falls into place better and I feel more at peace.

First day of serving in the Valley!

Hey friends and family! I hope everyone of you is doing well. Today was the first day of our intern "work" you could say. Our work day started at 7:30 a.m. Rebecca (one of the Buckner case managers) picked us up. Today was the first day of serving free food to the children since it is summer now for the kids. Not many of the poeple living in the Colonias new about the program since it was the first day. We had a few younger kids come to breakfast and a lot more come for lunch. The parents of the little ones are not very fluent in English so I didn't really get to communicate with them. Once the kids are about the age of 10 they are able to speak good english which is a sigh of relief to me! lol. Everyone who we have met that works with Buckner is bilingual. I sure wish I was bilungual...it is such a great thing to have here in Texas! Especially with the culture of the Valley. After we cleaned up and helped the children eat breakfast we hopped in a church bus (not really knowing what was going on-which is typical) and rode along side a church from Houston Texas who is staying here until Thursday to serve and construct houses in the Colonias. There was about 30 high school aged kids and a few adults in the two buses that we went with. We went to a Penticostal church where they will be doing VBS and where we (the interns) will be helping wash the kids feet and to give them new shoes (a service part of buckner called "Shoes for Orphans Soles". After we did that we drove to the Colonias and were instructed to pass out flyers to people about the free breakfast and lunch. Comidads or something like that means food in spanish so I went door to door (with a few other people from the church group) handing out the flyers and saying comidad...lol. After sweating and stepping on a lot of "stickers" we got picked up by the church bus. After that we were taken back to the Community Transformation Center (aka CTC) and we just cleaned the play area and windows and seats. Ricardo (the Buckner Colonias director is a neat freak like me so we understood each other, lol) All the staff here are great. Ricardo is always joking and just soo friendly to everyone. The other case managers/mission site coordinators are wonderful as well! Buckner is doing such a great thing here and I am soooo happy to be a part of this for a month!!! Around lunch time we had a lot of children and some teenagers come in. Ricardo introduced us and the two other ladies that helped serve the food and keep tally of it. We had them wash their hands and then distributed the food. I was trying so hard to say wash your hands in spanish and i was asking kids their names...some middle school aged girls were laughing at me. It is funny because I forgot that they knew english pretty well. I told them I was working on my Spanish. It was so awesome to see the kids happy and smiling as they were eating lunch. It's such a small act of kindness but it goes a long way when you show them love and attention and help them out by giving them food. Some of the little girls were just sooo precious. Some kids came in with one sock, some with only a diaper on, and some with dirt on them. These children are living in extreme poverty...i'm so thankful that I can be a part of this and to serve them in a little way. After lunch we went to a meeting with Ricardo, Jorge (the main guy over the valley-who was just so much fun!) The culture of people in the valley is so laid back and very welcoming. They love to have fun, even here on the job. This seems like a great job to have! Jorge actually was just in Philpi West Virginia for a  World Vision meeting I believe. He actually knew something about WV when I told him where I was from. He mentioned the mountains, lol. Most people have nothign to say about WV when I tell them that's where I'm from. lol. At the meeting we talked about what we will be doing in the next 4 weeks. This week we will be serving food ( I will be inside with Rebecca) Samantha and Issac are probably going to be outside doing construction. I don't know how I got so lucky...but I'm not complaining! This thursday is when we will be washing children's feet and distributing shoes. I cannot wait to be a part of that humbling experience! Next week we will be doing bible school for about 150 kids! Then next weekend we will get to go to South Padrae (don't know if that's spelled right) Island on Friday and Saturday. It is on the gulf coat of Texas. Then the last week we might be doing a health fair. I mentioned to the staff that I would like to do some dental education. They said that would be great. I will probably do it at bible school and the last week. At the CTC they have health education...it would be great to get to work at a place like that where I can be a part of the community transformation. I will get to meet a dentist who is intersted in brining a mobile dental unit into the colonias. I am looking forward to talking with him and just seeing what all he does. Who knows..I could end up in Texas working with some of these people one day? I'm a dreamer:) After our meeting with the staff we worked in the warehouse sorting through the sizes of shoes for the children that we will be seeing on Thursday. And we played around a little and had some fun while the staff was having their meeting without the interns. All in all, today was a GREAT first day! I am learning a little bit of Spanish and actually retaining it. lol. It is sunny here and very hot but I absolutely love it. It is great to be a part of helping these people. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better as well as all the great Buckner staff. Oh and Issac the other intern is from Korea...tonight he is going to make Samantha and I, as well as himself dinner. yum yum :) Have a great evening everyone!

First day in the Valley

Good evening! I have been wanting to write this for a few days now, but haven't had time or access to the internet. Well, just to give everyone an idea of what I've been doing....here it is. Yesterday around 8 a.m. Samantha, Issac, and I drove down the to Mission, Texas. When we got here to where we are staying we met two of the mission coordinators who work for Buckner here in the Valley. They took us to this Mexican restaurant called Ponchos. It was the most authentic Mexican restaurant I had been too, and very delisioso! After dinner we decided to take a little tour to the "fake" border...(as close as you can go to the border). It was originally my idea...I was thinking it would have like huge walls with large towers and lights..you know...what you would see in a movie. Instead it was just a little sand dune like hill with a few spot lights along the strip and fences that were put up in random areas. The funny thing was that there was a Border Patrol Officer close by, and when we came back down from the hill he dramatically sped over to where we were coming back to our cars and asked us what we were up to. I felt really bad and like we were getting them in trouble...but they said as long as you don't run from them you are in good shape, lol. The officer was nice after we explained we were just sight seers, and went back to his job of sitting in his SUV watching the wall. lol. The real border was a little beyond the wall and across the river (FYI).
This area we are staying in is not what I had expected. It is a large city with a lot of things to do, two hospitals, many restaurants, businesses, shopping centers, etc. The place where Buckner does their work here in the Valley is closer to the Colonias (where we will be working daily). The Colonias are about 20 minutes from where we are staying. Once you get out of the cities of Mcallen and Mission you start seeing more poverty. As we were driving to the Colonias this morning  there was a lot of trash on the sides of the highway and there wasn't really much at all to see. It was like we were in a totally different area, yet so close to the city. Gabriel and Andrew (2 of our mission coordinators) had us meet some of the people who are living in the Colonias. First we came across a women who was telling Andrew that she new of a man that needed antibiotics. Whenever we drove through people waved and new who we were (that we were from Buckner). Gabriel said that they kind of view them as Jesus. Ricardo told us today that most of the adults living here never even completed elementary school. Some are documented citizens and some aren't. A lot of them work, most are married, and each of the families we visited had at least two children. What matters is that they need to find a better way of life, and Buckner wants to help them do that by the Community Transformation Center that just opened. It is a place where social workers can work with families, doctors come in and volunteer their time, free breakfast and dinner are served through the summer, and a just a lot of things that help these people find a more successful way of life. Buckner does A LOT of stuff in each of their sites through the world, and here in the Colonias. Their main thing is to prevent families from separating and children from getting lost in the world. It would be easy to give these people money and then make ourselves assume that we helped someone and did our good deed for the day. But it is more than that. We can't just give them money and expect them to improve their way of life. It is something they must work on also, to feel more accomplished and to not be so dependent on others. Buckner also has a Foster home in the area that houses kids from the Colonias. There is really so much to say about this but I will try to keep it from dragging on. The second family we met (the father was not there-maybe he was working?) was when I cried. The women was so happy to see us and she had two sons and a daughter that she was holding. Her daughters name was Kimberly, she was probably a year old or less. She was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen.    the mom was excited because people were going to begin construction on a bathroom for her family. They had an RV and they built on half of a house to make room for their children. They had been using the bathroom in the RV for three years now. The two boys were shy but I could tell they were happy that we were there and looking forward to a bathroom as well. One was 9 and one was 7. The fact that the mother was so happy and  in good spirits while her children were just listening to us talk just made me so sad. This is how they have lived for at least three years. They had a little black dog that looked like a terrier mix and a pit bull. I was trying not to let myself get so upset over these animals but I think they just added to the hopelessness and sadness I was feeling. The tiny black dog was so mangy looking and it was skinny to where I could see its ribs. I thought of my dog Jackson and how spoiled he is, as well as myself. While I was there at the Colonias I was realizing that I cling on to the material things of this world way too much. I have more than I need, and I always have, which is a great blessing from God. But, how comfortable do I get and how much more independent from God do I get whenever I don't need him for anything? I'm not saying that I need to be poor to have a closer relationship with God. But that I need to be out there helping others because God has blessed me with so much. I need to be grateful for what I have and the house that I have. It seems like such a little thing to build a family a bathroom, but to them it means a lot of things. This is just one example of how Buckner is brining hope to the families in the Colonias through the love of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow we will be going to Ricardo's church an hour from here. He is the supervisor of the Colonias Mission of Buckner.  We just met him today and he is such a great guy. I can see his passion for the Lord and the hope he wants to give to these people living in poverty. It is a bilingual church, so I am excited to experience that. On Monday I will start working with a mission coordinator named Rebecca. She and I will work together through the month I am here. We will be serving the children breakfast and lunch at the Community Transformation Center. That is all that I know of for sure that I will be doing, but anything else could happen. There is a lot of stuff going on here and i'm sure I will get into some other stuff. I can't wait to get started! All in all, I am feeling great, things are going well, it is very hot here but I'm getting used to it. My team is great and the staff here are very very friendly, welcoming, and helpful. They all have such a love for these people and most importantly for the Lord.  Oh I wanted to mention that this reminds me of the mission trip my church (Mill Creek Baptist) went on to Rainy Mountain Oklahoma when I was Elementary school. It brings back a lot of good memories. I haven't seen any armidillios yet or prairie dogs though! I have seen a gazelle and a bison in someone's yard by the road, which was interesting to say the least, lol. I will try to write again when I have time probably on Monday. I'm so excited to meet all the wonderful people working down here and more of the families and children in the Colonias!