MR

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April 8
Finished a house in record time (6hrs). We had the whole team of BCM helping us and our team was large. It rained for about 20 mins and then the weather was perfect. Our travel to the site took us over to a different part of Mexico. Apparently these people were relocated here after they had a big mudslide that ruined their first area. We built this house for a young mother and her 2 sons and 1 daughter. She made us some soup and it was very good. We went and bought the family some house warming gifts as well as candy for all the neighborhood kids. So far we have had nothing but Mexican food. Go figure. (Although it’s been the best we could ever have.)  Shower time was also quite an experience. These dudes from our church are crazy. BTW- On the way to the job site we encountered a police checkpoint complete with police driving after a car trying to escape the checkpoint. These police carry large machine guns. Pretty crazy. I also found that driving in Mexico is almost like playing a video game. It was crazy and very funny. I’m pretty sure this is the most unruly traffic there is.

April 9
Started our 2nd house build but today was much different than the first. No where near the help, power tools or great location.  We literally had to walk through the lady’s old house to get to the job site. Paul was our contractor today and he had a small amount of tools to work with.  But he had patience with us . Bob Sanders (the owner of Baja Christian Ministries) came today and gave us his new book. Great man of God that loves evangelism. We worked our butts off today. Literally were finishing up right before sunset. The family of this house accepted Christ before we finished. We also found out that the extended family of the first house, from the day before, got saved because they were blown away by the love of God. Awesome!! As we drove back to the camp we found out it was packed with people coming to visit the church (our camp is also a church). We had to park around back and I drove over some rod sticking out of the ground and popped the tire. We will fix it tomorrow. Great day though we are beat. Two houses in two days is alot!

April 10
First we had to fix the tire. Found our the “rod” I drove over was actually a rock with a very pointy tip…would have never saw it. ugh! Fixed the tire with help from Alex (from Lucas’s church). Today we went out to evangelize in the streets. Had an amazing time of worship and prayer with the group. Felt good since we all missed our own church services. Some people got delievered and we felt a real strong anointing of Gods power. We met up with Ramon and Guadalupe (Ramon’s soon to be wife) and Pastor Nikko. We went door to door and invited people to the local soccer field. About 70 people showed up and gave their life to Christ after testimonies by Lucas, Erica, Laura, Mike, Jody, Sulu, John, Will and Matt. My dad also fainted during the altar call from dehydration. Talk about mood killer .  We gave out purple books and bibles to them. The purple books are great foundation building books. While we prayed for healings,  people got healed of diabetes, leg problems, pain in her back and cancer. Also prayed for a girl that had trouble speaking clearly. She was prophecied that she would speak to nations. We then prayed for a lady that was demon possessed. She had wanted to be free of the oppression. I could see the demon through her eyes. We prayed and then went in hear house to have her get rid of the idols in her house. The idols were something she had since she was 9 years old. Once we got rid and broke them, you could see a change in her. She had been free and was so  happy. We then prayed over a lady in a wheel chair who was progressively getting worse with disease. We prayed and she felt warm feelings and healing. She was told that the healing would continue until she was totally healed. Her family was very happy.  We then went to dinner at a chicken restaurant, which had some very tasty chicken. I also bought 3 spongebob piantas from a street vendor for $5. I later found out I paid too much but hey…nothings too expensive for my kiddies! Now we are chilling at the camp the rest of the night. Great great day and trip!

MR

-I’ve never seen this extreme level of poverty before. And I’ve been to some big ghettos in the USA. Mexico was on another level.

-Bob Sanders, Hector, Ps Nikko, Juan, Ramon and all the other amazing people of BCM were both an inspiration to us as well as an extreme reminder that “the harvest is plenty but the workers are few“.

-Still can’t believe we built this house in a day and ½!

-Everyone of us got choked up when our family (that we built the house for) started talking about their father (husband) that died a few months earlier. He was dreaming and praying for this house but never got to see it built.

-Loved hanging and getting to know Ps Rob Taylor and his crew from Calvary Chapel Brentwood as well as Katherine from New Zealand. Amazing people!

-Strange to have dogs and a donkey as your security system at night.

-Ever drove by a sewer? Think of that smell and imagine it everyday and night. Now imagine living in it.

-These “roads”, and I use that word very loosely, were unbelievable. I’ve never seen things worse that them. Makes our potholes nothing in comparison.

-I’m very thankful we can throw our toilet paper in the toilet. You never know this pleasure until you are in a country where you can’t do that.

-I’ve never paid to go to the bathroom until this trip. Still a little upset about that.

-Not sure I laughed as much on any trip as I did on this one. I love that we can have fun doing God’s work. I love that our God has a sense of humor. I’m so thankful that even in the midst of extreme wear and being very tired, we were able to enjoy the moments serving God together.

-Hector, our friend that guided us in building our house, was so inspiring. He was never down or never complained (and he could have by how bad we hammered nails). He was a true example of “the joy of the Lord is your strength”. He has 5 kids, 5 grandkids, 5 dogs and worked almost everyday building houses with teams from all over the world….but he did it with joy unto the Lord. I was amazed and blessed by his love for God and people. Made me feel bad ever complaining again. Every mess up is an opportunity…

-I never witnessed one Mexican begging for money….although they had every reason to do so according to our standards. They found ways to provide a service (like charging you for a bathroom or selling wiper blades) or do a job (like filling in the huge dirt potholes) to make money. I really admire that and those people.

-You could tell that family meant the world to these people. They lived together and did most things together as a family. That’s all they truly had. I wish people in the USA felt that way.

-Witnessing and evangelizing was at a whole new level here. These people are hungry for love, truth and acceptance. On our first meeting we saw 75 people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. On the second one, about 50 people did the prayer. All I can say is WOW!!!

-BCM gives everyone a Spanish Bible and a Spanish Purple Book (which is an amazing foundations book). They then give them a certificate upon finishing the book and have a local pastor follow up with them. I LOVE that they just don’t get people saved but they help walk it out with them. That’s the key, and Bob Sanders truly understands it.

-My heart and prayers go out to all the people involved in this life changing ministry. They need our prayers, support, encouragement and involvement. They have already build tens of thousands of houses and want to do so much more. Bob’s vision of reaching 1 million people for Jesus is both inspiring and challenging. I believe they can do it. We will definitely be back to help with that!

Here are some images from this great trip:

M

www.bajachristian.org

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In the meantime, check out Ps John Blue in action, back in the day…

Going to bed…it’s been a long weekend!

M

I’m excited to be with him, working out the details for our Sept 7th kick off date.  I’m also very excited to be here to lead worship on Sunday. John and his worship leader, Angie, have a great group of worshipers.

I hope to post some videos and pictures of the trip….

M

Dutch Wonderland:

Never did I think I would revisit a park of my childhood, but lo and behold, I’m back with my own kids. Granted this place is located in Lancaster, Pa, known for the Amish community (hence the word “Dutch” I think?) and this park is right smack in the middle of it. We did the cut out photo as if we were an Amish family (thanks Aadyn for scratching your eye right at the time the photo was taken, MAN)…I guess Marlee will be played by the dog? This park was nowhere near on the scale of like Disney World or even a Six Flags park, but the kids didn’t know and we saved the dough. BOOK IT!

Ocean City, NJ:

You got to walk the famed NJ boardwalks…only because the NJ water is scary. Most of the Jersey shore is filled with floating surprises or dead Soprano guys. It’s best to enjoy the Jersey shore from the boardwalk. You gots to have a pizza from Mack and Manco’s. Man, it’s one of the best…LeeAnn and I were able to check that off of our NJ food checklist.

And what day at the beach would be complete without hitting the rides. I bet you thought Moby Dick was a whale…. nope, it’s a ride in NJ. Only the best…

Wildwood, NJ

We did actually go on the beach…although no dead Italians washed up on shore. Got to build a sandcastle with my son.

That was a cool experience even though the castle wasn’t that big or cool. The kids thought it was and it reminded LeeAnn and I of our days growing up as kids on the beach. It felt good to spend this time with the family and to get sunburned at the same time.

Driving back to TN, it was nice to be together as a family and experience memories together. One of the biggest things God has shown me is the importance of family. Honestly, I’m not sure how far I could go without them. They are my world, my legacy and my joy. It also helps to have a wife that you still find beautiful and enjoy being with. We truly have fun together and that helps on those days when you kind of want to leave the kids at the mall by themselves and run away (That has never happened, ok…JOKE). I know, going into this next phase of our lives, this family God has so blessed me with, is going to be the glue that holds us all together.

My challenge to you, get out and enjoy your family. Whether you are married with kids, married with none, single or still living with your parents, give your loved ones a call and go spend time with them. You never know when that will end, and the memories you make will last a lifetime.

M