Calvary Chapel Fresno Missions

Kansas Trip, Last Day

2007-11-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

Lifting the joist.

Getting the joist ready for lifting to the 2nd floor took lots of help.

Nailing the joists in place.

The Sweigerts, for whom we built the house.

The group at the end of the week. What a blessing!

Nailing the siding.

Checking the progress.

The walls are braced.

The joists in place, ready to stand up.

Resting up for dinner on Friday night at the end of the day.

Kansas Trip Day 4

2007-10-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Nailing the walls together.

Standing another wall for Jesus!

Lining up the walls together.

The family who owns the house we are building.

Watch Out for that 2x4 its coming down!!! Dennis got 3 staples from this accident!

Kansas Trip Day Three

2007-10-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

No training required!

Prep work on the job.

Working together.

Team Effort.

The building goes up!

Lavon and Vicki lifting the wall that they framed.

Where we are staying - what a blessing!

Kansas Trip Day Two

2007-10-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Lavon & whats left of the Boy Scouts building.

Lots of rubble.

The pioneer spirit is still alive.

The first wall going up! The man in the center & kids in foreground are part of the family who will live in the house being built.

Kansas Trip Day One

2007-10-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

The mission team has made it safely and has already begun construction to rebuild one of the storm damaged homes there.

This is what is left of one of Greensburg's main streets.

One basement that is left with its fireplace.

Just a little glimpse of how "difficult" it has been for us here!

The home the fellows will be working on this week.

The home of the "Big Well" Lavon & I worked on cleaning up its parking lot today.

The fellows began the framing work

Snappin' lines!

Jerry true to form with coffee in foreground.

Jerry & John (one of the fellows from this fellowship) checkin' out the plans.

Pastor Luke & some of the fellows framing.

Greensburg, Kansas Mission Trip

2007-10-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

We have 8 people from our fellowship heading to Greensburg, Kansas to help rebuild their tornado ravaged community. They would greatly appreciate your prayers for fruitful service and safe travel. The team will be posting photos and giving trip details throughout the week on our church website www.ccfresno.org.

Final Thoughts

2007-09-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

What a week we had in Mexico. We returned exausted yet full. It is such a good feeling to know that we went and gave everything we had to offer. Now we pray for those dear people and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Here are a few final thoughts from those on the team.

"It was beautiful to see the community bathroom finished this year. This year we did a lot of everything around the facility. It was blessing to come along side our brothers and sisters in Christ and be able to take some of the load off of them if only for a week.

We also returned to Thermoelectric for another Bible study. We were so blessed to see God’s harvest increased. There were 15 ladies this year and we studied Hebrews 12:1-2. Let us all be encouraged by the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us and as we run, let us run with endurance and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus."

"This was another wonderful year at Casa de Paz. It was such a blessing to do projects of play with the kids, talk with staff, help out, etc. The children have such a love for them and we know it is the work of the Lord through David and Karen and the staff here working for the glory of God. It was wonderful to see the kids’ excitement when launching rockets. At thermoelectric, again it was a blessing to do another Bible study and see how it has grown from 4 last year to 15 this year.

A couple in San Antonio de las Minas, Monica and Andy, were such a blessing to work with. They have a beautiful gift of hospitality and such a love of the Lord it is humbling.

Thank you Cas de Paz for the hosting us and praise you, Jesus, for blessing this time in our lives."

"Thank you, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to serve the children and staff of Casa de Paz. Please bless them and keep them and let them know there are prayers being lifted up for their sake from Fresno, CA. Also, God, please don’t let any of the stuff I built to fall apart. Praise God!"

"This has been a wonderful time of fellowship and service in God’s work. What a blessing it is to be able to come down with brothers and sisters in Christ, to love and serve others. God, thank you for the time and the grace you have provided us. I pray that we will continue to look to you as we go back to our hometowns to minister and serve others. Please Lord, also may you continue to watch over the children and fellowship here. May you help them grow in the grace and knowledge of you. Thank you Jesus! Amen."

"Thank you Father in heaven for this wonderful opportunity to share your love with others. I will remember this moment for ever. My eyes have been opened to so many things about the human heart. All the children and staff have blessed my soul. This is a treasure I will hold in heaven. I will keep you, Casa de Paz, in my prayers and may the Lord Jesus Christ keep you."

Friday-Farewell

2007-07-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone.

I apologize for not keeping up on the blog. It has been so very busy!!!

Yesterday we went out to Thermoelectrica, and Terrie led a Bible study with Sara translating. It was beautiful to see these ladies still hungering and thirsting for the Word, and to see how the Lord grew the number from 4 last year to 12 this year!!!! He is SO good!! The others from our team played futbol with the boys and beads with the girls, and again, the Lord provided a peaceful covering for the study. There was a lady who was in the village for the day that came with her sister. She asked for prayer for her sister, Cynthia, that Jesus will become real to her so that she will accept Him as Lord of her life. What is so incredible about Cynthia and her sister being at the study is that the only reason her sister was visiting was that her car broke down and Cynthia’s husband was fixing it that day. So, even a car breaking down can lead to a divine appointment!!! We were able to take complete Spanish Bibles and some school supplies to them, as well. Please keep them and all the ladies in Thermoelectrica in prayer that they will keep growing in the Lord and that more and more will be saved in their village.

We did do projects again with the children here at Casa de Paz, including finishing their rockets. We launched the rockets in the evening after a hot dog BBQ for the children and staff here at Casa de Paz. It was so cool! We also did dinosaur egg hunts (watermelons hid on the grounds) and watched the DVD from last year’s trip theater style with popcorn and everything, and the kids loved seeing themselves on the big screen! It was really a special time connecting with them, sharing pictures and memories with them, and hopefully creating more to share in the future!

Today we went to Ensenada and La Bufadora where we haggled and as Steve says, “did our ministry to the merchants” there! We are getting ready for the campfire now. I apologize if this was too bland a rendering of the goings on! It has been such a beautiful time. I pray you all enjoy the pictures, and we look forward to sharing in detail the things the Lord has shown, strewn, and grown in us. God bless you all!

In Christ’s Love,

Bon

Extreme Makeover, Mission Mixteco Edition

2007-07-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

It was another fine day today at C.D.P. We did more activities with the children. We had our nearly-NASA trained experts help the kids build rockets. Our agricultural experts planted bean seeds with the children. Our fashion design experts worked to create a custom designed camisa for each one. As great (and exaggerated) as that sounds, none of their expertise and abilities mattered one whit, except for the one thing all of us can bring to anyone anywhere: The love of the Lord!! It was such a blessing to see the children excited and engaged with the activities and us.

We again went to Mixteco. Some of the team dug trenches and put up window trim. The ladies had been praying about being able to paint the classrooms for the teachers even though we had no painting supplies. The Lord answered that prayer before we even got here!! David, who is the director of Casa de Paz, had bought painting supplies with the money we had sent a month ago!!! Andy and Monica had 100 gallons of paint that had been donated to them just waiting to be used. The Lord is so good how he supplies! We were able to paint 2 classrooms . . . and even paint a wall bright teal (It’s sharp!!).

We stopped on the way back to Casa at Thermo Electrica where one of the ladies we met last year, Magdalena, excitedly kept saying how filled with joy she was to see us! Last year when we visited, she was part of a group of women that said they had been praying that the Lord would send them someone to teach them how to do their own Bible study. He used our group to answer that prayer! Never before and never since have I felt a sense of peace and known the Lord’s covering during a meeting, and this was something all of us felt. It was divinely designed appointment and was so beautiful! What an encouragement to see her again and a reminder of God’s faithfulness to his children.

On the voyage home from Thermo Electrica, I looked in the rearview mirror from my position in the back of the van and was curious about the look in Terrie’s eyes. Eyes squinting and jaw set, we soon learned of what hid behind that look. She took us on a violent turn down a road that has seen the death of many a hubcap, oil pan, and axle. We were thrown hither and to--forget sitting on the edge of our seats, we were over the tops of them! Well, hopefully we will return with all of our parts in place, although I am not too sure about the rental!!

Well, all that adventure and dinner being complete, I will sign off for now. God bless you all!

In Christ’s Love,

B.B.

Blog Jammin'

2007-07-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, Friends!!! Today has been a busy but beautiful day! This morning we were able to help out around Casa de Paz folding and sorting clothing donations, weeding and raking, and later doing our projects with the kids!! The children seemed to enjoy playing with Play-Doh and coloring , building rockets, and stitching crosses with us, and we were blessed by seeing them excited to do these things with us!

After lunch, we did a hubcap hunt on our way to Mission Mixteco. We found a Nissan, an unidentifiable one, and finally one that matched our van. Unfortunately, it’s broken. If anyone would like a souvenir hubcap from Mexico, email Steve and we’ll see if we can hook you up!!!

At Mixteco, some of us cleaned at a school there, and the men painted over graffiti and assisted in projects around the home of Andy and Monica, a beautiful missionary couple that has been serving in that region for many years. They blessed us incredibly by making us quesadillas with all the fixin’s and sharing with us more of what the Lord has been doing in that region. Their hospitality is so incredible—they live in a 2 bedroom house with 1 bathroom, and when we visited yesterday they had a group of 20 or so staying with them. I don’t know about you, but over 20 people to 1 bathroom/1 shower? From what I hear, this was not an exception! They had said the house and the land is on loan to them. How better could they use something God gave them than to leave it wide open for use to anyone with a heart to serve Him?

Some of the younger guys also had a soccer tournament of sorts with the kids in the neighborhood there, all this after doing the work with the team!!!!! They were of course slaughtered by the Mexican team, but it was fun.

We arrived home locked out of our room with a new puppy roaming the patio. It’s 6:30, and we are anxiously awaiting dinner. Sooo, until I write again, may the Lord bless you immensely!

Blogita Bon signing off. . .

Pictures

2007-07-23T21:59:00.001-07:00

Belonging to the King

2007-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

07/23/07

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

Praise God! The Calvary Chapel of Fresno Mexico Missions team arrived safely at Casa de Paz orphanage in Mexico on Sunday, 07/22/07!!! The Lord has blessed the preparation and material needs of this trip with individuals and businesses donating funds, food, and construction materials and blessed us with a safe arrival. Our plans for the trip include various construction and cleaning projects, in addition to the time spent with the children at Casa de Paz playing games and doing projects, and ministering in the surrounding community.

Today was our first day working with the children, and it was wonderful!!! There were several children asking for team members from last year's trip that didn't come this year. That was a joy to know that the Lord used our time from last year to touch their hearts in a real way, and we pray the Lord grow love even more with this visit. We had an opportunity to visit Mixteco where we cleaned and installed windows. It is a joy to hear how the Lord has been blessing lives with the ministry in that area as well.

God bless you all! Thank you for your prayers and support.

In Christ's Love,

The 2007 Team