Traveling mercies

Hi friends!
Still updating from the Maryland side of things, but wanted to keep you all in the loop as you lift this team up in prayer!

Hannah B. sent out an email update:
Dear Family and Friends:

The entire Mexico team minus Augustine, Mary Anna and Susan are at Ichthus Education Center now. We will go to the village we went to last year. We will stay 5 days (Tuesday-Saturday). Aug and the two girls will arrive today at 4:10 pm. Please pray they arrive safely and that all our luggages are found. We lost 2 check-in bags along the way. 

Pray for the Holy Spirit to be with us throughout the trip and to guide us and lead us perfectly. We appreciate your prayers!

Love, Mexico Team

Additionally, we received an update from Augustine at the airport.  Here's an excerpt:

Our flight got delayed a little bit to 3:30.  But for more of His glory...  Alex gave a word that these delays remind him of the delay of healing for Lazarus.  It's for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it. ( john 11:4). 

When we came to the gate, on the screen it said our flight was delayed to 3:30.  I sit down, read Alex's email, and felt the delay confirmed his words.  While we are waiting, 3:30 stuck out so i looked up John 3:30 and it says this: "He must become greater; I must become less.". I felt it ties in with Jesus being glorified through all this.

The trip has certainly gotten off to an unexpected start, but we are confident and hopeful of the great things that God will accomplish through these 15 beautiful hearts!  Alex's word about Lazarus is encouraging...in that passage, Mary and Martha were so saddened by Jesus' delay because they thought He could and would do the great thing of healing their brother Lazarus.  But because of His delay, they were able to witness something even GREATER:  the resurrection of their brother from the dead and a glimpse of God's glory!

Thank you for remembering our team in prayer!  We truly are thankful for each of you.

Getting some much-needed rest at the Mexico City airport

Update and Prayer Request

The mission team headed out in the wee hours of the morning, only to be met with unexpected travel complications.  Please pray for traveling mercies as they continue to make their way into Mexico!

Here's an email from Augustine:

So here's an update - flight got delayed from BWI so we missed our connecting flight in Houston to Mexico city.  All flights were booked so the airline even said that this trip may not happen for us.  We were even thinking about flying into Guatemala and crossing the border, but that would be too dangerous.  


We eventually got flights to Mexico city, but have to wait until we get there to see about the flights to Tuxtla.  Four members are definitely going tonight.  Three are still in Maryland and will fly out tomorrow.  My group will stay overnight in Mexico city and try to get to Tuxtla tomorrow.  


Don't know why all the issues are coming up, but we want to be aware of what God wants to do wherever we are.  I had the opportunity to pray for the lady who got us flights to Mexico city tonight, even though others were telling us we probably would have to fly back to Maryland.  She started crying and told me how customers usually treat her like crap when issues arise, but to have someone pray for her instead was a blessing.  

Please keep praying for safe travels and to get there by tomorrow night.  Thanks!

Mission Team Send-Off

Last night our church had a send-off for the mission team!  Here are just a few pics from the evening.

 We heard a short message and prayed for the team.

Each of the team members shared personal prayer topics for the trip, as well as prayer requests for the team as a whole.

 
Thank you for your continued prayer support!!!

Mission Team prayer requests:
1) For God to be glorified & honored in and through everything they do
2) Traveling safety - God's protection over the team
3) Health - no sickness, exhaustion, stomach problems or injuries
4) Communicate the gospel clearly (the students will be teaching the VBS lessons and activities in Spanish)
5) Victory wherever they go and in every situation

Additional personal requests:
1) To be open/flexible in schedule; to not limit God but trust Him; to be engaged & energetic every day
2) To love freely with open, compassionate hearts and serve others first
3) Nothing may hinder God's work through them
4) Unity within the team

Mexico Mission Team 2012!

God bless you as you travel and touch lives for His kingdom!  

Love God well, love each other well, and love those you meet well!

*            *           *            *           *

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."

-William Carey

Water for Mexico!

Today we had our last official fundraiser for our mission trip. What did we do? Like last year we went to Rockville and sold ice cold water for $1. We want to thank God for providing us the perfect weather and for opening up people's heart to be generous. It may have looked sketchy selling water on the streets, but many people eagerly donated and bought water! Without God's providence, we would not have been able to sell all the water we had bought.

Advice on selling water: posters are a must. 

Thank you for your continual prayer support!

Count down: eight more days until Mexico!

VBS Prep

It's sweltering hot outside right now (98 degrees F to be exact!!), but our team is inside, away from the heat, and working hard in our VBS groups.

VBS topics for Mexico 2012:
God's Love
God's Power
God's Hope

We've split up into different teams and are collaborating to create mini-messages, games, crafts, and skits. Sounds like lots of fun - and it is - but it's also lots of work and organization. We're thankful for this time to work together and encourage each other.

Enjoy a few photos from today's prep!

Mexico countdown: 10 days!

iPad Raffle Winners!

Again, we want to thank everyone who supported our missions team by participating in the raffle.

We are sorry for the late notification, but here are the winners:

first place (the new iPad): *drum roll* Paul Lim!
second place ($20 Target gift card): Faith Choi
third place (movie ticket): Rebecca Forbes

Congratulations!

Update: We will be officially leaving for Mexico in two weeks. We will be there from July 1st ~ 9th. Please keep us in your prayers!

Ipad Raffle Update

Hello everyone!

Thank you to everyone who has shown such generous support of our team! We are so grateful for each one of you!

Just a quick update - we know that some of you may be logging onto our blog tonight looking for the iPad raffle winner.  Unfortunately, due to the youth softball tournament today, we will not be able to post results until tomorrow.  (We will be drawing the ticket during our youth group Sunday service.)  We so apologize for the inconvenience!

See you tomorrow! :)