A day in the life of a missionary

Back from Africa!!

Wow, what a trip! I still can't believe I was able to go on a missions trip to Malawi with Reaching the Hungry (click RtH to learn more about what we are doing). The people there are quite friendly and hospitable.  While Brian and I were there we were able to install 4 water wells, show the Jesus film 5 times, preform 2 eyeglass clinics, and share the love of Christ with hundreds of Malawians. I wish I could tell you of everything we saw and did, but I think I would wear out my keyboard in the process. So I will tell you of our first day in a village. 

The first village we visited was in Lilongwe. The village was about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying (Mosaic Lodge). The village was like most villages there. Homes are made of brick and concrete with thatch roofing. Homes were quite small and arranged with no rhyme or reason to me. There were several "out houses". They were very small brick and concrete inclosure with no roofing. 

The people were friendly and gracious but they did now know Jesus. They practiced a ritual called mask dancing. This is something that is well known in Malawi but is seen mainly as a old tradition and nothing more. This village however saw it more of a religion. Mask dancing takes place in the graveyard. The men wielded machetes and wore masks. They dance at night over the graves to invoke the evil spirits to enter them. 

We worked on putting in the pump and the villagers built the concrete structure around the base of the pump. Things seemed to be moving a bit slowly for us "westerners". But what I learned was that they have a different concept of time. In America our view of work is about getting something done in a very quick amount of time barring any concrete connections with one another. In the rest of the world, Malawi included,
view time as unlimited and connecting with others in the group as most important. And so work is done a bit slower but it does get done.

When we were not working on the well we were able to do some ministry  with the children. I kicked the soccer ball around with them. Pastor Patrick and Wonderful played the bean bag game. As the day wore on we set up an eyeglass clinic. Brian was able to fit a dozen men and women with new reading glasses. The people were very happy to be able to see close again. 

Once evening came it was time to show the Jesus film. People in the villages don't have the same opportunity as us to see any films. So, This was a big deal for them and we were happy to bring it to them. The Jesus film (if you don't know about it) is about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also shows in brief the old testament starting from Genesis 1. When we were close to the end Wonderful paused the film and Brian spoke a message to the villagers. After the message we had an alter call where nearly the entire village raised their hands to accept Jesus Christ as their savior!! That was something to see! It nearly had me in tears of joy. We finished the film packed up and said goodby to our new friends.

Brian giving a message 

What a great first day in Malawi Africa. I still can't believe I was able to be there. But now that I am home I have had time to reflect. Because of this trip we were able to positively effect thousands of people with clean water and the word of God. I now I know that I have listened to the Lord and carried out his will. Thank you Lord for this opportunity to spread your word and your love around the world. "..."The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38

From left to right: Knocks, Wonderful, Chris, Patrick. 

Malawi Africa Bound

Well it's been just over a year and a half since I wrote about wanting to travel or go on missions outside the USA. In that blog I was planning on going somewhere...anywhere far away. And now it is finally happening I am headed to Malawi Africa tonight. My flight will have 2 stops along the way. First stop will be in Washington D.C and the second stop will be in Ethiopia. My missions trip will be 2 weeks long. I am traveling with my friend Brian with the organization Reaching the Hungry (please check out the website to see what amazing things they are doing around the world) We will be installing 3 water wells and fixing 3 or 4 other wells. We will be showing the Jesus film, passing out solar talking bibles and giving out reading glasses. And of course sharing the love of Jesus.

Truth be told I didn't think I would ever be able to leave the USA. Through out my life whenever I would plan on a trip to South America, Europe, or Asia something would come up where I would have to cancel the trip at the last minute. So for the longest time in the back of my head I was waiting for that curve ball to cancel this trip. Thanks to God that never came up! Though it did come close.
A few weeks ago I sold some stocks to cover the cost of my trip. Then I waited for the check to arrive. A week went by and I started thinking "where's my check?" Then on a Friday I get a text from Pastor Carlos saying he needs the money by Monday. I check my my investment firm to see if they had sent the check. Come to find out they never sent it they just sold the shares and deposited the money in a cash account. Eek!! I needed that money now. I had to think of how to get cash and fast. I realized I could do a few things. One I could go to the bank and get a loan. Two find someone who would give or loan me the amount needed. or three take a cash dispersant from my credit card. I first tried the second idea but was not able to get any help that way. So I decided next to go to the bank the next day (Saturday) and pray for the best.

After work (Saturday) I headed to the bank hoping that it would still be open. I entered the bank and waited to be seen. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure if I could even get the loan at the last minute. I had a fraud alert on my accounts that may or may not stop me from getting a loan. It took about 30 minutes to get anywhere. There were several double checks. The banker had to talk to her boss. Then they had to make a phone call. Then I had to wait on the under righters. I had been there for so long that she had to start taking the appointments. Natalie said that she would call me before the day was out so I could come back and sign papers. I left and got lunch. Just after I prayed for lunch she called with good news. I got the loan I just have to come back over and sign the papers. I was able to get the loan that day and pay for the trip. So Praise God for allowing all this to take place
Even at the last minute God is making things happen.

I want to keep writing but I'm not sure what else to write about at this time. I am just really excited to be going and serving God. I hope I am bringing all I need. Even if I don't I know God will provide.
Please keep myself, Brian and the whole mission tip in your thoughts and prayers.

God Bless

First Mission Trip 2016

Mexico Orphanage Trip

3rd Day:

    Monday the 30th was the last day of our mission trip. There wasn't much going on this day. The Church group that were were with had left early (about 7am) so they could cross the border quickly. We stayed just a little while longer and had breakfast.  I was hoping to either see the kids again or do some work around the orphanage. Before we left we cleaned up our campsite. Then we left about 9am. I had a hard time leaving. I started to bond with some of the kids pretty quickly on Sunday. And I was feeling bit down because I was not able to talk to one of the kids I had seen at the rodeo. I had told him that I would see him back at the orphanage that evening. I had thought that we would have more time to spend with them on Sunday. I also kinda liked a girl who worked there so I was hoping to see her again.
    The ride home was fun. It makes for a great trip when you ride some great people. It took us about 4_1/2 hours to cross the border. I learned that if you have to use the bathroom while stuck in border traffic make sure you have dollars on hand. It cost about 75 cents to use the restroom. I didn't have any money but luckily someone gave me a dollar. While we slowly moved closer we bought food and merchandise from the vendors. Raul was inspiring me while we were waiting in line. As we would pass vendors he would try to turn the conversation around to Jesus Christ and salvation. At one point I think he struck a chord in one man. This vendor had recently been deported back to Mexico. He used to run around with gangs up in Washington state. He had a girlfriend and 2 children that were still living in the US. As Raul was telling him that his life isn't bad and that Jesus loves him for who he is and not for what he'd done. The mans face grew long and sad. He was having a hard time knowing that God still loves him and that there is still hope for him. But I think, no I pray that what Raul had to say to him changed his life for the better.

    Well, that was the mission trip it was a lot of fun. I do really miss being there and just wished that we could have been there a few more days. Maybe I will get a chance sooner then later to go down there again.

First Mission Trip of 2016

Mexico Orphanage Trip

Day 2:

    Our day started about 6:30am. We ate breakfast at 7am. Then we had our second tour of the orphanage. This time we got to see the inside of each dorm, wow!! The are really nice. The first dorm was the young boys dorm. It is a large room with two levels. The first level (where we walked in) had a large leather couch and tv. The second level (which was slightly higher then the front of the room had the beds and bathroom. They had a foosball table in the corner of the room. There were stairs on either side of the couch that lead up to the upper level. There was even a slide between the second and first levels for the kids to use!
    The second dorm we saw was the little girls dorm. It was nice on the outside, single level, nothing to extraordinary. That is until we went inside. The inside looked like a princess castle. As we walked in there were disney princess hand painted on the walls. Instead of one big room like the boys had there were 3 or 4 separate rooms. Each room had several bunk beds. Also each room was designed with a different princes.
    The third and final dorm we saw was the nursery and toddler room. Again this was another really nicely decorated room. The babies had their own room from the toddlers that was separated with a sound proof wall. They did this so that when the toddlers napped the babies wouldn't wake them up if the started to cry. The walls were painted with friendly animals and trees. Near the doors along the door frame there were tiles that had been hand painted by the children.
    At some point in the morning (can't remember if it was before the tour or after) we went to the local church. It was about 10 minutes away. As we pulled up we saw the "Fear of the Walking Dead" set. Since it was a Sunday we didn't see and zombies walking around. The church service was a bit different then services we have here. When we walked in the band was playing some music as people were finding their seats. After about 2 songs or so the pastor came up to deliver the sermon. He preached in Spanish while DJ ( the staff administrator of DOFO) translated it into english. As I looked around I noticed a few people falling asleep... I'm not going to mention any names. Even though I didn't fall asleep I did do a lot of day dreaming. The sermon was about 45 minutes long. After that they did announcements. Finally the band came on to lead us in worship. I think the band did a pretty good job. The pastor played the lead guitar really well! During worship some of the little children came up to the front of the stage and were waving different colored flags to the beat of each song. Then I noticed some of the girls from the church group that came with us were waving them too. It was a really cool thing to see. I have never seen that before.
    Then after lunch we finally were able to interact with with the children. We brought face painting balloons and finger nail stuff for the kids. I have never made a balloon animal before so this was a first for me. I tried to make a dog but kept breaking the balloons so I gave up for a bit and just watched everyone else. One of the children came up to me and asked me to make a dog for him. And so I couldn't just say no. So back to the balloons I went. It took me a few more tries but finally I got the hang of it. I ended up making quite a few dogs for the kids. As I did this more and more kids would come up to me and ask me to make all sorts of things. Eek!  So I just did my best to make it look like they wanted. Later on I met a little girl who was holding on to some bean bags. I tried to talk to her in my best broken spanish. Hola! As I pick up the bean bags. "Mira" Then I started to juggle them "Si, Te gusto?" She nodded her head and said "si!" with the biggest smile. Then I was able to show her how to juggle. She would throw one up then two and then then would all fall right to the ground. Then I showed her how to use just 2 bags. She struggled a little but to badly. Then all of a sudden she got really really excited and grabbed my hand and took me to one of the staff. And wanted me to show off my juggling skills to everyone. So I juggled and she laughed and smiled. I gave her the bean bags and she juggled a bit for everyone. This time she did really well.
    After play time a few of us went to the rodeo that happened to be in town. It just so happen to be the biggest rodeo event of the year. They have about 4 rodeos there and this one was the biggest of the year.  Originally we were going to take some of the children with us but plans ended up changing. So it was just a few of us. The rodeo was really cool!! We didn't have a whole lot of time to be there but we did see some horse riding. I don't know what to call it. But the riders had to take there horses around 3 barrels and then race out of the ring as fast as they can. I had the best mexican food!!! Thank you Pastor Carlos and Lisa for the food!! (As usual, i forgot my cash at home) We ate beef tacos and Churros. While we watched the rodeo I met a few of the locals. One of whom I still remember, Oscar. He was a very friendly man. Big smile and just seemed very happy. He said that anytime I come down I have a place to stay at his house.
     After the rodeo we went back and ate dinner. Laura stopped by and I got to hear more about her and the orphanage. She talked about coming to Christ at the age of 15 and that her parents were not believers. Very cool girl!

First Mission Trip of 2016

Mexico Orphanage Trip 

Day 1:

I can't believe I'm on a mission trip back to Mexico! Last time I did this was in 1991 with Sammash Lutheran Church.
Today started at about 6:00am. I got ready to go and head out the door at 7:00am. I met up with the Reaching the Hungry group at Pastor Carlos and Lisa's house. There I met Raul as I was walking up the drive way. Next I met Carrie, and Chloe (Carrie's daughter) inside. We got word that the church we were meeting up with was going to be about 5 hours late so we decided to pick up our van and get some breakfast while we waited. Once the other church was close to Escondido we Headed down to the boarder to pick up Mexican insurance to the churches van. We finally arrived at Door of Faith Orphanage about 3pm. Our original time was supposed to be 10am.
The weather was overcast and a bit drizzly but everyones spirits were high. As we pulled up we saw several of the volunteers greeting us. One of them happened to be Laura our host while we stayed. We unpacked and were treated to a short tour of the orphanage from Laura. Since we arrived so late we were not able to do all the things we were supposed to do (full tour and meet the children).
The orphanage was amazing! It did not look like what I was expecting at all! It almost seemed like Disney Land. Long buildings with different shaped styles of fronts distinguishing each section from another. There was a wide main street with building on both sides and colorful signs pointing you to places like the barber, dinner hall and more.
After the tour we went back to our campsite, ate dinner and prayed. Then headed back down to the cafeteria to host a movie night for the children. We had to move chairs and tables. Put together bags of popcorn and red licorice to be passed out before the movie. While setting up I met my first few kids. The first one was Jesus. I was able to talk to him since he knew english. The second child, Raul, only knew a few words in english. Raul taught me how to say popcorn in Spanish which unfortunately I quickly forgot.  The third child I met was David. I wasn't able to speak much with him so our conversations was more like... David handing me an empty bag of popcorn (more, please?) So I respond "of course! then pointing to where all the full bags of popcorn were.
The movie we saw was really good. It is called Hero 6. The church that meet up with us brought that down to use to show case how Jesus loves us and is with us where ever we are. I think they did pretty good. At first I had a hard time of seeing how they could compare. But, by the end of the movie I understood.
Once the movie was over we cleaned up, ate dinner and went to bed.