Mission Trip - Thursday Update and Devotional

I know these are getting kind of long, but please bear with me. This has been a very encouraging trip on a lot of levels:

1. Our group has really bonded well here. In some cases, it feels like these students have known each other for years. I can honestly say that there is not one student in our group who has been left out or felt excluded in any way on this trip (that would be a first). And, I believe this bond can carry over into the fall which will take our group to that next level. This is especially important with losing so many seniors from last year.
2. Our teams are working so hard! As I have mentioned before, we have been asked to do so many things that they have never been asked to do before. But, they have done them and done them with excellence.
3. God is opening up great conversations for me to have with our students. They have always said that going on a trip with youth can replace years of contact work with that I'd be able to do at home. That is very true, especially here on this mission trip. I have had some great conversations with them and gotten to know them in a way I would never have at home.
4. These students love to minister. It may not always be in the verbal proclamation, but they desire to show the love of Christ to others - especially children. When they see them at their homes or at the basketball courts, their eyes light up and they get a new burst of energy being around them.

Pastor Morris came up yesterday to see the students and encourage them. I believe that any time Pastor Morris takes time to see the students or be with them is always a plus. It show them that they matter to him. I have seen to many Senior Pastors never interact with the youth. That is not our Pastor and he does a great job showing our youth that he cares. Gabi Guetierrez couldn't believe that he would come up just for a few hours yesterday to see how we were doing and encourage us.

Some pictures:

This is Auston, Laurel, Trevor and Jonathan working on installing the metal roof on the house we are working on. We made a lot of progress yesterday but PLEASE PRAY that we get the roof on today as they are expecting Thunderstorms this afternoon.

Last night, after our meeting, some of our youth wanted to go watch the Summer League again and see if we could see any more of our V.B.S. youth from last year. Well, we did see more and got a chance to meet a few other students as well. What made this outing great was that after the summer league games were over, Gabi just went up to a few children and started a basketball game! We ended up playing 5-on-5 with these children - very fun.

God is definitely at work here. Please continue to pray for us, for endurance to press on, for God to continue to minister to us and reveal himself to us, and for more ministry opportunities for us to share Him to others.

If you want to track along with what our devotional is today, here it is.

DEVOTIONAL:

Say your friend jus told you he saw a U.F.O. What would it take for you to believe that he was telling the truth?

Read 1 Kings 18:19-39

What did Elijah believe about God?


How did God prevail in this story? Do you think it had anything to do with Elijah’s faith in God? Why or why not?


Additional Thoughts and Application:

What do you believe about God? Do you believe that does not make mistakes? I do and I know that you are here, serving on this trip, for a reason. Whether your parents made you come or you signed up to go with a friend, you are here for a reason! You have been up there for almost a week, so what is that reason? Why does God have you here?

Spend some time with God, asking him to reveal to you what you are suppose to be learning and how you can grow from this experience.