BSM UTPA Missions Blog 2010

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” —-Ephesians 2:10

How important it is to know our place in God’s plans.  Being the first days of Valley Summer Project today Wednesday was our first day on the field.  After two days of orientation it was time to do our hands on work and our first assignment was to hold VBS at a Colonia at Mercedes city.  God showed our entire team of 21 how He works in the humblest of places.  We held VBS in an empty lot with two tents. Kids started arriving little by little and eventually it added up to over 70 kids.  Surprisingly the kids were ready to listen and willing to be out in the hot sun, and around tons of mosquitoes.  Although every single person out there was pouring today, they were willing to learn more about God.  We were able to see God’s glory in the smallest of things like kids learning the week’s memory verse on the first day.  We were also able to see the needs that these children have.  The VBS in this Colonia will help launch the new church that is being founded by the local pastor, and we can only pray and hope that the seed will be planted on firm, good soil during this week.  Thankfully we will have the privilege to work with these kids all the way through Saturday by teaching them of God’s word through Bible classes, missionary classes, sports, and crafts.  The team did great today by having everything ready and being prepared for the unexpected.

Later in the afternoon we were able to share about our ministry with First Baptist Church of Los Fresnos.  I got to say that we were all very flattered by their hospitality and the delicious food they had for us =)  We rejoiced in the Lord through worship with the whole congregation and we were able to share our testimonies with the adults and the youth, while children were having a lesson.

Little by little we are all seeing the roles that God has for us in this team.  It is a blessing to be able to serve God and to tell others of his mighty works.  I can’t even begin to imagine what God has in store for us throughout these three weeks.  We know that He is the captain of our ship in this project and all we have to do is follow His will.  We want to thank for all of your support and we ask that you keep us in prayer so that we can be prepared for all the tasks to come.

Thank you for following up with us.

Zaira J. Heredia

Hi! Thanks for checking in with us. Our summer mission trip starts on Monday May 31st.  We can’t wait to see how God is going to use our lives to minister to others in God’s name.

There will be 22 of us serving. We are all college students from different backgrounds and personalities but with the same desire to proclaim the name of Jesus to anyone who will listen.

Here is what you can do right now:

a) Pray for energy

b) Pray for team unity

c) Pray for God to prepare the way for us

It has been a really fun 4th of July. We went on a field trip with some of Mattaw kids to a safari park next to Mnt.Elgone in Kitale . The ride there was really bumpy (lol i didn’t get car sick for the first time yay!) but it was great to see all the giant, green trees and awesome mountain views. I was just in awe with God’s creation. Africa is really beautiful and rich! At the park, we saw a brown rhino (i thought they were gray), really tall girafe, ostrich, monkeys and some other animals that I really didnt know what they were. All the kids and Suheily went on a horse ride. She was really brave! It was an amazing place. Late that afternoon, we went to eat at the local coffee shop and they had a pretty good American bbq for us. They tried their best to make it like home. It was delicious. Thank you Jesus:)

This week a family from San Angelo, Tx came to Mattaw. They are gonna be here unil next tuesday. They are a really fun family with really great craft ideas. So, we put together both of our craft ideas and they turned pretty good. The kids had alot of fun. We also sang some songs and praised God together.
Last week was Nehemiah’s birthday, but we celebrated today. It was really fun to hear all the kids sing happy birthday song to him. When it was time to open the presents, Nehemiah showed us one candy and shoe at a time. He had a huge smile. It was super cute and hilarious. It was such a blessing to be there.

This past week many of the children at the children’s village were sick with tb, so the doc and nurse in our team took them to the hospital. The children that had symptoms were tested and treated for tb. At times it was very heart breaking to see the children suffering with runny noses, really bad coughs, and fevers, but today there were all doing alot better. The smallest of the village, Georgie was laughing and smiling again. It was such a blessing to be able to be a part of their recovery. I was really happy to help and make their lives a little better.
On tuesday, the kids had their physicals done and learned proper hygine. I taught them proper face and hand washing, and to cough to the side or inside their shirt instead of their hands to prevent the other children from getting tb.
On thursday, the rest of the children got physicals. We also bathed them and showed them how to bathe properly. Some of the children that only go to school at Mattaw were really dirty and wore the same uniforms everyday, so they were really excited and just ready to take a bath. It was really fun and so cute. A couple of the children fell asleep right after. I guess because they felt relaxed and felt good in their clean clothes. They were also so happy to have a pomagranate lotion rubbed on them and had huge smiles in their pictures. It was a awesome blessing to see them feeling so refreshed and good about clean little body. When we finished with them they were squeaky clean:) Later that night, I was reminded of the time when Jesus washed his disciples’s feet. Well, I think that’s it for now…please pray that we may not get tb.

Blessings,
Jess

I thought I’d post a picture of Nehemiah…or at least half his face. God has been blessing Jessica and I throughout this trip and one of them was meeting the little guy the BSM sponsors. He’s so full of energy and his face just melts your heart. He’s a bit shy but very curious he has 2 more brothers which look almost the same and well, he’s the spitting image of his dad.
The days here in the little town of Kitale have been slow paced, we mostly spend them at the Children’s Village loving on them and helping around in what we can. I can not grasp the concept on how some of these kids were abandoned and left behind. They have so much love to give that sometimes I wish I could multiply myself and tend to all of their needs. I see them and I see how happy they are with what little they have it makes me feel guilty I’ve taken so many things for granted, but I know that through that God is teaching me so many things which Im thankful for.
As for the next to weeks we’ll keep on loving kids and following God’s will, for where he leads me I’ll follow.

HIS,

Suheily

It was 11pm on tuesday when we landed on Naerobi. I was extremely tired, so I was happy to be off the plane. We had orientation the next day at 8 am, so it was an easy day. For lunch, we went to eat at a restaurant called the Java House. I ordered a mexican burrito thinking that it would be like a normal burrito, but shortly I learned it wasnt. Let’s just say, I got a taste of Kenya! Thursday was the first day we actually started ministering to people. The team got divided in two. One team went two one of the largest slums in the world and the other team went to another slum in Naerobi. I went with the team that went to Mathare (not sure of spelling). I don’t really know how to describe it. As we drove down the slum, I prayed to God that He would give me the strength to take what I was about to see. The streets were filled with women and men selling food, clothing and different things. Oh yeah and the streets were also filled with tons of trash, so you can imagine the strong odor. We drove in the gates of a church that had several ministeries. One of them is visiting homes of people with HIV/AIDS. We visited three homes. The first home we visited was really hard to take. The family of 6 lived in a room the size of a restroom with no running water or electricity. It was dark in there and the only thing they had was a small lantern. It was very sad to hear their story. The doctor in our team gave some medical advice to the mom, and the rest of us gave her some encouraging words. I offered to pray for the family. After we were done, we walked down the stairs and my legs felt shaky. It was a very humbling experience. At another home, I was so blessed to hear a single mother’s story. She said, “I tested positive but I’m living positively. She said that instead of worrying she counts her blessings. Towards the end of the visit, she said “I’m just living like a normal person”. I was filled with mixed up feelings, but I was blessed to hear her share her testimony. From all the home visits we did the first week she has been the most encouraging, motivating, blessed woman.

God really moved in the hearts of the students who attended the concert at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Valencia last night and we know that He is continuing to work in the hearts of the students at the Universidad de Carabobo.

Today, we visited la Facultad de Ingenieria  (similar to UTPA’s College of Engineering) and met the students of that facultad’s Union de Cristianos de la Universidad de Carabobo (UC²).  We prayer-walked the facultad, in preparation for the second day of La Semana de La Paz y de La No Mas Violencia.  “Del Valle de Texas,” along with Checreton & Dani and La Cuarta Dimensión, two other bands who would help minister to the students of that facultad, as well.  The leaders of UC² had warned us that their particular facultad was a very rowdy one and would often boo and throw things at people when they didn’t like what they were doing, so we were a little nervous about how they would react to three Christian groups sharing their music with them.  Even so, we trusted that God was already working in their hearts and that He was in control of what happened that afternoon.  Praise God that all three groups were well received by the students!  We could tell that they were paying attention to what was being said (and sung).  After the concert was over, we stayed and ate with the UC² group and fellowshipped with them.  It was a great blessing to be able to partner with them to reach their facultad with the hope that only Jesus Christ can bring.  We also taught them to play Ninja. =)

Tomorrow we will return to the Universidad de Carabobo, except we will be visiting a different facultad.  Please pray for this university campus.  They have seen a sharp increase in the amount and severity of violence that occurs on campus and many students are seeking to put a stop to it.  Please pray for students like the one with the pin that reads, “Universidad de Carabobo por La Paz.”   Pray that their hearts and minds will be open to hearing about the peace that only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, can bring and that the Christians who are students on that campus will be bold and willing to share God’s message of peace with them.  Please also pray for boldness, endurance, and divine appointments for our team, as we will continue to minister to the campus this week.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6