impacting the world for Him

Hey Everyone!

Mexico/San Diego Album 2 is up! Check out more pictures, and download the ones you love! If you have any pics you want to post to share with everyone, make a CD and give it to me and I’ll post them!

~Julie

Hey Everyone!

The students are at the San Diego airport, about to board their flight. They are taking Alaska Air Flight 481, which will be arriving in Seattle at 1:20pm. They will be full of dirt, sand, and a lot of stories to share!

Some of Julie and Angela’s pictures from Mexico have been posted on the CSM Photo Gallery, which you can find here.

More pictures will be added after the trip is over, but check out the first hundred or so that are up right now!

Hello Everyone!

We are in the middle of our second day of ministry with City of Refuge in San Diego. Yesterday afternoon we spent time with some of the neighborhood kids, just relaxing and playing games, and then after dinner we hit the streets and gave coffee and pastries to some people who are without a home. Each of our team members was able to have good conversations with people they don’t normally interact with. This morning they were sharing that they found that the people who were homeless were just like them, except that they didn’t have a home. They shared how they had preconceived ideas about why someone would end up on the streets, but God revealed how we are all children of God, we are all dearly loved, and we are all people who are in need of God’s touch and His grace. It was awesome to see how God grew compassion in each of our team members, and we are all prayerful that we will continue to be as compassionate even after the trip ends.

Today our teams are busy with more sorting and cleaning at CoR, as well as more visits to deliver food to homes. This afternoon a bunch of our girls volunteered to take a hip hop class that CoR members teach at a local high school, while the rest of us continue to clean and prepare for tomorrow morning’s church service. Tonight is Teen Night at the Warehouse – similar to the Kids Club that we had earlier this week, but for kids who are the same age as our team members. We are excited to participate in Teen Night, and look forward to seeing what we can all learn though it.

Tomorrow morning’s church service is outdoors, and will also be a place for those who are in need to come and pick up some food and receive prayer, in addition to hearing from the Word. After the church service, our team will be hitting the beach in Coronado for our last evening in San Diego. We always look forward to a time of relaxation and fun, as well as the time to reflect on what God has done in the past week and a half. But San Diego has been colder than Seattle has been this week, so we ask you to pray that the clouds part so our time on the beach won’t be so cold!

Thanks again for your prayers. God is doing great things in and through this team!

~Julie

Hello Everyone!

We are back in California after a very full 6 days in Mexico. We built a house for a lovely woman named Wendy, and her family. In the video below, Danie describes each of the family members for you.

We have seen God move in so many ways, and have been stretched and grown more than we could have imagined. We are thanking God for safety on the worksite – we had no major injuries or illnesses! We were able to complete the building on time, even though we got a bit behind on our first day, and we praise God for the ability to finish what we started!

Here is a video showing us raising one of the roof sections on day 3.

We are also thanking God for our successful transition back into the United States – we had our quickest and easiest border crossing ever!

Just before crossing, our last act in Mexico was the ceremonial destruction of our team’s mascot – Biff. He watched over our campsite, but by popular demand, he met his end and did not travel back to the US with us. The students asked us to post this video for you, so…here it is!

Please continue to pray for us as we minister with the City of Refuge team in San Diego.  Last night we helped with the Wednesday night Kids Club, and many of the kids remembered our returning team members, which was really fun! This morning we had a devotional time with the CoR team, and now we have teams out giving out food to families that are receive groceries from CoR, as well as sorting and organizing supplies that CoR uses. We are looking forward to a couple more days of awesome ministry, and can’t wait to share more with all of you.

For the Mexico/San Diego Team,

Julie

The Mexico Team is back in the states.  Absolutely no problems or sickness…..all is great!  Watch for an update from Julie, in San Diego,  in the next 24 hours!

We are so excited that today Erica’s adoption was finalized, and she officially gets to be part of our Mexico team! It was looking completely impossible, but God worked as only He can, and Erica will be able to go with us! Praise God for the ways He is already answering our prayers! We can’t wait to see what He will do next!

~Julie