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Twelve hours ago at 8:30 am we were pulling out of Casa Beuna and heading to El Faro - all bags loaded. We went to church and got a look for ourselves at how much the church has grown. There is something special about singing songs of praise and listening to a sermon in a different language. I can read the words ok and even though I don't know all I am singing, I do know I'm praising the Lord and that's all that matters. I also like being outdoors, hearing the noises of the city and feeling the breeze come in off of the ocean (you can see the water from the church).

After cleaning up and visiting, we headed toward the airport. We stopped halfway for lunch at Todo Asantos - the view was incredible! It was a fast stop but worth it. We had a quick, and easy, exchange with the rental company (praise God) and got to the gate in good time. All bags arrived and immigration and customs went smoothly. I have unpacked all but 1 suitcase, have a load of laundry going, got a shower and dinner is at the doorstep. 👍 I have Spanish words floating in my head ... unfortunately I don't know what all of them mean. 😀

Thank you for your prayers throughout the week.

Photo: Micah and Lilly at lunch spot in Todo Asantos

 

Sunday agenda

Today we are attending El Faro's service. We are going early as the VBS attendees were invited to share their Lego projects and stay for Sunday School. Pray along with us as those who have never attended on a Sunday would come.

Right after church we'll begin driving to Cabo San Lucas to the airport. We'll be returning the Suburban and heading home. Thank you for all your prayers!

Please come back to our blog when we return home. I want to include photos of things we wrote about and add more about what God was doing this week (when I'm not worn out and going to bed). 😀

Just right just right

Our children for VBS were just right. Tonight we heard one of the difficult situations that surrounds one of the sets of siblings that attended. Please lift up this family in this dark time that they would be able to return to El Faro, come to know Jesus and how much He cares for them, for them to allow Him to heal their hearts and move forward in a positive direction with Christ as their guide.

Suburban rental

Please pray for our return of the rental. Matt accidentally bumped into one of the fences last night at the ranch. It cracked the fence board and busted up the rear light in the suburban we are renting. The light still works, it's just the outer casing that is all cracked. We have insurance that will cover it - it's just the hastle of it all. Please pray for that to go smoothly and communications to be understood.

Palaya Tecolate

Plan B for today worked out great. We all slept in and weren't being picked up until 11am to go to the beach. I had a chance to talk to one of the other residents (who comes down regularly) as I was chopping up veggies and apples in the palapa. Matt was giving laptop/computer assistance to another missionary getting ready to start an English camp on Monday.

We went to Palaya Tecolate Beach with Martin and Susie. Steve and Lois joined us later and led the snorkeling outing. Steve heads up the kayak ministry and was able to share about that as well. The water was a nice temperature and the kids had a BLAST!

Tonight we had a relaxing dinner at Martin and Susie's house. Martin made his homemade ficoccia bread pizza.

Time to pack up the suitcases - boo hoo.

Rancho El Camino

This evening we went to the ranch - Rancho El Camino. This family has three little girls that our family got to spend a whole week with January 2015. It was so great to see all of them!!

This was our first time to see the ranch in action. Outstanding!! God is doing amazing things there through this family, some staff, and seasonal volunteers. They have taken care of a lot of details to make the place inviting for others and home for themselves.

VBS day 2

Our attendance today was lower than yesterday - we had 13. But God brought a new girl today and gave us a nice opportunity to pray with her. The time with the kids was fun, meaningful and, due to low numbers, more intimate. It's neat how much can be said without using too many words.

It was another overcast day with a light breeze on the hill of El Faro. It was delightful as we sang "God is my Hero", shared how Jesus washes us clean, built Legos, and prayed over characteristics they wrote/shared with us.

Transformados

Later today we visited the ministry Transformados. This group got started just after our last visit to LaPaz 18 months ago. They were talking about it and getting the momentum going at the annual conference. God has done amazing things through these two families within their community and His vision - using sports.

I'll add more later, including their website. It's time to go to bed.

VBS Day 1

Today God opened the heavens and the rain came down. It did rain this morning, but not much where we were. It was enough to give us an overcast and a nice breeze for being outdoors at El Faro. It was also enough that when it is overcast and rainy the families don't come out like normal. Our trust is in the Lord to bring the number of children He wants to be there. The seeds were planted.

There were 19-25 amazing kids in attendance today! Some were teenagers who did not 'register' as participants but hung around and did participate. 😀 Ages ranged from 5-15 (or so). Most are NOT El Faro attendees, which is incredibly encouraging.

I was super excited for Micah who organized, and led, the games (after registration while everyone arrived). He is also our photographer/videographer and is putting together the culminating video production for Sunday.

The kids had a great time, provided deep prayer requests, and some came forward to have someone pray with them individually. We ask for you to join in prayer for these kids. Contact information, and ways to follow-up, will be vital to these future relationships with Christ. All of them did say they will be back "manyana".

'Kids Up' Equestrian Ministry

The horse ministry we went to yesterday was 'Kids Up' Equestria.  It's run by the Sanders (who also run Casa Beuna).  Their son, Arthur, has cerebral palsy. It has been a beautiful story to see how he's learned to walk on his own, and now begin to communicate through sounds.  Through a series of therapy sessions, personal connections, and donations, the Sanders now have this ministry that reaches out to other families with children of disabilities.  Arthur comes alive as he helps to lead the horses around the arena, rides the horses, and helps brush them down.

Fun Full Day

We started at 7am and have been going full-force until now ... 12:12am. Kids konked out just a few minutes ago. I will bullet activities so I can get to bed also. I am having trouble getting pictures to upload (hope to work that out).

1. Breakfast in palapa at 7am
2. Bible Study at 7:45am
3. Meeting with LaPaz team 8am
4. El Faro - dry run of VBS agenda, drama practice, sort Legos, decorate (what we could for an outdoor church)
5. Lunch - Fish Taco 2:30pm
6. Snack/food run (1/2 team); I took kids swimming back at Casa Beuna
7. Horse Therapy Ministry 5:30-7:30pm (Milton and Susu's) - great story about this! This was a highlight today ... even though I ended up cleaning the stalls. 😀🐴
8. El Faro for movie night 'Big Hero 6' 7:45-10:45pm. This was a highlight also. They showed the movie in their newly completed sanctuary AND it was the largest turnout they'd had. There was popcorn served during the movie and hot dogs & drinks after.
9. Showers and bed 12:15am 😴

Tomorrow is the first Lego VBS day! 🤗

Rancho Viejo

We had a nice dinner tonight at one of our regular spots  - Rancho Viejo.  Martin (Gonzales) & Susan (Key) were able to join us.  By the time the food arrived Landon had fallen asleep.  Micah was able to capture the sunset!

We've gotten to visit with several friends already. It's great to be here!

Casa Beuna - settled

We're all nested in our rooms at Casa Beuna.  This is where we have stayed every time we've come to LaPaz together.  Casa Beuna is owned by the Sanders family - Milton, Susu, Michele, and Arthur.  Our first visit they had Cracker and Luna (two big golden labs) that socialized in the palapa, plus a few cats.  We learned that Cracker recently passed away and Luna stays near the back house as she's gotten older.  They have a new puppy - Pepper, with lots of energy!
The rooms are great - each with it's own air conditioning unit, hot water, and flushable toilets.  That may seem silly to mention, but those are things we take for granted at home.  We will need to remember to not drink the water or use it for brushing teeth.  We will need to remember not to put the toilet paper in the toilet, but rather put it in the trash can (plumbing is not quite capable of pushing everything through).  We will need to remember not to take too long of a shower because there are four of us needing to clean up each night.

Palapa (community building) and our Subsurban for the week

Our room:  #100

Arrived

We have arrived in LaPaz! Our travel day was quite smooth. Only two people's bags were opened at security and only one person patted down. The gate for our flight was changed three times - almost four, but we got to the correct one. 😀

We are safe, our flight was on time, all of our bags arrived, Martin was in Cabo to greet us, our vehicle rental went smoothly, our drive was clear.

bags marked with red cloth strips; kids playing 'bubble gum bubble gum' at the gate

Arriving in the Baha - it's beautiful!

Travel Details

We are extremely honored to be representing the body of Christ as we travel to LaPaz.  Here are tentative details:

Flight 534 - Depart Phoenix on American Airlines Tuesday July 26, 2016 10:10am; Arrive in San Jose Cabo 1:18pm

Flight 1779 - Depart San Jose Cabo on American Airlines Sunday July 31, 2016 5:55pm; Arrive in Phoenix 6:57pm

Tuesday we’ll travel (flight to Cabo, drive to LaPaz), check in at Casa Beuna, get dinner and settle in.

Wednesday we’ll meet with the “LaPaz Team” in person and go over details; we’ll work together at Casa Beuna and El Faro (church); Work with Equine Horse Ministry for Special Needs; VBS Kick-Off Movie Night showing “Big Hero 6”

Thursday we’ll leave for El Faro at 8am to setup for the HERO HEADQUARTERS LEGO VBS!  Activities will begin at 9:30am (Mexico time J); afternoon will entail debrief and preparations for Friday; Work with the Transformados Ministry

Friday we’ll do the same as Thursday morning with VBS; in the afternoon we hope to visit the Ranch Ministry and cool off with some swimming

Saturday we’ll experience the Kayak Ministry; visit  Tecolote/Balandra; begin to pack up; walk along the Malecon for ice cream

Sunday we’ll attend church service at El Faro; we’ll have a revealing of the VBS with the families/parents; begin our traveling back home; arrive home at 6:57pm

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”  2 Corinthians 2:14

We've got hair!

One of the observations made from doing the Lego events at El Faro is that the girls who attend don't have female Lego people (they basically need the right hair).  So, today we went to the Lego store at Arrowhead Mall, dug through the hat/hair accessory bins and found Lego hair for the girls!  Hooray!!  There are 45 of them.  Our favorite one was the black hair with the ponytail and a pink stripe across the forehead bangs.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the announcements that will be made at El Faro tomorrow (Sunday) morning regarding the VBS next week.  They have flyers that will be passed out to all of the families.  Each will get 2 - one for themselves and one to share.  Please pray for volunteers from the church to assist with the VBS.  This is a time of transition, and training.

Please pray for a plan for disciplinary actions.  While we don't anticipate anything drastic needing to be done (and haven't in the past), we need to be prepared.  These kids are coming from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Please pray for a follow-up plan for any children who make a decision to believe in Jesus as their Savior.  We want to follow cultural protocol - know how families will respond if they don't attend El Faro.  The good news, LaPaz is more accepting than inland.

Last "LaPaz Team" Skype Meeting

We've had several great Skype meetings through the last few months preparing for our trip and finalizing details.  Tonight Pastor Rafa and his wife Betty joined in too.  We are so excited!!!

Dresses

The church provided about 55 little girl dresses for us to take to LaPaz.  Aren't they beautiful?!  What a delightful donation.  Thank you to the volunteers who made each and every one.

It's going in!

The suitcases came out last night and the packing got started today.  We did the last load of laundry, set things out, began to divvy things up into carry-on bags and check-on bags (depending on weight and priority of arrival).  :)  We made a good dent.

Each carry-on gets a package of Lego bases, basic Lego blocks, and Lego candies (for their take away gift)

Your support

Your support is invaluable!  God has called our family to be the hands & feet to travel to LaPaz and to build the relationships with the missionaries there.  But, it isn't possible without the prayer support and financial support of each of you.  We realize that each time we reach out to you God will have you in a season of your own.  The way you support us will vary, but it is constant - just as our Lord is constant.  This is the work of the Body of Christ!

More than 100

Our family is FULLY funded!  THANK YOU SO MUCH.  It is always exciting to see how God provides, while deepening our faith in the process.

Do you see how the thermometer has exploded!?!  God has always provided just the right amount for our mission trips.  This time, as we trusted in Him, He took us above and beyond.  God knew how much was/is truly needed to fulfill this trip - as a team.  He also knew that I (Jodie) would be going to Spain and needing extra fundraising.  This is such a beautiful demonstration of His provision and how His people understand this vision and support prayerfully and financially.

As a team, we are still in need of some financial assistance.  If this is something God is calling you to do, please follow the instructions below:

• go to https://scottsdalebible.onlinegiving.cc/donate/login

• Login if you have an account or choose “GIVE AS GUEST”

• In Gift Designation choose “Missions Trip – Enter Participant’s Name in Memo”

• In Select a Missions Trip choose “904 La Paz Mexico”

• Check “Include Optional Gift Description”

• In the Description box enter the name of the person(s) you are supporting

• Complete the remaining fields of the form.

Last Phoenix Team Meeting

Tonight Virginia hosted our last "Phoenix Team" meeting.  The kids had an opportunity to do some dry runs of their characters they'll be portraying during one of the storytelling sections.

We're ready!

Here's the team:

Front Row:  Tene Burrows, Rian, Matt, Lilly, Micah & Landon

Back Row: Virginia Abbott, Jodie

Rian, Landon, Micah & Lilly

Gathering Supplies

The church, El Faro, had buckets of Legos donated to them a couple of years ago.  They have been a wonderful asset to reaching out to the community.  When we were there January of 2015, we were able to be a part of a mini Lego event incorporating "Creation" and God's use of creativity.
They are in need of more basic building blocks and brick plates.  Personal donations, and Amazon purchases, were quite helpful in gathering these items.  We were also able to pull together some supplies by making them and using our church's MRC (Materials Resource Center).

Culvers

Our second fundraiser was at Culvers restaurant on Tuesday July 12th from 4-8pm.  We went at 5pm, got some dinner, and then had a LaPaz Team meeting.  We had a nice evening socializing with friends who came in to support.  Thank you!

The Baked Bear

In order to support multiple families in our fundraising, we set up a couple of restaurant fundraisers.  The first is The Baked Bear.  We scheduled for Sunday July 10th from 1-5pm.

An ice cream sandwich as big as your head!

Thank you friends and family who attended!

HERO

During a Skype call we determined our VBS theme - HERO.  The LaPaz team wanted to incorporate their Legos and we still had a VBS starter kit for a curriculum called Hero Headquarters.  It's all in English, but the LaPaz team is willing to do translation of songs and stories.  Those donated starter kits have been a real blessing for several mission trips - the gift that keeps on giving.

The "Phoenix" Team

We have been promoting a culminating mission trip to LaPaz, Mexico since day 1 of Missions & Me starting in the fall of 2015.  We held an information meeting to all the M&M families on Sunday May 8, 2016.  There were 5 families represented and interested.
In the end, God finalized us to 3 families: Abbott (Virginia, from Mountain Valley Campus), Burrows (Tene & children Rian and Landon) and Rich (Matt, Jodie & children Micah and Lilly).

Missions & Me Mission Trip

Our family has spent this past year in partnered leadership with the Discovery Kids children's program at Scottsdale Bible Church.  We are the Missions & Me leaders.  Our role has been to attend Discovery Kids and introduce the children to ways they can be personally involved with God's calling as a servant of Jesus Christ.  We invite them, and their families, to join us in outreach ministries within their neighborhoods, the community, and beyond our borders.  The events have been well attended and very exciting to be a part of.

As a culminating event we are taking a team of families to LaPaz, Mexico to partner with our missionaries there.