We have chosen our trip date:
Monday, December 28, 2009 - Monday, January 11, 2010.
We have five confirmed participants and hope to take 25 -30 people with us. James and I will have a more detailed itinerary after he and Doug do the pre-site visit in July.
At this time, our rough itinerary looks like this: 2 days of travel, 2 transitional days, 2 days of sight seeing, 2 days of rest, and 6-7 days of building the church. We need strong laborers and people to work in supportive roles such as sweeping, cleaning, cooking, and worship.
A short-term mission trip has so many wonderful benefits. It is a time of spiritual and personal growth, an opportunity to make new friends, a chance to reach out to help others in need, and an opportunity to see other parts of the world. It is an incredible opportunity to let God work through you for His glory. Exciting things happen on mission trips. Come. Join us.
John 12:26 (NIV) “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.”
1 Peter 4:11 (NIV) “ ...If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pre-Site Visit
It's official! The pre-site visit for our team leader and superintendent has been booked. James and Doug will meet MVI in Mexico to review the sites we will work, stay, and play at.
This mission trip planning process has been a new (and sometimes challenging) experience for us. It is like looking through steamy eyeglasses. Everything was very foggy at first, but we have had faith and determination that has held us steady until we can see more clearly.
If you could see behind the scenes, work on this mission trip is going on daily. There are hours of Internet research, phone calls, and emails on our end as well as with MVI. To decrease confusion, we are waiting until each detail becomes clear before we share it with you.
James and Doug will travel to Villahermosa, Palenque Archaeology Zone, and Penitas the third week in July. They will return with a sharper picture of the mission trip to include the participant's costs during the trip (housing, food, excursion, etc).
Airfare is running about $1,200 per person at this time for travel just after Christmas and into January 2010. We currently working with a travel agent and with MVI to settle on a two week time period for our trip which is dependant on housing and excursion options. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. James and I look forward to serving our Lord and representing Hillside-O'Malley church on this mission trip.
This mission trip planning process has been a new (and sometimes challenging) experience for us. It is like looking through steamy eyeglasses. Everything was very foggy at first, but we have had faith and determination that has held us steady until we can see more clearly.
If you could see behind the scenes, work on this mission trip is going on daily. There are hours of Internet research, phone calls, and emails on our end as well as with MVI. To decrease confusion, we are waiting until each detail becomes clear before we share it with you.
James and Doug will travel to Villahermosa, Palenque Archaeology Zone, and Penitas the third week in July. They will return with a sharper picture of the mission trip to include the participant's costs during the trip (housing, food, excursion, etc).
Airfare is running about $1,200 per person at this time for travel just after Christmas and into January 2010. We currently working with a travel agent and with MVI to settle on a two week time period for our trip which is dependant on housing and excursion options. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. James and I look forward to serving our Lord and representing Hillside-O'Malley church on this mission trip.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A House of Worship
This Sabbath we will worship in our usual place - our home church in Anchorage. It has sturdy walls, an efficient roof, enclosing windows and doors, and a new heating system. We have all the comforts we could ask for and probably too often take for granted. It is truly a blessing to have this church available as our house of worship.
The people of Penitas, Mexico do not share the same luxuries we do. They worship in a simple wood structure, but they are praying and working towards a dream. Our fellow believers want a sturdy, safe, comfortable structure to worship in. And we have been called to help them.
The Northern Lights, along with Maranatha Volunteers International, will be working with the local congregation in Penitas to build a One-Day Church! It is a steel structure (frame and roof) that can actually be assembled on-site in one working day. James and I saw one at last years Maranatha convention in Oregon and it was wonderful. We are very excited to be able to construct our first One-Day Church!
Normally the local congregation finishes the church by using their own resources (locally obtainable materials) to put up walls. It could be wood, stone, brick, or any other usable item.
However after assembling the steel frame and roof, The Northern Lights team will remain on-site with the local people to put up block walls to finish their church.
The Maranatha website has information on the One-Day Church that can be viewed by going to these links:
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=316
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=318
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=319
The people of Penitas, Mexico do not share the same luxuries we do. They worship in a simple wood structure, but they are praying and working towards a dream. Our fellow believers want a sturdy, safe, comfortable structure to worship in. And we have been called to help them.
The Northern Lights, along with Maranatha Volunteers International, will be working with the local congregation in Penitas to build a One-Day Church! It is a steel structure (frame and roof) that can actually be assembled on-site in one working day. James and I saw one at last years Maranatha convention in Oregon and it was wonderful. We are very excited to be able to construct our first One-Day Church!
Normally the local congregation finishes the church by using their own resources (locally obtainable materials) to put up walls. It could be wood, stone, brick, or any other usable item.
However after assembling the steel frame and roof, The Northern Lights team will remain on-site with the local people to put up block walls to finish their church.
The Maranatha website has information on the One-Day Church that can be viewed by going to these links:
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=316
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=318
http://www.maranatha.org/Template_Load.aspx?PageID=319
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Thank you for your support!
The Mexican-themed fund raiser was a success! In anticipation of our upcoming mission trip, we dined on Enchiladas and Mexican rice dishes while listening to Ecuadorian instrumental music and watching a slide show with photos from past Maranatha mission trips to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Juliaca, Peru.
We raised over $500 at the dinner for the Construction Fund bringing the total raised as of 5/31/09 to just over $5,400. Our minimum sponsorship goal, requested by Maranatha, is $7,000.00 but our ultimate goal is to raise the complete amount needed for the entire church which is $20,000.00.
Following the dinner we had a planning meeting where a number of items were reviewed. We were offered the town of Penitas or Corozal by Maranatha and the team chose Penitas. It is a rural ranching community in the state of Chiapas and is located about 3 hours southwest of Villahermosa, Mexico.
We have located Penitas on Google Earth and it has been suggested that we start praying for each individual home we can identify on the satellite photo. Technology can be such a wonderful thing! Being able to view the area, house by house, makes it much more real to us.
The Northern Lights team leader and superintendent will travel with Maranatha to Penitas in mid-July for a pre-site visit. They will be reviewing such things as housing, ground transportation, the actual job site, and the excursion. We anxiously await their report!
The team members present at the planning meeting also decided to move the trip from December to January for financial reasons. It would cost an additional $1,000.00 per person to travel during late December. Multiply that by our team (20-30 people) and we would have enough money to build another entire church! We felt it was not being good stewards of God's money by traveling in late December. We are currently working with Maranatha to confirm specific dates of travel.
We will add the option of an excursion while in Mexico. The Palenque Ruins has been suggested by Maranatha. Further details will follow after the pre-site visit in July.
We also discussed team T-shirts and are currently researching this option. In addition to that, we are considering a team Scripture--something we can claim for our team during the planning phase and actual mission trip and perhaps include on our team T-shirts.
The planning is progressing and our mission trip is taking shape. It is no longer just a desire, but something that we can see more clearly each week. Excitement is building (*chuckle* I guess that has a double meaning!).
God is at work in Mexico. We feel God is calling Hillside-O'Malley Church to Mexico. He is working in our hearts and in the hearts of the people we will serve. Please pray continually for His guidance as Team Northern Lights joins with Maranatha on this mission trip. It's time to get off your seat, onto your knees, and then up onto your feet as we go where the Father calls!
We raised over $500 at the dinner for the Construction Fund bringing the total raised as of 5/31/09 to just over $5,400. Our minimum sponsorship goal, requested by Maranatha, is $7,000.00 but our ultimate goal is to raise the complete amount needed for the entire church which is $20,000.00.
Following the dinner we had a planning meeting where a number of items were reviewed. We were offered the town of Penitas or Corozal by Maranatha and the team chose Penitas. It is a rural ranching community in the state of Chiapas and is located about 3 hours southwest of Villahermosa, Mexico.
We have located Penitas on Google Earth and it has been suggested that we start praying for each individual home we can identify on the satellite photo. Technology can be such a wonderful thing! Being able to view the area, house by house, makes it much more real to us.
The Northern Lights team leader and superintendent will travel with Maranatha to Penitas in mid-July for a pre-site visit. They will be reviewing such things as housing, ground transportation, the actual job site, and the excursion. We anxiously await their report!
The team members present at the planning meeting also decided to move the trip from December to January for financial reasons. It would cost an additional $1,000.00 per person to travel during late December. Multiply that by our team (20-30 people) and we would have enough money to build another entire church! We felt it was not being good stewards of God's money by traveling in late December. We are currently working with Maranatha to confirm specific dates of travel.
We will add the option of an excursion while in Mexico. The Palenque Ruins has been suggested by Maranatha. Further details will follow after the pre-site visit in July.
We also discussed team T-shirts and are currently researching this option. In addition to that, we are considering a team Scripture--something we can claim for our team during the planning phase and actual mission trip and perhaps include on our team T-shirts.
The planning is progressing and our mission trip is taking shape. It is no longer just a desire, but something that we can see more clearly each week. Excitement is building (*chuckle* I guess that has a double meaning!).
God is at work in Mexico. We feel God is calling Hillside-O'Malley Church to Mexico. He is working in our hearts and in the hearts of the people we will serve. Please pray continually for His guidance as Team Northern Lights joins with Maranatha on this mission trip. It's time to get off your seat, onto your knees, and then up onto your feet as we go where the Father calls!
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