Mission Moments
Mission Moment- An English class at the cafe
Nobuko and Satoko have been such fun, pleasant ladies to have in a class. They missed last week and so they planned to have a double lesson this week. They suggested that we go to the café around the corner for some tea. Before going I prayed that the Lord would be working in their lives and I would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
We ordered our green tea and when it arrived both of the ladies clasped their hands and said a few words of thanks. They looked at me and said they like to pray before they eat or drink. I immediately got excited and said"Oh, are you Christians?!" They both kind of giggled and sweetly said no, we are not any religion but we like to pray before we eat. I asked then who they were praying to. One of them said she was praying to many gods.
I was able to ask them what they thought would happen to them when they die. One of the ladies said she thought that there was nothing after this life. The other one said she did not believe in heaven but thought maybe she would be a spirit and just keep cycling in and out of life in different forms. They seemed like they did not mind having this conversation so I continued to ask them questions. They said they had heard just a little bit about Jesus. I asked if they had ever read any of the Bible. One of them said no, but she had noticed that whenever she goes on trips there is always a Bible in the drawer next to the bed. They never understood why and thought it was so funny that they would do that. I was able to share with them about how special the Bible was to me and maybe that is why it is even in motel rooms all around the world.
I wish I could say that they had a desire to accept Jesus. Only the Lord knows where they are and if one day they will. It saddens my heart and is hard for me to understand why most people over here have not opened their hearts to Jesus. I pray my relationship and love for the Lord can be evident as I walk with Him each day . - Cindy Beethe in Japan!
New Orleans Mission Moment
My Mission Moment came more as a realization than a moment. The realization of how devastating and widespread the destruction of hurricane Katrina continues to be. The structures of many of the homes and businesses that were severely damaged are left rotting and decaying. Several lots are empty, where structures have been completely bulldozed, often leaving only driveways to prove past existence of a building. The overwhelming task of helping New Orleans and surrounding areas, can only be managed by starting one place at a time. As we sought to help in a small way, our dedicated, hardworking group poured thought, love, and physical manual labor into caring for a structure that will once again be a place of worship to bring honor and glory to God. It will take time and many more volunteers to restore even this one church, but it can be done. Will you be willing to help? Can you make sandwiches for a hungry work crew? Can you dig a hole? Mow grass? Hammer nails? Sweep debris? Assist a skilled worker? Work at a food pantry? Teach children? Can a simple skill you can do be used by God to further His kingdom. Yes!
I thought we were going to be cleaning toilets and empting dumpsters before we actually went to Arlington. I also thought I would be the only kid. Before we left, I prayed I would meet some friends and have fun, even though I knew I would be working hard. When we were getting ready to leave the church, I met holly and we became friends! When we got to Mission Arlington we sorted shoes, clothes, and hangers. After that, we went to a school and did a fair. We gave out hotdogs, lemonade and chips. After working we went jumping in the bounce house.. that was a lot of fun! and had our faces painted. That was the most fun of the trip. The part where I saw God was saturday when we did a free garage sale and a little girl picked out a whole bunch of things for her momma. She was being generous because she picked only one thing for herself and all the rest was for her mom who was not there. On sunday we helped with church for the women’s shclter and
I worked in the nursery. the kids were pretty good, not whiny or spoiled. I want to go back to Mission Arlington because it is fun and it is serving God. It is a good feeling when you help others. -Emily Mitchell - age11
Mexico 2008
The second day of our trip in Mexico we stopped in the town of Cautrocieneges. The section of town we were in is very poor and the children always respond so positively to our coming. On this afternoon the wind was blowing so hard that I wondered if kids would come outside at all. Then we found ourselves in a full blown dust storm, which made it hard to see. But as the children saw us getting out of our vans they started coming even in the storm. I was so proud of our students because they got out in the midle of that storm and started playing with the children and trying to go forward with our plans for VBS. After a few minutes, I decided that we could not do a VBS in these conditions. It was like being in a thick fog of dust and dirt. So, we rescheduled for the next day and had a great turn out on our return. But as I got back in my van to leave that day the Lord spoke to me and said, "look how faithful your students are - they were willing to serve Me even in the absolute hardest conditions with a smile on their faces - I am pleased." - Paul Coleman