Last Entry of the Trip!

Hola!

Today did in fact prove to be a wonderful day.  We spent the morning claning up the homes and making them presentable to the families.  We held a dedication ceremony for the families which consited of giving them the keys, planting a tree and uniting over scripture.  Following the ceremony, we ate lunch with the families.  One group took the family out to eat and the other grilled hamburgers.  It was a great time for fellowship,relax and admire what we had accomplished throughout the week.  Even though the work days seemed long, the trip went very quickly.  We depart from Piedras Negras at 6am tomorrow morning.  However bitter-sweet, we leave with having new friendships, strengthened past relationships and memories galore. 

In John 13 verse 15 is says, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life fore his friends.  This was a week where we were able to do just that.  To live out the teachings of our lord by setting aside our lives and making the lives of the families more important than our own.  We thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts.  We could not have done this without you. Please continue to pray for safe travels home and that the presence of God continues to work here in Piedras Negras.

in love,
The 2010 CPC Mexico Team

Roof Monkies!

Today was the end of day 4 of construction and we were able to assemble the roof and finish putting the surface cement on the outside of the houses.  It was a great day!  The house is complete! This is great a great illustration of our faith in God.  As a house is not complete until it has a roof and can provide the necessary shelter we need, the same goes for us in God.  Our faith is not made whole until begin to follow Jesus and make him lord of our lives.  Tomorrow promises to be a very special day, if not the most moving of the trip.  We will be having a dedication ceremony and eating lunch with the families.  It should be a really cool moment because that is when the house finally becomes a home.

We ask for prayer for the families as they move into their new casas!  Thank you for all your prayers so far.  We will be home in a couple of days!

paz,
Olivia, John and Jim

  

A great afternoon off!

This morning we began like we have the last 2 days with a early wake up call and heading out to site by 7:30.  We spent the morning preparing the walls to support the roof structure.  We spend the morning tomorrow putting the roof on the houses.  It is very excited to see these house taking shape so quickly.  After we finished this morning we had lunch as a group back at the hotel.  We were then free for the afternoon.  Many of us spent time at the pool, napping and going shopping at the market.  I had the chance to barter with a few merchants in the market.  It was a great time to have take a break from the long days of building for a chance to recharge the batteries a little.  Tomorrow we will get back into the normal 2-a-day building schedule.  We are excited for the last couple of days and to see the houses come to fruition and become a homes.  Our prayer request today is that the families can use these house to God's glory in what ever way possible.  Also, that God can make himself even more evident in these families lives.

Thanks again for all of your prayers.

shalom,
Jim

Second day down

Today was our second day of building.  We finished constructing the walls of the house and applied the surface cement that give the structure rigidity.  It was a great day.  There are many stories being exchaged around meal time on how the 2 houses that Wichita Falls and us are going.  One story that one group has been telling today is, when they arrived to the work site this morning, they noticed the future owners of the home were sleeping in the unfinished home.  They were quick to get up and ready to work, however, it was a sight to see.  It was an image of how hopeful these people are and how much this home will mean to them.  Many times we do work that goes without thanks.  This is not the case.  The family is been with us every step of the way to help and say Thank You in any way they can.  The sight of them sleeping in the house was Thanks enough in my book.

Tomorrow, we will be working a half day and taking the afternoon to hang by the pool and go to the market.  We ask for your continued prayer and thoughts.  I ask for a new prayer request for our team - that we can continue to show the love of Jesus to this family and serve them without any preconceived notions.

hasta mañana,

Jim 

End of the first day.

As we come to the conclusion of the first day of work in Piedras Negras, I reflect on past 15 hours and see many amazing things.  This was a day filled with Jesus.  He surrounded us today in our relationships with the families that will eventually live in the homes through breaking down cultural barriers.  He surrounded us in our relationships with our fellow volunteers by planting the seed of encouragement and smiles, even in the hot hot sun.  And, on a personal note, he laughed with me while I tried to have a conversation about motor with one of the Mexican workers.  Since I don't speak a lick of spanish this conversation consisted mostly of me staring blankly back at him.  It's the small things in our day that we forget to see Jesus' hand in.  Why does it seem we notice this only when we are on a mission trip or a quiet time?  Maybe it is because we are actually taking a moment to analyze ourselves, instead of just focusing on the next thing in our schedule.  Today was a very good day, and I am excited to experience tomorrow (however, not at 5:30am).

peace,
Jim   

First Couple Days

We apologize that our first entry is a couple days past due.  As it turns out, we have had very limited access to the internet so far (i.e. the hotel in San Antonio did not have internet).  However, I can happily say that we have had a great first couple of days.  After our very smooth travel to San Antonio we arrived at our hotel just outside downtown San Antonio.  We spent Saturday evening downtown on the river walk, where we ate dinner and took a boat tour.  It was a great evening.  We were all ready to hit the sac soon after, considering we were at the airport early that morning. 

Sunday morning we awoke and went to breakfast at a Lulus Bakery and Cafe, which was about a mile from our hotel.  This was no ordinary Cafe.  This was the home of the 3lb cinnamon roll (featured on Man vs. Food the TV show).  We happen to split one with the entire group and it was delicious.  From there we went to First Presbyterian Church in downtown San Antonio for their traditional service.  It was a beautiful church with a very good service.  Upon the conclusion of the service, we packed up and headed to Mexico.

We arrived in Piedras Negras on Sunday afternoon.  After settling we got to know the other groups, There is one group from Lake Forrest and one group from Wichita Falls, TX.  The Wichita Falls group has partnered with Christ Pres. in the construction for about the last 14 years.  So many hugs and hand shakes were exchanged.  After a brief introduction meeting by the Constructores staff, the Wichita Falls group and our group went out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  Witch was a great time to fellowship and chat.  Bed time did not follow too long after.

This brings us to today.  After and early 5:30am wake up call, we spent the morning putting the walls up in the house.  The walls are made of concrete cinder blocks and went up very quickly.  There are still a few feet left to build, however, our progress and attitude is great.  We had the chance to work side by side with the future home owners.  Their appreciation and effort to help is tremendous. 

God has really been revealing himself through the relationships here.  There are so much laughter and smiles between groups and on the work sights.  He is breaking down cultural barriers to allow us to serve as one community along side the natives.  We ask for your prayers as we continue to work.  Please pray that God sustains us through this 100+ heat and that we all stay healthy.  Please, also pray that we have the proper mindset in this time of service- that we are here to do Gods work and this is for his glory, not our own. 

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.  Look for more updates as we continue the week.

Blessings,
Jim Lee

Praying for the CPC Mexico Team

Greetings friends, family and other supporters of the CPC Mexico GO Trip Team!

Thank you for your support of our Mexico team as they seek to "see, love, and serve God" in Piedras Negras, MX.  Below are some suggestions of ways to pray for the team while they are gone, as well as a list of the team members.  Thanks so much for your prayer support!

Saturday, June 12

As the team travels to San Antonio, pray for safe travel and pray for their hosts at Constructores para Cristo in Piedras Negras as they prepare to receive the team.

Sunday, June 13

As they head to Piedras Negras on this day of worship, pray for all the churches in Mexico

Monday, June 14

Pray for the team as they begin their work on the houses together.

Tuesday, June 15

Pray for the business, government, and church leaders of Mexico.  Pray for an end to the violence around the drug war that is hurting other parts of Mexico

Wednesday, June 16

Pray for team unity as the work week begins to intensify.

Thursday, June 17

Pray for the families that will be receiving the homes.  Pray also for the many other families in Mexico and worldwide who are in need of safe and secure housing.

Friday, June 18

As the week comes to an end, pray each heart on the team as they reflect on what God has done in their lives this week.

Saturday, June 19

As the team travels home, pray that they can find creative ways to be engaged missionally back home in Minnesota.  Thank God for all that the team learned during the trip.

Team Members 

Joan Bentz - Leader

James Lee - CPC Intern

Michael Scriver

Mitchell Scriver (13)

Grant Scriver (12)

Bradley Kranendonk

Michelle Kranendonk

Jacob Kranendonk (12)

Emily Kranendonk (10)

John Blake (16)

Paul Blake (16)

Margaret Blake

Stephen Blake

Brenna Kelly

Joel Anderson

Sophia Anderson (10)

Olivia Anderson (12)

Christine Morley

Thank you again for your support of the team!

C. John Hildebrand

Associate Director of Missional Engagement

CPC