Jessica is doing well

We just returned from a quick visit to Oaxaca for the WIM Regional Conference and also a visit with Jessica. She is doing very well, loves the children, loves the Casa and loves the variety of responsibilities she has. It is hard to believe she will be home in three weeks. The time has gone by very quickly for her and us. It will be good to hear her stories and what her future plans are.

While in Mexico we celebrated the 10th birthday of Carmen. She had a great time with the other MK's and really enjoyed seeing her sister.

The first photo is Jessica with one of the special children she helps care for. The second photo is Carmen on her special day.

Jessica to Oaxaca, Mexico

Friends,

Many of you know that our daughter Jessica will be leaving Sept 8 for a 3 month missionary internship serving at an orphanage in Oaxaca, Mexico. We are very proud of her following the leading of the Lord and not being pressured into the university trap that so many young people find themselves. We are praying that the Lord will give her clear guidance and wisdom for what her next education is to be.

Please pray for her to have a quick cultural adjustment and to get use to the lifestyle at the Casa. Pray for her parents not to be too sad and to have the right words to say when necessary. Pray for mom & dad, her brother and sister to make the adjustment of not having a daughter/sibling around all the time.

Thank you for your support of our family. May the Lord bless you all.

Japan

Sorry it has been so long since we have written. Life is very busy but nothing compared to the pace they keep in Japan. The people of Japan literally run at a break neck speed to work and work is their life.

Japan is a country like no other that I have visited. In Tokyo, there is an estimated 33 million people living in a small area surrounded by mountains and sea. It has hundreds of tall buildings and an incredible mass transit system. The food is very unusual and definitely not my favorite. The people are wonderful and most of them have an understanding of English. They are all polite, they want to please you in everything they do and are very hard working.

While there I was able to meet with the leaders of PAZ Japan, the organization WIM has partnered with. They do church planting, leadership training and also have been working in the disaster relief. I also was able to visit WIM missionary Janine Geekie, whom he and Vonda had trained in Mexico. It was great to see how well she is doing and all that she is involved in. I did a teaching on making disciples with the leaders of the FUSE and shared a little of what God is doing in the places I have traveled. Though time did not allow me to go to the disaster area, I saw photos and heard incredible stories of what has happened since the earthquake/tsunami. The relief effort will be ongoing for the next several years.

The highlight of the trip was ministering with Aaron who has been in Japan for a month. We walked all over the Norborito neighborhood where the church was, shared good laughs and lots of good father/son time. It was neat to see him lead the street band outreaches outside of the train stations or in an area of the city that has thousands of people congregating or passing through in the evenings. He led worship at the FUSE church plant and even sang in Japanese.

I have now completed 5 international ministry trips since February. This would not be possible without faithful people like you who pray for us and give to us. God has supplied for each trip the funds for airfare and ground expenses while in country. We appreciate you all very much and pray God’s blessings for you and your families.

Honduras - Amazing

I am writing this from Mexico while my thoughts are fairly fresh. I wanted to share an overview of an amazing trip to Honduras. The first 4 days I was with the Destino ministry team, the next 5 days with a group of teens from St. Louis and I ended the trip spending time with our Intern Missionary. Thank you for praying and being an encouragement while I was gone.


The time spent with the Destino Ministry team in La Entrada went very well. This team is an all Honduran and I am a “father figure” to many of them. They are a great team with many things going on. On Tuesday night, the day I arrived, I challenged the church to have great faith, courage and determination. I know I connected because the next day they put into practice what I shared. We went into the mountains and ministered to children and young adults with disabilities. The Pastor (Juanca) has a vision to establish a ministry to these people in a rural area along the Honduran/Guatemalan border.


While in route to the last and most remote village the brakes went out on the pickup truck. Undeterred the Pastor prayed for the vehicle and we pressed on down the “road”. We had no more brake issues with that vehicle. The vehicle I was driving was supposed to have a full reserve tank but when I switched it was empty. We prayed God would provide enough fuel to finish the day and then get back to the city. There was nowhere to leave the vehicle and we had too many people to fit into the other vehicles we had. We finished the day and returned to the city with a flat line empty tank but never running out!!


The ministry time in this remote area was great. We gave out late Christmas presents to 27 children, had a meal together and shared a couple of hours together. We then took out to visit other villages “further down the road” to find others with disabilities and meet their families. The Pastor was determined to get to the end of the road on this trip. Once we arrived, Juanca and I went looking for the children with needs. The rest of the team did an outreach to the children of the village. When we returned there were more than 50 children participating. We left as the sun set and got back to the city 4.5 hours later rejoicing in what God had done during this day.


The next day we went to San Pedro Sula to visit several high schools and invite them to an event that night. There was a huge crowd, more than 3000 young people and the group ministered in a powerful way. This was the first night of a three night campaign by the churches to take this colonia back from the gangs. We did not participate in the other two nights but reports were very positive.


Friday was a slower day but ended with me grilling meat for the leaders of the congregation and teaching on servant leadership. They got to see firsthand what servant leadership looks like in practice.


Saturday I met the group from St Louis and we headed to the girls home near La Esperanza. I was there until Thursday morning. The girl’s home is an amazing work ministering to 25 girls from horrible backgrounds. The group loved on the girls and did special events with them. They also did several outreaches in the schools while I worked on many plumbing issues around the campus. You know how much I love plumbing and the nearest hardware store was an hour away!


On Wednesday we walked down the mountain into a village about 2 hours away. We had an incredible time of ministry at the school and 11 girls from the home participated. It was a blessed time not only for the group but also the children in the school. The worst part was walking out. It was quite a climb but we all made it out and have many stories to share about this part of the trip.


On my last full day in Honduras I went to Siguatepeque by bus to visit our intern who has been studying language. We had a blessed time together sharing about some of my adventures and listening to her Honduran adventures for the last six months. She was greatly encouraged by my visit and I am sure she will finish her time there very well.


I know this is just a sketch of what all happened and there is so much more I could share but I wanted to let you know some of the high points. You all are special to us and have an important part in our ministry. THANK YOU!


Blessings

Chris

Bolivia

Hello Friends,

Travel to and in Bolivia is always an adventure and this trip was no different. We were delayed more than a day in getting to Sucre by bad weather but God redeemed the time and we accomplished all of our objectives. It was great to travel with Pastor Gaylon Vinson and enjoy our time together.

We had a great time visiting with our people. They are doing a great work and making an impact for Jesus. One church is about 150 and very solid, another is about 150 all youth and children! What a blessing to see these young people seeking to know more about the Lord. I had the privilege to speak to the teenagers.

Another ministry is a daily radio program, an outreach to children and training for children's workers. Such creativity this couple has and they involve their entire family in the radio broadcasts and outreaches.

Thank you for your prayers. We appreciate them very much. My next trip will be to Honduras and Mexico during the first 3 weeks of March.

May you all have a blessed day!

Update on Aaron

Wowzers, it's been so long since anybody has posted on here. Well, the short of things is that all three of us kids are still in school, Mom is volunteering at Carmen's school and the church's food pantry, and Dad is still working at WIM throughout the week.
As for the long of it, since this is Aaron writing, I will update everyone a bit on my life. Since I got back from Asia last summer, God has really been working in new ways in my life. Growing up in missions, I always assumed that the calling I was feeling on my life was to full-time mission work. Now I am not so sure. Needless to say, everyday American life has taken its toll on me, but at the same time, I am not feeling the strong call to full-time as I thought I had then. I continue to seek God's will through it all, and I know foreign missions will indeed be a big part of my life in the future, just maybe not the whole of it. In the meantime, I have been fully involved here in Texas. I am now officially a member of Dayspring Christian Fellowship here in New Braunfels. With that taken care of, I continue with my weekly participation on the worship and media team each Sunday. Youth ministry continues to be my main focus, leading worship for them as well on Wednesday nights and co-leading the Jr. High class with Dad. On Tuesdays, I volunteer at the church food pantry the SILO, and once a month lead worship for God's PowerHouse, the kid's ministry on Sunday. So between that, working at Subway, and a full 18 hour semester of schoolwork, I stay pretty busy. Nonetheless, I still find plenty of time to spend with my wonderful family, sweet girlfriend Kelly, or my crazy friends Vince and Jymmi...

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Dad's update about his current trip to Bolivia!!!

~ Aaron