New Mexico bound

Once again our church is going to New Mexico on a mission trip. This trip we are leading 2 Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) each day. One in the morning & one in the evening. The leftover VBS material from the church has been shipped to use as a resource.

I am directing the 2 VBS. I figure how hard can this be. It should basically be Bible Club but I will have help. Now mind you I realize that 2x a day for 4 days a week will equal 8 Bible clubs. But I'm getting ready.

Last night as I was trying to sleep, I was worrying about how to tell the Bible stories. As I drifted off to sleep my mind kept returning to Sunday School Charlie. I told myself that during lunch today I would look at the SS Charlie stories I have.

My head started hurting something horrible so I came home for lunch early thinking maybe a few minutes nap would help relieve the headache. I sat on the couch with my feet propped up but couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about SS Charlie & trying to figure out which story would work best. The first one has a lot to do with idols...it's a good story...but I wasn't too comfortable taking that one with me. The 3rd story was about a Little League ball game. I could take that one...but just didn't feel comfortable. The 2nd one seemed to keep popping up in my head. So I got up from my nap and looked for the #2 Sunday School Charlie story. I found it and read through the story. 2 of the 4 Bible stories (in the VBS curriculum) are included in this lesson. Day 1 talks about them going to chapel but does not have a Bible story so I can include one in there. The last day ends at a campfire service...the way that lesson is presented I can add the other Bible story to it. The stories will just be done in a different order than in the VBS manual.

Also I was a little apprehensive about taking flannelgraph with me because I do not know if there will be a flannel board where we're going to be serving. But I have lots of extra felt so I can find a large piece, pack it & when we stop at Wal-mart ask if I could have a box and make a board if there is not one. So now all I have to do is go through my Life of Christ manuals & pull the 2 stories on Zacchaeus & feeding the 5000. That shouldn't be hard at all.

SS Charlie is a 5 day lesson. So I will combine days 2 & 3. I just now need to decide what I can leave out of those 2 days that won't affect the story.

Now if I could just find a bunch of old keys. I could spray paint them gold & use that as my wrapped up item. (A gold key is lost in this SS Charlie story).

Still thinking, planning and praying but seeing more and more the Lord who goes before us in each of our endeavors.

New Mexico #4

After sightseeing Friday, the group drove back to Albuquerque. There they returned the rental vans and stayed in a motel for the night. Their flight left at 6 am Saturday morning.

John loved his time in NM and is ready to go back. He says there is so much potential for this ministry to grow. He prays every night for the orphaned Native American children and also for the current and future ministry of Jack & Jill.

New Mexico #2

Sunday morning the ladies were able to help in the children's Sunday School area. The children really enjoyed the ladies being there. One of the men snuck away from the service to capture some shots.

Then on Wednesday afternoon the whole team went to the school to host a Bible club. John was able to spend about 15-20 minutes with the 3-6 grade boys. The above picture is of the group of them. Below you'll see them involved in an activity...possibly an action song.

New Mexico #1

The mornings started bright & early with breakfasts fixed by John. This picture was actually taken on Sunday morning. They knew they would be getting in late the night before so had asked Jill to purchase some cereals for them. John's actual first cooked meal was Sunday supper.




One of the work projects being done was tiling of a floor. A Native American family had donated a family home to be used for missionary housing. There are currently 2 families staying in the home.




Another project was fixing up this home. Due to health reasons, an adult son was having to move out of his parents' home. This was an ancestral home located near the family.




To thank the team for the wonderful job done on the home, this family had the whole group over one evening for a traditional meal of Navajo fry bread. I believe all the team members loved the evening...the meal & the fellowship.

New Mexico Bound

This group of 11 left from Indian Springs Baptist Church headed toward Ft. Wingate, NM. They had accepted the Lord's call to help a couple with their work with the Native Americans near Gallup. The church bus pulled out of the parking lot Saturday morning (Sept. 5) headed toward Charlotte.




They caught a plane which took them to Dallas/Ft. Worth. There they connected to Albuquerque. They touched down in Albuquerque about 9p.m. MT/11p.m. ET. After renting 2 vans, they drove the approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours to Ft. Wingate without their luggage. It had been lost in the shuffle.




They were staying in the Wingate Baptist Church. Their main purpose was to encourage Jack & Jill and also to see how the church could help them in the future.