Jr. High Mission trip to Mexico, 2008

03/29/2008
After the greatest Thursday ever, we decided to let the kids have a
free day. We went to la Puebla and spent the day shopping.

The trip has come to an end, and I am sad to return home. No more
sunshine and blue skies. No more Eduardo waiting outside the door for
us to cone out. No more Adam, kristi, and Alistair. No more mexican
food. No more looking dumb trying to understand Spanish.

It is 5 am. W are sitting in a bus station in orizaba. Soon we will
be heading toesrss Mexico Vitu, and one more step till home.

The Mission was accomplished. A church has been started. Gil may be
in heaven, but his dream and vision of a new church has come to
fruition.

Pastor Ernesto Alaniz

03/28/2008
I don't even know what to say. Hundreds came. Hundreds. Our kids,
your kids, ministered in a powerful way.

I can honestly say, that God showed up.

People confessed Christ. Inroads were made in the community. It was
awesome. In my whole life, i have never seen anything like it.

So, we are tired and spent.

I will write more later.

-ernesto

03/27/2008
Brothers,
It is Thursday, the day of the concert. We do not yet have the drums, keyboard, or amps. We are working hard preparing the house for tonight. Word of mouth has spread incredibly. Everybody knows about tonight. Everybody! Your kids have knocked on every door in this village. They have visited and fellowshipped and played with many.

Last night the boys went out and played mad soccer with the mexicans. They had thirty spectators as the gringos faced off against the mexicans. In the end, our kids won the day.

The girls spent the afternoon painting the entire courtyard. A huge job, but the girls did incredible.

Earlier in the day, we took the team by twos to the Catholic Church. It was a hard experience for many of them. They had no idea that a ¨church¨ could feel so empty and evil. To quote Jarrett Harmon, Ï thought there were demons there. I thought the idols would just stand up and start talking.¨ I am glad they were able the to see the wrongness and the sadness that exists in this syncrestic religion.

Classes are going awesome. Adam taught us about Communion in the morning, and the afternoon session was love.

Yesterday was truly a missionary day. There are no phones in La Perla. There is no internet. Not only that, but the city shuts down the water every other day. We thought we would be safe because it was Easter week. We were wrong. They turned the water off yesterday. Now, to begin with, there are 22 of us and only one bathroom. So it has been a crazy time of things already. But when we lost water....man oh man. The boys built a makeshift outhouse (the grossest thing I have ever seen) and everybody did their best to have a good attitude. But some of us were nasty. The boys were sweaty messes from soccer. The girls were splattered with yellow paint. And me and Greg had cement in our hair! Man oh man.

We have done so much here. We have painted this home, which will soon house the church. We added plugs and redid the electrical. We ran water to become independent of the city (arghhhhh!!!). Hooked up a stove, plumbed for a washer, scrapped every room in the house, completely cleaned out the side and back yards and made them livable. But there is so much to be done.

Greg and Joe have been so helpful. They know how to do everything. I feel like a shmooface when I am around them. They really keep the team working. They work harder then everyone else. When we get back, do me a favor and give these two some mad love. Shoot, all of our leaders have been awesome. Mrs. Sheri and Mrs. Cromp are painting queens. And Mrs. Ivy trims up every room we plow through. Mad props to all my adult leaders. Oh, and having Jeff and Samuel is incredible. They are like cherry on a cake.

Speaking of cake, a family here in town made a cake for us. It is just so exciting to see the town accept us so freely.

Well, I have to get to work.

-ernesto

03/26/2008
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things have still to be done in this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you in this city

For us, the city is la Perla. Tonight, we stood around the fire and
worshipped. In a town where God recieves no praise, we sang out. It
us an amazing thing, to be the first to lift up God's name. And we
will not be the last.

This town is stirring. People are taking. Today, we knocked on every
door in this village. Everyone knows about our upcoming concert.
People are beginning to come over to visit. I think we are going to
see an amazing thing here.

Drew is sick in his stomach right now. Please pray for him. And
Alyssa is not feeling well either.

The kids are working so hard. We have to completely strip the walls,
and then paint. They are being champs. But continue to pray for the
team. Some kids are selfless, while others are selfish. Some serve,
others wait to be served. I hope God grabs all of us.

Tommorow is another day in town. Pray as we speak broken Spanish and
love the people freely.

Pastor Ernesto Alaniz

03/25/2008
Brothers in Christ,
I am actually sitting at a keyboard instead of an iphone. Today is a very important day, and we need much prayer. Today the kids will be going door to door and sharing Jesus. Teams will consist of four kids, one translator, and one team leader. This is going to be a very large stretch for our youth, and for our leaders. But God has a plan, and I believe He is going to honor our faithfulness.

The kids have been working all morning, and we are making great progress on the house/church. Please pray for us as we get ready for Thursday night service. Pray for the band, pray for the preaching, pray for the turnout, pray for us to make an impact on this community.

The community here is not very open to the gospel. Turns out their is a strong sense of Catholic identity here. Saints, Mary, and the saints rule here. But it is hard to find Jesus. It is going to be very hard starting a church here. The kids are helping Adam to become well known in our town. They are afectionally called ¨the ball of white kids.¨

Well, I have to get back. More painting to do. And the kids are about to head out into town.

God Bless.

03/25/2008
Brothers,
What a day. The day began late at night, as Adam and I grabbed Jeff from the bus station in orizaba. So our team is now whole. Today began with a devotion by Adam Crumpton. We are studying what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The morning was spent praying. We embarked on a prayer walk. We walked every street of this town. We prayed as we waked. We prayed for people we met, and against the strongholds that are against us.
We walked and met dozens. The kids saw a lot as we walked through town. They saw poverty, and false religion. When we came back, we sent out two teams just to meet and greet people. The kids did great. All the boys got invited to play some soccer with some locals. They met tons of people this way.

Thursday is the big concert, we are inviting the whole town. All these contacts are getting our feet in the door. Then we had afternoon chapel. We learned about repenting and believing. Then we painted. Actually, we primed. The church is going to be
beautiful for our opening service. The kids are dirty, tired, and stretched. Definately a good day.

03/22/2008
Brothers,
We arrive in Mexico to hard news. The team we are working with in Mexico consists of a missionary and an national. Adam is the American. He is a bible teacher who loves God's word. Gil (pronounced hill) is the Mexican, and he is an evangelist. Gil has been very sick. He has cancer. He has planted many churches all over Mexico. It was his desire to see one more church planted. I sat with him three months ago and he told me of his vision. Gil died yesterday. The funeral is today. The team is trying to understand why this happened. Some cry. I am trying to keep it together. And a verse from the past comes floating up. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Gil is home. Gil is with Jesus. I don't know what will happen here. Pray for Gil's family. Pray for the team. We are safe, but we are heavy hearted.

Pastor Ernesto Alaniz
Faith Baptist Church
Jr. High Youth Pastor
Missions Pastor