Saturday, July 19, 2014

Called to Serve

The dorm was buzzing with excitement last night!  Yesterday, we had another great day!  We spent a few hours in chapel this morning with Eddy, ate lunch and then we were on our way to finish the homes that we couldn't complete because of the huge rainstorm on Monday.  When they were complete, we had extra time for a bath at the bath house, or some used that time to rest and hang out.  We had a Cornerstone debrief with Clint at 4:30 pm, then we were off to dinner.  We played games, studied, had conversations, or enjoyed the beautiful, cool breezed evening.
Even though many are excited to return to the states, there is a sense of sadness, as well.  We are going to miss this place, this place where many have found a new love each other, for the Mexican people and for their culture.  A new love was found for serving and for Jesus Christ.
Prayers that are needed are for safety on our whole trip back, for a stress free and problem free crossing over the border back into the states, for everyone on the trip, upon returning, to have a calm transition back into the lives that we know.
Thank you, Caravan Ministries and Tijuana, for your love and hospitality!  Thank you, God, for showing us how to love the way that you love and for showing us what it is to truly serve in your name.

"God has not called me to be successful, he has called me to be faithful." {Mother Teresa}

Vicky Little























Friday, July 18, 2014

Reality sinks in...

Today, we split up into three groups.

One group went to an orphanage to play with the children there.  We brought them lunch and were able to spend 4 hours with them.  

The second group went to Spectrum Ministry Center where they cleaned the local children's hair and the little girls were given hair do's by our group.  

The last group went to the local dump where local families reside.  The families pick through trash to find food and other items of value that they can recoup.  Our team brought much needed meals to them and were able to see first hand what a tragedy this situation really is. 

Today was especially hard for a lot of us...

Unfortunately, because of the sensitive nature of the places that we visited today, we will not be posting pictures of those visits on the blog.  Photos were not allowed to be taken at Spectrum or at the dump.  They were allowed at the orphanage and it will be at the discretion of each person whether they share those photos with their friends and family.  Thank you for understanding...


When asked if they could describe their week in just one or two words, here are some of those responses:

grateful
enlightening
eye opening
exuberant
do-able
fantastic
awesome
view changing
breathtaking
gracious
blessed
glorifying
changing
humbled
coca cola
inspiring
indescribable
great God-adventure
heartbreaking
humbling
hope
heartfelt
thankful
phenomenal
crazy
mind blowing
humility
impactful
challenging
encouraging
meaningful
life changing
joyful
smiles-tears
familia time
heart wrenching
different
serving
adventurous
worth it
great experience




Vicky Little
























Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20


We have had so many great activities this week along with working at the home sites.  We start our morning with prayer and devotion and then eat breakfast.  Next, we meet as a group upstairs for prayer and devotion with Eddy, the coordinator of Caravan Ministries.  We then spend time in worship, followed by the speaker.  The speakers always have some great challenges that they present to the group.  The majority of the day is then spent loading up our vehicles with all the necessary tools to build the home that we are assigned to.  We pray before the build, during the build as some groups walk through the neighborhood and then after the build with the family.  In the evening after dinner, we worship and Clint conducts a team debrief and devotion.  We have all been reading the book "All In" by Mark Batterson.  This has been a great tool for us to glean from.  Our days have been spent devoted to honoring God by serving his people, prayer and worship.

The power and the love of God is evident in our daily rituals.  He has shown up in so many ways throughout this trip.  But unfortunately, it is so easy to fall back into the normalcy of life when we return.  Upon returning home, here are a few suggestions to help keep your loved ones inspired and to encourage them to act on what they have learned this week. 

-Ask questions:
What was your favorite speaker this week?
What challenge(s) that were presented spoke to you the most?
When did God touch your heart the most?

-Encourage them to tell stories of each of the homes that they visited

-Encourage them to talk about leaders or other students who may have impacted them by their words of encouragement or acts of kindness and love

-Help them create a bulletin board where they can pin their mission photos

-Have them write thank you letters to the leaders and to share their favorite experience

-Pray with them

I'm sure there are so many more ways but most importantly, love them and hug them so much.  They've worked hard, they've missed you and will come home wrecked and on fire for God.

  "I have but one candle of life to burn and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light." {John Keith Falconer}


Vicky Little
















A special thanks to the Photo/Blog Team and other great people in the group who have taken and shared great photos!

Find more photos at the facebook page below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CornerstoneBWHSM/





Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Photos Posted on Facebook

I didn't get a chance to post last night but please check out the High School Ministries page where I have posted many photos.  I will be posting more here and on the facebook page later tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CornerstoneBWHSM/


Vicky Little

Monday, July 14, 2014

We built a Primera Casita!


This morning we heard a great message from Eddy, the coordinator for Caravan ministries.  He shared on four areas in which to imitate Paul.  (1 Cor 11:1)
He shared that Paul was:
1. Converted~his life was changed.
2. Compelled to preach the truth.
3. Committed to serve with wreckless abandon
4. Contented in Him and Him alone.

We also watched an amazing video about Brooks (a missionary from Papua New Guinea) and his family.  When talking to the students today, most mentioned the video in their comments.  We are all excited to know that we will be hearing from Brooks tomorrow morning in person.


Today was a great day!  We built a home!  We met families and they fed us.  The food was AAAAMAZING!  We split up into teams of about 12 people each.  It was extremely hot and just when a lot of us were winding down on the build, there was the most amazing spontaneous rain storm!


Of course there are so many more great things to share about our day but we will let those stories come home to be shared on Saturday.  We have so many photos but because of the very slow internet connection, we are unable to upload very many at a time.

Parents!!  Your children are safe and well fed.  They are happy and excited to work.  Most importantly, hearts are being softened...and humbled.  You have amazing young adults that are showing their love for Christ in their acts of servant hood.


We interviewed some students and some adults and here were their responses to "My most memorable moment so far...

Teaching some of the kids English words.  They would say a word in Spanish and then we would tell them what that word was English.  {Jenna Y.}


When it just started raining sporadically.  It was totally a God thing.  {Michael F.}

I think the rain was pretty cool.  It was an interesting twist to what we were doing.  Especially knowing that it doesn’t rain here very often.  {Quinn}

Painting with the kids…watching them paint their house.  They didn’t want you to paint over the spot where they painted.  {Jordan E.}


I liked talking to the kids and trying out my broken Spanish with them and trying to creating a bond with them.  Also battling Jeff in the “who could saw wood faster” contest.  {Dalton C.}

Trying to communicate with the kids and getting called a boy.  {Monique C.}


I liked being able to help the family by building their home.  {Breana T.}



Probably when Clint’s tire exploded.  And just talking with the kids…attempting to speak Spanish.  {Andrew C.}

When started it started to rain…hearing it in the distance and then all of a sudden it started to pour.  
{Rissa N.}



The flash raining.  {Patrick T.}

The rain was fun and talking to the kids was fun.  Oh, and the food was GOOD!!  They made chicken with red sauce and white rice and tortillas.  {Angie L.}



Watching Emily’s siblings helping to build the house.  {Mikah T.}

My favorite memory was just working together.  It was interesting to see how people worked together.  Some people were leaders and some were followers and I liked the way that everyone went out of their comfort zone but still had fun.  {Simone C.}


I liked seeing the kids put on our sunglasses.  They were so talkative and they just had really cute personalities!  {Fallon B.}


Just seeing Emily back in her element.  Seeing her light up and seeing what God has done in her life here.  {Dave H.}


Either the truck getting stuck in the mud today or playing tic-tac-toe with the kids because that was pretty much the only thing that we understood of each other.  {Coby C.}

Written by:
Vicky Little

Photos by:
Mary Norcross, Rissa Nava, Tom Chu, Monique Cornelius, Vicky Little


Sunday, July 13, 2014

Goodbye, Brentwood...hello, El Florido!


Hey, everyone!!  Just a quick update before they call lights out!  We made it to El Florido around 8:30 pm and very quickly were ushered into our new home for the week.  We were welcomed by an awesome staff here!  As we drove up, we were so happy to see our very own, Kelsi Breznik's face in the crowd!  She did such a great job giving us the run down on what we are doing everyday and basically what to expect.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed financially, created job opportunities, for all the prayers and the continued prayers that you've given to everyone who decided to come on this trip. Thank you to everyone who have worked tirelessly to organize this trip, to those leaders who spent countless hours making sure that we could get to Mexico without any glitches!

Please pray for this team of 72 students and adults as we try to adjust to a different lifestyle.  Also be praying that we all are open to hearing what God wants to impress upon our hearts during this trip.

Written by:
Vicky Little

Photos by:
Vicky Little



Friday, June 13, 2014

Details for Hume Lake



 Alright! We leave in two days!!! Get ready for a week of fun!!!

1)      Please meet at 9:30am at Freedom High School this Sunday for check-in.
2)      Pick-up will be at a different location. Please pick up your student on Saturday June 21st at the Lone Tree Ministry Center (6651 Lone Tree Way, Brentwood). We plan to arrive back at 1:30pm.
3)      Please pack a lunch for your student on the way up to Hume as the bus will not make any stops.
4)      Here is some packing information:
What to bring: Medicine (in its original container), sleeping bag, pillow, towel, washcloth, toiletries, warm and cool clothes, jacket, sandals, athletic shoes, modest swim suits, Bible, notebook, pencil and flashlight. 
Optional: $70 spending money. (this is for snack shacks, rental equipment, hume clothing store, etc) 
Girls: no short-shorts, bare midriffs or spaghetti straps. A dark shirt must be worn over two-piece swim suits. 
Guys: no sagging pants or shorts and no speedo swim suits.

Spirit Day: This is an optional dress-up day for campers. The theme for this year is "Rad Plaid and Burly Beards."

The website for Hume Lake is: humelake.org.

This is the Link to check out the "2013 Ponderosa Promo" 

HUME LAKE HERE WE COME!!!