Border Trip: Testimonies!

We've been back less than a week, and already the team is telling stories that are circulating here at Grand Parkway. It is truly enjoyable to hear everyone's different experiences as we all experienced the One, True God - and He is good, sovereign, meticulous, and free. Here are some of the testimonies from the trip that was just taken to the Border, specifically to Elsa, TX, June 7-10, 2010.

Please be in prayer for the team headed to Russia for ten days beginning tomorrow, June 17, 2010...and now for the testimonies!

I've been back for several days now from our trip to the Border, with much time to reflect on all that God provided for everyone involved. To be sure, the tale is too big to tell, but what keeps rising to the top is a story of God's sovereignty. We'd planned on going across the border to a small town in Mexico, Nuevo Progreso, but the State Department banned travel to the state in which that city resided, and our local partner, Pastor Freddy, had decided that he was not going to make any trips across the border. To say the least, the team was disappointed. We were forced, almost against our collective will to stay stateside and minister to the neighborhoods and people of Pastor Freddy's church in Elsa, TX. Although many of us didn't feel like it, we were obedient, in the face of our own preference.We listened, submitted, and heard the continual call to 'Go!'. The youth of our church were amazing in their pursuit to reach the local kids in Elsa through selfless love and devotion. They were inviting of locals in games, flexible like Gumby, and didn't complain once. I am so proud of what God did through them, and for them. It was amazing to experience alongside the kids, but also the parents. Although we participated inVBS,and construction for more than two days, it was not until the last night, after all the work had been done - after a new roof and hot water heater were installed, a gas line was broken (then fixed!), a new porch was built, a new screen door was installed, a complete rehab of an interior room was performed, a new sink was installed which stopped a year-long water leak...and after two days of VBS, sports evangelism, songs and dancing, and an impromptu food pantry, that we found out the incredible reason we were there: to participate in pure and undefiled religion, visiting and caring for widows and orphans in their time of need. A local widow, Monse, whose house we worked on, stood up at our service on Wednesday night and told the story of how God has remained faithful to her throughout all her years, even in the face of her son's drug addiction, her husband's untimely death, and especially as she raises her two grandchildren. The story she told began in March of this year when she surveyed her home and realized that her home (especially her roof), would not withstand a hurricane if one came through during this year's hurricane season. She had no money or resources to fix it, so she prayed to the One who did. She soon caught a vision that four men would fix her roof. Two months later, in May, four men showed up at her house and asked if she needed any work done on her home: those four people were Pastor Freddy, Frank (Freddy's right hand man), Mark Brooker and myself. We went down to scout our new plans for our trip, on this side of the border. A month after our scouting trip, Monse's needs were met, her house secured for any imminent storm, and all she could muster in English was "Thank you Jesus!" Needless to say, her testimony showed us that if our mission was merely to be agents of God's love to one of His widows, and to show her how much he loves just her, it was more than worth the time, money, effort, prayers, and sweat put into this trip. God was honored, glorified, and His renown was told of through the obedience of 32 people from Grand Parkway. It is amazing to sit back now, in my comfortable, air-conditioned home with food in the pantry and wonder what else God has in store for the rest of the trips this summer. If he's done this for Monse, for us, and for His glory, with what else will He amaze us this summer, year, and lifetime?

- Lance Williams, Trip Leader

We arrived to find we were in a flash flood and it rained 3 1/2 inches in two hours. I guess God needed us to see Monce's home and the immense water damage to the ceiling in the room where we were to tear out sheetrock.Which led to tearing out the ceiling and replacing it along with the insulation. Amazing. What a mighty God we serve who knows all and helps us! I learned from this trip. God is in control.

He will get things accomplished whether we know it or not. He will use us if we are willing to trust him and GO!

I was so blessed to give God the glory and to hear a spanish speaking lady walk around the house with tears flowing saying,“Thank you Jesus!” when the electricity was restored to the right side of her home. She just said, “Hallelujah to Jesus!” (in English)

I know God sent a bunch of people she didn't know to do things we all didn't know how to accomplish, and answer her prayer for the weeks before with Hurricane season coming.

He sent the rain, and he delayed the roofer's trip to work in Louisiana so he could help us get finished. WOW! May we never tire of doing good.

My kids are asking to go back next year... and this wasn't Disney World. Crazy! Great!

- Gary, Desiree, Bailey and Cody

I saw God change our plans months before the trip so that we "had" to stay on the Texas side of the border, answering Madam Monse's months-long prayer for her house to be fixed. I saw God bring non-church-goers and non-believers to the local church because of a simple 2- day VBS. You know, most of the time you don't get to see the direct results and rewards of mission work, but in those 2 days God allowed us to see the fruit of our short work. And it was amazing! God is so good and so faithful!

- Jo Jo Goodman

I saw God roll a storm in to test our flexibility, provide an alternate place to host VBS, bring people to the church service on Wednesday. God is love and our students showed the power of the Holy Spirit when they included the other kids that had come to the church Monday night in the game they were playing. It is always a blessing to go on mission trips and get to know other church members better.We have a wonderful church body and a lot of really wonderful people as family.

As always each and every time I go on one of these trips I am humbled at what God has blessed me with. I am in need of nothing, He has provided my everything. Praise God.

- Dennis Scott

The most profound way God touched my heart during our border trip was through a girl who had undisciplined behavior and didn't seem interested in hearing anything about

God. Later, she wanted someone to pray for her, and when I did, all of the judgmental feelings I had just melted away as God opened my spiritual eyes and showed me how much he loved this girl and wanted to heal her heart.

- CharWagstaff

I saw God bless a widow and her grandchildren in a miraculous way that was an answer to her very prayers. God blessed all of us in many ways such as the joy of serving together, being blessed by the gratitude and faithfulness of the church in Elsa. The pastor and his staff at the Church of Acts demonstrated their love for God by opening up their church on the spur of the moment to hold VBS and a food

bank. Their attitude that God is in control verified the beauty of flexible people joining God in Kingdom work - wow. It was awesome to get feedback from people who were praying for us back home, and confirm that God was speaking to us, and then Lance's

message confirmed what God was speaking into my life. The church service and preaching was great and it was special to hear it translated into Spanish. Anthony's guitar playing and praise music touched me. Pastor Freddy, Frank, Ray & Judy, Leroy, the GPBC mission team, and many others were such a joy to serve, worship, and fellowship with. This trip was a spiritual boost for me!

-Russ Wagstaff

I don't have any big revelations, although I've seen God work in a number of ways. One simple way was the fact I was strongly led to pack my voltmeter even though we had no intention of doing electrical work.Without it I don't think I could have fixed any of it, apart from just buying another one. It is the one tool I was specifically led to take, and really the only one I needed that I couldn't do without. Second, the fact that the rain came, which caused us to start inside, and basically slowed us down which allowed us to get help from the locals and accomplish more overall.Third, my heart really wasn't into going because we've been so focused on the girls’ trip, but when Madam Monse got down on her knees and thanked God, and I heard how she had prayed for help, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

- Ken Goodman

God used this trip to remind me how powerful prayer is. Seeing all of our plans upended because God chose to answer a widow’s prayers was amazing to witness.As long as we are people of prayer we are never without recourse. It was also very neat to meet members of the Body of Christ from Elsa and find that although we had no people, places or history in common, we were instantly friends because of our relationship with Christ. It was

humbling to see how much bigger and stronger the Church is than our local view.

- Misty Brown

Important Upcoming Dates

Applications are due by this Sunday, 31 January 2010.
You can turn them in to one of the Missions Team members or place them in The Box by the stairs.

Large Group Trip Training is set for the second weekend in February.

• 12 February 2010 -
  Registration starts at 5:45 pm, with dinner being provided.
  We will finish the evening by 9:00 pm.
  
  
• 13 February 2010 -
  Check in starts at 8:30 am. Just a reminder - we will not be providing breakfast - please eat before you come. We will be providing lunch and snacks.
  We will finish the day at 3:30 pm.

Each individual trip will meet at least 3 times prior to their trip, dates to be set by team leaders and announced during large group training.

Going Global - November 1, 2009

Our church is having what we call Going Global this Sunday.

I’m sure many of you have heard about it – but do you really know what it means? What about when we talk about going to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth – do you know where that comes from? What about why we are making such a strong push for missions – what’s the big deal?

God has called every one of us to missions. Now, don’t get all up in arms thinking to yourself that he most certainly has NOT called me to Africa or Timbuktu. God has called us all to missions. Like we’ve been teaching the kids in Music and Missions on Wednesday nights – the mission field is all around us. Our kids are missionaries every time they go to school and are surrounded by their friends. They share God’s love every time they share paper or pencils or crayons. Or stand up for the kid being picked on by the school bully. You are on a mission field every day you go to work or go to lunch with your co-workers. All you have to do is look around.

Matthew 28:18-20 (English Standard Version)
18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

God has called us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father , the Son, and the Holy Spirit. . . that is why we are making is such a big deal at Grand Parkway – God has called us to Go.

Now what about that Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of the earth reference – what’s that about?

Acts 1:8 says “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." To us at Grand Parkway we’ve broken that down.

When we say Jerusalem we mean missions and missionaries that are close to home like My Brother’s Keeper, or Kids Hope USA and the Prison Ministry. We also serve at a Nursing Home and by something we call Worship Abroad where we send out our people on a Sunday morning to work and serve our community. The most recent example of this was when a team went to Oyster Creek Elementary to work on their landscaping. Some of our local missionaries are Norm and Fran West who have huge hearts for the Turkish people. They used to serve in Turkey and have settled here in Houston only to find one of the largest communities of Turkish peoples in the US.

Every time we talk about Jerusalem we are talking about mission opportunities in our backyard – things that anyone can be a part of. It doesn’t take giving up your job to move across the globe – just giving up a weekend, or an afternoon, or even ten minutes. Anyone can do that and we are all called to it.

When we use the term Judea and Samaria it just means that we are talking about missions and missionaries a little farther from home. Those include our Border Mission, Pastor Freddy, and our work down in Galveston this past summer. As far as commitment from you it might mean a few more days off work than just a Friday. It might mean having to get a passport if you’re going into Mexico to work with Pastor Freddy. It might even mean that you get hot and sweaty and dirty. But you know what else means . . . it means that you get to help build houses for an old woman whose walls are falling down around her. It means playing with kids who can’t help but smile and that smile lights up their face and your day. It means going to Galveston with your kids and building houses that were destroyed in a hurricane over a year ago that have yet to be repaired on the inside. What a great time to talk to your kids about how those houses can be like people. The outsides look so put together but on the inside decrepit and moldy . . . broken and yet not beyond repair. Just think about the conversations that could take place if parents would go on missions with their kids and began working for the Kingdom alongside them, the passion that would then begin to grow in them!

To the ends of the Earth means just that. It’s all our missions and missionaries that cover different continents.

Some Missionaries we support are the Epleys in South Asia, the “G” family in Central Asia, and the Peklenks who served in Russia but are back in the states for a while, as well as the Carty’s who were members of our church but were called to go work at Answering the Call.

Answering the Call is a ministry that has created a safe place for pastors from all over the world to; be served, ministered to, and to be refreshed. For some this may be the last time this side of Heaven to experience any of that. It’s also a place to learn all they can so that they can take it back to their own people.

We have also partnered with an orphanage in Lopuhinka Russia. I had the pleasure of working with the older kids this past summer and they actually asked us why we were there. Why when it was so expensive, and so far away did we come? Why we didn’t use our vacation time to be with our families? Why them? What an AMAZING time to tell them about God’s love and that he called us thousands of miles away to see them!!

So this is why we “Pray, Send and Go”. This is why we are having a Sunday devoted to Going Global. Because God called us and there are people waiting for you. An old woman waiting for you to wheel her from her room to sing the same hymn for the millionth time but still brings tears to her eyes. A child bouncing up and down in his chair unable to contain his excitement for his one hour a week with you. A pastor waiting to have his feet washed, and to be prayed over for most likely the last time before he sees Jesus. A child waiting to hear that you flew half way across the world just for her. That is why we hear the call to Go and say “Send Me!”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

Will you Go?

Going Global - November 1st

My Brother's Keeper

My Brother’s Keeper is an outreach center in the Alief community which provides assistance that stabilizes and strengthens individuals and families in crisis. It does this by providing food and clothing, financial assistance, and counseling. During the past year, we assisted with their Thanksgiving and Easter outreaches. Renae Nelson, a member of our church, directs this mission and we are honored to come alongside her.

At the Thanksgiving outreach, our people brought bundles of food to the church. All of that bounty made it possible for My Brother’s Keeper to give out 505 meals to families, feeding a total of 2,320 people. This was only MBK’s second year to provide Thanksgiving meals. For the Easter outreach, we provided dozens of Resurrection Eggs, which are a unique tool to share the story of the resurrection.

Be watching for details on upcoming church wide outreaches at My Brother's Keeper.

On Wednesday nights we have Music and Missions - a time when our kids learn the songs we sing on Sundays so they can join in and sing praises to the King right along with everyone else. But not only do they learn the songs - they learn what the words they are singing mean. We go through the songs line by line making sure that they understand and many times their understanding of the words or their explanations have bring tears to the eyes of those lucky enough to be helping out with these amazing children.

In addition to learning the songs we also teach them about missions. What it means to be on mission. Who God has called. Answering the questions - do I have to be a certain age, do I have to go away from home.

Each week we either learn about a missionary, or mission opportunity in our area. For the last two weeks we have been telling them about My Brother’s Keeper and the great things they do for our community, especially for Thanksgiving. We called upon their artistic abilities to decorate the bags that will be filled with all kinds of Thanksgiving yumminess to be handed out this year. Here are just a few pictures of our kids hard at work!!

The Peklenk Family

Carl and Debbie Peklenk have a heart for Russia. Over the past several years, their ministry has been to establish churches in Russia through teaching and fellowship, by training a new generation of church planters in the former Soviet Union. Carl has worked in a church that was
planted, discipling others to do the same. Debbie’s full time job includes managing their children's
schooling and personal needs. They have two precious children, Stevie and Julianne, who were adopted from Russia. They are presently back in the United States where Carl is working to recruit more future church planters.

BACK AND ADJUSTING

We have been back in the States since November 2008 and are still adjusting. It has not been easy to catch up with all the ways our home country has changed. The last we lived here without planning to soon return was 1992. Please do pray for us as we transition back – to this fast-paced life, finding bargain shopping, just getting day to day tasks done...

NEW MINISTRY INITIATIVE
We have officially been on Medical Leave since returning from Russia in November. I (Carl) am now moving into Recruitment for TEAM. There is a somewhat new approach to recruitment which lays stress on coaching and personal development. I am coming up to speed on what this
means and understanding where the younger generations are "at". My efforts are focused at
Columbia International University and surrounding regional churches.

ASK THE FATHER:

•Pray that God will connect us with those He’s calling to serve cross-culturally.
•Pray especially for a woman named Elizabeth, as she is seriously considering serving God in Russia.
•Pray for continued adjustment to life here in the U.S.
•Please join us in prayer for God’s complete provision of all our monthly financial support.

THANK THE FATHER:

•We are grateful for a recent weekend of encouragement and rest. God is so good.