Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The View at the Lake

A couple of weekends ago we got a chance to help out at Lakeview for an evangelistic event.  It was a great event.  The whole family was able to go out and work with a bunch of the regular Lakeview volunteers.  Pastor Luis was preaching that day that lead to a few decisions.  The church had worked together to also set up some games and messages for the kids.  As part of this event, a few of the kids from Rockdale Baptist brought some great songs.

Lakeview Songs

The kids got a chance to play some games and sing some songs.  The songs and games all had a great message that pointed to Christ and Salvation!

Lakeview Kids Singing

Lakeview Games

Overall a great activity for everyone:  Visitors and Volunteers alike.

Lakeview Activity

And in the end, sharing the love of Christ is what we are called to do.  So if even one person is touched by what we share, then it is all worth it for God's glory.

Lakeview Kid having fun

Sunday, June 16, 2013

We Live To Serve

We got a chance to go with the family and the Youth group to Medshare to serve again.  Medshare is a great organization that helps to collect medial surplus from hospitals and clinics and send them to third world countries where they are greatly needed.  We were all a bit tired from the drive in movie with the youth the night before... but we had fun and work hard.

Medshare [June 2013]

I loved the smiles the kids had while we worked.  And the discussions about the materials.  There is a joy in serving.. and giving of ones time.  It is one way we love Christ by giving to the "least of these".  And that is something I pray my kids learn and live.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ja Making Me Crazy

This year Matthew and I got a chance to go to the Jamaica Mission trip together. This trip too us to the CCCD in Kingston.  This is a Christian school for the deaf.  This mission trip to the CCCD is a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun.  The mornings are usually filled with construction and painting of various kinds.  Then after 3 the kids are let out and we spend the little remaining energy on the kids with crafts and games.

Jamaica 2013 Team

Click on the picture to see some of the pictures from the trip [or HERE].  We had a great trip and a great time with the kids.  Serving with our hands and with our smiles so that these kids get the opportunity to learn more about Jesus.

Monday, May 21, 2012

MedShare Visit [May 2012]

Yesterday we got a chance to go to MedShare [ http://www.medshare.org ].  This is a great program that helps collected medical supply surplus and distribute it to places around the world that have need.  We have gotten a chance to do this before with our youth from Templo Hispano Bautista. 

Working at MedShare

Click on the picture above or HERE to see some better pics of the rest of the group in action.  Check out this organization and serve if you can!.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tijuana 2011

This year has been a crazy year for missions.   With the economy being what it was, we were not sure if this mission trip was going to be able to happen.  But God was good ... but isnt he always?  For some time, Paola and I have been talking and praying abut taking our kids with us on a mission trip... and this was the trip.

RBC Family Mission Trip

Each mission trip tends to be so very different, and this one was no exception.  Tijuana is a place of very high poverty, and there are so many things that we get to assist in.  When we go, we get to do some construction and VBS.  Also we get a chance to go out and give food and water to the needy families.  At first we were wondering what our kids would or would not be able to help with... but in the end, they wanted to help in everything we did.

Kids Tijuana 2011

They were awesome.  They quickly made friends with the kids there and helped in every activity.  They helped prepare the crafts in VBS and also assisted with the snacks and sports and games and drawings and handing out water and handing out food and even the construction.....  (you get the idea)

Playas near Tijuana Mexico

Although we were able to help with a lot of different things, it was us that received so much more.  God showed us about so many families who have JOY in their lives without all the "stuff" that we think is so important.  God reminded us the importance of investing in relationships more and less on TV and video games.

Fly away...

It was such a blessing to go and share the Love of Christ with others... but it was also a blessing to receive the Love of Christ that they shared with us.  Our kids noticed it, and have brought it up several times.  I pray they never forget.   [Click HERE or on any of the pictures for more pics]

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Throwing Some Pies

A little over a month ago, we had a Missions awareness event at Rockdale Baptist Church.  My brother was nice enough to help assist us with the food part of the event.  He had gone with us on a mission trip to Tijuana Mexico, and had cooked pizza for the gang while we were there.  So we all thought it would be a great idea to share this with our church... and on future mission trips.

 Kurt throwing some Pizza!!

<Click on the picture above to see more...>

Of course there is also a lot of work and preparation for making so many pizzas.  Kurt was nice enought to help organize and lead the Lakeview youth in this event.  They did an awesome job, and everyone loved the pizza.  Not only that, this is leading in to a couple of other events where the Church would like to do the same.   Thanks Brother!!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Cuba 2011 : Majagua

This past Saturday, our team from Rockdale Baptist got back from our mission trip to Cuba.  Mark, Scott, Time, Joel, and myself spent the week in Ciego de Avila and Majagua.  We spent a lot of time Preaching, Teaching, and Evangelizing...  It would seem that we went there to give blessings, but we always return feeling like we have received even more!

 Cuba Conference 2011 Majagua

We partnered with LifeWay, who provided training materials, and were able to share this with 75 pastors and church leaders at the conference.  There was one teacher at a time, and while the team members where not teaching their courses, we were out spreading thew Good News about Jesus Christ.  We visited more than 72 people and had 50 professions of faith!  There were also 10 people who wanted to recommit their lives.  The conference was only for 3 1/2 days...  We preached at several of their churches [6 sermons].  A seven hour bus trip there, and a seven hour bus trip back from Havana.  Four flights ...  ATL - MIA - Havana.

The Lord was good to us...  all of us.  We are thankful that He allowed us to participate in what He was doing.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Return from Cuba

We just got back Friday evening from our Cuba mission trip, and this life and this world here seems so surreal.  God was truly working and using us while our team was there, but He was doing that long before we got there (and will continue now that we are home).  It was such a blessing to be part of His plans... so much so that I am sure we returned with more blessings than when we went.  The conference for the 150 pastors/ministers went awesome.  We got such good feedback about the classes and the content, that we can only thank God for coordinating it all.  We also all got a chance to preach or share with various groups while we were there.  The Cuban people’s faith and eagerness to share and receive His word was very humbling to us.  I will have to post on many of the things we experienced... before they slip away from my memories.

Cuba Mission Trip 2010

We took tons of pictures (as a group) and I put some of the pictures that I liked a lot in the gallery.  Click HERE to see some of the pictures (or on the picture above).

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

My Ordination : Pastor Briam

One month ago (April 11, 2010), I was ordained in to the ministry at Rockdale Baptist Church.  There were so many people there that I was very surprised (I did not think that I knew that many people).  It was a very special day for us, and it was even more special with so many people that have played such an important part of our lives could join us.

Ordination Prayer with Eddie and Matthew

I thought this was a great picture...The ordained men were ask to pray over me (Here is my good friend Eddie). I had not noticed that Matthew had also done some praying.

Of course there are tons of pictures that I have not yet gone through... but here is a really nice one of the family.

Ordination with Family 

And of course the pictures would not be complete if there wasn't a crazy picture of us. (I am sure Paola will love this one)

Ordination with Crazy Family

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Lakeview Baptism

Last year was a very exciting time for us as we got to serve in the Lakeview community.  We are working with some awesome people who regularly show their love for everyone through their service.  We have gotten to see (in this past year) some great spiritual growth in the Lakeview Youth (and in the adults).

 Baptism in Lakeview

One of my greatest joys in service, is when we see people come to Christ.  To see the powerful impact that Jesus can have on someone's life.  And then to see that person following in obedience to Jesus' commandment of baptism.  It is an honor and a privilege to serve our Lord ... and that He would have us even with all of our inadequacies and issues.  He can still use us for His glory.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Gospel Coalition

Three days in Chicago at The Gospel Coalition Conference:  http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/

Gospel Coalition 2009

I got a chance to go with Bob, (me), Jeff, and Dwayne.  Lots of great stuff.  Lots to learn... Lots to do!!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Of Missions Past

In January we had a chance to host a family for the Mission Fair.  The Conroys' visited us and we had a great time with them.  The kids had endless questions and were glad that they came with their kids (even if they were a little older than them).

The Conroy Family

We were very blessed to have them stay with us, and we learned so much from them.  They are missionaries that work on Bible translations with Wycliffe in the Philippines.  Their experiences and their work were very inspiring to us.  Keep them in your prayers as they continue God's work on the far reaches of the (ever shrinking) planet.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cuba: Clear Skies

So, there we were in Havana.  We had eaten well, and it was a beautiful day.  No one we met that day seemed to know anything about the incoming storm (Ike) that was heading to wards Cuba.  The strongest hurricane to hit Cuba in 50 years was just a day away.  The government had not yet publicly put any information about it on the news yet.  We had a few hours to kill so we got a chance to drive around a bit, and even visit a museum.  There was a museum located at Revolutionary square.

Museum : Havana : Revolutionary Plaza

We did get separated for awhile (Kennon and I from the rest of the group) and would later meet up with them at the airport.  It did give Kennon and I a chance to take one of the little open taxi cars.  That in itself was quite an adventure.  In traffic you could practically reach out and touch the big trucks and busses that flew by.

Havana Taxi

Our taxi driver was named Roberto.  We got a chance to talk to him and he shared with us about his wife and child.  They were pregnant again and his wife was changing careers.  She had been teaching English, but switched over to Taxi driver since there was more income (due to tips).  We did have a chance to share with him about our faith and what we were doing in Cuba.  I hope they are doing well... and I pray that he read the tract we left him.

We arrived back to the airport and waited for the rest of the group.  It would not be too much longer until they got there.  The interesting thing was that we really did not have tickets to fly that night.  And the booking/airline systems that they used were very antiquated.  I think this added to our issue on getting an early flight since tickets had already been issued for a morning flight (and we did not have them yet).  We got a chance to chat with a nice lady at the airport who pulled a lot of strings to get us some tickets (she did risk a lot making these changes for us).

And then there it was on the news:  Ike

Ike Category 4

(Well, this would be the following day actually)  It was now public Cuban knowledge that a hurricane [class four] was heading straight for Cuba.  We still had a green light on the flight to Holguin but they were sure flights were going to start canceling soon.  The happy go luck tourist feeling was starting to slip away.  What plans did God have in store for us?

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Landing : Havana

A nice smooth flight (about an hour and a half) and we were there in Havana.  There are not too many flights from the US to Cuba (as you might imagine) and the landing is at one of the small airports in Havana.  The larger is for international travel to other countries, and a third for flights within Cuba.  Waiting for the luggage took the longest as we had to wait for our bags to come out.  Some of the bags had been searched, and a few items went unaccounted for, but overall we were glad that we did not have to through a full luggage search on the way out.

Hot Havana : Landing at the airport.

We collected ourselves and headed outside to the nearest Money Exchange Huts.  Our American dollars would not help us much in Havana without the proper connections so we changed our Dollars for the Cuban Convertible Pesos at a 20% loss(which is the standard in Cuba).  This is the money that the tourist and visitors use, which is different than the local Cuban money used by the Cuban citizens.  It was surprising to find out how much tourism from Europe and South America that Cuba still receives.

Havana Cars

We got a cab ride from Jose Luis to the internal flights airport to check for earlier flights to Holguin.  A professional cab drivers of over 10 years, Jose told me about life in Havana.  As we drove around we noticed that Cars that were on the road were 'vintage'.  Jose talked about how hard it was for the average person to own a car because of cost.  And that most cars are very old (and any new cars that are seen are typically for the high powered officials or foreign visitors).  We arrived at the airport and were able to leave our luggage and had a few hours to kill.

Lunch in Havana

It was hot.  Havana Hot.... and we were getting hungry.  Tracy recommended this place for lunch where they had eaten before, and we were all game!  The food was very good... and the place looked very Tropical.  I was surprised at how reasonable the prices were for us, but to keep it in perspective, I had to remember that the average professional salary in Cuba was about $25.

Havana Piggy

To this point, the trip has seemed almost Touristic.  We had been watching the storm heading toward Cuba, and were surprised how no one in Havana seemed to know anything about it yet... and it was only a day away.  Even the airport personal who coordinated the flights said that they had not heard anything yet about it but started looking into it (through personal connections : Internet is not publicly accessible in Cuba without proper authorization).

It would be later that evening where I would know a profound fear that I had never experienced before in my life.  It would be later that evening were I would look back at the happy go lucky meal we had for lunch and remember it as my last supper.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Cuba Awaits!

I know I am a bit behind, but I wanted to post from my notes and while my memory is still fresh from our first trip to Cuba.  I am actually sitting right now in the Airport typing this, waiting to return to Cuba on the second trip (one week after I got back from the first trip).  But I am getting ahead of myself.  Lets go back to September 5th was our "Launch Day".  All systems were a go!

Plane To Mia

We were all in good spirits, and the initial parts of the flights/connections seemed routine.  Some of our luggage weights were over, but not to bad.  In Miami, we had a chance to have our last stop at a good old American fast food restaurant.  We chatted and joked... and it promised to be a good trip with a great group of guys.

The Cuba Team

I was glad to be a part of the trip, and glad to share some time with my fellow brothers from Rockdale Baptist.  (Tim, me, Dan, Kennon, and Tracy).  At the time, we know that there were some storms out there, and we were watching closely.  We were hoping and praying that God would take control and push the storm out of harms way.  It would not be until later that we would see more of God's plans unfold.