Destination Update

We are currently scheduled to depart on Friday from Syracuse for Honduras. Our itinerary brings us through San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba before we arrive at our final destination of Puerto Lempira on Saturday. We plan to minister with the House of Hope (http://www.send-hope.org/house_of_hope.htm).

Due to the current political situation in Honduras, we are continuously evaluating the advisability of the trip. No final determination has been made, but as of now the trip is still scheduled to go on as planned pending a decision tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s commissioning service will be held at 7:00 pm at Faith Heritage School’s auditorium (map).

SWAM 2009: Destination Update

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Saints With a Mission will be unable to minister in Reynosa, Mexico this summer due to an escalation in violence on the US-Mexico border. Several incidents, most the result of the Mexican government’s war on drugs, have made the situation at present unsafe for Americans travelling in Reynosa.

In the weeks to come, the team’s leaders will be selecting a new ministry site for this summer. More information will be posted as it is available.

Read the full text of the Department of State’s current travel alert: [html]

We’re Back!

As of about an hour ago, we crossed the border without problems.  We are now being comfortably accommodated in a hotel in McAllen, Texas.  We are excited to be able to drink water, flush toilets, and have hot water showers….actually excited to have water in our showers at all. (In Reynosa our shower decided when it would work and when it wouldn’t.)  God has done soo soo much that it’s hard to write it all down!  We have seen salvation, restoration, and deliverance.  God has truly used our team in an amazing way!  Please pray for continual grace and protection regarding our travels.  (Tomorrow we have a very long (about 6-8 hour drive) to Houston, a flight from there to JFK, and a flight from JFK to Syracuse.)  Thank you for being faithful in your prayers for us.  We look forward to sharing with you all the wonderful things that God has done!

Hola from Reynosa

Things are going great–God is really working in our hearts as well as those of the people here.  Thank you for your prayers. we are working with 2 churches – we are doing children’s and women’s ministry at a church called “La Hermosa” (Beautiful) in the morning and children’s and open-air ministry at a church called  ”Cielos Abiertos” (open heavens) in the evening.  The boys are also doing ministry in the youth prison in the mornings. 

We want to give praise that no one has gotten sick, we have been safe, and that things are going smoothly. 

Were  in a beautiful house with air conditioning! It has been such a blessing. The couple that is loaning us their  house had just received the keys to their brand new house the day we arrived and they felt the Lord saying to them to loan us their home. They haven’t lived there yet and they lent it to 29 strangers!! We feel so blessed.  It’s more than enough space for all of us and is within walking distance of the Alliance Church. 

 

We really feel God’s presence and people are responding to the gospel.  We’ve met so many special people and the needs are great, and as always we feel so blessed by the people we are sharing with.           
We miss you all and feel you close to our hearts. 

Please pray for pastor Mendez and his wife who have sacrificed so much for their ministry, pray for Midian, a girl whose mom abandoned her as a baby and who has just showed up in her life again this week, pray for Karla as she readjusts to life in Reynosa and for her family’s salvation, pray for the teens in jail who have given their life to Christ and are being baptized today and pray for the women who have suffered abuse who are taking steps for healing and pray for the children who are coming to the Lord at a young age that they may be lights in their families.

 

With love, 
SWAM team 2008

Check out pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lydilu/sets/72157606209324539/

SWAM 2007 Chapel Video

New Photos Uploaded

Click the image above to view.

Our Last Two Days

As I wrote to you Friday, it was difficult to believe that our week was already drawing to a close. Yet God proved faithful–our week saw at least ten teens, prisoners, children, and women come to faith in Christ. We arrived safely, got through without major sickness, ministered every day, and received all of our luggage. God answered prayers, both yours and ours, as we did our best to serve in the way He had called us.

We saw faces new and old–Vicente, the fervent evangelist, Pastor Raul, the enthusiastic pastor, Pastor Aristeo, leader of the Casa de Fe y Misericordia, other servants of God like Juan Angel, Javier, and Moises, and long-time friends like Karla, Erika, Francisco, Cristian, and others.

Safely in Houston

We are all in Houston and ready to leave for our next flight at 5:01pm local time–6:01pm Eastern.

I’m going to do my best to update you on the last forty-eight hours while we’re here at the airport!

El Ùltimo Dìa

It’s our last day of ministry. It’s hardly sunk in, I think, for most of us. God has been so good and proven faithful time after time after time both in ways almost expected and in ways completely unexpected (our luggage arriving, the rain leading sports ministry to visit the local youth jail, etc.).

Another one bites the dust

Today has been–well, interesting, to say the least. As you probably know, we have two fifteen-passenger vans and a minivan. Mr. Eagan drove one of those vans this morning, bringing sports ministry to the Alliance Church and some women from Campestre over to our current ministry site. The other two were headed over to our morning ministry site.

Problem: Although Mr. Ballard’s fifteen-passenger van’s engine would turn over, for the life of us we were unable to get it to start.