Over a year ago, a small team gathered around the table in the “yellow room” at First Baptist Crawford and believed God could. And they believed God would. And they said yes and trusted God.. even though the unknowns far outnumbered the knowns… even though the mission seemed daunting. But in our hearts, we knew… “The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
So here we are in Peñitas, Texas, a small Texas border colonia. All 39 of us!
We arrived after an extremely long and very rainy van ride, safe and excited. After a quick check in at the Super 8, we loaded back up to head to our mission site.
Stop #1 is the homebuild site. Over the next 3-1/2 days, a team of 17 will dry in a home for the Rodriguez family. Another church will arrive to complete the home on the day we are leaving and the family will move in on Sunday, March 22.
Meet the Rodriguez family! They’ve been believing God for over 2-1/2 years for a home! We circled up to pray over the homesite before leaving for the evening, and my hand was tightly squeezed by Sophia, the precious abuela (grandmother). I listened to her tearful voice in beautiful Spanish praising God for what He had done.
(Home site)
From there, we traveled to the Buckner International’s Family Hope Center where four members of our team will lead marriage and parenting classes, and another 12 members will host Camp Equip (think VBS+) for a large group of children. Our last leg of the preview journey was Salida del Sol, a rural street in impoverished Peñitas, where a team of six will share God’s love and groceries with families.
The unknowns have not all been answered. Pastor Jeff continues to reiterate the three rules for our mission team: Be flexible. Be flexible. Be flexible. But, I think the entire team would agree on this:
“The Lord Himself has gone before us, and He will be with us;
He will never leave us or forsake us. We have no reason to fear
or be discouraged.” (from Deuteronomy 31:8)
God, may we continue to believe You can.
May we continue to believe You will.
May we continue to say yes and trust You.
Know Him and Make Him Known,
