We've reached the end of our week and what a week it has been! Today dawned with bright sunshine that lasted through until 3:00 p.m. when the thunderstorms started! Between yesterday and today, we were able to get a variety of miscellaneous projects completed - from felling 8 trees on the property (Wes fell on his bum!) to painting steel beams, to preparing the walls for the concrete pour, to cleaning the job site, to building a bookshelf for Joy, a delightful member of the ICN and CMF who lives at the church. John Kildahl gave 14 hours of time (he's there now to finish it just right for her) to build a place for her beloved books. We've had a very safe week, with the toughest moments being when specs of concrete or wood or dust flew into eyes... check out the pictures of Max the Pirate (Mike Maxwell) who benefited from the ministering of Dale and team as his eye was flushed and his patch applied. Literally, we have not laughed that hard since we were kids -- his pain was our glory!
Our last two mornings have brought great devotions from Dale and wonderful testimonies from members of the team. What a very special and favorite part of our trip these morning times together have been. We've grown as individuals, we've grown as a team, and we've grown together in unity in Christ and our pursuit of the Holy Spirit. Thank you to Gary and Dale for leading us here, and to each person on the team who shared from their heart and let us see a window into how Christ has changed their lives.
ICN celebrates their 14th year as a church and Pamela is recording a special message from our friends at WCC to say congratulations and that we send them our best for continuing to reach this community.
The team will journey on an expedition on Saturday as we head out to the airport, and then families will be rejoined on Saturday night. We're pretty excited to get a 2nd Fall Back on Saturday night! Thank you for your prayers and your support. We come back changed for the better, and pray for the fruits of the Spirit to continue to grow and blossom within us.
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Friday, October 30, 2009
FW: Invitation to view prbugito1's Picasa Web Album - WCC Pam 10 30 09
Check out some more great pictures
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:15:55 +0000
Subject: Invitation to view prbugito1's Picasa Web Album - WCC Pam 10 30 09
From: prbugito1@gmail.com
To: chrisyarco@msn.com
Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:15:55 +0000
Subject: Invitation to view prbugito1's Picasa Web Album - WCC Pam 10 30 09
From: prbugito1@gmail.com
To: chrisyarco@msn.com
| You are invited to view prbugito1's photo album: WCC Pam 10 30 09
Message from prbugito1: pics If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=prbugito1&target=ALBUM&id=5398546075371008401&authkey=Gv1sRgCKb_ieCx_rSdIg&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.  |
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Check out the pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/sknbcarp
Windows 7: I wanted more reliable, now it's more reliable. Wow!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tired, sore, and satisfied
Hard hard work today, and no two worked harder than Brad and Wes...while the rest of us hit the outdoor market, they stayed behind and handled the jobsite. Wouldn't you know, all the deliveries came at that time, the concrete was poured, and they chipped off another section of wall (all in 90 minutes!) putting the rest of us to shame! What great examples they are...and what fun they are to travel with.
We're all back at the Carpenters ready for dinner and what will probably be an early to bed night...heavy work with tie wire work, bending steel, pouring concrete, building forms and finishing brick. We're making good progress, and having a pretty awesome time of unity and sharing all the while -- great laughter, shared tears at times, and
We have amazing photographers in our group -- from John Kildahl to John Weber, to Mike Black and Pamela, to Brad and Steve -- we've got a virtual minute by minute capture. Take a bit and see the progress... visit the attachment at http://picasaweb.google.com/sknbcarp/WCCICNEagles102509#
All the best, and see you soon -- your mexico city team.
Windows 7: I wanted more reliable, now it's more reliable. Wow!
We're all back at the Carpenters ready for dinner and what will probably be an early to bed night...heavy work with tie wire work, bending steel, pouring concrete, building forms and finishing brick. We're making good progress, and having a pretty awesome time of unity and sharing all the while -- great laughter, shared tears at times, and
We have amazing photographers in our group -- from John Kildahl to John Weber, to Mike Black and Pamela, to Brad and Steve -- we've got a virtual minute by minute capture. Take a bit and see the progress... visit the attachment at http://picasaweb.google.com/sknbcarp/WCCICNEagles102509#
All the best, and see you soon -- your mexico city team.
Windows 7: I wanted more reliable, now it's more reliable. Wow!
It's Wednesday - Miercoles
Waking up to beautiful sunshine here, which is an encouragement to us all as the days have been filled with instant thunderstorms which definitely make for sloppy, muddy conditions on the job site! We are definitely a sight at the end of the day and some of us are just choosing to throw away our work clothes rather than ruin washing machines. Yesterday was a day of starts and stops, dos and re-dos, and heavy heavy lifting on the part of our men. We made lots of progress with completing all the forms on the bathrooms and walkways, and getting brick past the first story -- we are pushing hard to get ready for a concrete pour no later than Friday -- We'd love your prayers for high productivity today because we'd love to leave the team here with that task complete.
We've had some wonderful devotion time about the Holy Spirit, and living in Christ -- and there have been unforgettable moments which we will all carry in our hearts as we've grown together. On the job, we're reminding each other of the fruits of the spirits at those moments when a missed translation leads to a "do-over" or a job that would seem so simple in the states takes four of us an hour to complete (but yes! We do complete it!). It is such a lesson in humility, patience, gentleness and lovingkindness -- and we are all grateful that God is teaching and shaping us as we are helping shape this new church home.
We have been blessed by the people who are serving us here... we work with a crew of 5 (5 yesterday) who stay on the job, we are served amazing sit down lunch by a group of four ladies from the church, and last evening the Tocha Family treated us to a mexican dinner -- with grilled cactus, and some of the hottest hot sauce you can imagine... my lips are still tingling! We'll forward some pictures of Mike Black who endeared himself to the entire family and they set him up to make the full hot sauce with mortar and pestle and sent it home with him... the pictures are on the way and they're priceless. What a blessing to have people want to serve us -- and to be so generous in opening their homes to this large crew.
Pray for effectiveness and productivity -- and Sunshine would be nice too. Love to you all back home.
Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.
We've had some wonderful devotion time about the Holy Spirit, and living in Christ -- and there have been unforgettable moments which we will all carry in our hearts as we've grown together. On the job, we're reminding each other of the fruits of the spirits at those moments when a missed translation leads to a "do-over" or a job that would seem so simple in the states takes four of us an hour to complete (but yes! We do complete it!). It is such a lesson in humility, patience, gentleness and lovingkindness -- and we are all grateful that God is teaching and shaping us as we are helping shape this new church home.
We have been blessed by the people who are serving us here... we work with a crew of 5 (5 yesterday) who stay on the job, we are served amazing sit down lunch by a group of four ladies from the church, and last evening the Tocha Family treated us to a mexican dinner -- with grilled cactus, and some of the hottest hot sauce you can imagine... my lips are still tingling! We'll forward some pictures of Mike Black who endeared himself to the entire family and they set him up to make the full hot sauce with mortar and pestle and sent it home with him... the pictures are on the way and they're priceless. What a blessing to have people want to serve us -- and to be so generous in opening their homes to this large crew.
Pray for effectiveness and productivity -- and Sunshine would be nice too. Love to you all back home.
Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.
FW: steel plate 3.jpg
> Subject: steel plate 3.jpg
> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:08:26 -0700
> From: Pamela.Ryan@nike.com
> To: chrisyarco@willamettechurch.com
>
> Steel plate
> --------------------------
> Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
Windows 7: It helps you do more. Explore Windows 7.
FW: pictures of Mexico 2009
Check out over 100 pictures of our first few days here...go to the blog for WCC pics
From: chrisyarco@msn.com
To: missions12.gr8commission@blogger.com
Subject: pictures of Mexico 2009
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:31:09 -0700
http://picasaweb.google.com/sknbcarp
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Monday, October 26, 2009
It keeps getting better and better
It's the end of our first official "work" day, and our team is enjoying another amazing meal by the Carpenter family, albeit with a little more soreness, and a little more hunger in our bellies. Today was a phenomenal day of work, with the 11 of us joining Steve, and four of the construction team to dig in and make progress on the new sanctuary for the ICN Church. From 8:30 until 6:00 p.m., we tied wire, layed brick, formed walls, poured concrete, hauled hauled and hauled some more sand, forms, bricks, boards, and all sorts of stuff. God truly handpicked the team for this trip as each person gave of themselves today -- with joy, with heart, with patience, with sweat, and with all they had... and they're ready to come back tomorrow and do the same thing. To see this place even take further shape is inspiring -- we are so grateful to be a part of this. A mid-day rain storm only served to give more time for each of us to get to know each other and hear our stories. Thank you once again to Gary Parkin who shared a morning devotional which brought our group to a deeper level of love, trust and gratitude to the Lord for forming us and joining us.
To catch you up on the photos you are seeing, the Eagles Community center is an amazing place in the center of an extremely poor part of Atizapan. We spent from 4 till 8 on Sunday there, and speaking for all of us, we've experienced a level of poverty that rivals the most destitute in the world, as this community sits high on the hills outside of Mexico City, on a dump that has been in place for decades. The community center is an example of something that Changes this community -- it would be missed if it were not there. We had the pleasure of standing on the roof top and ringing out prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and need for all the work that is done in this place -- from missions school, to tutoring, to english courses, to women's courses, to worship and children's programs, and to outreach to help generations of children meet and know Christ and build a better future. joining a worship time with over 60 children and 30 adults, and then helping the kids do crafts. You can see in the pictures that the children loved our team and our team loved on them. Their smiles, their joy, their engagement... we were changed from being there with them. We are so grateful to the Carpenters for seeing the vision of this place -- and we are so grateful to the WCC missions team who helped them realize that vision through the contributions of the WCC family. We are convicted that this is a place that God has destined for great things and we are committed to helping it thrive.
We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings... and we've got a full supply of tylenol for the aching muscles that we're sure will be a part of it! Love to you all back home. Thank you for praying for us...and thank you for supporting us while we're here. To our families at home, we love you all.
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
To catch you up on the photos you are seeing, the Eagles Community center is an amazing place in the center of an extremely poor part of Atizapan. We spent from 4 till 8 on Sunday there, and speaking for all of us, we've experienced a level of poverty that rivals the most destitute in the world, as this community sits high on the hills outside of Mexico City, on a dump that has been in place for decades. The community center is an example of something that Changes this community -- it would be missed if it were not there. We had the pleasure of standing on the roof top and ringing out prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and need for all the work that is done in this place -- from missions school, to tutoring, to english courses, to women's courses, to worship and children's programs, and to outreach to help generations of children meet and know Christ and build a better future. joining a worship time with over 60 children and 30 adults, and then helping the kids do crafts. You can see in the pictures that the children loved our team and our team loved on them. Their smiles, their joy, their engagement... we were changed from being there with them. We are so grateful to the Carpenters for seeing the vision of this place -- and we are so grateful to the WCC missions team who helped them realize that vision through the contributions of the WCC family. We are convicted that this is a place that God has destined for great things and we are committed to helping it thrive.
We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings... and we've got a full supply of tylenol for the aching muscles that we're sure will be a part of it! Love to you all back home. Thank you for praying for us...and thank you for supporting us while we're here. To our families at home, we love you all.
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
What a Sunday
It's truly hard to believe we've only experienced one full day in Mexico -- and FULL might be the biggest understatement of all. Our morning started with a wonderful breakfast with the Carpenters and the 11 of us sharing the dining table, laughing, getting to know each other better, and musing about what the day would bring. There were definitely seconds and thirds of the egg bake being shared, and no shortage of carbs in this househould! I think when Kay and Steve knew that nine of us were men, they doubled up on the provisions -- all good! From there, Gary Parkin led us in a devotion and sharing time -- focused on the word "immersion" -- and what it means to be immersed in this culture, to be immersed in God's word, and to immerse ourselves in the lives of each other.
Church at ICN was memorable for each of us... while all in Spanish, we worshipped the Lord together as one, shared in the Lord's supper, and heard a significant message on "What is the Church" -- so incredibly appropriate as it became very clear for all of us that while distance and languages separate us, the love of Christ unites us -- and together we are the church. You couldn't have hoped for a warmer reception by the church family here -- they opened their arms to us and conveyed such genuine gratitude that we are here to help continue the building process. Speaking of that, we had a good time as a team reviewing all the grounds for the project and laying out a game plan which we will begin this morning. What an amazing God story to see that 8 times He shut a door, and on this 9th time, He opened it wide and provided such a piece of property. Their future church home will only enhance their ability to serve this neighborhood and this church family.
(meanwhile, the luggage is in and at the airport so off goes Steve for another wild experience to pick up 13 suitcases!)
Tacos have a brand new meaning as we journeyed to the Carpenters favorite joint and enjoyed many of these together -- then it was off to The Eagles... the community center and missions school that the Carpenters helped purchase in December of last year. We hope the pictures help to provide a window into this community. My next blog will share with you the amazing 3 hours that we spent there last evening... but the pictures will provide something that should touch your heart.
Keep praying for us -- we appreciate you.
Windows 7: Simplify your PC. Learn more.
Church at ICN was memorable for each of us... while all in Spanish, we worshipped the Lord together as one, shared in the Lord's supper, and heard a significant message on "What is the Church" -- so incredibly appropriate as it became very clear for all of us that while distance and languages separate us, the love of Christ unites us -- and together we are the church. You couldn't have hoped for a warmer reception by the church family here -- they opened their arms to us and conveyed such genuine gratitude that we are here to help continue the building process. Speaking of that, we had a good time as a team reviewing all the grounds for the project and laying out a game plan which we will begin this morning. What an amazing God story to see that 8 times He shut a door, and on this 9th time, He opened it wide and provided such a piece of property. Their future church home will only enhance their ability to serve this neighborhood and this church family.
(meanwhile, the luggage is in and at the airport so off goes Steve for another wild experience to pick up 13 suitcases!)
Tacos have a brand new meaning as we journeyed to the Carpenters favorite joint and enjoyed many of these together -- then it was off to The Eagles... the community center and missions school that the Carpenters helped purchase in December of last year. We hope the pictures help to provide a window into this community. My next blog will share with you the amazing 3 hours that we spent there last evening... but the pictures will provide something that should touch your heart.
Keep praying for us -- we appreciate you.
Windows 7: Simplify your PC. Learn more.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Day 1 - Travel Day
It's Sunday morning and we're all gathered around the Carpenter dining room table enjoying a wonderful meal of egg bake and pastries -- sharing "War" stories from our day of travel yesterday -- and finding out what level of "heat" each of us can take -- for salsa that is!
Yesterday's travel was not without eventfulness as the main group of 9 arrived in Mexico City without any of their luggage (I think the Lord will accept our wrinkled attire at church this morning) and the Yarcos had a two hour stand in customs -- all minor hiccups for the day. After taxiing through a very packed city (over 25 million people) with an interesting road system (who needs lane lines anyway?), we were welcomed with such love, great soup, warm beds. We've had just one minor casualty which may lead to the buddy system... one of our helpful team (who is paying me to keep his name out of this) missed a few steps and gashed his leg on some harsh bushes. He swears he's fine... it's the pride that hurts a bit as the jokes continue! This morning we awoke to the sound of cannons blasting from the local Catholic church as they acknowledge a patron saint in this unique way each a.m.
Today, we will enjoy two church services, participate in a prayer walk around the ICN location, do crafts with the neighborhood folks, and prep for our week of construction. Spirits are high, and there's a wonderful sense of unity and joy with this team. We appreciate everyone's prayers for safe travel and for what the Lord will do in and through us. Everyone here sends their love to you -- stay tuned for more adventures!
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
Yesterday's travel was not without eventfulness as the main group of 9 arrived in Mexico City without any of their luggage (I think the Lord will accept our wrinkled attire at church this morning) and the Yarcos had a two hour stand in customs -- all minor hiccups for the day. After taxiing through a very packed city (over 25 million people) with an interesting road system (who needs lane lines anyway?), we were welcomed with such love, great soup, warm beds. We've had just one minor casualty which may lead to the buddy system... one of our helpful team (who is paying me to keep his name out of this) missed a few steps and gashed his leg on some harsh bushes. He swears he's fine... it's the pride that hurts a bit as the jokes continue! This morning we awoke to the sound of cannons blasting from the local Catholic church as they acknowledge a patron saint in this unique way each a.m.
Today, we will enjoy two church services, participate in a prayer walk around the ICN location, do crafts with the neighborhood folks, and prep for our week of construction. Spirits are high, and there's a wonderful sense of unity and joy with this team. We appreciate everyone's prayers for safe travel and for what the Lord will do in and through us. Everyone here sends their love to you -- stay tuned for more adventures!
Windows 7: It works the way you want. Learn more.
Friday, October 23, 2009
20 hours and counting
As the rain is pouring here in Portland, we're celebrating that the rains have stopped in Mexico City -- helping us to ensure that we'll have clear skies to do maximum building work.
Pray for the journey for the team, and for our time in church services (2 of them at different churches on Sunday) -- and that we would be great ambassadors for WCC.
Thanks for your prayers!
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Getting Ready for the Trip
We're 36 hours from take off, and all the team is excited, praying up, and looking forward to what God is going to do in our own lives, and through us, as we're on the ground in Aboledas, Atizapan, Mexico City
We are headed to Steve and Kay Carpenter's to help build their worship center where they serve the community, to help teach english to kids and adults, and to vision cast with them for the future of WCC's relationship with them.
Pray for health, safety, for the flight (leaves at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday!) and for the families on the ground staying behind for this team of 11.
Pamela Ryan
Dale Anderson
Gary Parkin
Wes Miller
Brad Poyser
Mike Maxwell
John Kildahl
John Weber
Mike Black
Gary and Chris Yarco
We are headed to Steve and Kay Carpenter's to help build their worship center where they serve the community, to help teach english to kids and adults, and to vision cast with them for the future of WCC's relationship with them.
Pray for health, safety, for the flight (leaves at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday!) and for the families on the ground staying behind for this team of 11.
Pamela Ryan
Dale Anderson
Gary Parkin
Wes Miller
Brad Poyser
Mike Maxwell
John Kildahl
John Weber
Mike Black
Gary and Chris Yarco
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