HSBC Missions

Youth Acticity

2011-07-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

Had a great youth activity last night .... minute to win it .... so much fun! Had two teens saved! What an encouragement to our High School Students to see kids saved at a church activity.

SNAKES!

2011-07-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

Those who wanted to got the chance to hold some snakes .... not everyone who did was thrilled about it, even the Ecuadorians!

Ecuador Pictures

2011-07-16T15:36:00.000-05:00

Here a few pictures of the different groups we did presentations to since we have been here. The group has been awesome to work with. Even though we can't speak Spanish and the Ecuadorians can't speak English, we still worked together as a team, everyone doing their part. Only a group of brother & sisters in Christ can work together so well without speaking the same language.

3 Days in the Jungle

2011-07-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

Not sure how to describe what the Ecuador Team has experienced these past three days in the jungle. Altogether we were able to do six gospel presentations and saw over 100 people accept Christ as their savior. The High School Students did an incredible job performing their drama and God used it in a great way.

Traveling to the tribes in the jungle was an amazing experience. The journey included a four hour bus ride, almost three hours in a canoe and a muddy trek through the jungle in hopes that the villagers would come out to hear the gospel.

When we arrived in each village the students along with an Ecuadorian team member would canvass the village, inviting people to come watch the presentation. Words cannot describe what we saw when the crowds began to form to watch our presentation. In the most remote part of the jungle we entered, the villagers told us they have never even heard of Jesus Christ. The missionary asked them more specifically a second time to raise their hand if they had ever heard the story of Jesus and no one moved.

The pictures below will give you a glimpse of what we experienced, but they can never do justice to what we actually saw.

First Day in Ecuador

2011-07-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

What a great first day here in Sangoqui, Ecuador. Had a great church service this morning at Iglesias Baptista Biblica. After we sang together in spanish and in english, the youth went to a separate classroom where Chris Kuykendall taught. The Ecuadorians are warm, friendly and greet each person with a hug.

After church all 16 of us and our missionaries rode standing up in the back of a pickup to the mall to each lunch! That was a blast!! Some tried the local cuisine, some had Pizza Hut and some had Chinese!

A group of guys from the church were meeting with 2 other church this after noon to go play soccer together! The kids were all excited to get to play and watch REAL soccer!

Tonight we met with the Ecuadorians that will be going to the jungle with us tomorrow and then had dinner together. Making plans and practicing the puppets, songs and dramas that we will be doing while we are there. We had a homemade meal of chicken, rice and vegetables mixed together and fried plantains, it was delicious!

We head to the jungle tomorrow. Our first day we will be traveling to the village where we are staying near the jungle. We will meet up with the missionaries we are going to be working with and we will do our drama presentations, some music and puppet show in that village. Before our performance we will canvassing the area to invite people to come and see what we are doing.

Glenn & Sherri McGhee are great missionaries to work with! They had a group that was on their way out as we arrived. We actually were here for a few hours together. They are exhausted but are keeping things moving right along for us.

Everyone is doing great so far! We are at approximately 9,000 feet here where we are staying. The elevation has been a little hard to get used to. As we travel we will continue climb higher and higher! At one point we will reach 13,800 feet!

We probably won't be able to post anything again until we return from the jungle on Thursday afternoon.

Here are a few pictures from today. Thank you all for praying for us!

Ecuador Mission Trip 2011

2011-07-09T09:09:00.002-05:00

Left Springfield at 6:45am this morning headed to Ecuador to work with our missionaries Glenn & Sherri McGhee. We will arrive there tonight and attend their church tomorrow. Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday we will be ministering in the Jungle with Ecuadorian missionaries from the McGhee's church. Pray for us as we go that we will allow God work through us to show his love.

THE TEAM IS HOME

2010-02-05T20:10:00.003-06:00

The India Team made it home this evening. So thankful for each one of them. Gary and Dr. Lobdell are scheduled to fly home Tuesday. Also, be in prayer for Karen as she flew on to Indiana from Chicago to try and get to her father before he passes away. The weather is bad in Indiana so keep her and her family in your prayers.

Thank you for praying for the team and being a part of this amazing trip!

HEADING HOME

2010-02-04T13:48:00.003-06:00

As many of you know Gary suffered a heart attack while in Germany. He had and angiogram and a stint was put in early this morning. He is doing well and is at a great medical facility. Dr. Lobdell is staying behind with Gary and we hope they we head home on Tuesday next week. The rest of the team has begun their journey back to Frankfurt and then on a plane to arrive home Friday afternoon.

Pray for them as they travel. I can't thank the team enough for the care they gave to Gary and for making this trip an amazing experience for everyone involved. Thank you to Keith Gandy the missionary they were with in Germany for helping Gary make it through this terrible ordeal. For Dr. Lobdell, Savanna and Pastor Eddie for staying with Gary at the hospital and keeping me updated every couple of hours. It was a horrible helpless feeling to be so far away.

There were people praying for Gary literally all over the world. There is no way to say thank you for everyone who prayed for him and for us. Our High Street Family is an awesome and the love and support they have shown to our family during this ordeal has been amazing. God is Good.

Thank you for following this trip! Come to High Street this Sunday, Feb. 7th at 8:30am or 11:00am to hear more about how God used our team on this mission trip.

Lisa

TOURING AUSTRIA

2010-02-04T13:28:00.004-06:00

Here are a few explanations for the above photos:

Dachau Concentration Camp

Baptisten Gemeinde, Aschaffenburg, Germany

House behind we are staying

Autobahn sign

Frankurt and Aschaffenburg our main places to be

Hard to drive fast on the autobahn with weather like this

Nurnberg is where Hitler trials were held

Letters in entry gate mean " work makes free".

Locker & table they beat them on

A NOTE FROM PASTOR EDDIE

2010-02-03T11:13:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we made it to Germany. We were met at the airport by Keith Gandy who has worked here as a missionary for 27 years. We asked how he had come to realize this was where God wanted him so he told us his story. As a teenager he graduated early from high school and began working. In spite of the fact that he grew up in a Christian home he did not follow Jesus with conviction or passion. Then one day while working at a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant he offered to take a fellow worker home because it was so late. She refused his help and said she would make it on her on. That night she was taken abused and left for dead. He described how that so shook him up he was compelled to decide to follow Christ “really” or not. He chose to follow Christ and to totally surrender to Him. God during this time put Germany on his heart in a very unexplainable but real way and that is how the story began. It is still in progress.

We left the airport in the snow and drove to Mainz where Gutenberg was the first in Western Europe to develop a printing press. In a lot of ways he changed the world by bringing in the era of the printed book. This impacted every area of learning, history and communication. One of his most famous printing successes is the Gutenberg Bible. There is a copy on display and it along with a few other rare books are in a special vault. The Bible is still the best selling book in the world today and throughout history since it was first printed. Looking through the museum I grew to have a renewed appreciation for the fact that I can carry around a Bible and read it anytime. I bought a reproduction of John chapter 1 printed on one of their working Gutenberg presses. Come see me and I will show it to you.

From there we went to Frankfurt and walked around downtown in the snow/rain and wind. It was painfully cold walk through the downtown area but it was very cool (no pun intended) and memorable.

Next we met with some people from the church for dinner at the church where the men are also staying. It was a great time to get to know people and hear their stories. One young lady shared that she is a teacher in a public school teaching religion. She described how she feels very much like God has placed her there for His purpose. Already she has formed a student club and these young students have grown to have a vision to start small groups in order to reach out to their unbelieving classmates. Another couple I met told me how when they were both baptized that their family did not understand what they were doing. She had as a teenager been invited by a friend to a youth group meeting. She said that she was moved by the joy that those in the group had. At first she to just be with the group. Later she began to understand the gospel and accepted Christ. Her husband described how a friend at work pestered him until he went to church and over time accepted Christ. He said that after he accepted Christ he was amazed at how the Bible came alive as he read. In his words “It is a living book.”

The church here has a wonderful facility and can seat somewhere around 250 in their main meeting room where it is standing room only on Sundays. They have to overflow the crowd into the next area, which is the coffee shop with a video feed of the service. It was so great to be with people who have the same heart for God and to reach people with the gospel.

Our mission is to LOVE GOD, SERVE PEOPLE AND REACH THE WORLD. There is something very strengthening about visiting people across the world that has the same heart and mission.

I look forward to being back home next Sunday. We will begin a study in the book of James. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be just a nominal Christian. I want everything Christ has for me. I want His truth to show up in my life in practical ways. This year my prayer is that the work of Christ will change who I am and keep me growing as a person. I invite you to join our study on James. Here are some famous themes from James.

· Don’t just be a hearer of the word, be a doer.

· You say you believe in God, so do the demons, so what?

· If you want wisdom, ask for it.

· Control your tongue.

· And this week – “no pain, no gain”.

Our city needs us to be “real Christians”, our study in James will teach us how. We have a few more days in Germany and then back to the States. See you Sunday.

Pastor Eddie

TOURING GERMANY

2010-02-03T10:43:00.005-06:00

The 1st collage of pictures is of downtown Frankfurt, Germany. Two things we've never seen, two story Apple store and Chiquita banana store. Mercedes taxi's (only in germany) and a group from missionary Keith Gandy's church in Aschaffenburg, Germany that we had dinner with and great fellowship with our first night here.

The 2nd collage is our tour of the Gutenberg Museum. The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was one of the first books printed in Europe. It was printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany in the 1450s. Although it was not Gutenberg's first work, it was his major achievement, and has iconic status in the West as the book that marks the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of the printed book.

The 3rd collage of pictures is of The Mainzen Dom, what it is called, but it is a large catholic church in the town of Mainz.

The 4th collage of pictures: drawing of church on marble in the courtyard, statue on Gutenberg museum, buildings in the square by the church, statue in the courtyard, where we ate our first German meal today, adecco building (for CT), airport, top of train station which Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List) lived next to at one time.

We will be traveling to Austria on Wednesday to tour the Dachu Concentration Camp and drive on the Autobahn! Hope to have more pictures up soon.

Gary for the India/Germany Team

TOURING THE TAJ MAHALtop

2010-02-01T17:59:00.005-06:00

Monkey's hanging around the Taj Mahal

Team with their Host

Red Fort

My Chinese Friends Pastor Eddie and I met

Balcony where the King could see the Taj Mahal while he was a prisoner, by his own son

Taj Mahal

Mosque

Top of the Taj Mahal

King and Queen's tombs

Large wall and mote around the Red Fort

Boy with a Cobra

Governor's tomb

Supreme Court building

CHURCH SERVICE IN INDIA

2010-01-31T22:23:00.004-06:00

Jim with a guy he met

Kids we met at the church

An outdoor wedding we crashed

Savanna with a baby at church

Our group up in front of the church getting bibles in the Hindi language presented to us.

A guy we met at the wedding we crashed showing off his motorcycle

The church we attended

Eddie, Creig and I (Gary) each got an opportunity to speak at church

Tony with a little kid he met

Myself with Jordan Robin and his family who helped us set up coming to Agra to tour the Taj Mahal

TOURING AGRA, INDIA

2010-01-31T22:15:00.004-06:00

DAY 6 - LAST MEDICAL CLINIC

2010-01-30T19:26:00.006-06:00

A few notes about some of the pictures:

Protestors having a rally

One of our translators Vino asleep on the van. Twice this week she worked all night and came with us all day. If you ever call tech support at McAfee antivirus you might talk to her.

Creig with this elderly gentleman he was treating.

The "wear a helmet and be safe" sign is funny as very few wear helmets. They also have signs that say "follow traffic rules" which is also funny since they don't stop at stop signs or red lights and they make 5 lanes out of two lane road.

Picture of Karen with little girl that helped her make balloons all day today.

Cafe Coffee, is the Starbucks of India.

Leaves on the babies head was for good luck.

Lady doing her laundry on the sidewalk

A couple more traditional restaurants like in America.

The "use mobile and save paper" sign is funny. They do use cell phones as we got passed today by a guy riding on a motorcycle while texting.

This was our 6th and final day of medical clinics. We are heading out to New Delhi to see the Taj Mahal and other cultural sites of India. So excited that our Hosts could join us to see this amazing site.

Gary for the India Team

A NOTE FROM PASTOR EDDIE

2010-01-29T22:35:00.005-06:00

We had another full day of clinic yesterday. We went to this very small concrete building that had a room about the size of our dining room. It is a church built along the side of the road. The pastor's wife told us that the government gave them the land and when they tried to build the building some groups opposed them. Every time they put a stake in the ground they would come and take it out. One man was killed when he opposed these men and put the stake back. He was not a believer, but died building the church.

The crowd was made up of very poor city people. Some were maids, drivers and street sweepers and I am sure lots with no or little work. The press to get into the clinic got out of hand from time to time and we would have to just stop taking people until they settled down. Needy people trying to get some help. Jesus dealt with the "press of the crowd" one day and when a woman reached out and touched Him she was healed. Jesus stopped and asked who touched Him and the disciples were bothered by his question because many were touching Him as the crowd pressed in. Jesus did not get angry but allowed the confusion and press because He wanted to be with the people. He didn't solve every problem but for this lady something special happened. So when it seemed a bit chaotic I remembered that Jesus would have stayed right in the chaos because He wanted to be with the people and that is what we did.

One of the saddest things for me to see are the desperate parents who bring in children with special needs or developmental delays. One lady carried in her little girl. She could not walk, she would kind of make eye contact with you. She was a beautiful little girl. And so she had come to the doctor with hope pushing her to try one more thing - maybe "this foreign doctor" could give her better news and show a way for her daughter to be healed. And then the doctor told her she had a beautiful little girl and that her love for her daughter was very apparent and a wonderful thing. But, and then a brief pause. Maybe parents of special needs kids all over the world have the same feeling when the medical professional says "but..followed by a pause". The pause is where your heart begins to sink back into the painful reality. The mother was given vitamins and the doctor on this occasion prayed for her. And when she walked out of the clinic she smiled with gratefulness and then brushed a tear away. So what good did we do? Well we said to the mother and child - you are valued. We honored the little girl with special needs with our time, attention, our smiles, our vitamins. We said to the community that Jesus really does love everyone.

Jesus in Matthew was talking about a judgment day that we all one day will face. His word are powerful - "I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me;...when did we see You sick?...And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." And so as we reached out in love to these children with special needs and their families, I think we made a difference.

Today there was a downs boy that came for treatment. He was about 14 and kind of small for his age and not too high functioning. I bent down to greet him and at first he cried because he did not not know what to do. As he sat there I tried to just smile at him and in the end got to get my picture with him. I kind of got to me. Just seeing a little guy like our James and yet they are so poor and desperate. I just hope somehow we honored this little guy that most probably get pushed aside. Somehow knowing I will see him in heaven made it better. I just pray that that little church will be able to reach many of those we treated with the gospel. Surely God is at work and will use our efforts to love people in His name by visiting the sick. And so we continue to LOVE GOD, SERVE PEOPLE AND REACH THE WORLD.

A special thanks to all who gave during our Chili Supper Pie Auction last year. Those funds do help us take these trips. You all have a part in what we do this week.

Pastor Eddie

DAY 5 MEDICAL CLINIC

2010-01-29T11:52:00.006-06:00

A few things about our pictures from Day 5 of our Medical Clinics -

The girl with tattoos on her arm, it is for a religious ritual, but thankfully it goes away in a week or so.

As you can see in several of the photos, they have the same restaurants we have. However, they use motorcycles to do pizza delivery instead of cars.

The couple in front of their church is Pastor Lingala and his wife.

Pastor Lingala praying with one of the patients.

Jim and I in the door to the building where we held the clinic. It took two of us to man the door as they kept pushing and pushing. Notice they were not smiling as they were not happy with us since we didn't let them in when they wanted. The only guy smiling is Prokosh our driver and translator. Today was the hardest day we have had as far as control and registering goes.

Pastor Eddie with down syndrome boy. It was very sad as he was not as happy and not as advanced as James.

The Kids at the Orphanage Sing us a Song

2010-01-29T11:02:00.001-06:00

New Video from India Missions Trip

2010-01-29T10:48:00.002-06:00

A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE TEAM

2010-01-29T09:52:00.003-06:00

PASTOR EDDIE: Today we went to our next clinic. It was in a storefront church in a poor area of town. It reminded me a lot of the poor areas in the Philippines. My job was crowd control and keeping everyone in line. That is always an effort. People are nice and I feel very comfortable here. It is a great thing to be able to do clinics for people who are in such need. We see all ages from babies to children, men, women, old men and old ladies. They each come hoping for some help. I love it when after a long wait to see the doctor they come walking out of the clinic with medicine in hand and they often smile so big and will some times reach out to shake my hand. We don't speak the language, but the communication at that moment is pretty powerful. What a way to be literally Jesus to them. The pastors and workers are so appreciative. It helps them gain favor with the people they are trying to reach. Two days ago a lady in the village who was very elderly and not well and asked if she would be allowed in the clinic in the church because she believed in another religion. She was welcomed in. And so her first time in the church building may just change how she thinks about things. The the message went out clearly that they were there for her too. Our prayer is that she will grow to understand that Jesus came for her too. God is at work.

TONY: The Orphanage, the kids, their faces, small places, Tent City, life goes on, food is hot and hotter, their willingness to share with all.

SCOTT: India, a country of contrasts. Obscene opulence. Abject poverty. Impatience for candy. endurance for relief of pain. Beautiful smiles. Rotten teeth. Women in their finest cloths; sitting in the middle of a dirt street. The ugliest dogs I have ever seen and I've seen many. Some of the most beautiful children I've ever seen. Greed and thankfullness. The Lord supplies.

CREIG: I have found the people very pleasant and the traffic better then the Philippines. Our hosts have taken us to very strategic areas to get the most from our medical ministry.

KAREN: Everyone loves balloons here. Babies to a 95 year old man. It still amazes me that such a simple thing can make people so happy. I love seeing them break out into a big smile when I hand them a balloon.

DAN: I'm amazed how desperately people attempt to make sure they cover all their bases. They have a dedication to attending temple every morning and offer to multiple gods, even thousands of them. Yet for all their differences they have the same aspirations in life we do. What is missing is the personal relationship with the One who satisfies and loves and seeks us. It also reminds me that in India with the thousands of gods that are apparent everywhere we have raised up our own gods in america of materialism, greed and selfishness.

JIM: One thing that I find as I have traveled is that people are much the same around the world. It doesn't matter whether it is in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin or South America, people generally want to be accepted and loved. I have seen that in the Indian people, hopefully they have seen God's love as well as ours in our small effort to help them.

SAVANNA: Every street we turn on there is so much to take in about the culture here in Bangalore India and I’m trying to take every bit of it in. At first it was overwhelming because I can see so many medical needs that we cannot help them with, but I quickly came to realize that what we can do for them they are so thankful for and may not ever have gotten any medical attention at all. I was very struck by hearing that many widows are shamed because if their husbands die it is considered the woman’s fault. They are often abandoned by family and must shave their heads and cannot wear the shirt under their saree to cover themselves. Hearing stories like these and many more it’s easy to see that showing even simple gestures of love and caring can do so much for them. I’m so thankful to be here with this team; I have met so many amazing people and am learning so much!

INDIA TEAM UPDATE FROM PASTOR EDDIE

2010-01-28T19:56:00.005-06:00

Nothing is heavier than the truths of evangelism. As we have been here in India I find myself at times overwhelmed by the need of people for the gospel and the great barriers that exist in evangelism. There are language barriers, cultural barriers and the strong religious barriers. Most people who have not ever really known about the Creator who sent His one and only son Jesus to pay for us and save us. In a lot of ways we are trying to do the impossible when it comes to sharing Christ here. And yet the essence of faith is believing God enough to attempt the impossible. We are here because we have been commanded to take the gospel to every nation. So faith and obedience are both accomplished by our team's efforts.

As I was thinking about these things I spoke with one of the men who is a part of the local team. He told me that he was a follower of Jesus and a believer. I asked him how that happened and he told me that his wife went to hear a lecture and then invited him. He began to read the Bible, listen to preaching and over time he was convinced and accepted Christ. He commented that as he tried the things taught in the Bible he noticed that they worked. He and his wife are the first to become Christians in their families and so he said, they pray for his parents. All it took was the faith to try the impossible and the obedience to take the gospel to every nation and this man's life an eternity has been changed. He now carries the truth with passion and conviction and works to spread the word. Many are coming to Christ in this place.

We have had the great privilege of lending a hand and adding to what God is already doing here. This has been a great week to put our mission into practice -"LOVE GOD, SERVE PEOPLE AND REACH THE WORLD".

Pastor Eddie

2010-01-27T20:53:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would share a few thoughts with you about our trip so far. Over the next few days we will try to share some experiences of other team members as well.

It has been a very rewarding trip so far and worth the sacrifice those on the team make to come, but also the sacrifice our families make that allow us to be able to minister to these very poor people through medicine.

Obviously compared to us they are all poor, but yesterdays clinic was the poorest. Being located 2 hours out in the country, where no one ever comes out to hold clinics and they cant afford to go see the doctor unless they are dying. We had a very old man yesterday that could not walk and had to be carried in to the clinic. He used to be able to walk with a big cane, but about one year ago he no longer could do this. Since he is so poor he has had to wait one year to even talk to a doctor about why he can no longer walk. It was sad, since he has gone so long without treatment and not walking, there is nothing that can be done for him now.

One thing that stood out to me was that even though they are poor their style of dress makes them look like they are not so poor. But as you look closer many of their outfits are torn and tattered. The bright colors of cloth they use cover that up a lot.

Another thing is their smiles - they have beautiful smiles and are just beautiful people. Even though they age very hard and fast here due to their hard lifestyles they still come across to me as beautiful people. Many of the older are missing teeth but still have beautiful smiles. Many older ones have disfigured hands and feet due to not being able to go to the doctor when they get cut or have an injury. We have even noticed a few that have lost toes due to being diabetics and no money to buy the medicine they need. I think that is why I have taken so many head shots than I normally due on this trip. Not to take away from the wonderful and beautiful people we have seen in other countries, but for some reason the people are standing out to me on this trip.

One big difference they have here from the US is that pubic affection between men and women does not exist here. So when we meet people that are working with us, if they are ladies we shake hands like we do the men. In many countries we hug them good bye at the end of our trip when we are leaving. Here that is not allowed as they look on that as the same as if you have committed adultery.

We have ate at some great restaurants if you like good spicy Indian food. I have loved them all of course. Even when we ate Chinese food we had curry. There is something Indian in every meal you eat. Last night we ate at a place called BBQ Nation. They put a BBQ pit at your table and keep bringing out shish-kabobs of meat. It was awesome as we had shrimp, fish, chicken and all kinds of vegetables, but of course they had Indian spices in all the meat. They then brought all kinds of indian side dishes with it as well.

I also want to say that our "host" have been awesome. We have enjoyed working with them and getting to know them better. We are praying that these medical clinics have opened the door for our host, that God will be able to use this as a way to reach the people here in India.

Today (Wed night for you, Thursday for us) we are holding a clinic in the Tent Cities that we showed you in our last post.

Thank you for letting me share a few things I have observed so far. Look forward to hearing some thoughts from our other team members soon.

Gary for the India Team

DAY 3 MEDICAL CLINICS

2010-01-27T12:53:00.012-06:00

A little information about the pictures:

1) Creig and Savannah standing with an Indian Doctor far left, an Indian nurse next to her and their translator between Savannah and Creig.

2) Elderly ladies sitting were talking about the medicines they have received.

3 & 4) The tent city are all over this area and are very sad. This picture is actually just behind our hotel. We will be seeing many people that live in these tent cities tomorrow (Thursday).

5) Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore

6) Our sign up area, medicine area and ballon area under the tent. Notice how fancy it is. We had the Doctors and Nurses set up in a 12x12 area in a building right next to the tent. We had 10 to 15 people in this 12x12 area at all times.

7) A lady working in the field.

8) A lady carrying big load of items

9) Ladies beating and working the beans to get them ready to eat

10) Notice the straw on the highway they want cars driving over it as it gets the seed out for them to harvest. Then they bail the straw to feed the animals.

11) An ant or termite mound that was was taller than me so it was about 6 1/2 feet tall.

12) Our Hotel in Bangalore the Twin Tulips

13) A family of 4 on a motorcycle with one asleep

14) Sunrise this morning from the rooftop of our hotel

It was a long but very productive day today. We had a 2 hour bus ride to get to our location for our clinic today. Then once we arrived we had to set up our work areas and get organized for the clinic. We saw around 100 our first clinic, 175 our 2nd clinic and about 200 today.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will be holding our clinic in the areas they call the Tent Cities, which is a very poor very sad area as you can see in the photos.

Hope you are enjoying the pictures and the brief updates. We hope to share some of the teams experiences with you tomorrow. It isn't always easy to get pictures and information sent when you don't always have Wi-Fi available!

Thank you for praying! Continue asking God to use us to share His love with the people here in India.

Gary for the India Team

DAY 2 MEDICAL CLINICS

2010-01-26T11:39:00.004-06:00

Here are just a few pictures from our 2nd Day of Medical Clinics.

1) Pastor Eddie has found a new talent, he made the balloon zebra all by himself!

2) The lady that I (Gary) have my picture with is 91 years old and has 57 grandkids

3) Can't say enough about Karen and her balloon characters! She is our crowd control when we get to the clinic and have hundreds of people coming to see us and they have no idea what lining up means! It is great to have something to entertain them while they are waiting to see the Dr.

4) The ladies on the street by the clinic are playing some kind of shell game

Tomorrow we will be a 14 hour day for our team. Pray for a good nights sleep and for the team to be refreshed and energized for the long day ahead of us.

We are 11.5 hours ahead of you (at least those of you in Springfield!) so when you are eating dinner we will be getting up and starting our day.

Once again I can't thank you enough for praying for us. Hopefully in the next couple of days we can share some stories from our team about the people we have seen at the clinic.

Gary for the India Team

FIRST DAY OF MEDICAL CLINICS

2010-01-25T21:20:00.011-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our first day of medical clinics at a MANNA Orphanage/Feeding Center. A few interesting things to share:

1) Notice the little boy in the picture in the top left corner with the Green Branson T-shirt on, just thought that was funny

2) The older ladies we met (some in these photos) did not know how old they were

3) Most of the people do not look poor by the way they are dressed, but they are very poor

4) The picture of the group of kids with the guitar are kids that live at the MANNA Orphanage. The little boy in the blue shirt with the yellow on his sleeves lost his father a year or so ago, his mom was so poor that she brought him to the MANNA Orphanage, then she died just a week or so ago. So sad, and the stories like this just go on and on and on.!

We were exhausted yesterday after the long, long trip to get here and then just having a few hours of sleep before we began our first clinic. Thankfully last night we had a good nights sleep and are refreshed and getting ready to head out to our 2nd day of medical clinics.

Thank you for praying for us, we do feel your prayers. We will try to keep you updated with photos and stories when we can.

Gary for the India Team

THEY MADE IT TO INDIA

2010-01-24T22:43:00.002-06:00

Thank you for praying for the team! They made it to India Sunday afternoon our time. After a few hours of sleep they will be getting up early and start organizing their medical clinics they will be holding.

Continue praying for their safety as India is a restricted country where the Gospel is not welcome.

Keep watching for updates of the progress of their trip!!

HEADED TO INDIA

2010-01-23T13:56:00.003-06:00

The team left this morning for India and Germany (- one who is meeting them in Chicago). Pray for safe travels and for their 8 bags full of medicine to arrive with no issues!

THANK YOU KINGSWAY

2010-01-19T16:29:00.003-06:00

Well all the medicine is packed and in just a few days the team will be on their way to India thanks to the amazing donation from Kingsway Charities. We would not be able to take this much medicine without their organization donating it to us! Thank you Kingsway!

PRAY that there are no issues with the 9 bags of medicine they are taking and that it all arrives intact in India!!

2010-01-18T13:34:00.001-06:00

Gracia Burnham at High Street

2009-10-13T17:36:00.001-05:00

Gracia Burnham Testimony from High Street on Vimeo.

THAILAND TRIP REPORT JULY 1st

2009-06-23T13:44:00.001-05:00

THE MOST EXCITING NEWS FROM THAILAND

2009-06-16T09:32:00.004-05:00

We got news today that one of the little boys we met at the School where we held English Camp in Baan Nam Kem, got saved after we left for home. Erin shared her testimony with him and Pholi interpreted it for her, and he got saved! I bet Erin is glad she stayed behind now!! His name is Pon and this is a picture of him. He was a fun little boy to hang out with, full of energy for sure!

Pray for him, that his family will allow him to attend church at the CDC and he will continue to grow in Christ and grow up to be a Godly young man. Maybe even he will go back to school this week and tell about his experience and bring others to know Christ. It was worth taking this trip just for this good news!!

We hope to hear more stories like this one!!

BACK IN THE USA

2009-06-16T09:18:00.004-05:00

We are home! The team landed in Springfield around 3:00pm Monday afternoon. Mixed emotions.....ready to be home to regular toilets and american food.....sad to leave the precious people of Thailand and our new friends.

Hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of our trip. There are no pictures, stories or souvenirs that could explain the sights, sounds and smells we experienced on this trip. But we hope you were able to grasp a little bit of our experience from our post on the blog and all the facebook post too!!

Two of our team members, Haylee and Erin, stayed behind for 2 more weeks of working with our missionaries. Please pray for their safety, health and making it to all their flights home by themselves!! There is a lot involved flying that far away.......passports, tickets, security checks, immigration, customs - it is a major ordeal!

Thank you to Jason & Pholi Goh, Sarah Kurian and David, Joy, Alena, Gabriel and Jasmine Speights for making this such a fantastic trip. We are so privileged to be able to partner with our missionaries to help them share the Gospel with the people of Thailand. Now that we have been there and experienced ministry together, we can pray for you in a more intimate way, knowing now what you go through each day. We love you all and are so blessed to have been able to go on this trip.

The Thailand Team

LEAVING THAILAND TODAY

2009-06-13T22:38:00.007-05:00

Sorry it has been a couple of days since we have posted anything - it has been a very busy few days and we didn't have internet in most places. We have done so many amazing things I am not sure we can put it all into words but here we go.......

We spent 3 days at the school here in Baan Nam Kem holding an English Camp. But it wasn't really about the English, it was about the time we spent with the kids and the realationships we were going to form while we are here. It also was an opportunity for the CDC to reach out to these kids as well. We did games, music, English, sports and we took lots of pictures with the kids. They loved having their pictures taken with us and then looking at it through the camera. By the third day our kids had bonded specifically with certain Thai children. They knew their names and were exchanging gifts with each other.

Thursday evening we went to the beach where they have a memorial of the Tsunami. There is a wall of pictures of those who were lost in this village. It was very emotional to not only look at the memorial but to be standing in the very spot where the Tsunami took place, you just can't describe that feeling. We had pizza on the beach and held our service that evening in the pavilion on the beach. There could not have been a more perfect place to sit and listen to the word of God, with the sun setting, the cool breeze from the waves of the sea and the peaceful feeling that God was with us. Randy Tucker shared with the team and it was just a powerful, powerful time with God.

Friday we ended our English Camp at the school here in Baan Nam Kem. It was a very emotional time for all of us. Even though we can't understand each others language, there was still a connection made and many new friendships made. We invited all the kids from the camp to church service this morning at the CDC that is a children's church. It was great to see this morning as we arrived many of the kids came. They were here almost an hour early waiting for us to arrive - it was so sweet to see the look on all their faces when we pulled up. Especially the girls who were waiting the arrival of Mario (aka Blake Tucker).

We had a Thai church service Friday night at the CDC with some of their workers. Three of them shared their testimonies with us about how the came to know Christ. A couple of them had lost children in the Tsunami - it was heart breaking to hear them tell the story of the Tsunami, we could see their pain and heartache as they shared. They all had come through some very tough struggles, yet they have a joy in their life through Christ. It was such a blessing to all of us to get to hear their stories.

Saturday morning we headed out to go clam digging! We loaded up in long tail boats and took a 30 minute ride out to where the water was shallow trying to dig for the clams before the tide came in. However, it came in very quickly and we had to keep moving down stream. Just as we arrived at our digging location and unloaded the boats, Randy Tucker let out a scream as if he had been hurt by something. As we got him out of the water it was evident he had been stung in the foot bad by something, we were assuming a stingray, but we weren't positive. It was obvious that it was an unbearable pain. So we loaded him in a boat with one of our missionaries to interpret for them and they headed back in to the doctor. It was a tense moment for the team and a little scary for all of us for a while, but we are so thankful that it was a stingray and not something more serious. He is doing pretty good now.

After clam digging and lunch at the CDC we went on Elephant Rides. That was a blast! Something we will never forget. We also got to see an adorable monkey show and another snake show with a King Cobra! It was probably around 16 feet long, the guys who work with those snakes are nuts!!

We left there and finished up some shopping in a town called Khao Lak - once again it was extremely hot, but it was fun and we got to get more trinkets to remember our time on Thailand. We ate dinner at an international restaurant that had american food and ice cream!!! It was a treat for most of the team to have something familiar like Hamburgers and Spaghetti!

When we returned to the hotel we all met together and Troy shared a blessing that he had received from each high school student as he observed them on this trip. It was a sweet time together to hear him share so many neat things that our kids had done this week. They all went out of their comfort zone and did things they would never have done had they not been on this trip. To watch God speak to each one of them in a different way. This has truly been an amazing trip.

We are at the CDC now having children's church, then we will have lunch here and jump in the vans and head to Phuket to the airport to start our journey home! At first it seemed like 10 days would be so long, and now we can't believe it is already time to go home.

Pray for us as we travel home, that we can keep the same excitement we all feel right now when we return back to our life in the states again.

The Thailand Team

thai photos

2009-06-11T02:47:00.003-05:00

High Octane in Thailand

2009-06-08T19:25:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone,

We have had a great trip so far and had many unique experiences. Our students have seen things that they have never had the opportunity to see in the Ozarks. We have had a wonderful chance to see people that are very different than us in their culture, but still at the end of the day, just like us. Just like Americans, they are a people who need the Lord. And yet when you do meet someone who has received Christ here, their automatically seems to be a strong kinship with them.

I appreciate how High Street has enabled our students to have this life changing experience. Your support has allowed us to get over here and experience the world and realize there are so many who haven't heard about Christ.

You would be very proud to see our students and how they are behaving. It has been very hot/humid, and we have kept them very busy, but haven't heard any complaints. Please continue to pray for our safety in traveling, and that God opens doors for our students to minister to the people at the CDC.

Here is the breakdown of what we have had the opportunity to do so far in Bangcock.

1. Church Services in Thai and English

2. See culture in their places of business

3. We visited a 5,000+ private Christian boys school in Bangkok

4. Visited Buddhist temples and palaces

5. Attended a very interesting snake show!

God bless.

Troy Wolfe

Youth Pastor

FIRST DAY IN THAILAND

2009-06-07T09:44:00.004-05:00

We arrived safely in Bangkok around 1:30am Sunday morning. By the time we got to our guest house and got everyone settled in to their room it was around 3:00am before we got to bed. It was a short nights sleep but a much needed rest after such long flights and the 12 hour time difference.

We began our day around 8:30 am with breakfast then heading to Pastor Noom's church, Sia-mia Baptist Church. They had a Thai service first at 10:30 then we at an authentic Thai lunch that the church prepared for us, then we held an English service at 2pm with Troy bringing the message. The people were so sweet and we enjoyed our time with them.

A couple of exciting things for us was first to meet one of the missionaries that works with Pastor Noom, Minda Gallarin, who is a Fillipino missionary from Boyd Lyons church. She was so excited to meet us and she was especially excited to see Coco. What a great picture of how missions really works to be able to see a missionary that was sent out of one of our missionaries churches.

Another exciting thing was to meet one of the girls at the church that was saved in an English Camp that a team from High Street held here in Thailand in 2004. Especially for Gary and Randy who were a part of that team, to be able to see that she is still attending church and serving the Lord.

Tomorrow we will be seeing the sights of Thailand and learning the culture. Our day will be a long one - riding the train to visit the oldest private Christian school in Thailand with over 5,000 students, touring a temple, taking a long tailed boat ride, eating in the tallest building in Thailand and ending our day with some street shopping.

We are looking forward to a good nights sleep! Thank you for praying for us, things have gone very smoothly so far.

The Thailand Team

THAILAND HERE WE COME

2009-06-05T07:32:00.006-05:00

We are at the airport waiting to board our first flight to Chicago (hour or so), then to Japan (14 hour flight), then to Bangkok, Thailand (7 hour flight)!! Pray for us, this is going to be a long haul today!! Hopefully we can all sleep on the long flight.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our fundraisers, purchased items for us to take, prayed for us and encouraged us as we prepared for this trip. We are expecting God to do some amazing things with this group and all for all of us to come home changed.

Our verse for the trip is Colossians1:29 "Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily"

The Thailand Team

THAILAND MISSION TRIP 09

2009-05-12T15:39:00.015-05:00

Thank you to everyone who came out and support our high school class at the pancake breakfast! It was a huge success.

The team will be leaving for Thailand on Friday June 5th and returning to Springfield on Monday June 15th. Please be in prayer for our team as we go, several of the high schoolers going have never been on a mission trip!! Pray for their safety, their health and for God to speak to each one individually about what he would have them do for Missions.

We will be working with our missionaries Jason & Valencia Goh, David & Joy Speights and Sarah Kurian at the Community Development Center that High Street helped build after the Tsunami devastated the community of Pukhet. The CDC has a school, MANNA feeding center and Church services there. One of the things we will be doing is holding an English Day Camp with the children who attend school here as an outreach to share the Gospel with them. Many of these children lost family members and all their belongings in the Tsunami.

Check the blog during our trip and keep updated on what the team is doing and see how God is using these students to share Christ with the people of Thailand.

Sheila - John Paul - Britton - Brittany - Coco - Megan -

Kim - Abbie - Erin - Ruby - Rachel - Shawntel -

Blake - Randy - Tammie -Haylee - Ashley -

Lisa - Morgan - Gary - Troy - Jen

Guatemala 2009 Video

2009-04-21T17:11:00.001-05:00

ALLYOU CAN EAT PANCAKES

2009-04-21T12:32:00.008-05:00

ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES FUNDRAISER

Saturday, May 2nd

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Applebee's on N. Glenstone

Tickets are $5 and include your drink

You can purchase your ticket at High Street or at the door

All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to help

our high school team members go on their trip to

Thailand June 5 - 15th

In Thailand we will be working with our missionaries

Jason & Velencia Goh, David & Joy Speights and Sarah Kurian.

The team will be working at the

Commnunity Developement Center in Pukhet.

High Street had a part in building the CDC after the

Tsunami devastated this community.

They have a school, MANNA feeding center and

church services at the CDC.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MISSIONS AT HIGH STREET!

GOOD TO BE HOME

2009-03-31T12:37:00.003-05:00

It is great to be back home from Guatemala, but at the same time it was so sad to leave those precious babies at The Eagles Nest Children's Home. Thanks Larry & Claire Boggs for a great trip!

We hope you will join us Wed. night at 6:30pm in the Chapel at High Street to hear about our trip. We will have Dinner for $1 Tacos at 5pm! Don't miss it!

ANOTHER BUSY DAY IN GUATEMALA

2009-03-28T09:46:00.004-05:00

Friday was a hectic but fun day for the team. We headed to Panajachael right after breakfast and started our day learning the culture of the Mayan people. Miguel, our tour guide for the day taught us about their language, their dress and the meaning behind what they wear. He also shared about their religion and how the Maya people believe the world came into existence, which is very far from the truth.

Miguel then took us on a boat ride across the lake to the city of Santiago. It is 95% Mayan and very crowded and very poor. We went to the home of a lady who showed us how they make some of the goods they sell. She showed us how to make thread from cotton, how to weave cloth into designs and she even dressed some of our team in Mayan clothing. It was a wonderful experience.

We returned back to Panajachael and headed to the Zip Line! Oh my, this was a fantastic experience for the team! They climb up the mountain to reach the starting point which seemed never ending....but once we got there it was amazing to zip line through the jungle surrounded by mountains, exotic wildlife and just the natural beauty of this city.

We had an authentic meal in Panajachael and then headed out for a little shopping. That is an experience that you can't explain. I can't tell you how many times each of us said No Gracias!

The sights, the sounds and the smell....it is so hard for us to put into words what we are seeing, hearing and smelling! One thing we all have noticed the most is that the people here work very hard long hours. We have watched young children to very old people carrying everything from a baby, to loads of wood, to harvested onions and the biggest carrots we had ever seen! We watched one man put a load on his back that it took 2 grown men to get off the top of a bus. They walk up and down mountain roads that nearly killed some of us with nothing on our backs!

So today is finishing up the security system, one last quilt, and watching the most chaotic garage sale you have ever seen! Claire lets the workers each pick 30 things for free, then the rest of the people get to buy things for about a quarter. Claire just yelled across the valley and the people came running. When everyone is finished buying they take the left overs to the front of the hospital down the road and within a minute everything is gone.

We leave for Guatemala City right after lunch, and it will be hard to say goodbye. We have experienced so much this week, and at times it has seemed overwhelming. We realize how much we take for granted, and hopefully we will remember to be thankful for all that God has blessed us with back home, but also to remember how much the people here need Christ, and to keep praying and supporting the Boggs ministry in Solola.

NEWS FROM GUATEMALA

2009-03-26T22:54:00.004-05:00

Today was a full day....some of us went to the state children's home to help Claire as she has to volunteer 10 hours a month to complete a course she is taking to meet government requirements to run their orphanage. It was sad, there was no structure and nothing for us to do with the kids as there were no toys or book and a not so great play ground.

The rest of the team went to Vina Studios where they translate the Jesus film into different languages and they also make movies with finger puppets for those who can't read or write. There are 43 different dialects besides Spanish in Guatemala.

This afternoon we ate an authentic Guatemalan meal .... it is a lot of hard work to prepare a meal here for a big group. It was a great experience trying to make our own tortilla shells!! None of us were very good. We toured a cemetery where they bury above the ground 3 or 4 high. The monuments are painted in all different colors...it was a beautiful view but a sad reality.

We also had a soccer tournament tonight and message brought by a group from Larry & Claire Boggs first church in Guatemala. We gave out soccer backpacks, t-shirts, water bottles and candy to all the area kids that came. (thanks to Glendale Soccer Team and Lake Country Soccer) We ended the night with a little fireworks show! They all had a great time and it was a lot of fun for us as well!

We have 11 quilts made and the security system is installed....we are just doing a few tweaks here and there and we will be done!

We will try to post another update before we head to Guatemala City Saturday to begin our journey home.

GOING TO MARKET

2009-03-25T10:08:00.004-05:00

There are no words to explain market yesterday.....Claire took some of us to their local market they have a couple of days a week. It was unbelievable....the sights, the sounds and well THE SMELL!! It was so crowded there were times we couldn't move. But it was a great cultural experience....one that most of the group will never ever forget!

Operation Security Blanket is Under Way!

2009-03-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

Well we are here Guatemala and things are going great! The guys got a lot of work done last night and today on the security system....and the girls got 2 quilts completed....which was a huge accomplishment since none of us had ever made a quilt before. As you can see in the photos the babies at the Orphanage are so adorable. It is so much fun to play with them and spend time with them. One of the babies was brought here by his mom the day she delivered him in October, he was only 4lbs old. She asked them to take him or she would leave them in the street. So the Boggs kept the baby and his mom overnight and they went to court the next day to get the appropriate papers signed so they could keep him. Because his mom didn't want him and hadn't given him a name, the state has him listed as baby X, it just breaks your heart.

Keep watching for updates and Keep praying for the team!

HEADING TO GUATEMALA

2009-03-17T10:56:00.006-05:00

Operation Security Blanket Team will be leaving for Guatemala this Saturday, March 21st - 29th! Please be in prayer for the team and for our project. We will update the blog daily while we are in Guatemala so keep watching for new pictures and updates of our trip!

Team Members:
Gary - Lisa - Matt - Dave - Brad - Mandy - Jeff - Shannon - Ashley - Charlotte - Greg - Stephen - Jenny - Morgan - Sam - Mark - Cindy - Barrett - Dave - Sam - Dennis - Melanie

Prayer request:
Safe Travel

Team Members Health

All our luggage will arrive in Guatemala with the team

We have no trouble getting the medications we are taking through customs (the last team that went to the Eagles Nest had their medications confiscated at the airport)

That the equipped we shipped is in good condition and nothing is missing

We will be able to finish the installation of the security system while we are there

The team will have opportunity to share Christ with those we work with and come in contact with while in Guatemala

GUATEMALA PANCAKE BREAKFAST

2009-01-12T11:21:00.009-06:00

We are having a fundraiser for our Operation Security Blanket mission trip in March. The proceeds from this fundraiser will go to help pay shipping for all the materials we will need to install the security system. It will also be used to help purchase any materials we need that were not donated, purchase any items the Eagles Nest Orphanage may need us to bring and for team members that may need help raising money to go.

ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKE FUNDRAISER

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th 8:00am -10:00 am

APPLEBEE'S NORTH
(corner of Glenstone & Kearney)

COST IS $5 PER PERSON

YOU CAN PURCHASE YOUR TICKET AT THE DOOR
OR YOU CAN PURCHASE A TICKET AT HIGH STREET
ON SUNDAY JAN 25th AND SUNDAY FEB 1st

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MISSIONS AT HIGH STREET!!

Operation Security Blanket Schedule...

2008-11-07T12:17:00.002-06:00

2008-09-11T16:29:00.010-05:00

Wow!! Where do we start to summarize our trip. We are writing this
as we fly back from Rome to the US at 7am Tue. morning your time.
First of all, we want to thank our families for allowing us to
take this trip, and for each of you that kept us in your hearts
and prayers while we were in Turkey and Italy. I also want to thank
our host family in Turkey as they had our time there well planned
out and everything went perfect. What we saw will never leave our
minds or be forgotten.

Then we went to Rome the Liles had everything ready for us too and
everything went smooth there as well. Both Jim and I already had
relationships with both of your families, but we can now say our
relationship and love for both of your families will never be the
same.  We love all of you more then ever. We also had a lot of fun
spending time with your kids as well and they made the trip even
more enjoyable for us both. It was so evident that you love your
new countries and feel you are right where God wants you. And as
evident as that was, it was even more evident that you love the
people and look forward to building eternal relationships with them.

One thing that surprised us in Turkey was how friendly the people
were. Being from the US and not being very knowledgeable about this
area and the Muslim religion, we were a little nervous. But everyone
we met and worked with were as friendly as anyone we have ever met.
It is obvious that God will open doors there. We also were in awe
as we traveled throughout the country seeing sights in person as we
read about them in the Bible while standing at that very spot. We
are still amazed with all the cave churches that we went into in the
Cappadocia region. Istanbul was also an amazing city of 15 million.

Rome was amazing just for different reasons. Of course to go
and see the Vatican and Coliseum was amazing as you always hear
about them. Not to mention seeing so many other places that we
have always read about in history as well. But to get to go and
attend a church service with the Liles and stay for a dinner and
get to meet and visit people was maybe the highlight of our time
in Rome. We were also very impressed as they have a deaf ministry
and there were over 20 deaf people in attendance.

I would like to ask you to remember Sadat, Arasin, Nazla and
Anthony as they were our tour guides in different locations
and we were able to share with most of them and just ask you to
lift them up. They are all amazing people and hopefully we can
use them in the future when we take groups back. We do look
forward to taking groups back to both locations in the future
so that many of you can see the amazing things God is doing in
both of these countries.

I could go on and on but I hope we hit most of the highlights
each day on the blog. Thanks again and we hope you could feel
a little bit of what we were so privileged to experience through
our daily posts.

Gary & Jim

LAST DAY IN ROME

2008-09-09T13:30:00.004-05:00

We finished our last day in Rome touring the Vatican City. Wow what a place as we were there over 5 hours and didn't even touch a small part of all you can see. We were able to see where over 2/3 of all the Popes are buried in what is called the Vatican Grotto. There are over 100 people including 91 Popes buried there. John Paul the 2nd that passed away in 2005 is buried there and has to have guards to keep people from trying to get near his crypt. The very main area in the Basilica where the Pope speaks from is directly over St. Peters crypt and is a Bronze structure 98 ft tall. This is called a Baldacchino which is a pavilion like structure immediately under the dome.


1 main entrance to the Basilica from St. Peters Square
2-3 in St. Peters Square
4 Entrance to Vatican City
5-19 Pictures of things throughout the Vatican
20 Nero's bath in Purple Marble
21 Purple monument. Over 1/2 of the worlds purple marble is at the Vatican.
22 Huge tapestry. There were about a dozen like this that were incredible
with detail
23-27 works of art by Raphael or his apprentice as he died before all of his art work was finished.
28-30 pictures from the Sisteen Chapel by Michael Angelo. I am not sure how I got these since they don't allow pictures in this room.
31 St. Peters tomb under the Baldacchino
32-33 Different Popes Crypts that had glass sides. Most Popes you could not tale pictures of their crypts.
34 Dome in the Basilica
35 the Baldacchino
36 Inside the Basilica

HISTORY OF ROME

2008-09-08T11:31:00.011-05:00

Sunday afternoon we started out with the Liles family by stopping and touring the church of John which was even larger and more ornate then any of the ones we toured on Saturday. We then went to the Coliseum, the Palatin Hill and the Forum. Of course everyone knows all about the Coliseum and theForum is where all roads that led into Rome met. But the Palatin Hill is where the City of Rome actually was started and was very cool to see. On the top of the hill is where Julius Cesar's nephew Cesar Agustus built his house when he took over and ruled Rome. From then on all Emperors lived there but they all added on to this house until it covered over half or more of the entire hill which was very large. It is also supposedly where the founder of Rome Romulus lived as they found a stone with his name on it near the house that Cesar Agustus built. There is also a house that is still there that Mussolini built for his summer home and he and Adolf Hitler used to meet there.

1 Church of John exterior
2 - 3 pics of the coliseum
4-5 Entrance on two of the roads leading to the Forum

6 Palantin Hill

7 Mussolini summer home,

8 Marker where Romulus thef ounder of Rome's house was

9 the Forum area

CHURCH IN ITALY

2008-09-08T11:13:00.008-05:00

We went to church at the Chiesa Christiana Evangelica Berea in Rome with the Liles this morning and it was a very nice service. It was in Italian so we didn't understand much but we did have an interpreter so at least we knew what was going on. This service was special as the Pastor Bill Standridge is the one that helped get the Liles their letter they needed to get into Italy. They also had a special time of prayer just for the country of Ethiopia that lasted about 20 minutes. They pick different countries to pray for periodically. It was exciting to see that they are involved in Missions in this way. They then had a church wide lunch and it was good to get to visit with the people and to eat a lot of authentic Italian foods. They take their time as the service lasted about 2 and a half hours and then lunch lasted about the sane amount of time. But it didn't seem that long as it was very nice.

1-2 The church service and showing country of Ethiopia to pray for

3 Lunch photos

4 Spinach pie. It was ok as we tried it but I am not sure if it was adesert or part of the meal

5 Pastor And Mrs. Standridge

6 a nice couple we met Damian and his wife. He brought the message this morning. He is from New Orleans and she is from Argentina

7 Our Interpreter

8 The Liles Family

9 Their church sign

FIRST DAY IN ROME

2008-09-06T22:14:00.005-05:00

Wow! what an afternoon we had in Rome. I can't believe the size of the churches we went in and we have not even gone to the big ones yet. Also the huge Plaza's and Fountains as well. Jim and I really enjoyed spending time with Jon Liles today during all of our sight seeing. After our tour we went out to eat pizza with the Liles family. I have to say that their true Italian Pizza was out of this world. I can't wait to try spaghetti and hopefully Lasagna before we leave. We even happened to be walking up to a church right when a wedding was starting. And you know us... we snuck inside to watch the ceremony and take some pics. We thought about crashing the reception but we decided that we better not.

1 Ikea store near Jon and Becky's house. It looks like it is about two blocks long
2 Jim, Jon and myself in front of a Baptist church near the Pantheon

3&4 The Pantheon. Built 31 BC originally and rebuilt after a fire in 125AD. In 609AD it was given to Pop Boniface the 4th who converted it into a Catholic Church. There are several people buried there including Artist Rafael and two Kings and one Queen of Italy. It is the oldest standing Dome structure in Rome
5 The Spanish Steps - A tourist attraction
6 A lot of people below the Spanish Steps

7&8 Piazza Del Popolo and Church in the Plaza. This is a large area they have outdoor concerts and gathering since the open area is so large.
9-21 All the churches we went inside

22-24 The wedding we watched
25 Trevi Fountain - all of this was carved out of one piece of marble

WE ARE IN ROME

2008-09-06T17:09:00.002-05:00

We made it to Rome safe and sound from Instanbul after a flight through Frankfurt, Germany. Jon Liles picked us up at the airport at 1am. After just a few hours of sleep we went to the Liles apartment and enjoyed a nice brunch that Becky fixed for us. As you can see from the photo above, they loved the suitcase full of stuff you sent for them. Jon, Becky, Ethan, Kent and Natalie want to say THANK YOU to all of those who brought the items they had asked for or for those who gave money for us to purchase what they needed. It brought big smiles!!

We will have more from Rome soon!

OUR LAST DAY IN TURKEY

2008-09-06T14:19:00.006-05:00

We finished up our time in Turkey by visiting two additional churches and one Grand Bazaar shopping area with over 3600 shops in Istanbul. We may have went into two of the most ornate and beautiful churches we have seen on our trip. The first one was the Chora Church and it was built as a church in the 5th century but was converted into a Mosque during one of the war times when the area was turned to Islam. They covered many of the Icons of Christians but they did it in a way that when they went back later to see if they were still there they were able to remove the plaster covering them and there was very little damage - except earthquakes had done some damage. Many of these pictures are using mosaic tiles which would have meant they spent many weeks or months making each picture.

The second church was a Catholic church and that had ornate pictures and areas all over. The most intriguing thing was they have a Column type post they say is a post that Jesus was tied to when he was being scourged on his way to be crucified. We have no way to confirm or dispute this but they have been saying this for many years and no one has been disputing this is not real.

The last photo above we are with our tour guide Nazla. Remember her as she was asking a lot of questions about Christianity and we were able to explain a lot of things to her from personal experience and not just her reading abou it in her tour guide class.

I want to finish this part or our trip by saying that Turkey was out of this World and neither Jim or I could have imagined how friendly the people are or how beautiful the country is. But most of all our host family had everything lined up and could not have picked better locations for us to visit. Our bond and love with their entire family will never go away and we can't wait to see them again.

We flew to Rome Friday night and Jon Liles picked us up at the airport and we are now going to spend time with Jon and Becky and their family. We will also start our tour of Rome Sat. afternoon.

FINISHING UP TOUR OF TURKEY

2008-09-06T13:50:00.005-05:00

1 Entrance to the Palace we toured

2-4 From the kitchen in the palace. They fed 5000 totalincluding the workers every day at the palace plus with guests it was ashigh as 10,000 people they had to feed on many days.

4-6Items in the palace. Most rooms had no pictures were allowed so we could not get pics of the best stuff.

7-8 A couple of the many large cruise ships that dock in the Harbor

9-11Former Palace's that were actually built after the one we toured as a couple of the Sultans wanted to get more modern ones. One is now a hotel and they say it is the most expensive hotel to stay in Istanbul.

12 Another angle of the bridge

13 Former government building

14 Army building still being used as that today
15 The Palace we toured from the wate

16 We were very close to touching as we went under a small bring when we docked

We went past several water front homes on this boat ride that sell for $50 to $60 Million. This is a very expensive area and the houses go for outrageous prices. I think this is it. We tour another big church tomorrow and a few othersights and then catch a flight to Rome at 5:50pm.

MORE AMAZING TURKEY

2008-09-06T13:35:00.003-05:00

Today we started out by touring the Topkapi Palace which was built in1478. It was amazing all the artifacts that are there. They no longer havean active Palace so it has been turned into a museum. We have no way to know what is real or not but they had John the Baptist's arm and head, Moses rod. Also 86 and 55 carrot diamonds that were incredible. I could go on and on about the Palace as it had so many incredible items and things to see.

Second we took a boat tour that went up the Bosporous Straights that separates the part of Istanbul that is in Asia from the part that is inEurope. I bet most of you had no idea that the city is split up this way as I didn't know until recently. It was incredible as we went by two former palaces, a fort from the 14th century, as well as many other government buildings and other countries Embassies. There is also a huge bridge that connects Asia and Europe which is the most famous bridge in Turkey.

As great as these two things we did first were the rest of the afternoon is my highlight of the day. We went over to the newer part of the city that is much more European and modern. It is only new as they tore down some old buildings are built newer ones in some areas. But most of it is still veryold. But the Highlight is we were able to go into a Greek Orthodox Church, two Catholic churches St. Anthony's and St. Mary's and also saw a few other churches while walking. When you consider that Turkey is at least 98.5% Muslim we did not expect to see these other churches. We also met a man atthe Greek Orthodox Church and when we asked him if he was Turkish he said no I am a Christian. He was of course Turkish but wanted us to know he was a Christian first. We really didn't expect to hear that on this trip. We also drove by one building that was used as a Mosque and also as a church so it had the dome and minaret for Islam and also a Cross for the church. I asked the tour guide and she said that is a very unusual situation and of course they don't use the building at the same time. I also cannot even attempt to tell you how many people are in this area we are staying in. When we went out walking the last two nights there are at least 10,000 people in about a 3 or 4 block area. Of course in a town of 15 Million this is everywhere all over the city I am sure. It is Ramadan so alot of Muslims are fasting during the daylight hours. So if they don't eat or drink from before it gets light until 7:30pm a lot of people are coming out to eat at 7:30pm and people are everywhere.

1 Picture from the Palace Grounds
2 Fort from the 14th century
3 Turkish Flag
4 Underneath the bridge that connects Europe & Asia
5-7 Pictures of a few of the churches we went inside of and walked by
8 Christian man we met today
9-16 More pictures of the churches we saw

ISTANBUL

2008-09-04T10:48:00.002-05:00

We left Cappadocia (they pronounce it Cappadokia) early on Wed. morning and flew to Istanbul. We spent Wed. touring the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia Museum (which was originally an Orthodox church that was turned into a Mosque before it became a museum) and then a huge underground cistern system where they would store water so if any of the enemies tried to poison their water. They had a large amount stored until they could finish any war they might be engaged in. Then we just went and waked around the main area of Istanbul Wed. evening to see a lot of the sights after dark.

One interesting side note - we were talking with our tour guide in Cappadocia about how friendly we have noticed the Turkish people are. He said that in Istanbul they are not always as friendly and they fight more. Well, while we walking around last night we saw a fist fight so I guess he was right. We also saw a van run into a motorcycle and the poor guy on the motorcycle was sure shook up but he was ok.

1. Exterior of Blue Mosque
2-7. Inside the Blue Mosque
8-9. Blue Mosque
10. Outside the Magia Sofia
11-20. Inside of the Hagia Sofia
21. Column at an angle on the Hagia Sofia that is this way from earthquake
22. From the underground cistern
23. people on the street. It was this every street you went on and every direction. There are over 15 million people in Istanbul
24-25. Exterior of Hagia Sofia

TURKISH CULTURE

2008-09-03T08:42:00.003-05:00

We ended Tuesday by going to a Turkish cultural show for dinner. It was very interesting to see Turkish traditions come to life. You can also see they joined in on the festivities.

UNDERGROUND CITY IN TURKEY

2008-09-02T13:20:00.001-05:00

We started out this morning touring what is called the Red Valley where many Christians lived in the cave dwellings. There were also many pigeon houses which were very important as they harvested the dung to fertilize the fields for the crops. Back then you were also considered wealthy if you had pigeons.

Then this afternoon we went and toured an underground city. There were several hundred people living in this cave city and there are several cave cities in this region where Christians had to hide out during war times. This was so amazing to understand how they had to survive. Of course back then with no electricity it was pitch black without a candle lit. But when they lit hundreds of candles and started the fires for cooking it would deplete the oxygen not to mention the smoke in the caves. So they drilled several air chambers to get fresh air into the caves but had to be careful as they could not be noticed outside.

The Roman soldiers used the first floor to live in so they could protect the Christians below them and go out and fight the enemies trying to kill the Christians. So the Christians all lived on the bottom 4 floors for protection by the Roman Soldiers. Keep in mind they only built these underground cities during the war times and then they would move back out to their normal cave houses.

Another great day to see the history of Christians in Turkey but to also understand the culture much better.

1-6 Drawings in churches from the 7th century
7 -8 Area where we went to see more houses where Christians lived, cave dwellings, churches and pigeon houses
9-11 More drawings in churches from the 7th Century
12-17 Old cave city including a mosque and one pic of the inside
18 Cool mosque in front of a cave city on a big rock(you can't see it all in this pic)
19 A huge cave city
20 Entry to 5 story underground city where Christians had to hide to not be killed. They had to stay underground for as long as 5 months at a time on many occasions
21 One of the churches in the underground city
22 Stone that would roll in front of an entrance to keep the enemy out. They had one at each outside entrance of course but also strategically placed throughout caves so if the enemy penetrated an area they could keep them from getting to everyone and also trap them and kill them. Notice the hole in the stone this was so they could poke a spear to kill the enemy if they did try to move the stone.
23 This was to hold drinks when they all were eating meals in the cave
24 A sign that shows many of the areas to visit in the Cappadocia region - Cappadocia not just a city but an entire region
25 Jim and I are going to start a High Street East

MORE FROM TURKEY

2008-09-01T21:52:00.001-05:00

We left the region of Smyrna this morning early and flew to Cappadocia which is in the middle of Turkey. We spend most of the day looking at all the cave dwellings. It is amazing as there are literally thousands of them all over the place. We went into several cave churches as well. We are also staying in a cave hotel ourselves which is pretty cool. Tomorrow (Tue)we are going to go and tour the underground cities.

1 Our cave hotel we are staying at
3,4,5,&6 Abandoned caves that we went inside and then afterwards found out the are abandon due to an earthquake and now they are unsafe
7 Our cook where we grabbed a snack this morning

8 The police station in a rock formation
9 Jim making pottery at a pottery factory we stopped to take a look at

10 Cave restaurant we ate lunch at today
11,12&13 Some of the cave churches we went inside of
14 Our guide today. Lift him up as we had a lot of discussions today
15&16 More of our Cave Hotel

SOME HISTORICAL SITES OF TURKEY

2008-09-01T17:32:00.001-05:00

1. Gate to the city of Hierapolis.
2. Columns at Hierapolis.
3. This is where the thermal waters of Hierapolis (also known as "The Travertines of Pamukkale" in this area) come out of the ground and form this crystal formation all the way down the mountain side.
4. Columns along a road in Laodicea

5. Area of Ephesus

6. Ornate carving in Ephesus

7. More ornate carvings on this archway in Ephesus

8. Front of the Library in Ephesus

9. Amphitheater in Ephesus that held 24,000

We started the day at Hierapolis and saw the ruins there. There are many graves all with ornate above ground tombs. We also saw the sight where Phillip was murdered and buried. It is amazing to see how much work went into building all the structures. The aqueduct systems that got water to so many areas of the city and these systems were so ahead of their time. They continue to do excavation work here as they keep finding more areas of the city that are buried under the ground.

Next we went to Laodicea. I was a little surprised to find it is in the very early stages of being uncovered by archeologists. So there is not much there to see at this time but has so much written about it in the Bible.

Last we went to Ephesus and it was amazing. How big of an area it covered and how much of it is still to be uncovered that is still under ground. Everything was so ornate and the huge library and the incredible amphitheatre, as well as the senate chambers that was a covered amphitheatre type that held a couple of thousand as well. We set at the top of the amphitheatre and thought what it must have been like with 24,000 people there chanting and stomping their feet against Paul (Acts 19:26) and wanting to kill him. It was amazing even after all of these years how you could stand down on the floor and talk to someone at the very top like they were standing right next to you.

I have to say that as great as it was to see these three sights that we read about in the Bible it was also very sad to see all the people that mostly were there to see the ruins and the architecture and had no real idea the biblical history and importance that took place in each of these cities.

WE MADE IT TO TURKEY

2008-09-01T16:57:00.001-05:00

We have had a great time since we arrived in Turkey on Friday evening. Our guest hosts have been wonderful and their kids are so much fun to be around. We have enjoyed the last two nights getting to go eat dinner with them and getting to get to know the kids better. They also have a guest from the states staying with them that is a dear friend of ours so it was good to see her as well. In this picture we are standing at Hierapolis Graves.

HOME SAFE

2008-08-14T13:08:00.001-05:00

We had a great trip! There are so many stories we could tell you for each of these pictures. Hopefully we can post a few of those along with some more pictures soon! Right now we are all trying to catch up from being gone! Thank you for your prayers for our team.

If you have never been on a Mission Trip you need to be watching for annoucements of upcoming mission trips! It will change your life!

GUATEMALA UPDATE 3

2008-08-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

We have finished Friday. We had a great time at a school and then returned to the Eagles nest held those sweet babies a while. The days have been long and I know all are tired---usual mission trip! Yesterday and today we had a Canadian lady as our interpreter, she was very good and a Christian. Both schools welcomed us. Today's school, the principal was a Christian and we openly spoke of accepting Christ as their Savior. We are having a great time - please continue to pray for us as we get near the end of our trip and we begin to run out of energy!!

GUATEMALA UPDATE 2

2008-08-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

We had a long and rewarding day today,( Thursday.) We started at 6:30 with breakfast and drove to a remote school. Karen told her testimony and a Bible story to four different groups of children (180-200 total). We went to schools that hadn't been visited before. We openly told the children about the need to accept Christ as their Savior and the school master was grateful to us for coming.

We are preparing for another school on Friday, about the same size. Keep praying for our team and for the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these children and adult teachers that hear the Gospel.

GUATEMALA UPDATE

2008-08-01T17:14:00.000-05:00

Well after having a rough start, (our flight arrived at Dallas ten minutes before the departure of the next. When we arrived there was a van waiting for us and they held the connecting flight, so we made it) thing went much smoother once we were in Guatemala. At the Guatemala City airport, there was almost no screening and we found the motel shuttle outside which was great.

Tuesday we left on the vans to Antigua, had a great meal and did a little shopping. We arrived at Eagles Nest at 4:30 pm. We spent the evening holding the babies at the orphanage.

Today, (Wednesday) we bought some material for aprons, and painted a fence. We made 200 balloon animals getting ready for a school on Thursday. We need to be up early to be at school by 8am. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help us relate Gods word to the children.

THEY MADE IT

2008-07-29T14:24:00.001-05:00

The team made it to Guatemala late last night. They had a delay out of Springfield which made them late catching their next flight. When they arrived to board their next flight, they had already closed the door to the plane. But how shocking it was to find out they opened the door for them and they made the flight!! That is amazing! Praise the Lord!

Continue to be in prayer for them this week. We will have more updates as we get them.

GUATEMALA MISSION TRIP O8

2008-07-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

Please be in prayer for the following team members as they

minister to the people of Guatemala July 28th - Aug 3rd.

They will be working with our missionaires,

Larry & Claire Boggs at their orphanage.

KAY - KAREN - DAN - NANCY - BEN - BARBARA

BETTY - DEE - GREG - LOUISE - TERESA

OPERATION SECURITY BLANKET

2008-05-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

As many of you know...a few of us have recently returned home from Guatemala on a survey trip. We are undertaking what is being called "Operation Security Blanket" which is a Missions Project in cooperation with HSBC, DMP, Atlas Security & several other security industry manufacturing companies....including one of the major security industry publications...to provide a state of the art integrated Digital Video and Intrusion System to be installed at the "Eagles Nest" Children's Home in Solola, Guatemala for our missionaries and founders of the Children's Home, Larry and Claire Boggs.

We will be putting together a team to go and install this security system in the Spring 2009. If you are interested in going on this intall trip contact Gary Wilson at: gwilson@highstreet.org. We will have more detailed information about this trip soon.

You can see more about the Boggs ministry in Guatemala on their BLOG.

TURKEY TRIP VIDEO

2008-04-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

TURKEY TRIP 08

2008-04-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

BBC STUDENT TRIP

2008-02-04T10:44:00.000-06:00

I am a senior at Baptist Bible College and one of my requirements was to go on a mission trip. Of course I count it a privilege to get to go on a missions trip and not just a requirement. I had the privilege of going to the Philippines! I stayed for two weeks and was able to see what God is doing in Manila. I was able to work with Boyd and Donna Lyons at their church and Bible College. I had the opportunity to teach a class while I was there! I was also able to see Lance and Melanie Gotcher and what God is doing in their ministry. It was such a blessing to be involved in the ladies conference that their church hosted. There were over 700 ladies who came to the conference and many got saved! Praise the Lord! I ended my trip with Greg and Luanne Lyons and was able to get to know the various ministries that Greg and Luanne have. God is doing great things with their camp ministry and this year they will take over 50,000 kids to camp! They also have a teacher’s camp, where many teachers have come and many have received Christ as their Savior! Thank you High Street for helping me get to the Philippines!

Tiffany Lyons

Eating Balut, Philippines Missions Trip 2008

2008-01-28T23:12:00.000-06:00

HEADING HOME

2008-01-27T17:30:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for your prayers for this trip! God used this group in a very special way to share the gospel with thousands and to open new doors of opportunity for our missionairies.

Over 800 patients were seen and around 50 decisions that they are aware of. Many seeds were planted and we need to continue to pray that the Lord will use our Missionaires, National Pastors, the Filipino Christians and other teams to continue to reach the Filipino people.

On our next post we will have some comments and stories from our team members after they return.

ONE LAST CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

2008-01-27T17:28:00.001-06:00

Before heading home the team took in a cultural show - it looks as if some of the team members enjoyed the Filipino traditions.

MINISTRY IN MANILA

2008-01-27T17:03:00.000-06:00

The team finished up their ministry efforts by attending 7 services in a 28 hour period on Saturday and Sunday.

MEDICAL CLINIC IN MANILA

2008-01-26T21:56:00.000-06:00

Friday the team was able to see patients at a medical clinic that our missionaires Boyd & Donna Lyons have in the basement of their church.

BLESS

2008-01-26T21:37:00.000-06:00

The team visited BLESS, the ministry of our Missionaires Del & Lora Hooge. BLESS is a ministry that meets the educational needs of the indigent children, whose families cannot afford to send them to school. www.blessachild.net

MEDICAL CLINIC IN MINDORO

2008-01-25T09:39:00.000-06:00

MEDICAL CLINICS

2008-01-23T22:28:00.000-06:00

Sorry there are no pictures this time - the area they are in for their medical clinics does not have internet - hopefully we will have new pictures up by Thursday night.

Thank you so much for praying - The Lord has answered our prayers - after two days of medical clinics the team has seen over 500 adults! These clinics have opened up many new opportunities for the National Pastor there. They held a service while they were there and at least 25 accepted Christ as their savior! What a huge encouragment and blessing that was to our group!

The clinics have gone well but the team is exhausted. Continue to pray for them as they travel from Mindoro back to Manila on Thursday.

CHURCH SERVICES

2008-01-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

The team was able to be in three church services Sunday. Many of them were able to share their testimonies. They will be traveling to Mindoro Monday morning (Sunday night our time) to facilitate their medical clinics. Internet may not be available there so it may be Thursday before we have any new pictures to view.

Please pray for their safety as they travel to Mindoro. Also pray for those they will be seeing in their medical clinics that they will have many opportunities to share the gospel.

SAFE ARRIVAL

2008-01-19T13:16:00.001-06:00

Thank you for praying for our team - they left Springfield Friday morning and arrived safely in the Philippines this morning - 4 of our team members flew out earlier this week and have already been ministering in there. Keep praying! We will keep you posted as soon as the team sends us information.

2008-01-08T10:55:00.000-06:00

PHILIPPINE MISSION TRIP 08

Please be in prayer for our team as they travel to

the Philippines for a medical mission trip Jan. 18 - 28.

You can keep up with their trip right here on our Mission Trip Blog!

Brenda Bucklew - Shannon Derrick - Clyde Gray - Crystal Groscot

Trandon Groscot - Creig Lobdell - Karen Lobdell - Eddie Lyons

Tiffany Lyons - Scott Marsh - Bryan Powell Tony Schaffitzel

Chris Talburt - Dan Whisler - Gary Wilson

WHAT A CELEBRATION!!

2007-07-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

The team made it back safe! God used them in many ways on this trip. We are so thankful for their willingness to go and work in the HOT Arizona Sun!

See more about Josh & Ginger's ministry by clicking below:

Camp Wilderness was a huge success thanks to all your prayers! Over the three nights there were 262 kids registered. They had close to 230 kids each night experiencing Camp Wilderness. WOW!! Out of that number, about 60-70 were kids from their church. The rest were new to Church of Celebration!! AMAZING!! Over the course of the three nights, there were at least 40 public decisions for salvation. FANTASTIC!!

Continue to pray for Josh & Ginger and their church as they prepare to do follow-up with the families that brought their kids for the first time. Pray that they would have the man-power they need to tackle such a big project!!

Time to Cool Off!

2007-06-25T08:58:00.001-05:00

The team has been canvassing door to door in 115+ temperatures, so I guess we can't blame them for wanting to cool off in the pool!

Even in the grueling heat, God provides us a reminder of his perfect creation.

Despite the out of this world temperatures, the team continues to prepare for Camp Wilderness!
We aren't sure what Bryan Franco, our intern is doing? But it looks as if the rest of the team is working hard!

Pray that God will use our team to encourage Josh & Ginger and their church members. And pray that God will stir the hearts of those who received information and bring their kids to Camp Wilderness, that they might hear the Gospel and come to know Christ as their Savior.

It's Going to be HOT!

2007-06-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

Our team left this morning headed to Tulsa to catch a plane to Arizona this afternoon.

One Big Prayer Request - Pray for Cooler Temperatures - while they are there! This past week they have had outrageous temperatures in Arizona. It has been shared with the team that you sweat 26oz of sweat per hour! And Arizona was listed at the #1 hottest destination this summer!

Also, pray for the Canvassing and the Bible Club they will be holding! God is doing some amazing things at Church of Celebration and we are so excited to be a part!!

Arizona Trip 2007

2007-06-19T10:15:00.001-05:00

Please be in prayer for our team who leave for Maricopa, Arizona Thursday, June 21st to work with Josh and Ginger Barrett at their new church plant, Church of Celebration. They just celebrated the one year anniversary of their church and God is doing great things.

You can see more about their church and their ministry at www.churchofcelebration.com.

Steve Boschen - Christa Boschen - Candace Bradbury
Brandon Ivy - Bryan Franco - Becky Gann - Joe Matott

Guatemala YouTube Video Report!

2007-06-19T01:29:00.000-05:00

Thank you Eagles Nest!

2007-06-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

Larry & Claire Boggs:
Thank you for the great trip! This group and all of HSBC are proud to be a part of your ministry in Guatemala! Thank you for allowing us to partner with you to share the love of Christ to those that you minister to.
Gary

Thank you to everyone that helped the group be able to go financially as well as for all the prayers for us before and while we were gone. We really felt them each day. But most of all I want to thank the team that went. I have lead teams of all age groups but this was my first time to lead a team of mostly high school students so I was not sure what to expect. But I want to say that I would be honored to take this team again anytime anywhere. They were willing to prepare before we left and do what ever was asked of them while we were in Guatemala. Of course it is always exciting for me to have people go on their first mission trip and on this trip we had 10. I truly feel that we have exposed our young people to things that will change their lives from now on. I know they will not look at missions and missionaries in the same light as they may have done before. They now realize the sacrifice they make to follow the call God places on them when they take their families around the world. Little things like street lights at night and nice smooth paved roads. We had such a great time going to the parks and schools and presenting the gospel and playing with the children at the Eagles Nest. For us to see these kids being loved by the incredible staff at the Eagles Nest was great to see. Meeting people like Marta and the rest of the staff there was an honor. Thelme fixed us great meals while we were there so all of us might have gained a few pounds. Again I want to thank everyone that helped us go thought prayers and financial support.

Thank You to everyone!

2007-06-18T22:07:00.000-05:00

We would like to thank everyone for following our blog and praying for us while were we gone. We could especially feel the prayers last night when we missed or flight and have to stay in Atlanta overnight and not get home until this morning.

Guatemala boat ride to small town of Santiago

2007-06-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

Note: filling boat with gas while we go across the lake, native fisherman, Cindy and native women doing laundry in the lake (because she would not do th zipline...not really), one of the volcano's from the boat ride

More Zip Line Excursion

2007-06-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

Note: coffee beans, white-faced coatimundi, and monkee (with the banana in it's hand, not the ones on the zip line)

The Zip Line Excursion

2007-06-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

This Afternoon's Outing

2007-06-14T23:02:00.000-05:00

A hang glider over the lake right near the Eagles Nest.
Mikes Crossroads Café and Coffee Shop. Mike is the funniest guy you will ever meet and has the best homemade deserts and coffee you have ever tasted. But his stories are even better then his coffee and deserts. He also might be the same guy we got our fireworks from.
Larry, Ashley and myself eating our fish at supper.

Thursday Schools

2007-06-14T14:40:00.000-05:00

The best thing is that before we performed the dramas Larry Boggs explained the dramas to them about what they mean. Then after we performed he would lead them all in a prayer of salvation.

Wednesday Schools

2007-06-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

These are from one of the schools we went to on Wednesday.

This is why we came to Guatemala!

2007-06-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

Jesus Loves the little children of the world...

"The Day of the Dead"

2007-06-14T14:27:00.000-05:00

We toured a cemetery. Is was sad to see the way they make them so colorful and do not bury them in the ground but on top in concrete containers. They have a day of celebration each year they call the "Day of the Dead". Very said to see and hear how they celebrate this instead of Eternal Life. Seeing this made us feel our trip here is even more important to share about Christ.