As we wake up in the wee hours of the morning to head to the airport, we want to stop for a moment and thank you. Without the love, support, and prayers of our family & friends, home churches, the Hastings Community, and our prayer partners around the world, this trip would never had been possible. You hung with us through the change of location and supported us in our mission, to love and help those in need, no matter what side of the borders they live. It has been the most wonderful and humbling adventure to work with the people of El Paso. We reached out to the hungry, the homeless, the downhearted, and brought joy to the children. But we also, brought relief and strength to the passionate workers already doing God's work here at the border. The churches, families, and communities we worked with were just as much a blessing to us as we were to them. We are coming home with a vast bounty of blessings, answers to prayer, and moments God touched and changed our lives. We can't wait to share it all with you, for you all were on this journey with us and oh what joy it will be to celebrate with you. Thanks for being with us this week, and now as the sun peaks over the Franklin Mountains, we are COMING HOME! See ya soon!  

 

As the week wraps up, it's so hard to believe we're nearing the end of out time here in El Paso. God has done so many amazing things, it's hard to believe they were accomplished in a week. The group at Sparks, finished their addition and choose to add sheet rock and work today, on their day off. The group at Horizon City finished framing the walls and roof their house and are back at the site again today to put some finishing touches on. The group at Guadalupana Clinic finished the sidewalk and retaining walls, and they also went back today to finish building a wheelchair ramp. The group at Ysleta fully insulated the warehouses and are finishing the walls today. The group at Pastor Bobby's finished their projects in the church and are finishing up at the men's home today. The group at Cristo Rey, finished all their remodeling and painted the beautiful mural. The VBS teams at Pastor Bobby's and Cristo Rey had great weeks of teaching God's word and sharing Jesus' love with all the little children. And those crazy clowns wrapped up their 9th performance of the week and also got to help with laying a slab at Sparks. Last night we got to hear from our friend, Doctor Mendoza, a doctor who runs a clinic across the border whom we've worked with in the past. Her words were so inspiring! Tonight we are off to the market and fiesta just over the state line in New Mexico. So join us in praise for all God has done!  

 

It's midweek and we have accomplished so much. Praise God for great attitudes, hard work, and the blessings out of the pain. Each worksite is making great progress and their projects are looking good. Today was filled with cement pouring, wall raisings, roof building, and all that kind of fun construction stuff. One of the coolest things accomplished today was the beautiful mural painting on the entire side of the building at Cristo Rey Church. What a great gift to the church and the community! Then we had another great night back at campus and are happy to held back to our rooms for a good night of sleep. A special thank to the Jensons for their package of yummy cookies!! oh and by the way it DID rain again today!! Praise God for surprises! Thanks again for your prayers!

 

We had a great 2nd day at the work sites! We were even "blessed" with a downpour of rain. A little ironic when you think that El Paso only gets an average of 9 inches of rain per year. Even amidst the lightning and rain, amazing work was done. Walls were built and put up, other walls were torn down, flooring was laid, retaining walls built and then rebuilt, buildings were painted, insulation was laid, children were taught about Jesus and played with, and so many more amazing adventures! Tonight we had a great dinner and heard an awesome testimony from Elaine! Then we all shared our stories of the day and prayer for those to come. Thanks for your prayers and emails...keep 'em comin'!! 

 

Praise God for the beautiful sun and the high of 98 degrees! We had our first full day of working at the worksites, and what a busy yet productive day it was. The team out at Horizon City started putting the walls together for the house they are building. The team at Sparks put the footing in for the addition they are building. The team at Guadalupana Clinic broke apart the entire sidewalk they are replacing. The team at Ysleta Mission prepared for the building project they are doing, by moving over 1,000 back packs! At Cristo Rey they began breaking down the walls and constructing the new rooms they are building. Their VBS team had a great day singing and doing crafts with the kids. At Pastor Bobby's they got the entire roof off to the building they are working on, and their VBS team had a great first day as well. And finally those silly clowns had an interesting day of handing out flyers for upcoming performance and visiting all the teams at their worksites. Too many stories to share hear, but the legend of the rock-getting-stuck-under-the-car will no doubt find its way to MN. Then in the evening we had dinner and a great worship service. It was awesome to see the band all together and leading us for the first time. It was so fitting when we sang the line above from "Blessed Be Your Name", for it was a truly blessed day. We can truly feel all your prayers, and I hope you see God working in your lives as we have been praying for you! 

 

Today started with everyone scattering all over the city to worship at many different churches, some with services completely in spanish. At Pastor Bobby's church, the clown team led the children's church. They had so much fun with the kids they used up half their animal balloons the first day! After church, there was much fun to be had at the Sun Bowl stadium, where we got to play soccer and throw a football around right on the field. A group took a gondola tram up to the top of the Franklin Mountains, where you could see all the way into Mexico. Others enjoyed the cool waters of the pool, played volleyball, and cooled down with friends in our fancy-pantsy apartments. We welcomed the rest of our team who safely arrived by air and land. After dinner, way good spaghetti by the way, we all gathered together for the deliciously funny MM Variety Show. We had beautiful music, silly slap stick skits, side splitting jokes, men dancing in dresses, and a special shout out to all or dad's for Father's Day. We love you DAD!!! Now it's off to sleep, for we have a great adventure awaiting us tomorrow.Thank you for all your prayers, and know we are praying for you and your own adventures back home as well.  

 

Praise be to God, both planes have arrived in El Paso with all 72 students and 35 leaders in tow. We've all gotten settled in our quaint little apartments at the University of Texas El Paso, and enjoyed an delicious dinner together. Props out to the awesome brownies!! Then we enjoyed our first evening worship and prepared for tomorrows fun activities and ethic worship services. After a late night volleyball match, we are ready to snuggle into our beds and dream about all God has planed for us in the coming week. Thanks for all your prayers for traveling mercies...and keep them coming! 

 

As we wake up in the wee hours of the morning to head to the airport, we want to stop for a moment and thank you. Without the love, support, and prayers of our family & friends, home churches, the Hastings Community, and our prayer partners around the world, this trip would never had been possible. You hung with us through the change of location and supported us in our mission, to love and help those in need, no matter what side of the borders they live. It has been the most wonderful and humbling adventure to work with the people of El Paso. We reached out to the hungry, the homeless, the downhearted, and brought joy to the children. But we also, brought relief and strength to the passionate workers already doing God's work here at the border. The churches, families, and communities we worked with were just as much a blessing to us as we were to them. We are coming home with a vast bounty of blessings, answers to prayer, and moments God touched and changed our lives. We can't wait to share it all with you, for you all were on this journey with us and oh what joy it will be to celebrate with you. Thanks for being with us this week, and now as the sun peaks over the Franklin Mountains, we are COMING HOME! See ya soon!  

 

As the week wraps up, it's so hard to believe we're nearing the end of out time here in El Paso. God has done so many amazing things, it's hard to believe they were accomplished in a week. The group at Sparks, finished their addition and choose to add sheet rock and work today, on their day off. The group at Horizon City finished framing the walls and roof their house and are back at the site again today to put some finishing touches on. The group at Guadalupana Clinic finished the sidewalk and retaining walls, and they also went back today to finish building a wheelchair ramp. The group at Ysleta fully insulated the warehouses and are finishing the walls today. The group at Pastor Bobby's finished their projects in the church and are finishing up at the men's home today. The group at Cristo Rey, finished all their remodeling and painted the beautiful mural. The VBS teams at Pastor Bobby's and Cristo Rey had great weeks of teaching God's word and sharing Jesus' love with all the little children. And those crazy clowns wrapped up their 9th performance of the week and also got to help with laying a slab at Sparks. Last night we got to hear from our friend, Doctor Mendoza, a doctor who runs a clinic across the border whom we've worked with in the past. Her words were so inspiring! Tonight we are off to the market and fiesta just over the state line in New Mexico. So join us in praise for all God has done!  

 

It's midweek and we have accomplished so much. Praise God for great attitudes, hard work, and the blessings out of the pain. Each worksite is making great progress and their projects are looking good. Today was filled with cement pouring, wall raisings, roof building, and all that kind of fun construction stuff. One of the coolest things accomplished today was the beautiful mural painting on the entire side of the building at Cristo Rey Church. What a great gift to the church and the community! Then we had another great night back at campus and are happy to held back to our rooms for a good night of sleep. A special thank to the Jensons for their package of yummy cookies!! oh and by the way it DID rain again today!! Praise God for surprises! Thanks again for your prayers!

 

We had a great 2nd day at the work sites! We were even "blessed" with a downpour of rain. A little ironic when you think that El Paso only gets an average of 9 inches of rain per year. Even amidst the lightning and rain, amazing work was done. Walls were built and put up, other walls were torn down, flooring was laid, retaining walls built and then rebuilt, buildings were painted, insulation was laid, children were taught about Jesus and played with, and so many more amazing adventures! Tonight we had a great dinner and heard an awesome testimony from Elaine! Then we all shared our stories of the day and prayer for those to come. Thanks for your prayers and emails...keep 'em comin'!! 

 

Praise God for the beautiful sun and the high of 98 degrees! We had our first full day of working at the worksites, and what a busy yet productive day it was. The team out at Horizon City started putting the walls together for the house they are building. The team at Sparks put the footing in for the addition they are building. The team at Guadalupana Clinic broke apart the entire sidewalk they are replacing. The team at Ysleta Mission prepared for the building project they are doing, by moving over 1,000 back packs! At Cristo Rey they began breaking down the walls and constructing the new rooms they are building. Their VBS team had a great day singing and doing crafts with the kids. At Pastor Bobby's they got the entire roof off to the building they are working on, and their VBS team had a great first day as well. And finally those silly clowns had an interesting day of handing out flyers for upcoming performance and visiting all the teams at their worksites. Too many stories to share hear, but the legend of the rock-getting-stuck-under-the-car will no doubt find its way to MN. Then in the evening we had dinner and a great worship service. It was awesome to see the band all together and leading us for the first time. It was so fitting when we sang the line above from "Blessed Be Your Name", for it was a truly blessed day. We can truly feel all your prayers, and I hope you see God working in your lives as we have been praying for you! 

 

Today started with everyone scattering all over the city to worship at many different churches, some with services completely in spanish. At Pastor Bobby's church, the clown team led the children's church. They had so much fun with the kids they used up half their animal balloons the first day! After church, there was much fun to be had at the Sun Bowl stadium, where we got to play soccer and throw a football around right on the field. A group took a gondola tram up to the top of the Franklin Mountains, where you could see all the way into Mexico. Others enjoyed the cool waters of the pool, played volleyball, and cooled down with friends in our fancy-pantsy apartments. We welcomed the rest of our team who safely arrived by air and land. After dinner, way good spaghetti by the way, we all gathered together for the deliciously funny MM Variety Show. We had beautiful music, silly slap stick skits, side splitting jokes, men dancing in dresses, and a special shout out to all or dad's for Father's Day. We love you DAD!!! Now it's off to sleep, for we have a great adventure awaiting us tomorrow.Thank you for all your prayers, and know we are praying for you and your own adventures back home as well.  

 

Praise be to God, both planes have arrived in El Paso with all 72 students and 35 leaders in tow. We've all gotten settled in our quaint little apartments at the University of Texas El Paso, and enjoyed an delicious dinner together. Props out to the awesome brownies!! Then we enjoyed our first evening worship and prepared for tomorrows fun activities and ethic worship services. After a late night volleyball match, we are ready to snuggle into our beds and dream about all God has planed for us in the coming week. Thanks for all your prayers for traveling mercies...and keep them coming!