Monday, July 28, 2008

LAST "CRASH" OF THE SUMMER

hey gang!!

congratulations to the winners of the 4th Annual Intern Scavenger Hunt:

colby roberts
jarrod shults
kevin c. burns
austin pfeiffer
terry pfeiffer, driver

BIG THANKS goes out to jarrett and christen for doing a fantastic job of putting the hunt together!

just a reminder that the last CRASH of the summer is this wednesday night, July 30th!!  we'll meet in the UR for worship at 5:30PM and then head down to arkadelphia to the aquatic park!!!  cost is $10 and that includes your admission into the park and a catered meal from Pig Pit BBQ!!!  don't forget to bring a towel with you!!  

also don't forget about our summer share service sunday night at 6:00 PM!  we'll have the opportunity to share about what all God has done this summer on Choir Tour, Paint Your Heart Out, Mission Arlington, and Mission Cajamarca!  don't missi out!!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

4th Annual Intern Scavenger Hunt

hey gang!!

don't forget about this Sunday night, July 27th!  after worship in the Sanctuary at 6:00 PM we'll meet in the Upper Room for a quick dinner and then get our scavenger hunt teams together and head out for the 4th Annual Intern Scavenger Hunt.  if you have never been a part of this event you are missing out!  our interns have devised some tough tough clues for you to attempt to solve in order to find the missing prize of $100!!  their clues will send you all around b-town looking for the next clue.  The cost is $10 and that includes dinner.  we should be done by around 9:30 PM!  if you have any questions about the night feel free to e-mail me at clay@fbcbenton.org!!  see ya sunday night!!!

clay

Monday, July 21, 2008

We're in Lima!

hey folks!

just wanted to update one last time before we head home late tonight. we have made it to Lima safely and just resting up a bit before we grab some lunch and spend some time at the Indian Market. it has been an incredible trip with too many memories to write here.

yesterday was a great day of worship and recreation. we worshipped with Monte Sion BC in the morning and then spent yesterday afternoon playing A LOT of volleyball with the folks there. we got whipped! they know how to play some volleyball! after a hot dog and marshmallow roast underneath a perfect clear sky we worshipped once again with the congregation of Monte Sion. we lead the entire service, and it was a blessing! jarrett and hannah bethel led worship and hannah pfeiffer and stephanie morse gave their testimonies. i preached on john 14.6 and a man name Gheno came forward to accept Christ. he was a 30 year old policeman who the church had been reaching out to. he said that last night was the first time he felt the boldness to walk forward to accept the Lord. it was amazing!!

after some devotional time and prayer time we headed to bed! our bags were to be out at 5AM this morning so needless to say we're dragging just a bit. looking forward to being home to share stories of God's goodness and faithfulness, but also have hearts that are connected with the people of Cajamarca!

blessings!

clay

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Our Last Full Day in Cajamarca

greetings!

i hope that this note finds everyone doing well back home. unfortunately our trip is drawing to a close as today is our last full day in Cajamarca. yesterday was an awesome day as we woke up early and packed an old school bus and headed off to the orphanage to pick the older children up to take them to a place called Porcorn Grande. basically it was a large farm with a zoo, picnic area, fishing pond, and creek. it was nestled in the beautiful mountains of Cajamarca. beautiful place! after we toured the zoo we then went and shared a sack lunch together before singing some songs, hearing Andy's testimony, and sharing the plan of salvation with the children. it was fun to watch the eyes of these children as they saw the animals, caught their first fish, and received love from our students. i have to believe that God was pleased!

after a short afternoon nap we ate dinner together before going to Monte Sion Baptist Church for the Saturday evening youth gathering. Jarrett and Christen did a great job of leading worship and Ali, Colby, Rachel, and Katy gave their testimonies. i preached for a little bit and then we played a game together. that was interesting! some of the college students that we invited on Friday also came, so that was pretty exciting. some had to ride busses all the way across town as well! it was good re-connecting with them and exchanging e-mails.

this morning we will worship with the congregation from Monte Sion and also share with them tonight. God continues to teach us great things about Himself and ministry!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

What a Day!!

good morning! it is early here in peru as we are getting ready for a big day with the older children from the orphanage and Bible Study tonight with the students from Monte Sion Baptist Church. yesterday was quite a day! it was a day where God was working all over the place (as He does all the time...we just are too busy to see it most of hte time!) we started out at the university yesterday morning. we showed a dvd about some professional baseball players who gave their testimony about their faith in Jesus and the difference it had made in their lives. jarrett and christen led in worship and destiney, ryan, justin m., and hannah b. gave their testimonies! powerful! then pastor carlos explained the Gospel to the college students and then we had the opportunity to pass out New Testaments to each student and shared with them about our lives in Christ. our students jumped at the opportunity to laugh and connect with these college students! it was an awesome sight to see! we pray that many seeds were planted in both the morning and afternoon sessions and we praise Jesus for the salvation of 2 girls from the university who accepted Christ yesterday morning. to God be the glory!!

after our afternoon at the university we received a special invitation from Monte Sion Baptist Church where we ministered at the day before. they are celebrating the school's 8th anniversary and last night they crowned Miss Monte Sion! it was a blast. lots of music, custom dancing, and people everywhere! our students did not want to leave!

after dinner Larry led us around the back of our dorms where 2 fire pits were going and some sticks and marshmallows were laying around. all of a sudden the infamous Mariachi Band came out of nowhere and we commenced to dance (yes Pastor Rick...dance!) for the next 45 minutes. it was a lot of fun! after our fiesta we spent some great time in worship by testifying about lessons that God was teaching us. we also spent some time praying for Doris' family who are not believers. it was a powerful day!

i would ask that you pray for today as we share the Gospel with the older children from the orphanage. pray that they might have ears to hear. also pray for tonight as we meet with the youth group from Monte Sion. pray that our time of worship and testimony will be fruitful!

once again thanks for the encouraging comments! God is good!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Dancing, Sports Court, Varnishing,

greetings from the mountains of Peru!

it is another gorgeous morning here. probably a little cooler than it is in central arkansas! yesterday was another great day at Villa Milagro. we woke up and shared breakfast in the morning and hannah pfeiffer led in our devo time. we then packed up and went to Monte Sion which is where the church and school is. there are over 175 children at the school. our craft team and some other spent the morning going classroom to classroom sharing crafts, love, and the story of Jesus. they also were taught some peruvian dances as well. don't tell pastor rick! the rest of us continued working on the sports court that we started on wednesday. we lined out and painted 4 different courts for volleyball and soccer (futbol). we also put varnish on A BUNCH of chairs for classrooms. our students worked hard and did a fantastic job!

after a wonderful dinner we spent some time worshiping together. justin mills led in our devo time and then one of the ladies who works here at Villa Milagro shared her testimony! POWERFUL!!! she just became a Believer 2 years ago, and it was incredible to see how God has grown her and given her boldness to be honest about her past and passion about her future. there weren't very many dry eyes in the room! it was a sweet night of worship!

today is our day at the university. so as i asked yesterday please pray that God opens up doors for us to share the Gospel, plant seeds, and reap a harvest if it is time. we trust that God will give us the boldness and the words to use! He is good like that!!

hope all is well in arkansas. our time here is going by way too quickly. thanks for praying and for the encouraging comments as well!

blessings in Christ!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

VBS, Painting, Larry's Story

greetings to all!

it is a chilly but beautiful morning in Cajamarca today! things are going great, and God is doing good things in us and through us. yesterday was a busy day as we loaded up early in the morning to head to the local school where we did our VBS with around 270 children from 1st through 6th grade. it was an awesome morning as students rotated from a time of worship to a time of crafts and ending with some time with our rec team. our worship team did an awesome job of singing Jesus Loves Me, and I've got the joy, joy , joy in Spanish, and then taught the children Deep and Wide in English. Jarrett and Jan also took opportunities to give their testimony, and Carlos shared the Gospel with every child. it was an awesome time. the craft team taught the children how to draw and color angels. one of the highlights of the day was when we told each child that they could take their ziploc bag with 5 crayons home with them. a gasp went through the room each time. our team talked about how we would never look at crayons the same again. our rec teams stayed busy playing jump rope, duck-duck-dog, and soccer. they did a great job!!

after lunch we walked to Monte Sion Baptist Church where we varnished some chairs and cabinets for the school and we also began painting lines for 3 volleyball courts and a soccer field on the newly paved concrete sports court for the school. we will head back to Monte Sion to finish that today.

we finished our devotional time last night by hearing Larry Johnson's story. WOW! he told of the journey that God put him on that led Him to surrender all of his business in west texas because of the burden that he had for the peruvian people. all of this happened at age 49! what a way to spend retirement. it was a great lesson for us!

one prayer request is for tomorrow. we are going to have the privilege of going to the local university to share the Gospel with college students. pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work and to give us boldness to share how Jesus has changed our lives.

i'm so proud of our team. they are doing a great job of encouraging other and serving the people here in Cajamarca. God is good!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Cajamarca is wonderful!

hello friends!
i hope that this note finds all of you doing well back in the estados unidos! things are going great here at Villa Milagro. all of our flights went well, and after a night in the airport in Lima we made it to Cajamarca yesterday morning around 6:45 AM! we were greeted with some chilly weather, beautiful mountains, and the Larry Johnson and the gracious staff at Villa Milagro. after we packed up bags we treked through the streets of Cajamarca to Villa Milagro where Nancy de Diaz had a wonderful breakfast made for us. she fed us and sent us to bed to grab some shut eye. nobody put up a fight about that!!

after some rest we ate a light lunch and headed for the orphanage. it was a joy to see the children there. we took a couple of hours to go and play on the playground and on the soccer court with the children. we also gave them their "Christmas in July" presents of jeans/underwear/shirt/beanie baby. they loved this. our students did not hesitate at all to start playing and attempting to start conversations with the children. it was a lot of fun to see God move on the grounds of the orphanage!

after the orphanage we went to the top of one of the hills in town and saw a panoramic view of Cajamarca. this gave our team a good perspective of the magnitude of the city. after some pictures we climbed down the 'steep' hill and came back to VM. after dinner we were lead in our devotional by margaret herzfeld, then carlos (one of the missionaries at VM) explained to us the impact of Catholocism on the Peruvian culture and people. we then put our heads together and worked out final details for our VBS at the school today. we are expecting nearly 300 children. pray that God opens doors up for children to learn how special they are in God's eyes, and that He desires a personal realtionship with each one.

thank you for your prayers and e-mails of encouragement. all of your students are doing wonderful! we have a great team. praising Jesus for safe travel, healthy people, and His desire to use us to build His Kingdom! to God be the glory!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Mission Cajamarca is Near!

hey folks!

well....our time is drawing near to get ready to head to Peru. we leave Monday morning for Lima and then on to Cajamarca where will be doing different types of ministry with the people of that city. pray that God will work in a mighty way as we seek so serve the people and bear witness to the Father. we're praying that people will be rescued from the darkness into the light as we sing, talk, and preach Jesus while we are there. pray for safety as we travel to Peru and around the city as well. pray for good health for our team as well. pray most of all that God will be glorified in our service to Him! check back for updates during our trip. to Him be the glory!

clay