Leadnow August 12-19

Leadnow Ministries is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to rescuing, equipping and restoring young adults to live a Life of Mission, and service in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Part of their discipleship training involves a foreign missions experience. We are pleased that God has linked both of our mission endeavors and the first team from Leadnow arrived in Chiapas last week. Many of these young people were from Texas A & M or UT of Austin.

Mike McAdams is the founder of Leadnow. The vision that God has given Mike involves making disciples of young people through Transfer (transferring life experience through mentoring), Transition (the equipping, sending and support of disciples) and Transcend (transcending the world, making the kingdom of Jesus Christ the primary focus of life.) We pray that the vision and ministry of Leadnow is strong and active for many years. www.leadnow.org

There are several others involved with Leadnow who commit a great deal of personal time in mentoring and/or additional responsibilities of this ministry. 3 of those wonderful mentors were with this team - Pete (who has been to Chiapas on various other trips) and Ginny Foley and Keith Schoenebert. Thanks for all you do all year long and for the blessing you were all week! And to the incredible group of mentees - Brittany B., Brittany D., Katrina, Krysta, David, Greg, James, John, Miles, Nick, Patrick, Robert, Travis and Zach. You are quality young people - leaders among leaders! We appreciate your heart for God! You blessed so many people in Chiapas, but you touched our hearts as well. We hope to see you again and that you will bring your friends to Chiapas!

The Schedule!

The first full day in Chiapas began with church services in Chenalho, lunch at the Jardines de San Cristobal and afternoon shopping.

Monday we drove to the village of Los Chorros where the group was divided into teams to work on various construction task. Some helped put a roof on a missions church, others painted windows and doors or made benches. The church provided an authentic meal along with music of that area.

Tuesday we returned to Los Chorros. The group mixed cement and carried it in buckets into the church to pour the floor. This is very hard work but very rewarding. Some of the ladies painted the benches that were made from the previous day. When we returned to Chenalho, the majority of the group climbed the mountain near the missions facility.

Wednesday the group drove to San Antonio del Monte, suburb of San Cristobal. The church had been built recently and the walls plastered. Leadnow painted interior and exterior of the church as well as windows and doors. The congregation consist mainly of Chamula Indians. Later that day we attended a church service in Tzabalho where the group had the opportunity to participate with special worship songs. The evening concluded with a wonderful meal together and singing by the local indigenous people. Following the meal Leadnow shared in music and song for the people of Tzabalho.

Thursday we drove to the village of Poconichim to paint their new church. Local people assisted as we painted the interior and exterior of the church and windows and doors. We returned to Chenalho for a short time. We then drove back to the village of Los Chorros for a 4:00 PM dedication service of the church that had been built earlier in the week. The building was full and most of the children stood outside the doors and windows viewing the service. It consisted of lots of singing and much gratitude from the people for their new block church. Leadnow had the opportunity to pray for the local pastor and his wife, the people of the church and their area supervisor, Pastor Augustine and his wife. Time is not an issue in these parts of the mountains, and the celebration continued for several hours. It was very moving to see the pure expressions of joy and thankfulness that makes the fund raising and the hard work all worth while.

Friday we drove back to Tuxtla and the team enjoyed the river boat ride through the canyon in Chiapa de Corzo. Then it was time to prepare to return home on Saturday.

Each evening after the work day and services had concluded, Leadnow took additional time to worship and praise our Lord. They shared testimonies, shared Scriptures and had a time of reflecting on the events of the day. We know God was pleased with what took place in the hearts of each one during this very special time together. Zach H., the youth worship leader of UMC The Woodlands, was an added blessing to the team. Zach has a wonderful gift that he uses to glorify God and inspire others to worship Him!