Fort Bend Baptist Academy March 8-14
Each spring students from Fort Bend Baptist Academy of Sugar Land, TX participates in what the school calls Eagle Week. There are various opportunities for the students to select from during Eagle week with one being a foreign missions trip. We were delighted to host the team of 32 this year in Chiapas, Mexico. The team was lead by math teacher, Megan Bowen and her husband Steven, a youth pastor of Sugar Land. The Bowen's have extensive experience leading teens on foreign mission trips. We can't say enough about what an excellent job they did once again organizing and leading this team! Assisting with leadership responsibilities was Bible teacher, Michelle Curnutte, who has also been involved with missions for several years. In addition, two of the dad's accompanied the team - Dr. Greg Hoover, whose medical services were greatly appreciated and Charlie Williams, whose knowledge of construction was a real blessing.
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Upon arriving in Chenalho, the team had the challenge of carrying their luggage from the base of the road up the mountain drive to the facility. The road has been out for the last 6 weeks. This just added to the typical challenges of being in Mexico.
The next day everyone attended a morning worship service which is always inspiring both spiritually and culturally. The team of young people sang a special song together during the service. That afternoon the youth of Chenalho arrived to meet the youth of FBBA and everyone participated in either a game of volleyball, basketball or soccer. It is a great way for the 2 different groups of youth to interact without needing much in the way of language skills. It seems that everyone involved had a great time!
The first work day was in a Tzetal village called Chacte'. The team painted the church inside and out. This is a really poor village about a 3 hour drive from Chenalho. The team's contribution was a real blessing to these people.
On Tuesday we went to a Chamula village called Teopisca. The team was divided into 3 work groups. We were able to weld the roof and run electricity for lighting in the church. Most everyone particated in constructing and painting benches. One of the highlights of the day was an outreach to the children of Teopisca. After the leadership training in Chenalho last month for people interested in ministering to children of the mountains, Pastor Alejandro's sister, Olga, has agreed to head up a team to minister to the children during some of the work days with our US teams. She did a wonderful job and the youth from FBBA assisted Olga with the puppet ministry. Children from the nearby school were invited after classes were dismissed and many of them participated.
The next day was physically demanding since the flooring of the church was constructed from cement that was mixed and poured by hand. What willing servants the team proved to be, and everyone worked extremely hard without complaining. With so much help, the team had time to visit a nearby cave and park on the way home.
With the work assignments finished for the week, the team was able to enjoy a free day in the historical city of San Cristobal de las Casas. We all enjoyed a meal in the lovely setting of Las Jardines de San Cristobal. The day continued with a nice afternoon of shopping in the open air markets surrounding the 500 year old church called Santo Domingo.
We realize that each year the best decision to accomplish the various purposes of FBBA's Eagle Week will be decided based on many different factors. For this year we felt very privilege to introduce these students to the world of foreign missions. It will be very interesting to see what God has in store for each individual in the future. They were an exceptional group, very well behaved and made a very positive impression on the Mexican and Indian people we worked with.
To all the team from FBBA, you have an open invitation to return if God would direct you to do so. You have touched our hearts, and we pray that your week has touched your life for all eternity. To all the students that chose to spend Eagle Week in Chiapas, we thank you for your hard work, great attitudes, and open hearts to hear and receive from God through the poor of the highlands of Chiapas.
view photo album
Upon arriving in Chenalho, the team had the challenge of carrying their luggage from the base of the road up the mountain drive to the facility. The road has been out for the last 6 weeks. This just added to the typical challenges of being in Mexico.
The next day everyone attended a morning worship service which is always inspiring both spiritually and culturally. The team of young people sang a special song together during the service. That afternoon the youth of Chenalho arrived to meet the youth of FBBA and everyone participated in either a game of volleyball, basketball or soccer. It is a great way for the 2 different groups of youth to interact without needing much in the way of language skills. It seems that everyone involved had a great time!
The first work day was in a Tzetal village called Chacte'. The team painted the church inside and out. This is a really poor village about a 3 hour drive from Chenalho. The team's contribution was a real blessing to these people.
On Tuesday we went to a Chamula village called Teopisca. The team was divided into 3 work groups. We were able to weld the roof and run electricity for lighting in the church. Most everyone particated in constructing and painting benches. One of the highlights of the day was an outreach to the children of Teopisca. After the leadership training in Chenalho last month for people interested in ministering to children of the mountains, Pastor Alejandro's sister, Olga, has agreed to head up a team to minister to the children during some of the work days with our US teams. She did a wonderful job and the youth from FBBA assisted Olga with the puppet ministry. Children from the nearby school were invited after classes were dismissed and many of them participated.
The next day was physically demanding since the flooring of the church was constructed from cement that was mixed and poured by hand. What willing servants the team proved to be, and everyone worked extremely hard without complaining. With so much help, the team had time to visit a nearby cave and park on the way home.
With the work assignments finished for the week, the team was able to enjoy a free day in the historical city of San Cristobal de las Casas. We all enjoyed a meal in the lovely setting of Las Jardines de San Cristobal. The day continued with a nice afternoon of shopping in the open air markets surrounding the 500 year old church called Santo Domingo.
We realize that each year the best decision to accomplish the various purposes of FBBA's Eagle Week will be decided based on many different factors. For this year we felt very privilege to introduce these students to the world of foreign missions. It will be very interesting to see what God has in store for each individual in the future. They were an exceptional group, very well behaved and made a very positive impression on the Mexican and Indian people we worked with.
To all the team from FBBA, you have an open invitation to return if God would direct you to do so. You have touched our hearts, and we pray that your week has touched your life for all eternity. To all the students that chose to spend Eagle Week in Chiapas, we thank you for your hard work, great attitudes, and open hearts to hear and receive from God through the poor of the highlands of Chiapas.
posted by Russell & Charlotte at 6:30 PM
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