Blaine Memorial and Sacramento Japanese UMC's

Sunday we got on that jet plane, then switched to some cars and after a long car ride we finally arrived in Tucson, AZ! Man is it hot. Yes, we know it's a "dry" heat but the reality of it is the same HOT! We hung out together inside none the less and just relaxed a little knowing that wont be on the schedule come Monday. Monday morning 10am it's check in time. Cecilia and Grant, PPM staff met us at 22nd Street Church to show us around our new "home" for the week. It's a great place to come back to after long days of ministry. The courtyard is proving to be a good football field and the basement has some ping pong and air hockey games. After an orientation meeting where we met Karen and Michele, also PPM Staff we headed to meet our Pastor for the week. Pastor Rob is awesome and the church has a lot going on. Just a few weeks ago they held 4 consecutive block parties in the neighborhood and met over 1300 people. We are excited to partner with them with VBS and ANOTHER block party on Friday where we will hand out bags of 20lbs of food to each person that registers and bottled water that has the gospel message on the label. More about this event when we experience it! Stay tuned for a deeper glimpse into our mission trip to Tucson AZ!!

This is an entry concerning Monday due to limited internet access. Monday afternoon we headed over to Sharing Ministries to meet Pastor Rob and see Sharing Ministries Church. After looking at the space and seeing what supplies we had to work with and the theme for VBS confirmed we headed to the most awesome place to shop in the world, DOLLAR TREE! New York, The Big Apple. Connecting Faith and Life was the theme we needed to find decorations, nametags, craft supplies and such and such. With a few dollars and a lot of creativity the team got to work shopping. Poster boards became Stop, Yield, Speed Limit and Stay off the Grass signs. Also the names of the different age groups. Caps became identifications for our "taxi drivers" that would move groups from one location to another. Cups and string became telephones for communication craft. Fake Money became a tool to count the kids in each group. The ideas were endless and so creative! Jason and Gale gave the orders and the team figured it out. Back to the church to start putting all these ideas in to action. 6pm and in came the kids. We had 27 kids. It is awesome to stand and look in the church and see children from Mexico, Yaqui Indian, and helpers from the Vietnamese church located a couple streets over. Culture was all around us and we loved it! Ray a local missionary and pastor took the bible study group and showed a video of South America and his heart for reaching the world. Each group prayed together for people to receive the love of Christ. You would think that with all this the night was complete, but no. It's 8:30. We are sitting, laughing and rejoicing about the evening when Armando walks in with Grilled, steak, chicken and pork, salad and cake. Could this week get any better because this is just Monday! Stay tuned....

It's Tuesday 8am and we are headed to the neighborhood in the van with Pastor Rob to follow up after some events his church has had in the last few weeks. Four block parties in a row! Over 1300 people were there. WOW! They handed out bags of food, had live music and games for kids. During the event they also took family photos. Today we get to deliver those photos and invite them to church! It's 112 degrees, but we are willing and ready. Water Bottles in hand and sun screen covering our bodies we hit the road. It was awesome. Noon and time to eat. Pastor took us to a local place and we had some mexican flavors. So far we are getting very spoiled with food here. We keep wondering if this is a mission trip or buffet! Pastor knows how to take care of his people! Back to 22nd street church (location of our lodging) we meet up with the other groups and go to Missions training with Grant. He teaches us ways to have conversations with people and learn more about them. Great tools for our tool box as this week is all about ministry and people. Thanks Grant and hope your flight to Jamaica is smooth and we will be praying for your trip there! Back to VBS with new ideas and excitement. 35 kids in the house! That's what I am talking about. Of course Missionary Ray is also a Chef so we are in for a treat for dinner. Ah, love this stuff!

Wednesday morning came early but we were ready to meet pastor at Caring Ministries. This is a ministry connected to the church that collects food and distributes it to local and some not local churches and people in the community. Over 300,000 lbs of food have been moved this month already. Eric hopped in the truck and went collecting from Trader Joe's, Safeway, Whole Foods, AJ's and many bakeries. A few more got in another truck to go to some grocery stores. The rest of us stayed back to unload trucks as they came in with the pallets of goodies. Produce, fruit, birthday cakes, muffins, turkeys, you name it we unloaded it. The volunteers of Caring Ministries will sort it and send it back out where needed. Lunch time arrived and yet again we consumed heavenly goodness. During lunch Pastor Rob shared his heart about people and Mexico. I think if we had our passports he would have been ready to leave today! You can hear his heart in every word he says. The inspiration we are receiving from him is contagious and Armando shares his testimony about his mother. He is one of 9 kids, his mother would go to the bank and get rolls of nickles load them all up in the car and take them to another village to hand out to families in need (they were a poor family as well). She wanted her kids to know that God will always provide if they are willing to give as well. His parents were married for 67 years and he says that he will always be thankful for what they taught him. We watch a video about Mexico and the work the church is doing there and can't help but get excited for the church! It's almost time for VBS and we can't wait to see the kids tonight! Keep praying for us!

What you should know is today is the day that the teams USUALLY take a break and have some recreation. Well not these guys. They heard about a semi truck coming in to the Caring Ministries Food Bank and gave up their morning to load the truck!

What one can do, three can do better.

Ready to hit the road and deliver the goods. Gotta love having these manly men on a trip when it comes time to use the muscles! These guys worked so hard and may I remind you of the heat! 108 degrees already this morning.

Most times for VBS we have crazy loud music playing through a boom box. Not this time. We have Gayle with us who can play the guitar and focusing more on the heart of worship. We love this part of the rotation. We learn hand motions to go with the songs and the little voices are magical. I understand why God loves to hear His children sing to him. It moves you to tears to hear them confess their love for Him and with such angelic voices. Jesus, You are my All and All!

Feisty and Beautiful. These two words describe these young ladies. We are having a blast hanging out with them and learning about their life. It doesn't take long for these faces to be branded on your heart forever.