Duck, Duck, Goose

This week we are hosting a team from University Baptist Church in San Antonio. They are conducting a VBS near a local mobile home park (see picture). There are about 45 kids attending. The leader, Jim, told me today that he has around 20 former students from his youth groups that are now involved in full time vocational Christian service. His secret? He deliberately involves his teens in mission trips and service projects. They, in turn, develop a love for the work, and the people they get to meet while doing it. So while some youth groups are all about pizza and amusement parks, Jim is trying to produce committed followers of Christ. I tell you, this warms my heart.

Pics - Before and After

Here are a couple of pictures of a widow's house that was painted this week by a team from Village Parkway Baptist Church. Believe me when I say that there was a lot of work to do here. Thanks to this group for a job well done.

Living Water

Last week I, along with several other guys from our church, helped load a truck with bottled water to send to Monterrey, Mexico. There were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Alex down there, and drinkable water is at a premium. Anyway, as a result of the water distribution (and I'm leaving out a lot of details here), over 100 people have made professions of faith. WOOHOO!

Rounding Up Questions - Driving Home Answers

I'm busy as a (insert animal here) this week. We have 3 teams in town, and they're all going in different directions. AND, we're having our VBS at church this week as well. But it's all good.
All of our teams are from Texas. They are canvassing our local neighborhoods, inviting kids to VBS and passing out copies of the gospel of John. 2 of the groups are painting houses, and one is conducting its own VBS in a local park. Yet another is installing some new playground equipment, among other things. Throw in a broken A/C unit, a torn up lawn mower, a leaky toilet, and a little disaster relief work, and you get missionary nirvana. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Disaster That Was

While we only suffered minor damages in Brownsville from Hurricane Alex, our friends to the south weren't so lucky. Here are a couple of photos from Monterrey, Mexico.

The Disaster That Wasn't

After giving us all a good scare, Hurricane Alex went south of us. Lots of rain, but not much else. Coverage of the storm can be found here.