The Lakeway Church
Glorifying God, Loving Others
2203 Lakeway Blvd. ● Lakeway, TX 78734 ● 512-261-6331 ● Fax: 512-261-7099
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Summer Mission Trip 2003!
Well done, good and faithful servants! Mat 25:21 Our youth missionary team of 36 youth and 8 adults are back from spending a week in Mexico! Our team served God by providing for some of the physical and spiritual needs of some of those families that relocated to just south of the border and found themselves without shelter. Our missionaries fulfilled physical needs as they worked everyday in a colonia near Rio Bravo, Mexico where they built 3 small houses for three needy families. The people there agree to work the fields for the government in exchange for a piece of land on which they can build a house if they can afford to do so. One of our families had waited 4 years for a house! These families were eager to help our team get the job done as they provided well-needed shade via a tarp, cleared the area for the foundations and gave much encouragement and enthusiasm to our teams. The 3 houses we built were close together so it gave all the kids an opportunity to work together and share experiences. Every day our team "lunched" together under the tarp. Our kids gave generously to the love offering that was collected for the families---making it possible to purchase a number of items, including beds for some of the families. Needless to say, it was a heart warming experience for all. Our team also fulfilled spiritual needs by participating in teaching Children’s Bible School (CBS) to the many local children. The children all enjoyed our puppets and came to know of Christ in a fun and memorable way. This year while CBS was being conducted, the ladies of the community were also being witnessed to. One day they had a crafts class, one day they had manicures/pedicures. The purpose was to build their self-esteem and let them know how much they are valued by God. Each evening, worship service had a time of singing & praise, a time of sharing "God sightings" for the day, and a time of worship & reflection on God's purpose for the week. Each evening was concluded with a small group meeting where our youth shared stories and experiences and Rev Mac gave directions for the upcoming day. The youth & leaders bonded and grew spiritually during this week. The overall consensus was this trip was life changing and most can’t wait to return to do more of God’s work next year. Quotes from the kids... The mother’s name was Mary and instantly I could see the look of relief on her face when she saw our stunned faces. We began building and everything felt perfect for me. My heart was pounding and I felt like, for the first time in my life, I was doing what I was meant to do. The banging of hammers, laughing of children, and feeling of greatness made a perfect combination of love and trust in the Lord. ... I thank God and everyone involved for changing my life and helping me change others. God bless. Cameron God opened my eyes this week and showed me His love in a very unexpected place. He also taught me that all it takes to bring a smile to someone’s face is the love of Jesus Christ. I want everyone that went on this trip to remember that whether they did puppets, hammered a nail, or made sure everyone had water, that they were working as God’s hands and bringing glory to His name. I am so proud of our youth group and will never forget how great this week has been. Megan Before this trip my spiritual faith was not that strong, but as the week went by the Lord touched my heart in many ways. He showed me how fortunate I am having a family that can afford a house with something just as simple as AC. ... This experience has changed my life. Taylor M. I have learned from this trip to always trust in God’s plan because He knows what He is doing. I also have learned to put complete trust in Him and hand my life to Him because when I try to live my life by myself and according to what I want, I always fall short of what I would have gotten by letting God choose my path. I am so glad that I decided to come on this mission and I know I will never forget anything about it. Lindsey There is a mom, dad, five-year old girl and two-month old boy. The little girl ran to the bed and instantly, you could see the joy on her face. She also had a new backpack and clothes. The first thing she grabbed was the teddy bear, and she handed it to her mom. The mother took it and squeezed it and started crying. It was that instant, when we all had our heads poking through the door and windows trying to watch the family, it truly hit me. We weren’t here just to build a house, but to change lives forever. ... It’s weird how these people who have so little can be so happy, yet some have everything they could ever imagine, and are so unhappy. Taylor P. This was the best week of my life! ...we were touched because we knew we were the hands and feet of God and did great things for Him and got nothing in return. Call me crazy, but that is one of the greatest feelings possible. If you are a kid reading this and you didn’t come you probably think I’m out of my mind. Well, if you don’t believe me, then come next summer. ... I’m just so thankful I came because God has now redirected me and my life back toward Him. Tyler Through praise with Shane and Shane, through doing God’s work and being his servant, I have become nearer to Christ than I ever have been. The look on our family’s faces as they entered their new house will be with me forever. .... I thank God for bringing me on this trip, and I am bringing home with me a positive and close relationship with the Lord. Nick This
week has been so amazing. Memories
have been made that can never be erased. Lives
have not only changed for the people in God showed me how lucky I am and that each and every day I should thank Him for blessing me with an incredible family and friends, and a privileged life. I’ll always remember to share my good fortune with those less fortunate, and to set a good Christian example. Hannah God works in weird ways. A simple smile or a nod, even a chuckle, unmasks the magician. I thought I would just work hard and let the others attend to the family, but once I saw this little boy smile at me….. man, that was it. I’m hooked. My life will never be the same and I thank God every day for my life and Himself. Michael M. I know that the work we did for these people was God using us as his tools to show them His unconditional love. I hope that we have forever made an impression in their lives because I know they have in mine. I pray they feel the love and comfort of the Lord and that they know He will always be there for them. I hope they have come to trust in Him and continue to grow in their faith in all they do. I thank God for bringing me here and for loving me and everyone. Jamie I got much closer to God through worship, prayer and by doing His work. He showed me what I can do with love, hard work and His power. I learned that if I let go of myself and my own ambitions and plans and thoughts, and just let God work through me I will do better and my affect on the world will be more positive. Over all, this has been a wonderful experience for me and I know I speak for the whole group when I say this. I thank Michael McCaskill and Mission Discovery for arranging this trip and I can’t wait until next summer. Hogan Coming
to On
this mission trip to Rio Bravo God touched my heart dearly.
The first day we went into As I was here the Lord spoke to me through the wonderful worship and the impoverished families. Seeing their faces light up when they saw the houses we built for them really touched my heart. I’m so happy the Lord wanted me to be here. This mission trip has changed my life spiritually. Jonathan When
we arrived in My faith in the Lord and in this youth group has grown so much this week. I had no idea what to expect coming into this. My only prayer was for me to really see Christ. This prayer was answered so many times a day, every day. Christ was seen in the faces of our family, felt in the words we sang, and aiding in the bond that grew between our group. I, as a Christian, have grown so much on this trip and go home a person changed for the better. I can’t wait for next summer so I can come back. I feel so blessed to have been given this wonderful experience. God bless! Meredith These people who have nothing seem to be happier than us. We built a house for a family of five that was the size of most of our bedrooms, yet they were overjoyed to have it. From now on, I hope to not take anything for granted anymore, but to praise God for the blessings He has given to me. This week I have seen God do drastic things as He answered all the prayers we prayed together. I am extremely happy that I went on this trip as I got to see some of the works of God in progress, as He touched the hearts and changed the lives of so many. Vaya con Dios!!! Elena
During this week I acquired a passion to help the people of I really felt God working through me. My life has been changed into a better Christian. I have realized the importance of prayer. I will forever remember this life-changing experience. Jason Watching the other families see their new home brought a smile to my face and even though that house is nothing compared with what I am used to, just knowing I made someone else happy is the warmest feeling possible. The fact that all of our help, determination and love built these houses is not only a great feeling, but it may have saved lives not only literally but spiritually also. God was truly with us this week, for we would never have been able to complete this task without Him in our hearts. Brad On
I would do all of the hard work again just to see five minutes of joy on the families faces. Little things to us mean the world to others. God opened our eyes and our hearts to the people who are needy. My goal for this trip was to touch some hearts while we were there. I don’t think we could have touched their hearts more. Shannon This
week here in At the beginning of the week all I did was complain about how this was the most I’ve ever sweated, and how our rooms were extremely hot. As the week went on I began to look past all of that because I had been blessed with the opportunity to come here and help out families who were less fortunate than me. ...this trip has changed me and I am forever grateful. Ed Next year I really want to come back for the people. If it means to spend hours in the heat, I’ll do it. This trip has made me see how gifted I am to have what I have. I thank The Lakeway Church and Michael for bringing me here. Michael D. I am not quite sure if before this week I was pretending to be a Christian or I was really in tune with God, but I know now that I have become much closer to God. He has shown me what being a Christian is all about. I had a life-changing experience... I had an awesome time on this mission trip and I hope to do it again next summer! Julie I feel so blessed that I was able to come and help the families in Mexico, not only the earthly things, but having watched some of the people come to know Christ and become part of our loving family in the Father. Dedicating an exhausting week of many difficulties was worth every bit of it. This trip brought me closer to the Lord as well. David When
I came to When we got to the camp it seemed the only thing we did was sweat. There were not many choices of what to do. We could walk and sweat, play volleyball and sweat, play basketball and sweat, or just sit and sweat. As the week passed we forgot about how much we were sweating and focused our hearts and minds on the families we were working to help. Their laughter and smiles were the most amazing things I have ever seen. Josh I gained so many good friends and even helped change someone’s life. I also know I helped change a lot of kids lives by ministering with puppets. These are memories that I will never forget and friends that I hope I never loose. Jon I have had many experiences in exercises with Christ. I have been on the sidelines in the way of Christ. Building this house helped me realize that I had committed a penalty. I need to practice harder and become a starter. I have made more friendships and I thank the Lord for my life. Austin God has shown me that there is no such thing as a language barrier because when you show someone love they do not care what you have to say, but that you are just with them. I know we’ll be coming back next year and I hope I can see my family again. Thanks to everyone who made the trip possible and thank you God for giving me a chance to have such an awesome experience. God bless. Whitney Coming to this camp to me was going to be simple. Build a house, hang out with friends and then come home proud. But this trip opened my eyes to the rest of the world that live in poverty. I could also feel the Lord at work at all times. He showed us that we need to focus on Him and good things will come. No worries. For me, personally, I have become closer to God. One person said “I came to camp for community service and I left with a changed heart”. And that is how I feel also. Wiley Quotes from the leaders... I am so thankful to have been a part of this week! The Lord has provided so much for so many in one week! Mission Discovery provided a place for the Lord to use our youth as his hands, but also He used the Mexican families as His arms which have embraced each of us with His love. Having been
involved with mission work before, I fully expected to experience heat, hammers,
dirt, sweat and a little paint. I
also knew that the Lord would provide many opportunities and touch hearts.
However, I think the Lord brought me to Year Two –
Mission Discovery Trip! Last year 14
--- this year 44!!! Last year one
house for the people of God so richly blessed us this trip. I saw our youth grow in Christ’s love for those they served and for each other. They worked, played and worshipped together. They encouraged each other when the going was tough and rejoiced in each other’s victories. Hearts and lives were changed this week. Nita Peebles The mission trip was promoted as a house-building experience like none other. The trip ended up being very little about the houses and so much about people and God’s way of working. I realized this as I stood today (Friday) out in the road looking from a distance at the three houses we constructed. No one was concerned about how little it was or how insignificant it would be in our world. They were a group of kids getting along with each other and having fun interacting with the families and small children from a different country. This also changed an appreciation in my heart for a group of youth who gave from their hearts all week. I pray that my being on this trip will have a very small impact on a huge world. I thank God for my family and all the blessings I have received and stand ready to share at any time. Don Purswell This is the
first mission trip for me. I am
forever changed. I was blessed in
witnessing our youth working side by side with the common goal of wanting to
improve the lives of families in a poor area of I can’t tell you --- couldn’t ever hope to explain what you’ve allowed to happen this week. Children were saved, a mother was saved, and so many of us leaving this place are never going to be the same. I don’t feel God anywhere like I feel Him here. His love, His plan, and His protection surround this place and the people who stay here. There’s a song we sing …”We can feel you move, we cannot stay the same…” we can’t. These people here have nothing, but when I’m here they give me a place, a hope and a joy that can’t be found near my beautiful home. I love the simplicity of God here, and I wish I could share it with you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing it with me. Jenny Werdenberg What a great week!! This was my first mission trip and I pray that it will not be my last. I witnessed a group of people come together as one, providing for needy people in the name of the Lord, and loving people from another country as we love one another within our church. Within the Kukambas, I was a part of a very strong group of young men. They all worked hard, hoping to please a family. I know they, as I, were disappointed in not meeting our family, but they never lost their desire to prepare the best home possible. If any single group were not to meet their family, I’m glad it was ours because I don’t believe any group could have worked harder and accepted God’s plan better than these fine Christians. I know in my heart that our family was as excited as any and tears of joy filled the house tonight. I was blessed. Alan Williams The trip was pretty good after all. I hated the first day. It was mainly the heat. The people were great. I had some fun. Breakfast was not very appetizing though. The beach was fun, but the most fun part was seeing that we built a house and that it will change the lives of many people, including a two-month old baby. Knowing that baby has a roof over his head makes me feel good inside and makes the work worth it. Y’all are really cool and I hope to see y’all again eventually. Aaron Zuniga
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If you would like to view the Mission Discovery website, click here. (Click Here to see upcoming Mission Trip 2004)(Click Here to see Mission Trip 2002)(Click Here to see Mission Trip 2001)Back to Top
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