catc missions

Greetings from India!

2012-01-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

I am happy to say that Janette, Stephanie, Amy and I have all made it to the Shelter safe and sound. We are all still very tired, but the energy that the girls give off and the exhilaration of being in this beautiful new country keeps us going. We had a midnight New Years Eve service with the girls last night and then church this morning where we were introduced and given a beautiful bouquets of flowers as a welcome. It's absolutely wonderful here. Asim and Mamata have been incredibly hospitable, and have even gotten us invited to a wedding feast tonight. We had some time to sing and play games with the girls tonight and tomorrow, we have a plan to do much more. I have never felt that people were so fascinated with me before. The girls crowd around and stare and asked us dozens of questions about our lives.
It was a little frustrating at first, because many of the younger girls know very little English, but after a while that hardly starts to matter. the language has become not of words or tones, but of smiles and laughs. language barrier became, instead, a language of hand-holding. Every word that needed to be said was somehow communicated through touch, and body language, and the eyes of the most extraordinary girls i have ever met.
All i can ask for prayer is that the 4 of us will be able to catch up on sleep at some point, that we will continue to stay healthy, and that we will never forget the impact mad on us by India and it's inhabitants.
Praying Always, Sierra Nicole Holland

One last image from Brazil

2011-02-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

This picture was given to us upon our arrival back in the states from the community in Sao Paulo. What an incredible trip and a great new community of friends!

Visiting the city

2011-01-29T06:45:00.001-08:00

Yesterday our team went downtown to see more of the city of Sao Paulo.

Here the group is at the subway station. After a couple hour drive (just to get near downtown) we packed ourselves into subway cars and made our way to our first stop, the Se Cathedral.

You can see the the cathedral we visited in this picture of the city taken from the top of a downtown skyscraper. Here is another picture (featuring Kim) from that building.

After our time there we headed to lunch and eventually to a park where we rested and played frisbee. On our way back to the church we stopped for souvenirs and ate at Boi Nobre (The Noble Bull) Churrascaria. It was a wonderful day.

Today we woke up to a beautiful morning right outside our window.

And back to work we go!

We are loving the warmth, but can't wait to see friends and family soon! Ciao!

Women´s Bible Study

2011-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the women´s Bible study. What a completely amazing experience! Because they were attending a funeral, our translators were not available. Through limited words and hand gestures, we managed to get by. We read a parable found in Matthew. Then we prayed. First a Brazillian woman, and then an American woman. The ladies asked us to sing a song. We decided to sing Holy, Holy, Holy. When we finished, the ladies sang it back to us in Portuguese. What better way to emphasize that we are truly sisters in Christ?

Team 3, first full day

2011-01-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

It´s our first full day in Brazil, and it happens to be a holiday. It´s Sao Paulo day (celebrating 457 years as a city). Because of this, a lumber delivery we were expecting did not arrive. We put a half day of work in, finishing the brick walls that the other teams started. Tomorrow there will be concrete pouring, as the lumber will be here to make the necessary frames. So after another delicious lunch, some of the youth took us on a walking tour of their neighborhood. We also got to take a tour of an amazing local school. The children are out on break for December and January, but the school is open for play time. It was a beautiful facility, with lots of room for learning the arts, athletics, computers, and play. It even had three swimming pools! An afternoon rain storm helped cool us down. This evening, the ladies have been invited to attend the women´s Bible study. We look forward to attending, even though we will probably not have a translator.

The ladies are staying in rooms above the sanctuary. As we were preparing for bed last night, we were serenaded by Luci, Tim, Greg, Jefferson (local piano genius), and Giselle having a jam session below us. Complete exhaustion was the only thing keeping us from joining them. Maybe tonight....

This morning, Carla Zerkle lead our devotions. She talked about Psalms 24. Did you know that ´Lift up your heads, o gates`refers to the top part of the gates to Jerusalem (Psalms 24:7). They were saying that our God is too big to just enter normally through the gates. The tops have to be removed for Him. It was amazing concept to picture looking at the unfinished walls of the sanctuary. With no ceiling or tops to the windows, it really brought verse to life!

We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to work on the new church, get used to such heat and humidity in January (I can´t believe I just put heat, humidity, and January in the same phrase!), and communicate with wonderful people through a language barrier.

Thank you for your continued love and support!

Sarah and the rest of Team 3

Team 3 in Brazil

2011-01-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Zerkle, one of the Team 3 leaders, took some pictures and put them on his photo blog. Check his two most recent blog postings for photos from Brazil and information on Team 3!

http://www.jonryanphotography.blogspot.com/

Waiting...

2011-01-24T06:21:00.000-08:00

Much of travel is waiting... Here is Pastor Steve patiently waiting on the floor of the Chicago airport for our flight to Sao Paulo watching the Steelers secure another Super Bowl berth.

In Sao Paulo

2011-01-24T06:16:00.001-08:00

Good morning! This is Andrew Gale. I just wanted to let you know that Pastor Steve and I have arrived safely at the airport. The other team arrived earlier this morning and was picked up and taken to the church. Flights were fine though we are quite tired. We'll pass on more information as it comes!

Update from Team 2

2011-01-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Another day in paradise, the bells of the iPhone, go off at 6:30 a.m. A quick get ready and devotion at 7 a.m. 7:30 a.m. is breakfast, always good, like all the other meals we have had so far. 8 a.m. at the work site, it is always a guess, as far as what we are going to do, but between Fabio the big kahuna and Antonio, the assistant, we all get our marching orders and Russ makes sure that we “work hard”. Today we laid bricks until about noon, lunchtime of course, and then when your stomach is nice and full, the sun is straight over your head and there is no shade, a big truck shows up with 4,000 bricks and several 20 feet bars of reinforced concrete to unload.

The girls showed off today by doing much of the heavy lifting, while some of the guys i.e., Sandro, pooped out. And the shorter they were, the tougher, they were. (For some reason he believes that it is more important to protect himself from another heart attack instead of keeping up with the work, go figure) Some of the other guys worked on the metal structure that will link the entire building together.

Breaks are always a welcome sight. This morning they brought watermelon from the kitchen, which hit the spot in the ninety plus degrees in the shade. In the afternoon, we had Brazilian coffee and panettone.

Just as work was over, a huge storm hit the area, and the temperature finally dropped. At dinner, we enjoyed a special dessert prepared by Sharon, Maxine, Lauren, and Juliana (local teen of the church) with the words “obrigado” (Portuguese for thank you) baked on top as a special thanks to our Brazilian hosts. As we type this, we hear some of the guys practicing for tomorrow night’s service, of which we are in charge. While the rest of us, partly because of the hard work, the heat, or the big dinner, are having a hard time keeping our eyes open. And tomorrow we will gladly do it all over again.

Sandro

Brazil Team 1 photos/video

2011-01-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,
I've uploaded the pictures and some videos onto a shutterfly website.
http://brazil2011team1.shutterfly.com/

Enjoy!!!
Miss you all!!!

Mandy Baldwin

Team 2 Update

2011-01-17T06:36:00.001-08:00

So far it has been a very eventful and fulfilling trip. Friday we
explored Brazil. We visited a beautiful museum, and then a city market
where we tried exotic fruit and had a typical Brazilian lunch. After
getting caught in a downpour and a 2.5 traffic jam, we safely made it
to the mall. Here we did sight seeing and picked up souvenirs. Next we
enjoyed a Brazilian steak dinner.

Bright and early on Saturday, we got right back to work. We were able
to accomplish a lot. We laid most of the floor on the platform and
poured several columns. It was extremely hot, thank goodness for
sombreros and sunscreen.

Sunday was another day of fellowship with our Brazilian family at the
church farm and later at church service.

Please continue to pray for us and all the work in the week ahead. It
has been a fantastic trip.

Some videos from the team!

2011-01-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos from Team 2 thanks to Sandro! Have fun watching what the team has been working on this week!

More updates to come so stay tuned!

Team 2

2011-01-15T05:07:00.001-08:00

After a long day of traveling, Group 2 is here! Luciana, PastorArminio, and friends met us at the airport with smiling faces and openarms. After we found our rooms and put our bags down, lunch waswaiting on us. The food was amazing just like our greeting.Afterwards, the group was able to get a half a day´s work completedbefore the rain.

Tomorrow we plan to go sight seeing to downtown SãoPaulo.Thank you for your prayers, we will continue to update you on our journey.

2011-01-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hello!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. The internet was not working well today, but we are back up and running tonight. Here is what you would have seen yesterday if we had been able to post.

Wow! What a work day! Again, we had another perfect day for working outside. The sun wasn't quite as fierce as it was yesterday, but still hot enough to make these winter Hoosiers forget about everything but drinking lots of water, lathering on more and more sunscreen and wearing great big wide brimmed hats to keep the sun off our faces and necks. In the meantime, work is getting doen and the walls are going up.

We had some wonderful Brazillian meals today including Brazilian Pizza which is very different but incredibly delicious. Tomorrow we are headed out to see a little more of the city and maybe buy some souvenirs. It will be a nice break before we get right back to work on Saturday. Everybody is doing well. Thank you for your prayers. We covet them in the second half of this journey as we grow more and more tired. We love and miss you all!

Dave Blair, Barb Bayne, Russ Jones, Mandy Baldwin and Steve Cooper all working on the construction stie.

Adam and Machelle Young and Charlie Campbell on the work site.

Steve Cooper modeling our new headware to help protect us from the sun.

Barb Bayne resting. She is a hard working!

Today, we had a "tourism" day. We traveled about an hour and a half outside of the city to a small town that had some great stores for tourists. Needless to say, there are some great presents that are coming home to you. And no, I won't post pictures. After we shoped for a while we went to a Brazilian restaurant for Lunch where we had some amazing food and many were ready for a long nap. On our way back to the city we stopped at a beautiful temple (Similar to a Buddhist Temple) where we walked around for about 20 minutes. Back in the van again we then went to the largest mall in Sao Paulo. Most of us were too full to eat so we walked around, did some shopping and relaxed before heading back to the church.

Today was a bit rainy at times, but it was great just being together and relaxing. Thank you for your prayers. We covet them as we go back to another day of work tomorrow. Before we left today 4,000 more cement blocks arrived. Our first job tomorrow will be moving them into the construction site so they are not on the sidewalk outside the gates.

Goodnight from Brazil!

Brazil Team #1

2011-01-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Awesome Day 1: We spent long hours in the sun. (Yes, I said sun and not rain. Yeah!!)
We moved and then placed a lot of brick for the walls that go into the entrance and then support the balcony of the new sanctuary. Below you can see our progress
Charlie and Don laying brick. They were masters!

Don, Duane and Charlie.

The stacks of bricks that we had to first move to the top of the building.

Not only did we hand the brick up, but some brave souls threw it to others waiting to catch it.

We sooooo appreciate your prayers. Please keep them coming. We love that God provided us with Sun and not rain, however, adjusting from 30 degree weather to over 80 is a little difficult. We are staying well hydrated and slathering on sunscreen. We love and miss you all!!!

Warmly,

Brazil Trip #1

We Made It!

2011-01-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

The first team traveling to Brazil landed in Sao Paulo at around noon, which is about 9:00am Indy time. We were met by our very own Luciana Schulle and Pastor Arminio and friends from the church to help get us and our luggage back to where we are staying. When we arrived they had a delicious meal prepared for us before we unloaded and settled in.

As always, we have been warmly welcomed and are excited for all the Lord has in store for us. The men have scouted out the work site to see where to begin and the girls fixed our hair. Which is very important because it is warm and humid down here. :) But we are so excited.

Here are some ways to pray for us:
1. Pray that we sleep well tonight. Not all of us were able to sleep on the plane.
2. Pray for a smooth transition into a new culture.
3. Pray for sunshine so we can get a lot of work done.
4. Pray that we would be sensitive to what the Lord wants to do in and through us.

Thank you for your prayers! We will post pictures soon!

Thankfully,
Brazil Team 1

Sao Paulo, Brazil 2011

2010-12-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

Our big push to have 30 people go on 3 teams for 30 days to Sao Paulo, Brazil in January 2011 is almost upon us. And the total is in! 35 people from CATC will be visiting the Tres Coracoes Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil during the month of January!

Listed below are the three teams and dates when they are traveling so you can be praying for them! Luciana Schulle has already made it to Brazil and will be there for the entire month. Russ Jones, leaving with the first trip, will come back with the final group.

Team 1 – Jan 3-12
Russ Jones
Luciana Schulle
Dave Blair
Barb Bayne
Steve Cooper
Mandy Baldwin
Duane Hammel
Charlie Campbell
Don McPheron
Machelle Young
Adam Young
David Holmes

Team 2 – Jan 12-22
Maxine Jones
Larry Salsman
Sandro Cassini
Charles Cookston
Dave Hulen
Lauren Robinson
Jim Slack
Amy Ramirez
Sharon Garnes
Charles Bradford

Team 3 – Jan 23-Feb 1
Jonathan Zerkle
Carla Zerkle
Greg Hewitt
Kim Livingston
Judy Princell
Sarah Sallee
Sherry Schmeichel
Ed Schmeichel
Ron Yoder
Tim Gee
Andrew Gale
Steve Rennick

An exciting month of challenge, change, construction, and connections are ahead for these wonderful people! Keep them in your prayers!

Coming to a close

2010-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited many of the different ministries happening in Cuttack with the Church of God. Radio ministry, a well respected girls high school, primary school, printing press, and more.

Then in the evening we played games with the girls from the Shelter. There were 63 girls. It is a challenge enough to try and get 63 girls in the United States (with whom we share a common language... for the most part) to understand games we are playing, but adding the language barrier it became even more interesting! After a few tries and many demonstrations, we had fun doing relays, playing the knot game, and others.

As we finished our time with the girls and said goodbye many of them started to shake their heads "no." It was confusing at first what was being communicated. After a second we realized that with school starting in the morning before we leave that our goodbye after this game time was most likely our final goodbye. It was a tearful moment as we shared one last prayer for the girls encouraging them to be a light in their community.

There are just not words to describe the depth of connection that was created in such a minimal time. We have shared many experiences together over the last few days: laughing, singing, dancing, praying, fumbly through communication, smiling. It has been a joy to see God at work so mightily. I know that I am coming home with renewed passion. Thank you for this opportunity, God, and may we always remember in prayer the people we have encountered.

&rew

Interview

2010-09-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the opportunity to sit down with a missionary to the the region we visited a few days ago. This young lady was a part of the Shelter and after graduating became a missionary to some of the more dangerous areas in Orissa. In 2008 during the riots, she narrowly escaped the destruction of the community she was living in. Her testimony and willingness to go back and face those she saw commit the crimes was a powerful story of God's work around the world. Wow.

Andrew

Three day journey

2010-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Our group just finished a three day journey to visit a rural village on the far western part of Orissa (the state in India where the Shelter is located).

We started on day one with a 14 hour drive through challenging terrain. By the time we arrived at our hotel for the evening we were ready to rest! Day two we made the final two hour trek to visit the village. When we arrived they had a celebration prepared for us. There was singing, dancing, and sharing. We received beautiful gifts and offered greetings to this very poor farming community. This is a community where one family lost three out of the four children to starvation. It's a place where the most common job is a wood cutter and those that work in the fields work 3-4 months a year making 30 cents a day. And yet, amidst all these challening circumstances, with the help of Children of Promise, we met three girls who are on their way to college! These are some of the first girls to ever graduate.

After the service we spent time interviewing the kids. How exciting to hear first hand, from the kids themselves, how they have been affected. We asked questions like, "what do you hope to do when you are older" and got great answers like "be a teacher, be a doctor, be a nurse..." We talked later with Paul Maxfield about this, the director of Children of Promise, who said that when he first interviewed here many of the kids had never thought about the future. They didn't even know how to answer the question. Now, with the power of education and food they are able to dream and think towards a positive future for their life. How powerful!

At the end of the day we took a group picture and headed back to the hotel. The next morning we woke up early and came back (14 hours once again, it didn't get shorter) to the Shelter. It was a long trek, but we were able to visit a pastor and his church where some of the riots of 2008 had occurred. This pastor was advised to leave his home after the riots began and came back to a burned out cement structure. They are still cleaning char from the cement walls and the pastor has the dream to move his family back there. We didn't spend much time there since this is a very sensitive area, but just to be at a place where such violence occurred was quite jarring.

Today is church. We are excited to get to worship together twice today with the people of Cuttack. We appreciate all your prayers as we finish out our last few days here and head back. As we have been taught to say, "Namaskar."

Andrew Gale

At The Shelter

2010-09-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

This is my 1st access to the internet. It is Wednesday - Sept 1st @ 6pm.

Our travel all went well. Smooth. No problems.

Today is our 1st full day here at THE SHELTER. It started with a special service in the chapel. Today at THE SHELTER is a special day each year called: FOUNDER'S DAY. It is their annual birthday/anniversary celebration. Our group all greeted the 70 girls, staff, and Board. There were songs & scriptures & prayers. The HIGHLIGHT was hearing several of the girls stand up to testify, "Here is what THE SHELTER means to me." WOW, that was GREAT! Hearing these girls testify to the love of the staff, the prayers of their friends, divine healings, clear conversions, and their dreams for the future ... WOW!

I spied out Namita immediately. We were able to meet this afternoon for an hour. It was wonderful. She is a delightful young lady. She has been here 9 years. She is from an EXTREMELY poor family. No one knows for sure when she was born but she appears to be 11 years old and is in the 4th grade. Her father was last here just after Christmas. How wonderful to help such a young lady! What a blessing to meet her, hear her favorite color (blue), favorite subejct (literature - reading & writing), her least favorite (math), her best friends names, her joy of playing hide and seek, and to pray with her. PRICELESS

The building that CATC is building here is wonderful - it is multi-purpose room addition to the dining hall & connecting the kitchen to the dining hall - keeping the girls from having to go outside to eat in the rain - really VERY cool!

It is time for supper & then an evening service. This is an eye-opening trip!

Love to all,
Steve

A few more thoughts from students

2010-06-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

We are at the Albuquerque airport on our way home. Here are a few more thoughts written by students this week.

6/23/2010

Nick Barker:

Well today was our last day of the day camp and it was sad to see all the kids go that we got to hang out with over the last couple of days. In the afternoon we went to another church called Dilkon about an hour away and got to experience some amazing Navajo Taco (Delicious!) On the way back to our sight we stopped at a place called the little Painted Desert and it was definitely a place to see. We got to take pictures and have a great time. On the car ride back (or roller skate van ride ha ha) I was looking out the window seeing all the beautiful sights and the gorgeous sunset and got me thinking…we “know” about all the wonderful things God created, things we take for granted on a daily bases. But just getting the opportunity to see this, all of this…here, it really makes you appreciate things more and the beauty of our creator. So I guess what I’m trying to get to is, it’s almost sad that it takes going to the opposite side of the country to realize the power and craftsmanship of our God. So as our trip is now wrapping up, I’ll leave you with theses verses…

“You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved. You clothed the Earth with floods of water, water that covered the mountains. At your command, the water fled; at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away. Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the Earth. You make springs pour water into the ravines so streams gush down from the mountains. They provide water for all the animals, and the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees. You send rain on the mountains from you heavenly home, and you fill the Earth with the fruit of your labor.”

Psalm 104: 5-13 (NLV)

June 24, 2010

Kimberly Collins:
The first day of this trip, we drove through this town that just felt so hopeless and desolate that honestly it kind of made me wonder if God hadn’t forgotten about them. But being here has definitely proven otherwise. First off, we’re 5000 feet up in the middle of nowhere, with desert stretching all around us. You can see for miles, the sky is crystal blue, and the wind can about blow you over. During our “me time”, I sat outside and found these verses… “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves! From the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.” “Come, let us rejoice in him, he rules forever by his power.” “Find rest, oh my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from him… One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.”

Then yesterday we went to the Little Painted Desert, which is beautiful, basically like a mini Grand Canyon, and watched the sun set over it. We listened to worship songs in the van as we drove through the gorgeous, pure creation.

I just can’t believe there’s so much beauty in the world. In these precious kids we got to meet, in this land that stretches for miles, in the sun setting over the Little Painted Desert, in living in community together and in delicious Navajo tacos. God has shown us that hope is never lost, he’s powerful and bigger than we could ever grasp and nothing is impossible with him. We can be at peace and rest in him, because he’s got this.

“You are beautiful, you stand alone. You’re hope for the hopeless, you rest my weary soul. You are mercy, all that is good, joy to the broken, glory to you.” -John Tibbs

McHood afternoon swim

2010-06-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

6/22/10

McHood City Park, Winslow, AZ

I’m not sure where the water came from…it’s like a mirage in the dessert. Out of the dry desert – there is a beautiful blue/green body of water. The students are saying it’s really cold; but how refreshing it must be!!

You, Lord, provide refreshment.

You, Lord, provide Living water.

You provide even in the driest and most barren places!

You provide…You provide…You provide!

-Melissa McCuen

thoughts from ymi students

2010-06-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

At a table in our meeting room I leave my computer up so that people can write thoughts when they have a free moment. Here are two from yesterday:

6/21/10

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you." (Matthew 5:4; Message)

I couldn't stop thinking about this as we drove through Thoreau, which was a town on the way to the reservation we are staying at. Dave drove us through Thoreau to give us an example of all of the statistics and other things he had been talking about during his drive. This town had been declared a disaster area by the Navajo people because of the extreme rates of suicide (over 22 people had attempted suicide in the past year and this is a small community so the statistic of those who attempted to kill themselves would be unheard of anywhere else, but did you hear about this on the news? I already know the answer, which is no - but the real question is why didn't anyone make a big deal about it? Well, because here it isn't uncommon - as Dave said it is simply "creeping normalcy"). This whole topic brought me to this verse again and again. So many Navajo people have lost "what is most dear to [them]," but so many also don't know who is trying to embrace them. That crushed me they have no hope and what gives so many of us hope isn't accepted or trusted here. I know that God is still blessing them regardless, but it is just very difficult to see.

-Ashley Hughes

Let's be honest, the situations that most of these people are in are horrible. For some reason, I don't feel sorry for them or sad about where they are - my heart hurts to help. These Navajo people are lacking so many of the things that you and I take for granted. Think about it, in the United States, in YOUR country, there are people living in homes without power or indoor plumbing. How does that not break your heart? We have failed as a country to provide for these people, the ones who controlled the land way before our ancestors were even thought of. I don't want to sit around and feel sorry for these guys; I want to do something about it. Pity and apathy aren't going to help anyone. So I feel like I'm stuck in this place - what can I do to make a permanent, lasting, positive impact in this area? What can I do to right the wrongs that my ancestors have put on these people? One thing is for sure, something here has to change...

-Shelby Harper

last video for now...

2010-06-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ashley and Nick talk about what they've heard so far from Dave as we stop to rest on our way to Winslow.

another video...

2010-06-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is a view our the campus from the front entrance. You can see the church, basketball courts, and octagonal "hogans" where we stay in the distance. It's windy, sorry for the bumpy footage and loud wind sounds, but that's life here!

so here is one video from our trip so far... others to come...

2010-06-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

The drive from Albuquerque had some beautiful scenery. Here's a quick, couple second view of the landscape. On the way we saw a black lava rock field.

Arizona!

2010-06-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

YMI has arrived safely in Winslow, Arizona!

We spent the day traveling. Literally, all day. We had a 6:45am flight to Denver, an 11:20 flight to Albuquerque, and a four hour drive (from 1-5pm) from Albuquerque to Winslow. It was quite an adventure. Oh, and because of time change, 5pm is really 8pm Indiana time (just to put that in perspective!). We were happy to finally be in our hogans and asleep (traditional Navajo housing).

Where we are is incredible though. We are staying at Red Sands Christian School on the Navajo Reservation. We had a day camp today and are really enjoying getting to know the kids that came. I will try and upload some pictures and video, but suffice it to say, it's hot, dry, and windy. And we love it!

Keep checking back!

&rew

(ymi) to Arizona!

2010-06-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Youth Missions Institute is participating in their culminating activity next week from June 20-25. We are working with Hope in Transit, a traveling music school that works on Native American reservations. For more info about their work, visit hopeintransit.org.

We will be doing a morning camp with the kids and spending time learning about the innovative ministry of Dave and Lisa Sprinkle. Those going on the trip are:

Nick Barker
Ashley Hughes
Kimberly Collins
Jenny Rennick
Cody Linn
Shelby Harper
Andrew Gale
Melissa McCuen

Keep us in your prayers! And we will try and post as much as we can!

so quickly it ends...

2009-10-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

It seems like this week flew by! We kept ourselves busy with kids and construction, met incredible people, and built relationships that will last long past this short ten day experience. It is Saturday afternoon and we will load the van to head to the airport in less than an hour. We are leaving with plenty of time since traffic has made the trip anywhere from an hour and fifteen minutes to four and a half hours. We are hoping for the first, we have a long journey ahead of us.

As we return, please feel free to ask us about our experience, pictures, and thoughts about our time. We are excited to share what God is doing here in Brazil. Granted, you might ask us a few days after we return since many of us already have appointments with our beds the day we return! Thank you for your support and love.

See you soon!

CATC Brazil Team

Sunny with a chance of rain

2009-10-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Last night we had one of the most incredible evenings as a team. We made some food for our friends (including meat loaf and cookies) and some of the Brazilian church people brought over some of their local favorites. We had a feast together with loud laughing, singing, and great food! Judy and her team did a great job finding things at the market and improvising with they found!

Today was a more normal day. We wake up, have devotions and breakfast, and then break into our construction and kids groups. The construction group got a lot of work done. Fabio said they were "on fire" today, which could have been because of the heat or their work ethic. We´ll choose the latter.

The kids group did some face painting which is always a hit! Robin made sure everyone who wanted to look special got their opportunity. And there were a LOT of kids! Then, in the afternoon, the kids group went to Cocaia to work with the kids there.

This last picture is Luci with one of her good friends, Jeniffer. Jeniffer has been a great help to our trip so far. She is the sister of Giselle who is the point person for our connections here. The weather was beautiful today, but already the clouds are rolling in the rain seems imminent.

I hope you keep checking back for more info. Let us know what kinds of pictures you might like to see and we will try and get some of them up. Thanks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-10-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

The whole CATC Brazil Team (and especially Russ Jones) would like to wish Maxine Jones a very happy birthday! Have a wonderful day!

Children´s Day

2009-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hola from Brazil! We are continuing to have an amazing time here. Here is a quick update to let you know what we have been doing with our time here.

We celebrated Children´s Day on Monday at The Farm just outside of Sao Paulo city limits. The Farm is owned by the church and has been a source of outreach for a community that is one of the poorest in the city. So many children came from the area for games and food and we were able to have many important conversations with them and get to know them and love them.

The children who visited the farm were so full of life and we loved their energy and joyfulness. When we learned just how compromised their lives are in this struggling community it made we felt even more inspired to give them all the encouragement and support that we can.

The entire group at the farm. We are a very diverse group of people who are getting to know each other and love each other well.

Pastor Arminio has been working in this area for 30 years. He is well loved and respected by all kinds of people in this community. Even the criminals of the community look after his church because he cares for their children. His wife Helena has been a wonderful hostess and translator and has made us feel at home here. We are so blessed to be working with such phenomenal people.

Mandy getting a Portuguese lesson from some of the youth in the church. We are all so impressed with the leadership and commitment these teenagers have for their church community.

The youth of the church are also so dedicated to their orchestra. They really own the music program and have shown so much passion and bring such special talents to the services.

Judy reading a Psalm in English during the Sunday evening worship service. One of our new Brazilian friends Jeniffer read in Portugeuse. We are slowly building some great relationships with the people here.

Thank you for all your support, we are loving it here! Keep praying and check back soon for more!

Sunday Afternoon!

2009-10-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Boa tarde! We are settling in to our home for the next 7 days and having a great time learning about the culture and language here, and getting to know the people. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how we have been keeping busy!

This is the street where the church is located. There is such a need in the community that this church serves and we are easily reminded of our job here.

We spent Saturday morning in the center of Sao Paulo and stopped at this market to try some of the local food.

Saturday evening we connected with the youth during their worship service. Mandy Baldwin shared a sermon with the youth about making time to be quiet with God and to really listen to what He is telling us. Luci has been doing a fantastic job translating for us and shares our words with so much enthusiasm. It has been so great to see her connection with her home church, we feel very blessed to have her on our staff at home.

Another photo of the youth service Saturday night. We also participated in the Sunday morning service and Andrew shared a message with the adults about recognizing God´s miracles and sharing with others the things He is doing in our lives. The community related so well to Andrew and shared some of the struggles that God has brought them through.

Ren volunteered to help Helena (Pastor Arminio´s wife) with a pie, which led to learning some new vocabulary in various languages. We are slowly learning the language, and the people here are so patient with us. We are using an interesting combination of Spanish, English, gestures, and of course Portuguese.

Keep praying for us, the weather is warmer and we are enjoying great fellowship together. Check back soon, we will try to update!

We arrived... safe and sound!

2009-10-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the prayers as we headed out yesterday to Sao Paulo, Brazil. After our flight to Miami, we had a delay on our flight to Brazil. Nonetheless, we arrived here this morning around 7 am. The van coming to pick us up had some problems and we spent our first few hours in Brazil at the airport, but we did make it to the church in time to get a late lunch. The afternoon has been spent getting things organized for the kids lessons and taking a look at the construction site that we will be working on. Most of the group didn´t sleep much on the plane and is looking forward to a good nights rest tonight. Here are some pictures from the days travel.

You can tell by her face, Luci was excited to head home!

Mandy and Mandy were also excited...

This is some of the group waiting at the airport on the van. We brought a lot of supplies so there was a lot of luggage to account for. Thankfully, we made it all the way to the church with everything!

Here is a picture of Judy, Ren, and Robin working on putting supplies together for the kids lessons.

We really appreciate all your prayers and support as we continue on this journey together! Deus te abençoe!

Andrew

Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009-09-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

From October 8-18 a group of 11 travelers from Church at the Crossing will begin their journey to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Luciana Schulle is one of the team leaders and is excited to take this group to her home town to work with the church she grew up in. She is co-leading the trip with Andrew Gale, Missions Director at Church at the Crossing. The other 9 travelers include:

Mandy Baldwin
Bekky Coffey
Tami Evans
David Holmes
Russ Jones
Mandy Kloes
Ren Mink
Judy Princell
Robin Trittipo

We would certainly appreciate your prayers of support as we prepare and leave. We will do our best to keep this blog updated so you can know what is going on. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Andrew Gale

Final Work Day

2009-07-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

During our evening session of singing and sharing on Sunday after family camp was over.

A view from the plane on our way to Alaska.

Kayaking on the lake the camp sits on.

Jared Brandon and Jon Harrel kayaking.

Boys tent row.

Boys Tent Row. 11 tents in a row where the boys slept. After family camp was over most of them moved into cabins.
A group hug after our time of worship and sharing.

Sunday in Alaska

2009-07-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Family camp is over. Today after our 10:00am service the family campers packed up and headed home. It was bittersweet seeing them leave because for a lot of us we got attached to many of the people and had a wonderful time. Now, however, we have some down time which is much needed.

After lunch we took the afternoon off to relax, nap, go for boat rides and play games. The weather continues to be cool and we can see the mountains a little better today. Instead of describing what has been going on, take a look at these pictures.

Steve posing in front of Moose Antlers.

Jon Harrell, Anne Rupp, Sierra Holland, Jared Brandon, Debbie Granger (Aka: Mother Nature) and Carissa Drake. Our Kitchen Team.

Stephanie Payne and Maddie Seabring sitting outside the lodge during free time.

Free Time at the Lake.

Youth service in the "Big Top" tent.

Audre Witta with two of the pre-school aged children. Brie and Emma.

Chilling on the steps: Connor Burns, Gregory Livingston, Stephanie Payne, Allison Yaney, Libby Dufek and Maddie Sebring.

Youth Band rehearsing for the opening service.

Saturday in Alaska

2009-07-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends and Family!

Today is cloudy and 63º. The first few days we were here it was in the 80's and 90's and we were told that weather this warm is not normal. Today's weather is much more normal, but much cooer. In about an hour we will participate in their annual cardboard-duct tape boat race. I will post pictures later of the exciting times.

Here is what our schedule has looked like over the last couple days:

6:30am - Kitchen staff reports to the kitchen to begin making breakfast.
8:00-9:00am - Breakfast
9:30am - Team Meeting

10:00-11:30 - Morning Session (Seperate Youth, Children and Adult Groups) Also, work teams are doing wok projects around the camp.

12:00-1:00pm - Lunch

1:30-3:30pm - Afternoon work time/practice for Evening Session

5:00 - 6:00 pm - Dinner

7:00 - 8:45 - Evening Session (Seperate Youth, Children and Adult Groups)

9:00 - 11:00 Freetime

11:00 - In cabins & lights out

Pray for us as we enter into our last day of family camp. We are all tired and looking forward to some rest.

2009-07-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! Everyday we are reminded of how beautiful God's creation is. Even thought we can not see the mountains, the camp is beautiful and the lake is amazing and the weather is perfect. Today the weather has been in the low 70's with a nice breeze.

Last night (Wednesday Night) started Family camp. The adults and youth were all together for the opening time with Pastor Steve as the speaker and some of our students helping lead worship. The children were seperate and played hard and painted some rocks. Today, we will continue having seperate programming for the children, youth and adults. There are a lot of kids who have tons of energy but our youth are doing an excellent job of playing with them and teaching them and making them feel special.

We have several groups who are continuing some work projects around the camp. There is painting going on, a trail being cleared through the woods and a cement slab being prepped and then poured.

Below you will find some pictue of what's going on and what's keeping us busy. Please stop by often and leave messages for us. I will make sure the students get any message you send.

Continue to pray for us and the families we are serving. We are excited and encouraged to be here, but we are also tired. Pray for our health and safety.

Nick Barker, Kimberly Collins and Ellie McCracken eating breakast.

A part of our kitchen team, Sierra Holland, Carissa Drake and Anne Rupp. Also on the cooking team are Jared Brandon and Jon Harrell. Their team leader is Debbie Granger (Aka: Mother Nature).

Landscapin team of Anne Rupp, Sierra Holland and Eli Inman.

Dinning hall below and Lodge above which serves as the adult meeting space.

Camp Challenge Alaska

2009-07-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

We made it!

Monday, July 6, 2009 started with a 4 hour drive from Church at the Crossing to Chicago's O'Hare airport. We departed from O'Hare at 6:05pm (7:05pm Indiana time) and arrived in Anchorage, AK at 10:00pm (2:00am Indiana Time). We packed up another bus and headed out to Camp Challenge, which is about a 45 minute bus ride from Anchorage. We showed up at the camp and had a brief orientation before hiking up a BIG hill to collect our bedding and head to bed. The girls are sleeping in cabins and the boys are sleeping in tents.

The first thing we learned in Alaska is that the mosquitos are about the size of your head. Ok, maybe not, but they are big and there are a lot of them. Normally, we would be able to see beautiful mountains surrounding the camp but because of forest fires there is a haze that keeps us from seeing the mountains clearly. However, that doesn't keep us from appreciating the beauty all around us.

When we arrived at the camp and finally made our way to bed it was after midnight. Here is a picture of what it looks like at midnight in Alaska. Obviously different from Indiana.

Today, we worked a lot! There are many projects that we are working on until family camp starts tomorrow night. We are working on clearing a portion of the woods for a trail, painting, cleaning and landscaping. Here are some pictures.

Painting the boat house. Just one of many painting jobs.

Charlie with a weed wacker blazing a trail.

Samantha Barker Helping with Landscaping.

Kate Richardson and Julia Smith working on the trail.

Tucker and Carissa working on the volleyball court.

Almost There

2009-06-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the gap in posting. The wireless connection has been off and on here over the past few days. Right before we got here there was a pretty powerful storm that came through and blew a tree down on the internet cable. It looks like everything is back up now.

Today was our final day on the job sights. One team actually finished up yesterday and was able to do some work around the settlement to help out more. All four porches are done and they look great! Parents, your children can now build you a porch for your back yards. (or front yards if you want.)

Here are some videos from yesterday. As soon as I get pictures of the porches, I'll post them.

Josh White and Wesley McKoy.

Sam Granger and Adam Wishon.

Day 2 Continued

2009-06-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple first hand accounts of what happened today.

Zak Trowbridge and Levi Rennick talk about their work project.

Sam Bate, Pierson Furnish and Trevor Witta explain what their day was like.

Day 2 of Jr. High Work Camp bn

2009-06-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

Another Great Day!

The team that I am on includes Charlie Campbell, Traci Bray for adults and then Emmaleigh Utter, Graceyn Burns, Ashley Hunter, Paige Finley, Sean Rostiser, Trevor Witta and Sam Bate. I told them today that I have not seen a group of students catch on to something so quickly. Yesterday, we got the posts of the deck up with framing around all the posts. Today, we were able to put the floor joists down and lay the deck and get 75% of the railing and ballesters on. Below you will find some before and after pictures. Students were doing work they had never done before and they never let up. It was a beautiful sunny day that by noon was extremely hot. We got to eat lunch on half of our finished deck.

It was a good day. I'm very proud of the group of students I'm working with and I've heard similar stories from the other adults.

I'll put more up later, with some more interviews.

Love ya'll,

Mandy

This was at lunch time of day 2. We are almost a half an hour away from the settlement so, instead of loosing time by driving back, we pack our lunch and take it with us.

This was taken at the end of the day right before we headed to cool off with an ice cream treat that Traci got for us and then some much needed showers.

Day 1 of Jr. High Work Camp

2009-06-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family.

We are safely in Kentucky and have completed our first day of work. Yesterday, we had a great drive down from Indianapolis, with a quick stop at the airport in Lexington to pick up two of our friends for the work camp. There are a total of 42 of us on the trip. 21 girls and 21 boys. 12 are adults are divided between 4 teams working on 4 seperate work projects with students. All the projects include tearing down existing decking and replacing it with new porches. The first day was filled with exciting work. I'll let the students teall you about it. Today you will hear from the girls.

Listen and watch Shea, Hanna and Colleen talk about their day.

Here is Leah, Brooke and Rachel talking about their day.

Come back often to check on what everyone is up to.

Mandy Baldwin

Jr. High Work Camp to Henderson Settlement

2009-06-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hello!

In just a few short weeks, the Jr. High students of Church at the Crossing will be traveling to beautiful Frakes, KY to work with Henderson Settlement. You will be able to follow our travels and experiences here. Please come back frequently to see what God is doing in and through the lives of the Jr. High students from CATC.

Mandy Baldwin

Jr. High Dir.

Here are a few pictures of the area that we are going to serve.

First podcast; introduction to podcasting

2009-06-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

We are working to see if we can put up podcasts during our missions trips.

New Mission Info!

2009-06-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

This has been an exciting year for missions at CATC. We have seen work done with our Prepare the Way partners with Bell's Chapel, Camp Challenge Indiana, and Camp Challenge Alaska. We have a group that is preparing to leave in October for Brazil and exciting things in our future!

As a way to connect CATC with the missions happenings, we are creating this blog. Here you can find thoughts and writings from our partners. Also, during certain missions trips, groups will be able to record and post podcasts (audio) that will allow you to hear what they are thinking and experiencing while they are still on the trip.

Another exciting way to hear more about missions at CATC will be with the Missions Memo. This is a quarterly publication that will have it's first printing in July 2009.

We are preparing this summer for a fun new year of missions happenings and we want you to be in the know and find ways to help! If you have questions, please contact: Andrew Gale, agale@churchatthecrossing.org

&rew

ps, make sure you are continuing to pray for our partners, prayer requests are on the back of the weekly and on the church website: churchatthecrossing.org.