El Paso Day 5

Kids from Franklin High School crossing the street to grab some lunch.

Encouraging Day

It was a full day. A group of us went to UTEP and a group of us did Pay it Forward. The Pay it Forward crew continued the returning carts campaign at Walmart. They also put money with the P.I.F. card into the bank tubes and gave it to the bank teller. I went back to UTEP with Misti. We struggled again. It seems that sharing in the morning on campus is a lot harder. I think I mentioned this before. The students are busier and rushing to class. Misti and I tried passing out free candy bars, but nobody would take them. We switched to sharing our faith.

I approached about 4 people and no one wanted to talk. Then Misti and I found a lady in the library cafe that we approached. She was open to talking. She was hesitant to share her beliefs so Misti began and shared the whole Gospel. She was a Universalist and basically believed that there are multiple ways to heaven. She shared that she has a hard time with religion and judgemental people. I asked her if she wanted us to pray for her and she told us what she needed prayer for. I hope the Lord can soften her heart. She seemed interested in checking out the Rio.

Then we quickly went to Franklin High School and passed out candy bars and flyers for our outreach event. The kids saw that we are having free pizza and were very excited. We quickly had lunch and got in the Nelsons' van to head to Juarez, Mexico. We got there and it was very wind and dusty. The kids were excited to see us. We brought soccer balls, kites and other toys. It was fun to play with the kids. I recognized some of the kids from last year when we visited. We played soccer and some the younger kids sat and colored or blew bubbles. The South House put on a puppet show for them. It was very fun and animated. It was great to see the joy on the kids' faces. After that we headed back to El Paso. The military was at the border and heavily guarded the entrance. I really didn't feel unsafe though. The return back to the U.S. was pretty quick and painless.



Here some photos from Juarez: the indoor soccer room, puppet show and boy coloring.

We then had a potluck with the Rio at the Nelsons. It was a TexMex meal. It was very good. After the meal we had some worship and sharing time. The Rock teams shared their encouraging stories how God has been working this week. Then John asked the Rio: "How do you keep encouraged in the last 2 years since the Rio was started?" The answers were incredible. This was the highlight of my trip so far. It was inspiring to hear how they persisted through many trials. My favorite answer was from Ryan, the worship leader. He said that he delights in the small blessings from God. God gradually turned the band from nothing into a very solid group. Kathleen Nelson, Pastor Steve's wife said, "We also get encouragement and energy from mission teams." This was really nice to hear. The Rio team is a special group with hearts for God. We look up to them because we may be in their place some day. The Rock wants to plant churches when the time is right in the next few years.