Schedule

12/15/2007	Work Day - clear new property
01/14/2008	Airline tickets confirmed
01/18/2008	Passport applications sent
02/2-3/2008	Mini-trip #1 to Brother Jeb's church in Hastings
02/15/2008	Personal Request letters mailed
03/02/2008	Spaghetti Dinner and baked goods auction (NOTE DATE CHANGE)
MAR-APR	Chocolate Candy sale
03/16/2008	"Rent-A-Teen"
03/21/2008	Reminder letters mailed
03/29/2008	Car wash at DeLand Wal-Mart (NOTE DATE CHANGE)
04/12-13/2008	Mini-trip #2 to Okeechobee, FL Seminole reservation
04/15/2008	Vaccinations completed
	Tetnus, Hepatitis-A, Typhoid (recommended, not required)
06/21/28/2008	Honduras

Trip Report - Mini-trip #1

Saturday, February 2

At 8:00am sharp, the mission team headed out on the first of two "mini-trips" – this one to Hastings, FL where we joined up with Brother Jeb Smith and God's Way Baptist Church for a weekend packed full of ministry, missions preparation, and fun.

Saturday’s key task was 6 solid hours of door-to-door evangelism in 2 different areas: the town of Hastings and an area known as Flagler Estates or "10,000 acres." The team was divided into 4 groups and each was assigned a certain quadrant. With few exceptions, the team found the people generally receptive and had many open doors to present the gospel message as well as extend an invitation to visit God's Way Baptist Church. As a result of these conversations, we were able to make a handful of contacts for Brother Jeb to follow up on later.

That evening, the team enjoyed a hearty cookout and some games in "The Barn" at the Smith family's farm before heading back to the church house to prepare for the next morning and (try to) get some rest.

Sunday, February 3

The mission team was responsible for every aspect of the service Sunday morning. The meeting began with a teen leading the congregation in song from the pulpit and another providing accompaniment at the piano. Next, Brother Lew Carney laid out our plans for the mission trip to Honduras and asked for the people of God's Way Baptist Church to join us in prayer regarding the trip. The entire mission team then recited and sang several scripture verses dealing with God's simple plan of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ without works, and the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

The testimonies and preaching were preceded by a duet from two of the young men and a beautiful solo from one of the young ladies. To conclude the service, each of the young men on the team gave a brief testimony and/or preached a short Bible message focusing on the need of the lost for salvation and the need for the saved to go out and evangelize. Every aspect of the service was indeed a blessing.

After another meal at "The Barn," we joined God’s Way Baptist for some public ministry at the one traffic light in "downtown" Hastings and thus fulfilled a desire Brother Jeb has had since he started the church – to fill every corner of that intersection with smiling faces proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A tired crew headed arrived back in DeLand just after 4:00 Sunday afternoon.

Purpose

The purpose of the mini-trips is to provide some form of preparation for our week in Honduras. Mini-trip #1 simulated a mission trip environment in the following ways:

• 6 hours of door-to-door witnessing with no bathroom breaks or 7-Eleven stops
• W alking up to 200 and 300 yards at times to get to the next door
• Camping out "sardine style" Saturday night in 2 separate Sunday school rooms
• 14 people, 2 bathrooms, 1 shower, COLD water

The one way in which we did not simulate a missions trip was the enormous amount of wonderful food provided by the people God's Way Baptist Church. Not often does one return from a missions trip with extra pounds.

Our heart-felt thanks to Brother Jeb and God's Way Baptist Church for a great weekend in the service of the Lord and the fellowship of the brethren!

Trip Report - Mini-trip #2

Friday, May 2

All 19 participants in this second mini-trip met at the church house at 5:30pm to load up the bus and trailer and hit the road for Okeechobee. Three and a half hours later, we pulled into Seminole Bible Baptist Church on the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, unpacked our belongings, and wrapped up some final preparations for the 2 days of ministry ahead of us.

Saturday, May 3

The plan for Saturday was to go out on the reservation with flyers and invite as many young people as we could to a youth activity we would be holding at the community recreation center later that afternoon. After breakfast and devotions, we headed out with missionary Bill Blomberg and his son Luke to distribute the flyers and prepare for the activity. Brother Blomberg had posted the flyers around the community and done what he could to generate some interest a couple weeks prior to the event.

There are approximately 1,200 Seminole Indians on the Brighton Reservation and most of their houses are concentrated in 2 different areas. After hitting those sections, we took the young people from one end of the reservation to the other – all the way down “Reservation Road” – while Brother Blomberg worked the side streets. The houses on the main road were quite scattered, so we would drop off 2-3 teens every few houses until the bus was empty, go back to pick them up, then start the whole process over again.

Unfortunately, many either were not home or did not bother to answer the door. But the Lord did bless, and approximately 15 young people came out for the activity. We had a great time with the slip-n-slide kickball game Brother Blomberg set up on the baseball field. Then all the young people gathered on the bleachers and Brother Mike Basile (formerly a professional magician) presented his “gospel magic” routine, explaining that everything he did was simply an illusion and incorporating biblical truth into each trick. With all of the young people still on the bleachers, 4 of our teenagers got up and presented their salvation testimonies with an invitation for others to call on the name of the Lord and be saved. We wrapped up the activity with a delicious cookout provided and prepared by Brother Blomberg and the good folks of Seminole Bible Baptist Church.

After returning to the church grounds that evening, we took some time to enjoy some spirited games of ping-pong and prepared for Sunday morning.

Sunday, May 4

As with our first mini missions trip, our group conducted the entire Sunday morning service. Sunday School and the worship service were wrapped into one so Brother Mike began by bringing out some of his magic tricks for the kids. Next, Brother Lew Carney laid out our plans for the mission trip to Honduras and asked for the people of Seminole Bible Baptist Church to support the missions team with their prayers – for the preparation of hearts, the salvation of souls, health and safety, etc. The entire group then quoted and sang several scriptures together. All the young ladies provided some special music, and 3 of the young men gave a short Bible message.

We enjoyed a quick lunch with the people of Seminole Bible Baptist Church but unfortunately had to “eat and run” in order to make it back home in plenty of time for the evening service.

Purpose

Again, The purpose of the mini-trips is to provide some form of preparation for our week in Honduras. Mini-trip #2 simulated a mission trip environment in the following ways:

• Acclimation to a different culture. On the Seminole reservation our young people were given experience in seeking to minister to people who do things a bit differently than we normally do.
• More “primitive” conditions than we all are commonly used to, with the young ladies “camping out” in the church sanctuary and the young men “camping out” in the dining hall.
• Each young person was prepared to give a clear, gospel-presenting salvation testimony during the Saturday evening activity. Four were called on at a moment’s notice and did an excellent job.

Our thanks to the Blomberg family and the Seminole Bible Baptist Church for your kindness and hospitality and for the opportunity to minister together with you.