We've arrived in Mexico!

Howdy folks! We're at Rancho Agua Viva safe and sound. It was one of the easiest border crossings I've ever had. And Rancho staff just told us that they don't do Daylight Savings, so we just gained an hour as well! Talk about making good time...

Tonight is just unpacking and getting ready to start VBS tomorrow. We're really looking forward to seeing the children at Serafin's church...I think it's going to be a great week!

I'll try to keep you updated each day. In the meantime, please pray for good rest for us, and lots of energy for tomorrow!

--Brendan

greetings from Fullerton

Hello all,
This your friendly neighborhood Einy. I got a quick message from the missions trip... They made it safely to Fullerton this evening and are enjoying their first night there. Keep the prayers coming for a safe trip and we will see you all this thursday.

Our last day in L.A.

Hey everyone! It's about 6 pm on Wednesday and we're wrapping up our last full day here in Southern California. This morning we did our last VBS and finished it off with a huge water fight! We have lots of good pictures, and our clothes will probably still be wet when we get home.

Last night we got to spend some time with Selvin, a worker here at World Impact, and we saw a very good video about how gangs started here in Los Angeles. It was pretty eye opening, and made us realize how badly this area of our state needs to learn about the grace and peace that Jesus brings.

This afternoon we spent some time walking around the area surrounding the World Impact base, praying for the neighborhood and trying to experience just a little bit what it is like to live in this area. The missionaries and teachers here at World Impact value being a part of the community they work in, so they all live nearby the base. It's an amazing call from God; Selvin has moved here with his wife and three adorable children in response to God calling him here. It's a very humbling experience to see that kind of faith.

We're about to eat dinner and then we plan to head to the beach for the sunset and a bonfire. Then we're getting a homemade breakfast tomorrow from Selvin's family, and then we'll hit the road! You can expect us home between 7 and 8 Thursday evening. Thanks for your continued prayers!

--Brendan

Tuesday in L.A.

Hey folks! Thanks for checking in for an update. It's Tuesday morning right now, and we've been having a great time. Yesterday we did VBS in the morning. We only had a few students, but we really enjoyed being with them and have lots of pictures. We already want to bring some of them home with us!

After lunch yesterday we did some landscaping work on a few different World Impact owned houses. They were in desperate need of labor there, and we were able to make a huge difference. We cleared out space for new plantings and made it so that they can lay sod in one person's yard. One house had, I kid you not, a jungle in the back yard. I think there were even some monkeys in the trees. We cleared it out so that they can use the yard again. Hard work, but very rewarding to see the results!

Then, after dinner, we loaded into the vehicles and headed to Anaheim and spent a couple of hours walking around Downtown Disney, an outdoor mall right outside the theme park. It was really fun to walk around enjoying the Southern California weather and watch the Disneyland fireworks!

Here are some ways you can pray for us:

-We would love to have tons of kids tomorrow for our last day of VBS...pray that kids bring their friends!
-We're all feeling tired and worn out. Please pray that we get rest and have patience with each other and finish strong our last few days.

Thanks for your prayers, and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

--Brendan

Greetings from L.A.!

Hey folks! Just a little update to let you know that things are going great down here! Yesterday we got a chance to have lunch with some homeless in Skid Row and then walk around downtown near Union Station. It was an amazing day of getting to know the city, experiencing what life is like here and praying for the hurt in this place. Today we put on our Sunday best and went to Easter service at Glory Christian Fellowship International. It was a two and half hour service, but it flew right by...we felt so welcomed, and people were genuinely excited to have us there. After that we grabbed lunch at a taco place and then spent some time in MacArthur park playing football and enjoying the weather. Tomorrow morning we start VBS, and we're really excited. World Impact has put up posters to get the kids excited, and we have no idea how many we'll get each day!

Please pray for us as we serve the community here. We've had safe travel thus far, and we ask that you continue to pray for that. So far it's been a great bonding time together, and I ask that you pray that God will continue to bring us together as a group.

Hopefully I'll be able to update you again tomorrow, but in the meantime, He is risen!

--Brendan

Arrival in Watts!

Watts team made it safe and sound! currently we are getting settled in and situated at the World Impact base here is Los Angeles. As is turns out we wont have consistent internet access so we may not be updating the blog everyday. Please pray for us this week and we look forward to sharing stories as they come!

--209