NorthPointe Church

We return...

2008-08-06T21:06:00.002-05:00

So after traveling for almost 12 hours today (3 hours on a bus at 7am this morning followed by two separate plane rides) we return to the familiar sites and sounds of the states. Overall, several talked about how hard it was to come back. It was hard to leave the city of Queretaro that became so familiar and home. There was lots of talk about how we could have stayed for another week.

This Sunday morning at the 10:30 service all of those on the mission trip will be sharing their experiences. The missionary we worked with Tiffany, her husband John, and their son Scotty will be joining us for service to share as well. We hope you will be there because the blog doesn't do justice to what we saw, heard, and experienced in Queretaro as God moved.

Also, we look forward to Wed., Sept. 10 where Dany (I've been spelling it wrong) the Pastor's son as well as the youth director for some of the region in Mexico will be coming to NorthPointe to preach. We are all excited and hope you will join us then too!

Extended stay...

2008-08-06T00:31:00.002-05:00

Due to the weather in Houston and the timely tropical storm we called the airport to find out the delays. The reports at 8am this morning told us that the delays were running about 5 hours behind. None of us wanted to be stuck in an airport so the decision was to change our flights to Wednesday and stay an extra day in Queretaro. Everyone was pretty much excited to have more time to shop and time to have fun and take in more of the city.

Yes, today we shopped some more and really enjoyed most of all having the opportunity to not have a schedule or agenda. We did some historical things like visit the place Maxmillan was killed, the place where the Mexican Constitution was signed in 1917, and one of the famous houses that was built in the city when a man was trying to convince a nun to marry him (she still said no). We also had some other side trips we took like going to the rich side of town and going a private country club that overlooks the lake and going to a hill that overlooks the entire city of Queretaro and watching the sun set.

Most of all, interwoven throughout everything was the celebration of Pastor Amy's birthday today. When I say celebrate, we celebrated. Pastor Amy had the biggest, richest, most chocolate indulgent cake we've ever tasted - at 11am this morning. At lunch, the Pastor's son Dany, told the waiters it was her birthday so they came out with a Tres Leches cake banging pots and pans. At dinner, once again she was surprised as they came out singing and brought her chocolate cake and ice cream with a candle. She had an incredibly memorable birthday and was so grateful that she wasn't traveling the whole day.

There would be some pictures of some of the places visited and maybe even a picture or two of one of Pastor Amy's cakes included in this blog, but we are finishing getting ready to leave. Tomorrow morning we will have to leave the hotel at 6:15am to make it to the bus station on time. Please be praying for our safe return. We look forward to sharing with you at the Sunday morning service about this week and the missionary and her husband and son will be in service, too. Until then...

Mountain top experiences

2008-08-05T01:21:00.011-05:00

Today was a day of rest. That doesn't mean that we stayed inside! To begin the day we toured a convent and heard a variety of history surrounding its start and Catholic traditions. Some enjoyed the aesthetics of the building, others appreciated the history, while some had a hard time with how much long-standing authority the Catholic church has had over the people.

Lunch followed with some shopping in downtown Queretaro. The shopping yielded some great returns as everyone was out to buy gifts as well as suveniors. We were not all together during the shopping so the best part was seeing what everyone else found and how well they did with the bargains. After the shopping time was up it was time for show and tell!

For the afternoon and evening we got to choose whether we stayed at the hotel or in the vacinity around it in Queretaro or take off to a small town called Bernal and hike the 2nd largest rock in the world - over 1,100 feet tall. Pastor Amy, Pastor Becky, Brianna, Alecia, Jessalea, Danny, and a missionary named Katie we met decided to put on hiking boots and scale the rock. Not only was it physically demanding because it was hiking, but our breathing was challenged at a higher altitude. After a few scary moments where the rock was incredibly steep, narrow, and had little to grab on to, we reached a beautiful photo spot and stopped to take in the view. It was absolutely breathtaking. We were disappointed that not everyone was there to take in such adventure! After hiking up the rock we spent some time in the town of Bernal and at the shops just at the base of it. It was a quaint town with lots of artisans. The time there was fun, the view incredible, and the hike completely worth it. However, we know we will all be feeling that tomorrow...Advil anyone?

Right now we are preparing for tomorrow - not sure how the travel home will be. We've been watching the news wondering what the tropical storm will do as we are scheduled to fly into Houston. Be praying for safety and all the traveling details to be ironed out. We are excited to come back and share what we've learned, experienced, and what God has done. At the same time there is a sadness at leaving such an incredible place where we've been watching God move. Maybe God will bring us back out here again...

The presence of God...

2008-08-05T00:20:00.008-05:00

Well...there wasn't a blog last night to highlight our day yesterday, but that does not mean it was not a full day. We started at the San Pedro Church for Sunday morning service. Pastor Brian preached on being adopted into the family of God and being in relationship with God. We had 20 kids and 5 walked to the front to receive Christ as their Savior. There's no way to describe what it was like for us to hear their sweet voices proclaiming God's forgiveness and willingness to receive Him as Lord as they repeated the prayer. As a group we took a picture together at the church with the previous pastor (while we were there they welcomed a new pastor that will be taking over once we leave).

Many of us had tears as we said goodbye to the friends we made; especially the kids. So many people (both children and adults) have made impressions on our hearts as we've prayed with them, believed with them, and played with them. As our faith has grown it has prepared us even more to leave San Pedro because we continue to believe that God will continue the work He started this week. We also left the bathroom completed as now there is a second toilet and a brand new sink (on the right). Physical needs have been met as well as spiritual needs.

For Sunday night service we were at the mother church, Filadelfia, in downtown Queretaro. The consensus among the group regarding the service was that we had church! As the service started there were a few voices, but as we got deeper into worship and were ushered into the holy place a host of voices were present. All of the pews were filled and chairs to the back of the building were filled as well. The Spirit was moving and there was a uniqueness about worshiping as we sang in another language as many also joined in praying in their prayer language. There was time for testimony, both from our missionary Tiffany and the kids of the Filadelfia church after the youth had returned from a weekend of church camp earlier in the day. Pastor Brian preached the same message as in the morning and then invited people up to the altar for salvation. Nine came forward - some weeping - and received Christ. Then, the altars were open for any other needs. People came foward and before we knew it, there were people spilling over into the aisles needing prayer. The Holy Spirit moved and people were healed, recieved peace, direction, and even fell under the presence and power of God. The most amazing aspect of this was that The Holy Spirit made those needs known and gave direction to us as we prayed -- all across language barriers. Praise God for those works done. We know that you joining us in prayer has truly made an impact as God has moved in such a mighty way. Keep praying because the people here in Queretaro need your prayers. God is not finished here. And...the corporate prayer that has taken place with us here will have to be continued in Plano to penetrate those spirits and strongholds that are present in Plano.

We're all tired...

2008-08-02T23:06:00.002-05:00

So tonight I (Becky) get to write the blog because it's just been one of those days. We're all worn out and tired and Jessalea is already asleep. What that means is that we've all been doing a lot of ministry and it gets tiring.

Tomorrow is our last day of ministering at the churches so tonight we are resting up. God has some great things He's going to do tomorrow and we need to be ready. I'm pretty sure Satan isn't too happy with our group.

The ongoing theme that I see in this trip is all surrounding faith. God has called us here to do some amazing works for Him and now that we're here and we're stepping out and reclaiming the city of Queretaro for God, Satan's angry. So he's been trying to get to us today.

We are believing for miracles, healings, people being set free, salvations, baptisms in the Holy Spirit and so much more to happen tomorrow. We are standing on God's promise in Mark 16 that says "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

So we are asking you to be praying. We need you to be in agreement with us, the more people we have united in prayer the stronger we are against the powers of darkness that are here fighting us for this city.

Faith before signs...

2008-08-02T01:46:00.007-05:00

Today has been a whirlwind of a day. To begin the day there was a trip to Starbucks (much to the relief of Pastor Becky and Judy who found solace in caffeine). Actually, we all appreciated having caffiene other than in the form of coke and tea.

The spiritual preparation today included Bible study and prayer. Pastor Brian shared that the Lord had given him a Scripture last night. It was Mark 16: 14-18. He then shared his heart about that Scripture and discussed the level of faith that is needed that God will do those things. Pastor Amy also expressed the necessity of an expectancy and how poignant the fact that Scripture mentions Jesus speaking to the 11. In our partnership with the missionary, her husband, and the Pastor's son of the Filadelfia church, Danny, there are 11 of us. At that point there was a shift in the atmosphere. Prayer was already occurring for ailments amongst the group. A greater measure of faith had been given to all of us and by later in the day God had done a healing work in our group alone.

We departed for the mother church, Filadelfia, to do the photo ministry and take pictures of families. We canvased the neighborhood inviting people and had a few kids come out to get their picture taken. Before the evening service there was more prayer followed by an anointed worship time. We were ushered into God's presence and got lost in worship. Pastor Brian preached on several Scriptures (Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel, Acts 1 and the Holy Spirit) and lead up to an invitation for Salvation, an opportunity to get right with God and live the way we should be living, and baptism in the Holy Spirit. Pastor Brian also opened up the altar for any physical needs. Several people stood and NorthPointe went to pray for those that were standing. As one of the women from the Filadelfia church stood, the Lord spoke to Judy to go pray with her. The Lord revealed to Judy that the woman needed prayer for her gall bladder. It wasn't until after Judy prayed for her that the missionary Tiffany translated and told Judy that the woman had been having a mysterious pain in her side and pointed to the area of her gall bladder. The woman's pain had left when Judy laid hands on her. God had done a healing work in this woman and fulfilled the Word shared during prayer time that signs and wonders would follow those who believe and they will place their hands on the sick and get well.

Today is the day of salvation!

2008-07-31T22:52:00.007-05:00

This morning started with an anointed prayer time as the Word was shared (1 John 2:18-27 and 2 Chronicles 7:14) and prayer for the strongholds over this city persisted. The Lord even directed several of the team members during that time to pray specifically for various strongholds and spirits as they are very similar to those present in Plano. At the end of prayer time the missionary, Tiffany, shared her heart with us regarding her burden for this city and things her father told her about the strongholds that he experienced when God first called him as a missionary to Queretaro.

We headed back out to the church in San Pedro Martyr for more ministry with the children. After getting in some more play time with the kids we had service. With 39 kids present from the neighborhood we had a sing along to worship songs with the puppets, motions, and lots of dancing, and smiling faces. Brianna preached on Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25) and how they were in jail yet continued to sing hymns and praise God. She focused in on how God gives us joy. Jerry and Pastor Brian did a great job acting out Paul and Silas' time in jail. At the end of the message there was an invitation for salvation and 10 kids raised their hands to receive Christ. Praise God!
The church here also has some physical needs that will help enable them to meet the needs of those in the neighborhood. Before and after the service the guys (Pastor Brian, Jerry, Danny, and Tiffany's husband John) worked on installing a brand new toilet and fixed some of the plumbing. The other thing done today to address those needs was cleaning up the street in front of the church. There was a lot of stray trash and a lot of glass on the ground making it dangerous for the kids to play. Many of the kids were excited to help us and walked around picking things up. One of the younger kids just wanted to be part of what the older kids were doing so he kept picking up dirt and putting it into the trash bag.

At the evening service we were excited to see several new faces - both children and adults totaling 79 people. More adults joined us for the evening service than in the morning or yesterday. For the service we had a puppet skit that talked about the greatest gift given by Jesus in salvation followed by Pastor Amy preaching. Pastor Amy preached a salvation message taking the listeners down the Romans Road to Salvation. She related salvation to being given the ultimate gift and gave out small bouncy balls as an illustration of the necessity of receiving the gift. At the end the altars were filled and many accepted Christ; including adults.

God is working here. There is still much work to be done. As I looked around into the eyes of those from NorthPointe and those we've partnered with I saw a deep desire and passion. There was a greater urgency and fire to share the love of Christ and give the people here a relationship that exceeds all others. A relationship that meets all of their needs and leads to a victorious life that only comes from the cross. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day for breakthrough and a piercing of the darkness that has long covered this city...

Let the little children come to me...

2008-07-30T22:43:00.013-05:00

This morning we had breakfast and then met for Bible study. As we met for Bible study Pastor Amy began by explaining that this city has at least 1 million people, yet these Assembly of God churches are poorly attended. There is a stronghold in the city keeping these people from getting saved and joining a church and the way to come against it is in unity and prayer. At that point we stopped to pray. The Holy Spirit began to move and there was prayer for those in this city and salvation, a declaration of us as warriors, for boldness over us as believers, and for God to draw people into the church. We left for the church, San Pedro Martyr, this morning excited and expecting.

We arrived at the church and Danny, a Pastor's son, hooked up a sound system and started calling all the kids in the neighborhood. There were praise songs in Spanish playing as well and before we knew it all these kids descended upon the church. We blew up inflatable balls and started hitting them around with the kids. There was also a rousing game of red light green light (verde, rojo) where Pastor Brian took a spill when he got caught up with one of the kids' feet.

After playing with them for awhile we invited them into the church for puppets and a Spanish sing-a-long. Pastor Amy preached about Noah and the Ark and each kid got a plastic animal and "paired up" to be involved in the message. The kids heard about being obedient to God and that by following God they won't be left out. We played with them some more before leaving.

For the evening service we headed back out to San Pedro Martyr. We had the children ready and waiting for us and we started by playing with them again before inviting them into church. We expected to have mostly adults in the evening, but it was mostly children. Danny led us in worship and then we had puppets that were part of a sing-a-long where Brianna and I (Jessalea) tried to coordinate the hand motions of "Waves of Mercy" to music. It is much more challenging to match movements with words when the song is in Spanish. We laughed a lot while the kids looked at us very confused. Pastor Brian then preached a salvation message on 1 John 1:5-1 John 2:2 where a couple of kids came to know the Lord. We played with them again before leaving. Several of us joined the kids in a Spanish version of 'hot potato' were we passed the ball around and then had an "it" person. Most of us couldn't keep up with the words of the song, but enjoyed the game and the kids laughed as we attempted to keep up.

Looking back on the events of the day I smile. The children heard the Word and joined us in singing praise and worship. As we spent time with the children it was evident by looking around that they have won our hearts. Compassion spilled over as the kids would run up and hug us and smile and laugh. They would ask over and over when we would be here again. I could see the team working feverishly to find out how to say things in Spanish in an effort to communicate with them even more. I was most amazed by the fact that the exchange of God's love, compassion, and grace knows no language barriers. The extension of mercy was present through actions with the children and ultimately reminds me of how Christ communicated His greatest act of love on the cross.

Tomorrow we will be back at San Pedro Martyr for more work with the children. Let's see what God will do...

Travel to Queretaro

2008-07-29T22:47:00.014-05:00

Here we are before getting on the shuttle for the airport. We look pretty good for the early hour! Judy isn't in this picture because she met us at the airport. Sorry Judy! I wonder if we will look this rested and excited at the end of the trip...

Speaking of, 4:40 this morning came early. Most of the team had slept no more than 3 hours last night as the last minute preparations were completed and the early start made sure that we arrived at the airport on time. Those that rode the shuttle were chipper, talkative, and at times telling jokes. The picture here of Pastor Amy and Brianna says it all. Pastor Amy was awake enough to make funny faces for the camera. I'm guessing that she won't be that thrilled that I've posted the picture, but it's a great one! ;) We flew to Houston, arrived on time and made our connecting flight that was headed for Mexico City. After arriving in Mexico City we cleared customs without a hitch, everyone had their luggage and we headed to exchange money and then lunch. Lunch was interesting because we ate in the airport, but there was a collision of the familiar and different all at the same time. The familiar included places like Starbucks, Carl's Jr., and 7 Eleven. The different was the language, the environment and the money. Most of the team gravitated to food they knew - burgers and fries. Later in the day the team became much more adventurous when it came to food...

After lunch we boarded a bus that would take us straight to Queretaro - our destination. After a brief debate that the ride was only an hour, we settled in for the 3 hour trip. Some of the team utilized this time to catch up on sleep while others read or at least rested their eyes if they weren't able to fall asleep as easily. The picture below is the view of the countryside that seemed to stretch on forever once we were out of Mexico City.

Another one of the sights from the bus was the expected Mexican landscape. Many of the buildings are concrete and dipict the reality of Mexico's poverty. For those on the trip that are experiencing a mission trip for the first time the scene ushered in silence and culture shock. The disparity between our lifestyle and theirs is vast and has generated conversation about priorities. This is the housing we saw for miles throughout Mexico City.

We arrived to Queretaro in a rainstorm along with a cool brisk wind. It was a relief from the Texas heat. We left from the bus station and then settled into a hotel. The hotel has been out of the comfort zone and experience of some, but the adjustment process has already taken place. This is one of the hotel rooms with its colorful decor...

After settling into the room we headed to dinner. We went to a popular taco chain and our missionary and the Pastor's Son (of the main church we are working with - Filadelfia) ordered for us. Family style eating ensued with multiple types of meat, a variety of sauces (some hot and some mild) with fresh flour and corn tortillas and an eat-your-heart-out meal as you built your own tacos. EVERYONE on the team was in agreement - that was an amazing meal. The adventurous spirit of the team began to take shape.

No evening would be complete without a trip to Wal-Mart. Queretaro is historic and has a rich past, but much of the modern world collides with the churches and classic architecture. We headed to Wal-Mart to pick up bottled water before returning to the hotel. Tomorrow we will be doing some Children's Ministry and then an evening service for the adults. Only by tomorrow night will we know exactly how God worked and how the ministry unfolded...

The eve of departure

2008-07-28T23:37:00.003-05:00

A team of 8 members of NorthPointe Church in Plano will be departing to Queretaro, Mexico to partner with a church and one of their missions to assist in various types of ministry for a week. The departure day is tomorrow.

It's the night before the mission trip and I can't think about sleeping. There is too much to think about, wonder, and imagine about what tomorrow will bring. I do know it will bring one thing - an early start. Our flight out of DFW leaves at 7am and in an effort to get us all to the airport at the same time a shuttle will be leaving from Pastor Brian and Pastor Amy's house at 4:40. Yes, you read that right. The shuttle will depart for the airport that early in the morning. Even though I know the morning will come early, I still have such anticipation of how this adventure will start...

As I write this, I know that there is still a flutter of activity going on. There are the last minute preparations occuring. Last minute trips to Wal-Mart, final loads of laundry, and a mad dash to get every possible item in the suitcase without causing it to weigh more than 50 pounds (which result in hefty extra fees at the airport). I wonder about the anticipation of those in Mexico. I think about the churches we will work with (San Pedro Martyr and Filadelfia) and what they are thinking and feeling about our arrival. Are they buzzing with excitement? Are they wondering about what we will be like and what will happen during our time there? I can't wait...

Preparing for Queretaro

2008-07-22T12:28:00.000-05:00

With a week until our departure we are all very excited. The final preparations are being made and we are all working on learning to speak and sing in Spanish.
Our plans are to work wherever needed. The church in Quererato is excited about us doing our picture outreach.