[BRIAN LOVELESS]

We are about two weeks off of, we just got back from, a trip to Guatemala where we took 13 of our members down to see the work that our church is doing there in Central America. It was a fantastic trip and for those of you who don’t know, we partnered with Manna worldwide to go into that incredibly poor, depressed area and start feeding centers and orphanages, medical clinics, and churches. We don’t think these two things are separate; blessing people physically and blessing them spiritually. We started in a place called El Arado, Guatemala. Saw a great church built, that church is thriving! Hundreds of people coming every week, people getting saved every week, kids being fed every week, the whole climate of the thing is changing.

Our most recent project, we’re continuing to support El Arado, but we found a church in a place called San Lucas where they had built the first story of a new building, started the second story, and ran out of funds. Basically you had a church with 100+ coming, with kids getting fed and all that going well, but you had a second story that every time it would rain, it would gather water on that roof, seep into the building, mold issues, all of that. So our church said, all of you who designate money on a weekly basis said “we can’t let that happen, we got to do something.” Our church determined to help build that second story and that was a lot of the focus on our trip to Guatemala this time.

This morning I wanted you to hear from a couple of them. First of all, Josh Moody come on up and tell us a little bit about your experience on this trip.

[JOSH MOODY]

So Brandon told us to come up with a couple of things that had impacted us on the trip.  First of all was just the beauty of God’s creation.  Being able to see a different place and just good old flat Texas, right?  The gorgeous green mountains, volcanos actively going off, being able to visit the coast where they have a volcanic sand beach which looks like west Texas blacktop but still feels like regular sand.  That was totally incredible but the thing that impacted me the most was seeing the most beautiful characteristic of the Gospel at work: that was hope in hopeless situations. We went to the dump, we pulled in and as soon as you opened that door you are hit with the foulest odor. Some of the most intense, depressing scenes that you could see going on; the look of hopelessness in some of the faces that you see as you walk those couple of blocks into where we got to go to a feeding center that was there in the dump. Really hits you right in the gut.

As we made a couple of house visits we watched a couple of beautiful ladies who were living there in the dump raising their families without father figures for their kids absolutely break down into tears. To see that hopelessness leave their eyes and the hope of the gospel, as we shared it with them, and they accepted Christ as their Savior there in those homes, really just all of the sudden all those smells, all of those sights, all of those sounds meant nothing. It was no longer a hopeless cause. What we would normally see as something where they’ve got no chance, it’s completely hopeless, we would write it off, normally our human element would say those people don’t have a chance but they do have a chance when they have the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what you are doing by giving, what you are doing by helping to send us to go, and you going yourself (some of you have gone before us, this was my first time, definitely won’t be my last) you are making a lasting impact for the kingdom of God by giving every week, by sending others. We’re doing a great thing down there and you can see pictures, you can see videos all day long but nothing replaces the experience of going and having your senses touched. By smelling the smells, seeing the sights, physically touching the people getting to play with the kids there in the orphanage. It will totally, radically change your life and how you view what the gospel can mean not only in your life but in the lives of others who need to know him. And that’s what impacted me.

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Thank you Josh. As Jaye comes and Jaye’s going to say a word here in just a minute, but I wanted to tell you for Josh this was a real moment because the last mission trip Josh took a number of years ago to South America, Ecuador, he had a blood clot on one of those flights that came within just an inch of taking his life. And so to go on another mission trip, to go down there, I know had to be incredibly daunting for him but he felt moved by God to do it and got on that plane and went. And I thank the Lord we saw such great stuff from Josh during that week and by the way we both rode horses to the top of an active volcano (Josh says they’re not horses anymore) one was named Glue Stick and the other was named hammock and they had some real struggles getting us to the top of that mountain but they made it.

[JAYE BRIGGS]

Well I’ve never been good at telling the short version of any story so I wrote it down to keep me on track. This trip was an eye opening blessing and made a profound impact on my heart. I was not prepared for the contrast of emotions and experiences. There was beauty and brokenness, happiness and hopelessness, resilience and restoration, and gratitude and grace. Nor was I prepared for the magnitude of the need both physically and spiritually. According the CIA Fact Book more than half of the total population lives in poverty or extreme poverty, and nearly half of the children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, which is one of the highest rates in the world. Despite this the children at the feeding centers and the orphanage are some of the sweetest children you will ever meet. Spiritually, I’ve never experienced a more palatable need for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was especially magnified at the dump. I sensed a real spiritual battle to disrupt the witnessing from distracting teenagers, loud music, to the real feeling of an elephant standing on my chest. But the highlight of my trip was meeting Viviana Grande the young lady who’s made such an impact on my daughter as well as many of you. She’s such a sweet girl who’s returning to others what she received. The delicious cake she made for us and her detailed retelling of the first time she met those from Calvary Baptist melted my heart. Calvin said faith alone saves but a faith that saves is never alone. And I end with these two verses that were brought to life by this trip, James 2:15-16 “If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day and one of you should say to them “Go in peace; keep warm, eat well”, but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what does that benefit?”

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Amen, give Jaye a big hand if you would. Watch this.

August 2017 Guatemala Trip Footage begins at 9:36

Thank you to our worship pastor Brandon who put together that entire video but he also coordinated this trip and did a magnificent job. We had two go with us this time, two students from our youth ministry, that I was very excited about them going. I was just in awe and I’ll tell you why in a minute, I want them to come up; Jenny Conway and Tevyn Cook.

[TEVYN COOK]

So as most of you know this was my first mission trip that I ever went on, my very first time out of the country alone, without my mom. So as you can imagine I was kind of nervous and so was she. Honestly, I never knew what to expect, but I knew that God was going to work through me; but I didn’t know how well, or how hard, he was going to work in me. I went through a major change on that trip. I learned just how fortunate I was, and how selfish I was. I had no option but to humble myself. I just couldn’t handle it at one point and I almost lost it. For anybody that hasn’t been on a mission trip, I 100% suggest that you try one especially with our church. You’ll be so encouraged, so comfortable, and you’ll love it to death. It’ll change you for the better.

[JENNIFER CONWAY]

Well, like Tevyn said this was also my first mission trip and for those of you who don’t know I was born and raised in Brazil, and I lived 15 years of my life there.  I wasn’t really expecting anything because I lived my entire life in a third world country.  was just like “Its going to be the same thing.” I was expecting the same emotions and the same feeling that I had whenever I helped out in Brazil. Then I got there and I was like “this is different because I’m not here just to give someone food or to help someone out. I’m here because I am giving them something a lot more than temporary. This is going to be forever in their lives” and it ws just an amazing experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to go with. I just loved every second I was there. I know you guys already heard a lot about the dump, but once you get there you feel all kinds of emotions. You feel scared because you don’t know what’s coming next, you don’t know what’s behind those doors, you don’t know what they want to do. You feel mad and you feel angry because people are there and they don’t have anything. They live in the trash, they feel like trash, so that’s what they’re told; that they are trash.  You just feel angry that you have so much and they have so little, but at the same time you feel so thankful because you know God allowed me to be here today and give them a better gift than just food for a week. He gave me the option to be here and show them how good He is. That’s what this whole trip was about and I’m just really thankful to be there. For all of you guys who support Guatemala just keep doing it because it’s an amazing place!

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

Thank y’all very much. Adam Brewter is going to come talk to us. I tell ya with those two we really never saw them on that trip as teenagers, because they were just part of the team.Tthey worked like everybody else, gave the gospel like everybody else, and it was a real privilege to have them. Another gentlemen here who’s pretty new to Calvary and great to have on this trip, Adam Brewter.

[ADAM BRUDER]

Thank you. I kinda didn’t think I’d be here. Not because I don’t particularly enjoy public speaking but similar to Josh Moody, last summer I went on a trip and became pretty ill afterwards. So even before the trip I felt the Lord really working through Josh and Brandon, and just the convicting word from them to get out of the boat on behalf of the gospel. I felt the need to respond and kind of wasn’t sure what to expect. Why was the Lord working? Why was he putting this pressure on me to go down? I’ve kind of discovered I’m a tactile learner, I’m a visual... I have to go see it, feel it and getting out in that dump just where the smell is kind of like you are in the garbage truck, there’s this dust blowing in the wind that is getting all over you, and even beyond that the way the children were kind of treating one another. I mean little boys here in America kind of fight with one another, they kind of pick on one another, kind of tease one another, but these kids were hitting one another just out of violence; out of anger. I mean the atmosphere there was something totally different than I had ever experienced.  They’re just throwing rocks at one another; just the violence.

The lord kind of brought a couple of scriptures to mind Isiah 64:6 All of us have become unclean ; all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Thinking of that it’s like “here I am trying to do this righteous act and it’s really just filthiness before god.” It’s kind of that same environment we were in, its kind of the feeling that came to mind.  When we turn to the new testament we see something a little different Romans 3:21-22 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. That was really challenging because here in America we have so much. We’re all clean here in this building, we’ve all showered within the last 24 hours probably, and you go down there and you see the physical filthiness, but to realize that we’re all just sinners; it’s only Christ Jesus that makes a difference!  To really see that in action down there, with some people accepting Christ, was a beautiful thing. It’s a beautiful country made some beautiful friendships!

[BRIAN LOVELESS]

I want to ask our ushers to come down this morning A little different service today than our normal worship hours but I wanted you to get to hear from this team. If you’ve not been on one of these trips yet and your physically able to go... maybe you’ve got some trepidation about it like some of these folks did... but I would encourage you take that step of faith. It will change your life and for those of you, who can’t go, man alive, we can pray, we can sponsor, we can give on a weekly basis.