Power Ministry

Sunday night on week two and all I can say is WOW! Someone asked me today if anyone had told me a lie about the trip. Interesting question for a new guy to answer. Honestly, all I was told has come true except it isn’t cold at all. It has been a fast a furious trip. Rough weather for the California contingent to get to San Antonio but all arrived safely. My first meeting with the group was very exciting. Everyone was very friendly and wanted to hear my story. Of course there were a few comments about being a new guy and how little sleep I would get this week. That prediction was true on the first night. We started south and drove and drove and drove and did I mention we kept driving. I forgot how big Texas was. We stopped at the regular stop for some Texas sized chicken fried steak then we drove and drove… We finally got to bed about 2:30 AM for a 6:30 AM breakfast. Morning devotional was great. I’ve never been in the presence of this many men who are so spiritually driven. Saturday was a big day of work. We built walls, hung sheet rock, decked a roof, built shelves, visited a prison, went bowling, built a pavilion, and many other things. Needless to say, we were pretty tired after a long day in 85 deg weather. I thought it was supposed to be cold in January. We all got a good night’s rest and up for church on Sunday. The “Dome Church” was awesome. How great to worship with these people. They really worship from their hearts. Only one thing to say, “how great is our God!” The afternoon was no less impressive. What a great opportunity to be a servant for so many needy children. The whole group was dedicated to the effort and really enjoyed the opportunity. We are back on the road to Lorado. In case I forgot to say it, Texas is big and driving is long. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the week. I can say without a doubt that this effort would not be possible without Jesus. I don’t believe you could get 71 men to work this closely together and accomplish so much if it weren’t for the leading of the Holy Spirit and the awesome power of God.

Granted.
Here on the POWER trip we are given a word of the day. I have decided on my own word of the day, and today that word is “granted” and for two reasons.
First because my life has been taken for granted. I’ve seen the television shows with the homeless orphans with no food or water and I’ve thought to myself, “how terrible,” and then proceed to shut the television off and order a pizza. Why? Because although I succeeded in agreeing it was a terrible situation, I failed to recognize that these are HUMAN BEINGS. These are beautiful children, created by our Lord Jesus, who have been through hell on earth. And unfortunately in America, our ‘blessings’ have become a ‘curse’. We have grown ignorant and foolish in our mediocre serving of God. If you would only take the time to look into the eyes of these children. Take the time and your heart will be tremble and your shame will collapse you to your knees. I know because it happened to me.
Second because I have been granted a second chance. The same second chance that the Lord is granting you right now. These people need the gospel. We have so much in America, we give out of our abundance so that it does not cost us anything. Everything worth anything will cost you something. Please take the time to stop and think about these orphans. What if they were your kids? What if it were you? What if you were the helpless orphan and you knew what lay in the hands of the Christians across the border? And these Christians pat themselves on the back for the small contributions they make, and stroke their conscious into a deep sleep sung to the lullaby of a lukewarm melody. And I’m not talking about just your finances. I’m talking about your love, your prayers, your time, your sacrifices. What will you do with this one life you are given.
I close with a story. There was a young lady rescued off the streets down here in an orphanage. She was malnutritioned and to the point of death. She was taken in, cared for, recovered her health, and was given the gospel. When she graduated from the school she devoted a year of her life to a small Bible college down in Mexico. After her studies, she called the orphanage back and beckoned them to come see her at the Bible college. They arrived and greeted the lady. As they were walking down the street to the Bible college, children from every direction in the community swarmed her. She took the orphanage director by the hand and pointed to one child “This one I’ve led to Christ”, then she pointed to another, “and this one I have led his mother to Christ”, then pointed to another “and this one her parents have died but she has accepted Jesus”, and she pointed to another, and to another, and to another, and to another. Here is a lady who has nothing, she’s 85 pounds, short, worthless by society standards, casted away and forgotten. And she could take his hand and show him the fruits of her labor.
I want to ask you, if I were to visit you, could you take me by the hand and show me the fruit of your labor? Could you show me the impact for Christ that you’ve made to your family, to your friends, to your neighborhood, to your work place? You, who have everything and have been given so much?

Today we had a great day of worship. We started with a devotion time with just the POWER guys then we sat in on the 2nd worship service. Even though most of us could not understand the message we could feel the love these people have for the Lord. After the two hour service some of us were able to go shopping for some gifts to give away at the festival. We had a great time grabbing toys, balls, marbles, and jump ropes. The guys in my van pooled our money together and filled two carts of toys which cost us over $3100 ($215 US dollars) in about 15 minutes. The festival started with a 30 minute concert from the puppets, then we started the games to give all our gifts away. The day was not as physically demanding but it was still a lot of work and definitely worth it.

Wow what an experience! To think that I had trouble making up my mind if I was going to come. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, just to see the faces of people when you give them just a little something to eat. The most unbelievable thing is the men that are so ready to help the people we come in contact with and how the people appreciate what we do. Thank you power for what you stand for and all you do for Gods kingdom.This has been a life changing experience, cant wait till next years trip.

In October I deceided to go on the Power trip. I figured by January my work load would be slow and I would have plenty of time to take off. As January approached my work load increased tremendously; and being in contructions services, I figured I should take the work while it was here and not go on the Power trip. So I call and informed them I was not going on the trip this year. I felt relieved by the decison and it felt like a burden was lifted from my work shoulders. I realtionalized that I would not enjoy the week since my mind would be on the jobs instead of the ministry. I went to Bridges the Sunday before the Power trip was to take place, and spoke with a few of the guys that were going on the trip. They were encouraging me to reconsidere my decision nt to go, expressing that they believed God had done some amazing things with them and others business-wise when they did go. So anyway, the words of these men stayed with me throughout Sunday and Monday. Monday night I had a change of heart and felt compelled to go to Mexico.

Wednesday was a day of travel and Thursday we started building and doing ministry in Acuna, Mexico. We stayed at Faith Missions in Del Rio, Texas. That afternoon I received a call from a gentleman in Florida interested in hiring me for a rock consulting job. He said he would email me pictures of the job, and I expklained to him that I was out of town on a mission trip in Mexico building houses and churches. He said to me, “that would be a dream come true”. Then he asked, “what part of Mexico are you in?” I said, “Acuna”. He said that he was very familiar with that area of Mexico because his in-laws live in Del Rio. I told him that is where we are staying. I told him about Power and their ministry and he was very excited. He wanted to know more about Power and how he could be involved.

This is a great example of how God is control over all areas of my life and can bring people together in places you couldnt imgaine.

I am glad that I came and am looking forward to more miracles!!

Marshall Noriega

It is the end of our first full work day here in Mexico. It is now 12:50 am and it is pouring rain. But the spirit of the men is high and full of blessings. Today we were in the city of Acuna. We had several groups out in the city building houses, class rooms, church pews and a church. Others went out and toured the city with Pat our local missionary and the rest of the team went out on what Power calls a JOY tour. The JOY tour is where we put JESUS first, OTHERS second, and YOURSELVES last. So we go out into very tough parts of Acuna and give away food, clothes, bibles, candy and love. We just want the people of Acuna to know that we love them and more importantly Jesus loves them. As for myself, today was a construction day for me. In the morning I was on the pew construction job and the afternoon I was able to help on the site where we are building a church for a local pastor. However, the interaction with the people that come by to see what we are doing and some pitch in and help, that is what truly touches my heart. Their genuine gratitude and appreciation is something that just hits home, that makes you want to do more for them, that reaffirms that God has a purpose and a plan for you being on this trip. Jesus said “What you do to the least of these you do unto me.” And Power has embraced this concept in everything that they do. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but with God leading the way and choosing to follow his lead, I know that it will be nothing less than amazing. 


After all the preparation, and all the planning that the leaders had to do to make this day happen, today was the first full day of the POWER trip. What an amazing day!!
We had teams of men that started on a church build, another that built pews for mini mission 2, others worked on a house additions, the puppet team went to a local school and put on a performance for some local school children.
We ended the day at the Upper Room with pastors and their families that probably do not get any other opportunity to go out to eat at a restaurant at any other time of the year. Towards the end of this dinner, there is a time when the pastors and there families pray for us and we also in turn pray for them, It is amazing how powerful that is. When the Mexican people pray they all pray at the same time and you can feel the power of there prayers!
I love to see and personally feel the effects that this trip has on all of us. I also love the way 89 guys from all over the U.S get together and experience many really life changing things. We worship together, pray together, go through all sorts of emotions that change our lives forever. We end up being a team turn into great friends forever.
I found that things that we experience here are things that really cannot be described but has to be experienced. The POWER trip is a a life changing opportunity and an amazing way to go out and completely, without any other distractions, be able to be used by God. Also it is a great time for God to get us men together, slow us down, and really work with our hearts to build better a personal relationship with Him and the other Christian men.
We all miss our families when we are here, but what we experience and what God allows us to do, enables us to go back home with a new perspective and be better husbands, fathers, friend, and servants at our churches and communities.
Thank you POWER!!

This is Kevin LeDuc from Riverside, CA. This is my 4th power trip. So we have just finished day 6, our last “work” day, and it was a great day. One thing that really stood out for me today was seeing the final framing go up for Pastor Valesquez’s Church in Reynosa. As me and a fellow power member were talking we looked over and saw Pastor Valesquez just looking at our project, and his prayer coming to fruition. This building was a long day for our team, but a life changing event for his life. We are able to have a small impact on orphanages, churches, and individuals in the time we are here, but the real ministry begins as we go home. That is when the people we have equipped can begin, or continue the ministry they have established here. It is a blessing to just be a part of the equation, and seeing Pastor Valesquez look at his new church as the sun was setting over it was a wonderful way to end our time in the city of Reynosa, Mexico.

Hi my name is Loren Vander Schaaf and here is my perspective on the trip. I was told that we would be exhausted when the week was over – but that it would be a great week. The 1st evening was by far the most challenging. Meeting all the guys (I am the new guy from Iowa). Everything late and a long ride. I thought what was i getting myself into. Thur morning 180 degree turn around getting to know great guys going to projects and meeting local people. Yes sleep is a bit on the limited side, van rides are a bit long (allows for great fellowship). But the ministry and projects are great so is the authentic food. I am thoroughly enjoying the trip and I know that many prayer are being lifted up for strength and endurance.