Power Ministry

I would be remiss if I didn’t start this journalistic effort without a story of travel adventures (if you knew me, you would understand). I met the group from Riverside at the Long Beach Airport, and promptly lost my iPhone. I realized it after about 5 minutes, and knew that it had to be at the ticket counter for Jet Blue. Unfortunately when I went back there, the gentleman that took my bags was gone. Happily another guy remembered a lost phone, and told me they had taken it to the departure gate for the plane. When I confidently sauntered up to the lady at the gate desk, she had a blank look in her eyes. I said no problem, I could wait, firmly believing that it would magically appear. The minutes ticked by, and I got a little concerned. I was trying to steel myself to the fact that my phone could be gone. I told myself that the purpose of this trip didn’t revolve around my phone. We were on the trip to minister to needy people on the border, sharing our blessings with others, and renewing Christian fellowship with other men. Finally, another lady showed up, who seemed more organized. I decided to just butt in and ask her about my phone. She was very gracious, opened a drawer, and voila, there was my phone.
OK, enough about me. This is an exciting year, the first one with 3 weeks of POWER ministry. Previously there have only been two weeks. We all gathered together at a motel in San Antonio (except for 4 from Idaho whose plane was delayed), jumped into our vans, and regrouped at Chop Sticks, a great buffet place, where we took over a room in the back to enjoy a great dinner together. A couple of vans went on a little tour of the freeways of San Antonio before arriving at the restaurant, but regrouped, with the help of our own IT expert (Daniel) and Marty on the walkie talkie. The 3 hour drive to Faith Missions in Del Rio seemed to go by quickly, as we shared a little about ourselves. Our van had men from Idaho, South Dakota, Iowa, South Carolina and California. The unique thing about this ministry is that men keep coming back, year after year (some more than 15 years). But we also have a good mix of first timers.
We arrived at Faith Missions dormitory at 10:30 pm, found our bunks, and had a brief orientation from Doug, and review of ‘areas of responsibility’ from Marty.
Our itinerary this week is:
Thursday & Friday- Worship & Devotions at Faith Missions, projects at the school conference center, house construction, church & house painting, work at Faith Missions and a Joy tour. At 3:30 pm, we leave for Laredo, arriving there around 11:30 pm.
Saturday- Worship & Devotions at ‘Laredo Stepping Stones’, cross the border to Nuevo Laredo to build 3 houses and take children to the zoo. At 6 pm, we leave for McAllen, arriving there at around 11 pm.
Sunday- cross the border to Reynosa, worship & devotion at Alianza Cristiana, do a festival at Refugio Orphanage.
Monday- after breakfast at hotel in McAllen, travel back across the border for building projects in Reynosa & Hildago (Loreno Vicario School, Refugio Shade Center, El Shadai Orphanage, prison visits and bowling with Big Heart Orphanage. We leave for McAllen at 6 pm, have dinner, then head back to San Antonio(arriving at around 11:30 pm).
Tuesday- After breakfast and debriefing at hotel, then lunch, we take our separate paths back home.
 

It’s the end of week 2 and the guys have left.  They left with full bellies stuffed with hot dogs from Dave Johnson’s favorite chili dog establishment. But now with the guys gone and many left over “dogs” Dave Johnson’s heart kicks into action.
In the Power Ministry our work is never done.  The leadership team is always working through the year, and just because the guys of week 2 have left, this day is no exception.
With a plethora of hot dogs in hand we make our way to known homeless spots to feed the hungry. We are greeted with smiles and hungry bellies.  One of the homeless was legally blind and not more than 5 minutes before we arrived he was pleading to God to not forget him. “God please let me know that you still love me”, he asked.  Kyle LaDuke found him around the corner and brought him to us where we were able to not only feed him but to pray with him and talk to him.

Matthew 4:19-20
Today was a blessing on several levels.   We did not have the typical “work assignment” day that has personified this POWER trip.  The drive from McAllen last night was uneventful.  We stopped & had dinner at Rudy’s BBQ.  This was my first exposure to one of the various Texas-style BBQ’s.  Great stuff –
We awoke around 6AM and were loaded & gone from the hotel by 7AM.  Breakfast @ Luby’s cafeteria.  These folks are not open for breakfast; however, they do open & serve this group.  We received our van / group assignments for Magdiel Bible School in Matamoros.
The City of Matamoros is quite close to the Rio Grande.  The downtown area appeared cleaner compared to Reynosa and certainly Acuna.
Once we moved beyond the central area, the roads & buildings quickly deteriorated.  This city is apparently an active area for drug cartel activity.  Our travel procedures were modified slightly.  After turning- off a dusty, bumpy industrial road, our vans entered the gated / walled facility for Magdiel.  The school has been training students to become pastors for 76 years. The students come from all parts of Mexico to study and graduate after 3 years.  They all have duties that include cleaning their own dorm rooms, preparing meals and keeping the grounds maintained.  It was truly a blessing for all of us to eat and pray with these students.  The day was wrapped-up with a live auction called by Lou Dempsey.  Funds were raised to benefit both POWER and Magdiel.  Sadly, our day (and trip) came to an end.  We ride  North to San Antonio with a beautiful setting sun.
Braden Burns
 

Today was perfect weather-wise.  Mid  30’s this morning as we departed for Reynosa with clear skies.  Although it’s still quite cool, it’s not the bone-chilling damp coldness we had in Del Rio.  We had two groups heading for construction projects.  Our group went to visit a prison containing 70 women & 1,600+ men as inmates.  We were permitted to visit the women along with 2 social workers.  3 of the guys from our group shared testimonies while 3-4 women shared their stories. A sad aspect was the children living with their mothers inside the jail system.  Children from birth to age 3 are required to live in the jail with their mothers.  After age 3, they are either moved to family members or to orphanages.  Many tears were shed.  At the end, they asked Jonathon Bilima to sing a song.  We closed-out with amazing grace & Jesus loves me.
After lunch, we were entertained with a puppet ( or Muppet ) show at Alianza Church.  This was the kickoff to a large festival sponsored by the Church featuring simple carnival games and rides.  The kids and their families were numerous! All of the younger kids were excited to participate in the smallest of games.  They were excited to earn simple prizes.  The kids were quite patient & respectful.  Some of them were tickled to see a “Gringo” talk with them in their own language.
In summary, it was an awesome, tiring & rewarding day for everyone.
Braden Burns
 

Friday Jan 23, 2015
Greetings from Hwy 177 outside Del Rio, TX.  It’s day 3 of our POWER trip journey including our departure from Atlanta last Wednesday.  My name is Braden Burns and I’m from Rome, GA.  I also go by Brandon, Branden, Barden and other creative derivations; however, I’ve been called far worse names so these are OK.
This is my first mission trip.  I considered going several years ago; but my schedule just did not work-out, my heart wasn’t terribly motivated and, quite frankly, I was concerned about security in and around the US / Mexico border.  When I committed to this trip, the Holy Spirit re-assured me [ and my family ] that everything would be OK.
I’d like to review the trip thus far:  there are twelve of us from Rome + two more out of Atlanta.  Arrived in San Antonio late afternoon on 1/21 and met the larger POWER group to mobilize for dinner and the road trip to Del Rio.  Food and fellowship were great dining on chicken & cornbread at Acadiana.  Had some time to practice my Spanish with Randall Chacon and Enrique Mejia ~ from Puerto Rico and Mexico respectively.  Enrique is a young guy recently graduated from college in Mexico.  He works for a company that deals with flight logistics and shipping.  Very smart kid.  We arrived in Del Rio around 10:30 and proceeded to unpack and receive an Operations Manual for the days ahead.  Somehow I managed to skip-over one of my assigned roles as journalist for the trip.  Adding insult to injury, I managed to miss one of the first meetings as well.
Thursday 1/22: breakfast around 6:30 and then a devotion from Bobby Biber.  Talked about God continually building us up ~ a constant construction in progress.  Ate with Doug & Kai Husen from CA.
Thursday AM jobs: Bill Rogers and I assigned to work with Max Arguello to help paint the main dorm & kitchen building at Faith Mission.  Bill is a retired Agriculture Inspector from Oregon.  Max and his son own & run their painting company in CA ( near San Diego?).  Max clearly knows his trade.  Bill and I fumbled with masking tape and plastic wrap trying to seal and cover-up doors, windows, light fixtures and anything else Max did not want painted.  Max rigged-up the sprayer and made quick work on the 2nd story high-spots.  He made quick work on the low areas and pretty much all the hard spots.  Bill and I had a few turns trying to imitate Max’s work.  I blame the high humidity, low temps and constant drizzle for our work….
Thursday PM jobs: they call it “Joy Tour” and I really did not know what to expect.  After an excellent lunch in one of the missionary Churches in Acuna, we headed-out to a local grocery store and stocked-up on beans, rice and flour.  I think we had 3 separate grocery carts loaded-down with goods.  We had 2 separate vans and we drove into some of the poorer neighborhoods in Acuna.  It felt like we were on the outskirts of the town.  The weather was quite cold ~ close to 33 and windy.  In many neighborhoods the people are walking in the street and generally quite visible.  This particular location seemed to be a ghost town.  We drove around looking for folks.  At one point, we stopped the vans and prayed to God asking what we should do or where we should go.  We continued through 3-4 blocks and then exited the vans and began walking the streets looking for residents.  A timid face would appear from behind a cracked cinder-block wall.  Perhaps 1 out of 5 homes had someone who answered the door.  All the folks were invited to attend a gathering and hear a Message.  By the time we returned to the 2 vans, there were at least 35-45 locals gathered including children, women and a few men.  Pat from Faith Mission led the group in a few songs and then we had testimonies from Tim Raymo and Jonathon Bilima.  It was quite something to witness after asking God’s direction less than an hour earlier.
We go looking for things and hope to achieve success on our own efforts with very little to show for it.  We ask for God’s favor and grace and direction and he provides.  We prayed with the locals, passed-out basic food supplies, clothing, hats, toys and lots of candy.  One lady asked us to visit her relative around the block who was too sick to be able to leave the house.  Several men visited and prayed over the family.
It was a great end to the day.
 

Jesus once said, “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.  They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” (Luke 6:47-48)
The men of Power have started building their “house”.  They started off the day by coming to Jesus through worship and prayer.  Then they heard a challenging devotion on Jesus being the foundation of their lives.  Then they went to work!
“Digging down deep” was seen in many ways throughout the day.  A cold and drizzly day makes it hard to swing a hammer during the construction projects; it makes it hard to squat on your knees for a puppet show to school age children; and it makes it hard to find people on the street to give out food and supplies to when they are hunkering down in their homes in an effort to stay warm.  But that did not stop our men, they swung their hammers; knelt on the cold cement floor in order to bring joy to the kids; and they went door to door until they found enough people to venture outside to hear a message of hope and receive much needed supplies.
You might ask, “Why?”  Why did these men do all this when most times we would cancel the event due to bad weather.  The answer is because Christ is the foundation of Power Ministry.  He did it first for us!  He went and did what was not easy or convenient but did it anyway.  Therefore, the men continued to dig and would not be shaken from their mission, come “hell or high water.”  And because of their faithfulness a good foundation has been laid for the entire week!
-Brian Park
 

Well the journey has begun.  73 men from all over the United States, from Rome Georgia to Riverside California and in-between have set aside a week of their life to serve the Lord along the Texas/Mexico border. They have saved their money, taken a week off work, and trusted the Lord to provide for both those they left at home and those they will meet along the road. For a good portion of the guys, 23 men, this is their first experience with Power Ministry.  They come with great expectations and maybe some fears about what God has in store for them this week.  50 other men are coming back for a second, third or even a fifteenth trip.   They keep coming back because they have seen the power of God displayed in their own life and in the lives of the people they touch.
As we climbed into the vans in San Antonio and began the three hour trek to Del Rio Texas there was a sense of destiny in the air. God is going before us and He will orchestrate every encounter along the way.  We can trust His plan, because He never makes a mistake.  God is the director of Power Ministry. He has planned this week out before the creation of the world.  We are just along for the ride, and it should be a great one!  The verse that comes to mind is out of Ephesians chapter 2; “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
So as the rain began to fall on us, so did the presence of God.  Falling on each man, covering us with His love and power. We are being transformed from our daily life as a teacher, contractor, student, and businessman into God’s representative to a lost and dying world.
-Brian Park

by Terry Hickey
 
Our last full day of the trip started off with breakfast at Luby’s Cafeteria in Brownsville, Texas. After breakfast worship and devotions were held in the restaurant, as well. Pastor Richard recounted the story of the visit of Jesus to the home of Martha and Mary; where Martha complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping with the meal preparations. Jesus informed Martha that she was overly concerned with the wrong things; and that Mary, who had been absorbed in the teachings of Jesus was better focused. The challenge was to avoid getting so single focused on what it is that you are doing … that you miss the opportunity to see where Jesus is at work around you, particularly in developing relationships with those that Jesus puts in your path.
 
After breakfast we headed to Matamorosa, Mexico and the Instituto Biblico Magdiel, a bible college; which for the past 76 years has been training young people to become ministers of the gospel. Power Ministry has been a strong supporter of the college for many years, and has done many construction projects on the campus. Our purpose today, however, was not building structures, but building-up and providing encouragement to the students.
 
The Power Team was divided into three groups, to spend time with each of the three classes of the students. I was part of the group visiting the class of first year students. Our first of several ice-breaker type games, where you said “My name is _____ , accompanied by a unique hand/body movement that everyone else had to repeat in sequence, proved to be very entertaining! It wasn’t long before several guitars appeared; and sound of familiar melodies helped to scale the initial language barrier.
 
A praise and prayer service followed in the Chapel, led by the student praise band. The praise time began at a simmer punctuated by enthusiastic clapping … but as the songs continued several students could be seen with hands reaching upward jumping up and down in time to the music. Then all of the students started to move from their seats to continue this free-spirited worship in front of the platform. Many of the Power Team men even joined the students jumping up and down with arms raised high … singing and dancing in praise to the Lord… a veritable Mosh Pit for Jesus! (!!!!).
 
What happened next was the real experience to savor …. The students were called to stand in front of the platform; and then the Power Team was called up to lay our hands on the students and pray for them …. Mexican Style. As the College Director called out each prayer need, all of our men began to pray our individual prayers simultaneously! As the director’s prayer pleas increased in rapidity and fervor, so did our individual prayer responses.
 
Then the students laid their hands on the men and prayed for us with even more intensity. the young students could be heard praying through audible tears! I could feel and hear the emotion of the student praying for me and of those around me. I spent the last part of the extended prayer time with my arms around the shoulders of the student who had been praying for me and the student standing next to me … holding them until their tears and the music subsided.
 
I have never experienced a prayer or praise time like that of today …
 
Please keep these young men and women in your prayers, as many of them struggle with many challenges that make it difficult to remain at the Instituto Biblica Magdiel, and complete their training; which is so necessary for the spiritual future of the people of Mexico.
 
After a pizza lunch with the student  much picture taking, good-byes were said reluctantly; and the Power Team set off on a long ride back to San Antonio. The van ride was filled with thoughts of the spiritual high of the day, the activities and accomplishments of the week … and the excited anticipation of returning home to our loved ones tomorrow.
 
THAT IS ALL!!
 

by Terry Hickey
 
The Power Ministry team designed the ministry week with Sunday as a day of rest (not originally their idea, of course; although they certainly have thought of everything else!). We were challenged to rest in the Lord; to shut-off any concerns of the day … and to simply be ready to encounter the Lord through the day.
Worship/Devotions and Communion took place at the Nopalero Community Center in the outskirts of Reynosa, Mexico. this center was built during the 2014 Power Trips, and serves a very poor community that perches on a thin stretch of land between a river and a canal. Pastor Richard challenged us from Hebrews 12:1-3, to throw off everything that hinders our walk with Christ, and to remain in the race of following Christ until the Lord calls us across the finish line.
Sunday service at Alianza Christiana (The Dome Church) in Reynosa, a church of about 10,000 people, is something to experience. After being greeted by an eager and extremely friendly group of the Alianza teens we were treated to a hot lunch. The teens served as table hosts at lunch, and then served as interpreters during the worship service. Given the pastor’s very charismatic, animated and passionate presence on the platform, you would never have guessed that our 1:00pm service was the fourth time that he had both led the worship and preached today!
Our 1:00pm service ended two hours and ten minutes later … and no one got up and left when he went that extra ten minutes! Given what we viewed as a language barrier, and only being able to pick up key words here and there, perhaps we did not receive the full impact of the song lyrics or the message. But what was un-mistakenly clear and almost tangibly visible was the passion of the pastor and the people …. no interpreter needed when the Spirit is moving!
We spent the latter part of the afternoon back at the Rio Bravo Orphanage, where we heard two unbelievable testimonies about how the Lord is at work in the border area of Mexico from Reynosa to Matamoros. Our first speaker has experienced the scripture, “with the Lord nothing is impossible”, come to life.The Lord has miraculously opened doors to allow his team to set up vibrant prayer groups within the civilian and military establishment within the past four years!
Missionary Mike Mcgee, one of our team members, related the real life story of Lety Salazar who within one year of her unpredictable election as the Mayor of Matamoros has cleaned up a corrupt government, driven out other satanic corruption; and is publicly reclaiming her city for Christ!
… “With the Lord nothing is impossible” …. even a late night Sunday dinner at Rudy’s Barbecue … as we close out our day of resting in the Lord (with napkins at hand!)