You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
Needless to say, August has been an exciting month for the Onnemi International Ministries missionaries!
After the Portage team left, we had a couple of days to catch our breath and then hit it full speed again. We were prepared for the Romanian church, from Chicago, arriving August 12th. We had planned out the week, prayed for the week, talked with their leaders, prayed for the team, planned some more and then prayed some more.
What’s to expect, what’s to hope for, what’s to come? Oh God, once again you have brought us to this place. That place where we have done everything we can possibly do to prepare and feel confident in our own strength and then show us that you have other plans and your plans are perfect and your plans are complete! Father we trust in you.
Tuesday morning we found ourselves in the El Paso airport waiting…waiting for the unknown. Soon, a group of young people began to file out of the arrivals gate. They were young, they were hip, they looked like Chicagoans, and they were our team! Brief introductions began the week. Excitement and wonder the very present emotions.
The focus of the trip was twofold: build a bathroom for the Renteria family and host a kids club in the community. We wanted the team to have a great week of ministry and service and we wanted them to go home exhausted and energized! Is that even possible? Well, we hope so. Our days were to start at 7:30am with breakfast and end at 7pm with dinner. This may not sound like a crazy day, but when you look at all we were doing in between, it’s exhausting to think about:
Get up/personal devotions/breakfast/travel 45min to worksite/bathroom/kids/95 degree days/sun/no shade/make lunch/eat lunch/bathroom/kids/play soccer/travel 45min home/eat dinner/15 people share one shower/sleep.
Our first day at the site was perhaps the longest and perhaps the most difficult day.
Day 1 consisted of getting to the site, accessing your building needs and then going to get them; starting the kids club, finding you are totally unprepared for what is, and then adjusting for the remainder of the week. Let’s break the week down to two categories: 1. Bathroom 2. Kids
1. 1. Bathroom:
Meet Patty and Chuy: Patty is Mr. Renteria’s daughter, Chuy is her husband. Patty and Chuy have been the primary caretakers for Mr. Renteria now that he is paralyzed. They have lost more nights of sleep, more opportunities to work, and more money than they can keep track, on account of their sacrifice for Mr. Renteria. It’s been hard for them, but it has also been good for them.
Patty and Chuy have a daughter, Janet. She just started 8th grade this week. A few years ago, Patty and Chuy had to make a difficult decision: “Do we send our daughter to school, or do we build a bathroom?” However difficult the choice; they made the right one. Janet is in school. They use an outhouse and bathe in a tin tub which also serves as their laundry.
Meet the LOGOS team: Heard of the need, knew how to help, and built a bathroom. The plan for the bathroom consisted of digging and building a septic tank, pouring the foundation and floor, installing the plumbing, building and sheeting walls, shingle the roof, install fixtures and lights, build and tile a standing shower big enough for a wheelchair! Sounds like a lot of work right?!?! I’d say enough for one week.
2. 2. Kids:
Meet the Community: Minimum wage is roughly $5 dollars a day. It is said that 8 out of 10 families are run by at least one alcoholic parent. More than 50% of the population is under 18 years old. Corruption rules and deception is considered normal behavior. There is little hope and even less trust for others. Kids are everywhere, they long for a place to be loved. Christ is the answer, Christ is the way, Christ is hope, and Christ is love.
Meet the LOGOS team: Brought music, games, crafts, lessons, but most of all LOVE. Time spent with kids is invaluable in the Kingdom. Christ loved children in a way that baffled his disciples. This team loved kids in a way that made Christ very real to them!
Sunday we had a closing service for the kids and their families. We invited everyone we came across. We told them to invite their families, friends, cousins, neighbors, cats, dogs, etc. Anyone and everyone were welcome to join the festivities!! In hopes for a huge crowd we bought a BIG pig and Chuy butchered it and cooked “Carnitas”.
Carnitas is a type of braised or roasted (often after first being simmered) pork in Mexican cuisine. The traditional way to cook carnitas is in a copper pot which disperses the heat evenly. You begin by using enough lard to cover all the meat you will cook. Once the lard has melted, add pork and flavorings (usually salt, oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf, crushed garlic cloves), then add orange juice. The trick to traditional carnitas is to simmer the meat until tender over a very low heat. Once the meat is tender, the heat is turned up, and the outside of the pork will begin to get crisp. Once this is done, the carnitas can be cooled and shredded.
Including our team, we had about 100 people at the party! What a great time we had! Our team shared some testimonies and the gospel of Jesus Christ. When the food was ready, we had a great time eating and spending time with families and kids.
Our team sang and worshiped well beyond the end of the service. Everyone was moved by a great joy and a deep love as Christ ministered through His Spirit! They offered a great picture of Christ’s love for the kids to see and experience. No one wanted to leave; the kids, the mothers that were around, even our own team. We knew that God was with us and that He was very pleased. Jesus told his disciples, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples–when they see the love you have for each other.”
The following are pictures that may better recount the evening:
We thank God for bringing LOGOS into our path. What a wonderful week of ministry and service to the King!!
It was difficult saying goodbye, we have grown to love this team and feel as though they are family!
We look forward to seeing them again in the future whether here, there, or in the sky.
God bless the LOGOS team and their efforts. May they continue to grow in the depth of their love and their understanding of Christ the creator and sustainer of all!
We wish you all PEACE.
We’ve been on break for a few days here in El Paso/Juarez area.
The mission team from Chicago left Tuesday and the Onnemi team crashed out.
What a great and exhausting week!! In the next couple of days, we will be posting pictures, and reflections of the time we had with the Logos Baptist Church youth!
We’ve been trying to keep as up to date with pictures as possible. So far, we’re doing a poor job.
These are the latest pictures that we have, but the house is actually quite a ways beyond this point.
The team from Portage Chapel has gone home, and we hope they have had a few moments to rest!
God bless them and the work they have done! We greatly appreciate everything!
We went to the community “Kilometro 33″ and visited with the Renteria family. Esmeralda, the girls, and i (kenny) arrived a little early to help get things ready for 30 people to show up. It’s hard to have people just drop in unannounced, especially 30 or more!!
The Renteria’s were caught off gaurd, but there was a sense of excitement as Patty tried to finish some of her tasks before the group arrived and Jesus, her husband, talked about how great it is that believers could gather together anywhere.
Once the group arrived, we had a time of singing and testimonies. We set up an area outside and put Mr. Renteria in a wheelchair and brought him out! He seemed to really enjoy the singing and the testimonies. One of the team members encouraged him to remember that God loves him and that He is teaching him through these trials.
The kids had a good time as well…
Portage Community Chapel is here and they mean business!
The group arrived this past Thursday and it’s been nonstop since then. We’ve already celebrated a birthday, smashed a face in a cake, laid block, visited with the Renerias and eaten lots of Rotisserie chicken.
i’m extremely impressed with the determination to get this project done. So far it’s looking good! We’ll try and keep current pictures posted as the house begins to develop!!
