IMPACT Sentence Snapshots - PARTNERSHIPS

My IMPACT experience was all about PARTNERSHIPS, empowerment, and princesses.

I've said it a lot here, "I just want to be a part of something significant." I think the key in doing that with a Kingdom-perspective is partnerships. I've been very blessed to have substantial interaction with what our Senior Pastor calls the "strategic partners" of NMC.

New Life Fellowship & The United Missionary Fellowship of India have been near to my heart. Now I can add Iglesia de Agua Viva of the Greater Juarez Area to that list. What is going on in that area is awesome, and what we are doing with them is awesome! A few of the "moments" that made this clear for me.

San Ignacio... This a town where a church is just starting up. They are meeting in a home. We were able to travel there on Tuesday Night. In the town plaza, we shared our dramas, and had 3 students share their testimonies. 5 people accepted Christ. The beauty of the night was when we were able to hand the microphone over to the couple who are in charge of the church plant. They took time to share about the church, meeting times, and hand out fliers. As we stuck around playing soccer and basketball, more and more of the town came out. Our visit created a buzz, and the beauty of that buzz was that everyone there knew we were connected with the church plant!



The plaza... Our students were burdened over the many injustices that were taking place in the plaza and baseball diamond of El Millon (the town where we have built a dorm to house NMC teams). We were told of child molestations, drug dealing and usage, and gang activity during the evenings. The plaza, bleachers, and dugouts had been covered with graffiti.
We decided to take time to paint those areas as well as replace the basketball hoops. This was all done with the blessing of the town officials. The beauty of this partnership was that it allowed our team, the church of El Millon, and the community to come together and improve the community. At one point in our efforts, I looked back and saw our team woring side by side with the people of the community. It actually made me say out loud, "AWESOME!"
The results? Those from the community working on the painting showed a high level of ownership in what they've done. Several commented that they would be watching to make sure the plaza stays graffiti free.



The Baptism... Francisco and Rosa made us aware of a family who had not eaten for 2 days. The father, Juan, was very sick, and had a pretty rough past with the church. On Saturday, Juan approached Francisco and asked him for forgiveness for what he had done. Francisco said he didn't even recognize Juan due to the significant amount of weight he'd lost. Sunday, Juan came to church, and God moved in his heart in amazing ways. Sunday, the students pooled their money together and bought nearly 2 weeks worth of food for the family. Sunday evening, we delivered the food to the family. Monday morning, Juan and his wife Juana were baptized at the church. We had all the students read the Great Commission before going to the baptism service. This was the perfect way for us to end the trip. Partnership personified. As we were able to minister to a family in need, we are confident that these two have those who will follow up with them.