You Say Mission Trip. I Call It A ‘Dream Vacation’

The calendar tells me that my departure to Cali, Colombia, for our next excursion managed by Dallas-based E3 Partners just passed the two-month mark (April 16-23). Exciting news.

I remember this time last year referring to E3's upcoming campaign in Cali and calling my week-long trip a "vacation" brought strange looks from my corporate HR Department and from peers -- who each seemed to turn their head in confusion like a dog and ask, 'Vacation ... aren't you going on a mission trip?'

One of the definitions of 'vacation' is "an extended break from work." During my flight home from my first E3 trip to Barranquilla, Colombia, back in 2008, I remember thinking my past week had been a dream vacation. My second E3 journey to Cali was no different when I returned to Colombia last year.

The "ambassadors" from E3 coordinate every facet of travel for trip participants and the trip into Colombia has to be one of the simplest among E3's worldwide trips: short flight into Miami, another from Miami to Colombia, then a quick bus trip to the hotel. All your expenses in Colombia are included in your financial commitment (less than $2,700) to E3 and may generate through fundraising. And then my wonderful wife, Lisa, thinks of everything I need inside my suitcase and backpack for each day, right down to this rejuvenating body spray that cools your face and last April at lunchtime was a highlight for my team in Cali.

So what happens on a typical E3 trip? For starters, E3 is equipping God's people to evangelize the lost and establish churches worldwide. Using two trips to Colombia as my only gauge, you fly in on Saturday and are introduced to your small team which is comprised of 3-5 fellow Americans. Friends for life after that. On Sunday, your team worships at its designated host church, you lunch with the pastor and his family then spend the evening at a rally alongside all the other pastors, their church members and area translators getting prepared for God's harvest that lies ahead. The translators are priceless and volunteer their week to bridge the communication gap in the mission field for slugs like me who always fail to improve their Spanish between trips. Mondays and Tuesdays are spent building membership in one church plant in proximity to your host church and the same for Wednesday and Thursday in another community.

My experience has shown me that these church plants already have buildings and a dedicated church staff and membership of 20-40 when we arrive; sometimes close to 100 when we leave! We have prayer, breakfast and "lab work" every morning at the hotel led by E3 before being transported by bus into our communities. Lunch is provided by the church where we are working and we conclude every afternoon back at the church with a short service to get the new Brothers and Sisters in Christ in the area quickly engaged into their local church and into a safe place and meeting their local pastor. Friday is our designated "off day" until late in the afternoon buses provided by E3 transport members from each of the church plants to a central victory celebration service -- which is nothing short of surreal.

E3 also includes a medical team with some of its trips to provide basic assistance to locals. In Cali last April, we also delivered hundreds of eyeglasses into our communities and saw first-hand how equipping someone with poor eyesight with free eyewear could transform their life.

On Saturday morning on the back end of an E3 trip, filled with memories and tons of new Colombian friends added to your Facebook who help keep part of your heart back in their community, you return to the States exhausted, but recharged and rejuvenated. Isn't a vacation supposed to do that?

You'll return home with these thoughts: God changed lives through you and your team. You witnessed miracles and healings and changed family trees forever. You've never felt closer to God and recognizing his voice and his touch. You are capable of anything, absolutely anything, with Christ's strength leading you. You can't imagine the rest of your life without some of the friends you just found in Colombia; both Colombians and fellow trip participants who walked side-by-side with you on your team.

(For one friend, it was truly life-changing. He returned to Dallas from Barranquilla in 2008 after his first mission trip and is slowly exiting his career as a mortgage broker to become a full-time missionary for E3 Partners, focusing on its 'I Am Second' ministry.)

E3's short-term mission trips have long-term effects. Our work alongside pastors and church members equips those individuals to continue building their membership and changing lives for Christ after we are gone. E3 has a staff of dedicated missionaries working in the countries where they work throughout the year, and curriculums that nurture believers long after people like us return home. Door-to-door evangelism on each team is further broken down into one American, a translator for him/her and 1-2 local church members. Most translators I've discovered are either taking or teaching English classes at local universities or are local pastors with strong English. Most are like us; they sacrifice a week of paid work to pay their way to volunteer building churches. No hammer and nails, but hands and feet.

Among the materials in our "mission kit" E3 provides every team member with Evangecube puzzles to help bring the Gospel to life. Great, great tool. Don't leave home without one.

When I recall Lisa's only E3 trip to Uganda in Africa back in 2007, I am comforted in choosing trips to Colombia knowing that I can wake up in the States and be at a hotel in Colombia that same afternoon and in the same time zone. There is AC at the hotel and restaurants or malls nearby and no need for mosquito nets around the hotel bed. There is a bathroom in our room and not a hole in the ground behind a wall. There is wi-fi at the hotel and tremendous food at every stop whether it's coming from a church family or area restaurant. And then I get to have Matt as my roommate. All great blessings.

Lisa told our small group church earlier this week (when one of our new members said she was from Barranquilla!) that according to her math, four trips to Colombia equals one trip to Africa as far as the toll on one's body. She has a passion for Africa like I do Colombia, but it's difficult enough to take one week away from work let alone 10-14 consecutive vacation days (and more money) to go around the world to Africa.

What truly makes an E3 trip a dream vacation for me, more than anything else, is how God gives you the privilege to share His word and His love with a total stranger that may change his or her life for eternity. Much like a doctor delivering a child, you're not responsible for the miracle, but you're front and center and in the middle of the divine appointment. You see the light go on, the skin removed from someone's eyes -- you see the peace and joy and the immediate transformation from one who is God's creation before you arrived to one who becomes God's child by choosing His son as His savior.

We don't have to be scholars (I'm evidence of that), we only have to be willing to be His hands and His feet. As E3 reminds us every trip, we're not forcing doctrine on anyone, rather offering a free invitation; a free gift. We're not asking for money when we knock on a door or pushing someone to do something for someone else to earn a reward -- we're only revealing truth that can all be found in the Bible. That's what separates Christianity from any other religion: it's nothing we can do or earn, but only by God's grace.

Sure, we could do God's work by walking our streets at home, and God calls us to do just that, but Colombians (and the rest of the world) are different, which attracts me. Colombians are beautiful and welcoming at every threshold, they value family like I've never seen and live a much simpler life than what we call "normal" in the States. You're invited into most any home, people aren't in a hurry to get from A-to-B every minute and you're not battling a multi-media circus (i.e. TVs, phones, iPods, iPads) when communicating face-to-face.

So many distractions, so much busyness and so much noise here in the States that has numbed us beyond recognition. Colombians can't comprehend anyone spending lunch at their office desk so they can get more work done, or entirely skipping lunch, which in Colombia is a 90-minute break every day.

The importance of family: I still remember the amazement from my first day in the mission field in Barranquilla. Early in the afternoon, I found myself sitting in front of a family representing four generations. A mother opening the door. Her daughter coming downstairs holding a child in her arms. Another daughter coming outside with her child and then another daughter soon appearing and later a siater to the mother. After following the lead of her daughters and granddaughters in accepting Christ, the near-blind grandmother who had sauntered out from the back of the house during my visit tugged at my shirt and pulled me close and patted me on the shoulder, nodding in approval and joining us in prayer with tears in her eyes.

That single experience where God used me, and that entire house chose to trust in Him for their salvation no matter what happens or whatever background they came from, beats reading a book at a beach or exploring a museum. One of my desires to return to Barranquilla this fall with E3 is to return to that same barrio, that same casa, and to see how God changed that household after three years. Like everything else, I have to be comforted knowing God is in control. His plan is perfect. That family welcomed me for a reason and recognized they had a huge hole in their hearts that only Christ can fill.

One of the cards that Lisa sent with me to Cali last April closed with "Be in Awe." On the way to our local church after I pulled the card from my backpack, I challenged God (of all the nerve, right?) that day in prayer with my team to show us a miracle, something that defined "awe." Late in the afternoon, as I began to doubt God was hearing our prayers (of all the nerve, right?) I watched on as my translator, Samuel, prayed for the healing of a very sick and elderly woman wailing in a bed, and moments later we watched as she stood up, slid into her slippers and told Samuel and her family she felt no pain anymore for the first time in months.

Click into our trip to Cali at this Blog and read the title "Acts 4:20" for the story and to see the photos.

That's "awe" my friends. (The life story of Samuel my translator is a miracle in itself; a former bodyguard for Pablo Escobar who dedicated part of his life to bringing cocaine from Colombia into the States and is now a pastor committed to changing hearts for a God who pulled him from inside prison walls here in the States. Listening to the transformation of his life during a lunch break in Cali showed me that our God can rescue anyone -- and use anyone for His glory -- willing to surrender.)

Dream vacation for me.

Sadly, my trip to Cali in several weeks will be without Matt, who has committed to an E3 trip to Barranquilla in the fall and has already recruited two of his close friends. I never imagined until rooming with Matt back in 2008 in Barranquilla that I would vacation with a guy and the last thing we would do in our hotel room every night was pray together. We laugh together until vessels burst in our eyes (truly) and we've cried together. Our time in prayer in the mornings and late, late, late every night. Wow.

Looking back to our trip to Barranquilla in 2008, I remember spending more time anticipating what Matt and I would do on our off day on Friday and where we would explore more than anything else. I was scared to focus on four days of evangelism, where I felt totally uncomfortable and out of my element before landing in Colombia. That I quickly found is my sweet spot, but it's all the Holy Spirit. Only my hands and my feet willing to do the work.

One day into the mission field in Barranquilla, I remember Matt and I (on separate teams) met back in the hotel room that Monday night. We had each already made the decision that our off day on Friday would be spent buying taxi rides back into our respective communities loving on some of our new Colombian brothers and sisters and making sure they boarded the bus that afternooon for the victory service.


The trip to Cali, and our Friday was no different -- beyond anything I could ever, every imagine in my lifetime. Read the link on this Blog from 2010 titled "Leave Nothing."

We only have to be willing to be His hands and His feet.

Lord willing, I'm hopeful of returning to visit the National Police of Colombia on our Friday in Cali, which just happens to be Good Friday. Thanks to Facebook, I'm plugged in with many brothers and sisters in Christ from Cali, many of whom are police we met last spring. Matt reminded me last weekend I need to wear the personalized hat the police presented me last spring to speed through airport security this year in Cali. Wise man he is.

Want to join me? It may be too late to climb aboard "Team Cali" for 2011 in April, but I welcome your prayers, which are the most important component of one's journey. You can follow me on this page through April, or get bold and start planning your first or next E3 trip by visiting their website. at http://www.e3partners.org/.


You can also donate financially to my cause and/or support E3. Your donation is tax-deductible and if you include my name in the "Designation" it will go toward the balance of my trip to Cali or start my funding toward Barranquilla in the fall.
www.e3partners.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=2371

Less than two months. Can't wait.

Blessings,

Dave

Thank you!

Dave and I would like to sincerely thank you all for your prayers and support over the past several months and especially this past week.

We were up at 3:45 to head to the Cali airport at 4:30. 13 hours later, we touched down at DFW International Airport and met our wives and my children at the baggage claim.

Our bodies are tired, but the stories and excitement for our new brothers and sisters is still very exciting and energizing. We talked about our experiences on the way home, reliving the amazing things that God did this past week in a city that was once the capital of cocaine distribution from Colombia.

We read the comments and emails we received from home this week, using those words of encouragement to keep us going and remind us that while we are on the front lines of the battle, there were many "planners" working for us at home and across the nation.

Dave and I would like to ask you to do one more thing for us and for the entire Cali mission team. Please continue praying for the churches we worked with, the nationals who are now charged with continuing our work and for the new believers. We especially request prayers for the police officers who turned their life over to Christ this week. They have been given the unique opportunity to continue growing their numbers as another "church" of their own. If they can continue the momentum in the coming days, Cali can and will become a different city. The song "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin comes to mind. These young men and women have an incredible opportunity for revival from the inside out. Pray that they will be bold in demonstrating their faith to each other and within the communities they patrol.

Again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting us and allowing us to play a small part in being the hands and feet of the church this week.

We love you all.

Dave & Matt

Leave Nothing

Nike's slogan 'Leave Nothing' was appropriate today as we closed our week-long mission trip in Cali, Colombia. Staying with our tradition of late nights, we depart for the airport in less than 4 hours for our 8:30 AM flight to Miami, and connection home to Texas.

The Victory Celebration, which brings together new "hermanos and hermanas en Cristo" from the 16 churches in Cali our 30-member group helped strengthen, was a "grande fiesta" as Matt likes to say, tonight. We had more than 650 in attendance, when it was announced our group had 4,075 Gospel presentations and 2,370 professions of faith in our four days in the field.

Staggering but equally saddening, realizing that many of us will share Jesus with someone maybe once in the next six months when returning to the States. Maybe once in the next year.

We went straight to the Celebration from the Colombian National Police Field Training Center in South Cali. It was there where we had a divine appointment (on our scheduled off day) with 50 members of the nation's Special Forces: stating our purpose in Colombia this week and presenting the Gospel to a circle of policia who spend their days battling drugs and guerillas in the area.

If you don't ask, you don't get the invitation, right? A key lieutenant from Special Forces picked up me and Matt, a fellow team member (Bill) and two translators (Samuel and Adrian) from our hotel ... and the rest was the Holy Spirit again directing our meeting. It was the first time in two mission trips that our "best 5 minutes" was a shared experience ... Matt and I had never been together before in the field.

What a cool new tradition.

Our presentation included my translator for the week, Samuel, a pastor in the area and former drug dealer/bodyguard for Pablo Escobar, sharing his testimony. Samuel (one of the most humble servants I've ever met) asked for forgiveness from the policia -- a group that he told he once hated. It was the "best 5 minutes of his life" he later said, followed by another "best 5 minutes of his life" at the Celebration, when he asked forgiveness from the 30 of us North Americans ... here we are in Colombia sharing Jesus and he had spent much of his life funneling drugs and weapons into the States from Colombia.

Samuel said tonight as we said "ciao/goodbye" that he is now free for the first time in his life. Getting the movie rights to his life might be a good idea right now, but Matt and I agree his story is far from complete.

When we were ready to pray, we asked any of the policia to step out and to walk to the center of the meeting space if they were bold enough and ready to choose a life finally directed by Jesus. 2 came forward of the 50. We knew our God was bigger than this. 5 more came. Then 10 more. When we began praying, 45 policia were gathered in the middle of the room, knowing they now had the biggest protector and comforter they could ever possess on their team.

We later prayed in a circle around the lieutenant, as he was mourning the recent death of seven of his policia and was seeking relief and peace from the tragedies that are always at risk within his rank. (Sorry Lisa ... Lt. Pedroza now owns my cross necklace.)

It was the first time Matt had watched me share the Gospel, and the first time I witnessed Matt explain that once you accept Jesus, you are a new creation (2 Corin. 5:17). He encouraged the policia to grow in their faith since they were baby Christians and would now be filled with tons of questions while studying God's word.

The pastor and his family from the 1st church my team helped strengthen this week, Iglesia Pan La Vida, were also at the meeting. Pastor Ciro, his wife Pilar and daughter Adriana, circulated materials to the policia equipping them to each grow in their faith. The church hosts Bible studies throughout the week for members of the policia; two policia lunched with us on Monday prompting my request to present to the group.

Maybe the best 5 minutes ... of our lifetimes.

Can't wait to see what God will do to top this. It just might be tomorrow if I keep my eyes open to his wonder, splendor and awesome power. After today, I believe more than ever He can accomplish the impossible.

Dave

Acts 4:20

"We cannot stop telling about everything that we have seen and heard." - Acts 4:20.

Having roomed together during our first E3 Partners campaign in Barranquilla, Colombia, two years ago, Matt and I knew what to expect this week ... late nights. We return from our two church sites and dinner around 9 PM, alternate a shower with completing our team reports ... then around 10 PM the stories start. And go, and go, and go.

Our tradition of sharing "your best 5 minutes" from the mission field has become a mainstay on my team as we head in our van from the church site to dinner. For Matt and I, there is no limitation on stories and I pity Matt for having to put up with my longwindedness.

My best 5 ... Lisa sent me to Colombia with a card of inspiration to open each day, and this morning she closed her note with "Be in Awe!!!" I shared the three words with my team and in explaining to Claudia who couldn't translate "awe" into Spanish I determined that some words are just unexplainable and deserve their own place.

You know awe when you see it. Before we left for the mission field in the morning, Pastor Juan at our church site prayed for miracles and healing of the sick today. The attached picture includes an elderly woman, who was wailing in pain when we entered her home around 2:30 PM. Samuel was emotional and animated translating to me as he walked quickly toward the middle of the home "Dave, she says she's dying ... she says she has a high fever ... she says she has diarrhea ... her daughter thinks she's dying ... she says she has a severe pain in her side and can't move."

As we sat down at her side, we were patient and calm, knowing God was in control. He had us at her home at the right time. Her excessive pain, and added frustration she shared at not understanding the difference between so many religions at such a vital time, was soon replaced by a relationship with Jesus ... a Savior who had been waiting a long time.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to "be" without pain. When we closed in prayer, I told her that she was in new creation, she was no longer alone in her fight ... and I asked her to stand up for this picture. Without hesitation, without fear and with her daughter also trusting in this transformation, she stood up, shuffled into her slippers and proclaimed herself pain free with a smile a mile wide. Praise God.

"When we walked into your home, you felt you were dying, crying out and scared at wondering were you were going. Now that you know where you're going, and know you will never be alone, you can start living again," I remarked.

God wasn't far from finished with his awe (even by the next house we entered), but I am. It's 2 AM and our breakfast meeting starts in five hours. Matt is on his bed penning a letter of thanks, in Spanish, to his two Colombian police officers who have protected his team all week.

Gotta love my roommate.

Gotta love our wondrous God.

Acts 2:47

"all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."

This verse captures what I have seen this week. Everywhere we went, we saw churches who were praising God and enjoying what the people of the church provided. Their goodwill in most cases was just their commitment to assist in the field. Some missed work (and pay) to join us. They then were able to see how the Lord was adding to their fellowship and how many of these new people were being saved.

The picture below shows a scene that is nothing short of surreal to me. We were eating lunch today at our host church. After the meal was over, we usually sat back and waited until around 2 to head back out to the field. The main reason we wait is for siesta time when businesses and homes close for a couple of hours around lunch.

This scene was what happened after we finished eating.



What you see is 2 police officers reading from their own Bibles. They were being led in an impromptu Bible study by Nitin Christopher, one of our team members. He's a seminary student at Dallas Theological Society and felt led to teach these new Christians about sexual purity. They are young handsome men, who before this week were certainly engaged in things of the flesh. At the end of the table are 2 women who are living with their "husbands", really their live in boyfriends.

You can't put words to what was happening at that table. Andreas, the police officer on the right, is reading the Word out loud for all the table to hear. These officers and sisters were being discipled to and were given true life application from a caring brother. The questions they had were amazing, such insight and desire to learn.

Where else will you see this picture? I doubt you would see this very often at home.

The Lord was adding to the fellowship (the church) those who were being saved.

If you have joined us in prayer over this trip, for lives to be changed and for hearts to be opened, this picture is evidence that your prayers are being heard.

Matt

Invisible Touch

The original title for today's post was going to be "Another Day in Paradise" - a wonderful song from Phil Collins, but his Genesis days won out.

Dave and I are team leaders for different teams, so we see different parts of the city. We work with one church in one barrio on Monday & Tuesday and on Wednesday & Thursday we go to another barrio with another host church. Wednesdays are the 3 day in the field, but really, they are Monday all over again. We have to remind ourselves that we're going to be with a church that has been waiting for us since Sunday, when we met both church teams. They have continued to pray and prepare for our arrivals.

The first barrio I visited was described as being full of drug addicts, prostitutes and hitmen. It was, but it wasn't as apparent as you would think. This area looked like most areas within the city. There wasn't anything blatant about the activities that take place here.

The neighborhood today was not very far from the first neighborhood, but it was much different. Drugs were evident, homelessness was more prevalent and the oppressive feeling was much stronger. These places are my favorite to visit. There's something that God has put on my heart that just yearns for these areas. The people are authentic, they are needing hope and love, they are forgotten amongst the crime and despair.

We were warned by our church leaders and the police that this area was much more dangerous. Gang activity is high and the conditions are far worse. You could tell from the attentiveness of the police that we were more in harm's way. Andreas and Christian are the 2 officers that have been assigned to us. They both committed their lives to Christ on Monday, and immediately their concern for us changed. They had bonded with us.

The first person that I met in the field with my translator and church member was a homeless man. He was addicted to marijuana, peyote and cocaine. This morning he was sober, and was very attentive in hearing the Gospel. After we talked, He committed his life to Jesus. I explained that the Bible says he is a new creation, born again into a new life as a new person. I then asked if he needed further prayer for change in his life. That's when I was told of his addictions. We prayed that the bonds of addiction would be loosed and he would be delivered from the hold of Satan on his life.

All I can say is that the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask him if he had any drugs with him. He said he did and produced a rolled joint in a pouch. Andreas, the police officer, was standing a few feet behind me. I asked him to join us and then asked the man to give his drugs over to the police. Andreas agreed to throw them away and he did shortly after. The man then proclaimed that he as freed from the addiction and would stay faithful to his new life. That was an invisible touch. God moved this man to a place where he can start new and become a clean & sober brother. The road he has before him will be difficult, but with prayer and faith he will make it.

As the day progressed, we found out that we were on the most dangerous street in all of Cali. There are 2 rival gangs that live here and there is a point in the road where the territory changes from one gang to another. We weren't allowed to cross over that line, because our presence in one gang's territory would be seen as an association with that gang. It just wasn't safe for us to continue on that road. Our police watch out for us!

Dave was taken up to the top of a mountain to visit a smaller community. While he said the views were incredible from the summit, the poverty of this area was always in the forefront. Again the invisible touch was everywhere. His team impacted this community, including a team of workers that were raising electrical lines. Not a planned visit, but God moves our groups into places we never expect.




I'm sorry I don't have more time and space to tell all the stories of the day. They are far too many to do so, but I can tell you that the Invisible Touch of the Invisible Hand is everywhere. His hands guide our steps and his angels protect us. That provides the opportunity to share the Good News with all that will listen.

Some quick numbers from my team, and please note that these are based on known numbers, but they are far from the totals because so much happens outside of what we record: 390 presentations of the Gospel. 300 new Christians in 2 barrios. We have seen many more professions of faith, from other police officers, van drivers, hotel clerks, random people on the street and at the restaurant areas. And this is only what is happening in one group of 4 "Gringos" in 3 days.

The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. Another example of Scripture being lived out in today's world.

Please continue the prayers for our last official day in the field. There is much more soil to work, seeds to plant and harvests to gather.

Stepping Out

Much like in the manner Jesus tested the faith of his disciple Peter to step out of the boat, focus on Him and to walk on the water, we are challenging the church members we work with in Cali to step out of their comfort zones and to help grow their churches in the same way as we are doing ... through day-to-door evangelism using the Evangecube that is provided to us by our campaign partner, E3 Partners.

The "Cube" conveys the Gospel through a set of pictures and bridges the gap between cultures and languages around the world. E3 uses the same Cube in 35 countries with similar short-term strategic mission trips aimed at establishing churches with like beliefs.

My team attended church at Iglesia Cuadrangular in Cali on Sunday and we were back in their community on Monday and Tuesday building their membership. Their pastor strategized in advance what streets we would visit and provided 6-8 church members that joined each of our teams, which is comprised of a North American and a translator.

During the morning service on Sunday, I outlined our strategy to the church and encouraged members of the church to have the same boldness as us ... to their friends and family and neighbors. At the end of the service, a girl named Andrea came up to me, hugged me and thanked me for coming to Cali and in good English asked how she could help us.

Andrea explained that she had commitments in the mornings but would join us after lunch at the church for our afternoon work in the community. She is taking English classes and understood the value of helping our cause if we needed a translator.

Andrea was the first church member who asked us if she could present the Gospel while we were out in the streets. It was early Monday afternoon ... she was less than an hour into her "internship" with us. On Tuesday afternoon, just as other church members were getting comfortable stepping out to share the Cube, I captured this image of Andrea sharing the Gospel with two girls who were eating ice cream ... from their second story windows.

Our loving God promises us that he will meet us wherever we are. Andrea, a true disciple, was meeting those girls where they were, and for 20 minutes shared the Gospel with her arms stretched to heaven. The two girls accepted Jesus, and while praying both their ice creams melted down to the stick and down the wall of their home. That's another priceless picture.

It was clear that Andrea had both her feet out of the boat and she was walking a steady course toward Jesus trusting in the the Holy Spirit to supply all her needs. We need this confidence in every area of our life.

Andrea told me before we left the church on Tuesday night that one of her goals was completing her English requirements and assisting us again whenever we return to Cali and are in need of translators. Someone asked her what college she was attending and she made a funny face.

It was then we learned that Andrea is only 17.

Our God is an incredible God and never ceases to wow me.

Dave