POWER MINISTRY 2018 ….. WEEK ONE/DAY FOUR
Now is the Time To Worship ….. Now is the time for a Festival!! by Terry Hickey
Sunday on a Power Trip week is a day for worship and to conduct a community festival, as opposed to day of construction …. but it is hardly a day of rest (at least not the take a nap Sunday afternoon type of rest! Following breakfast at the hotel headed over the border into Reynosa, Mexico. Thefirst stop of the day took us to Sende De Vida (The Path of Life) Mission. Sende De Vida, under the direction of Hector Luna, is located on the side of the Rio Grande River at the site of a former dump for waste construction materials. This ministry provides food, clothing, sleeping quarters, and most importantly the message of God’s love to homeless and recently deported persons. Hector Luna’s ministry has become a life saving resource for many who have been essentially dumped at the side of the road by the established medical and welfare systems. Power Ministry has been connected to this ministry since 2007, and constructed a building to house elderly homeless men in 2012.
Patrick Schmeling led a communion service at Sende De Vida after a moving praise time. He shared with us the significance of phrasing in John 13:31 where it references “the one cup” and the “one loaf” that had been shared during the Last Supper; indicating that it speaks directly to the unity shared between Jesus and the disciples. He went on to remind us that the scripture says, ” That by this (and no other thing) shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”. This love for one another should be so obvious, that it attracts attention.
Following our time at Sende De Vida we travelled across Reynosa to Alianza Christiana ( The Dome Church) for worship with Pastor Mario Perez’s congregation. this is one of the highlights of the week as Power Ministry is so enthusiastically welcomed. A tradition had been started last year which includes the Power Men serving the congregation by acting as greeters, ushers and collecting the offering at the 11:00 service. In addition the power Worship Team joined the Alianza Worship Team in accompanying the Power Men who gathered on the platform to lead the congregation in several worship songs. Three Power Men gave brief testimonies of God’s work in their lives, including a testimony by Vance Luke, a ninety-nine (99)year old dynamo from Rome, Georgia!
Pastor Brian Park gave the message based on the Old Testament account of Caleb and Joshua; recounting how they had complete trust that God would help the Israelites defeat the “giants” that had been reported to be living in the land that God intended them to conquer. Pastor Brian challenged the congregation to have faith and trust that God would also help us to conquer the giant-like problems and concerns which we face every day.
Apparently, the leadership of Power Ministries did not grow up with the tradition/custom of taking a leisurely nap after Sunday dinner … or at least that doesn’t fit into a Power Trip schedule! We spent the afternoon at the Rio Bravo Orphanage holding a festival for the community surrounding the orphanage. Hundreds of children, parents and grandparents showed up at three o’clock for the fun and games. The Power Men manned a variety of games, pony rides, inflatables and bounce hoses, made cotton candy, popped popcorn, cooked hotdogs, and took and printed off family photos.
The festival continues to be a great opportunity to interact with the children and adults in a fun loving atmosphere that clearly leaps over the usual language barrier. Providing these families a couple of hours of fun, laughter and food is a great way to share the love of Jesus!
Both the service of the Power Men at Alianza Church in the morning and the festival in the afternoon brought to life the message that Pat Schmeling brought to the men in the morning communion service … to express our love for one another in the name of Jesus! That is the whole purpose of the Power Ministry Trips … to demonstrate the love of Jesus through a variety of Love One Another actions and projects!
Speaking of projects … Tomorrow we return to construction projects in the Reynosa area!
Signing off from the far back seat of a fifteen passenger van with only short jaunts across the border tomorrow and prayerfully no big bumps in the road!