Update Newsletter!

Well, anyone who sent anything to MTW and is on my prayer list will soon be recieving a hard copy of this, but for everyone else, here is the infamous "update newsletter" : ) Enjoy!

Summer 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers and support during my summer in Monterrey, Mexico. I can honestly say it was one of the most difficult times of my life. It was very different from what I expected, but God used my frustration and homesickness to teach me about Him and myself. He grew me and stretched me physically, spiritually, and psychologically.

Our ministry was centered around coordinating short term teams from the U.S. These teams worked directly with several different church plants on construction projects, my favorite of which was at the Casa Hogar Orphanage, and VBS outreach. Our ministry with the Mexican church plants not only enabled them to minister more effectively, but also enriched the partnership between the Mexican and supporting American churches. My role in all of this was essentially to be a glorified team member with some other leadership opportunities mixed in.
Each week, I stayed with a different family depending on which church we were working at. This aspect of the internship complimented my favorite part of the summer – relationships. Staying with so many different people – from American missionary families to Mexican pastors and their families – and being in contact with so many people from both cultures on the work sites, was an unexpected blessing. I encountered many of these surprise blessings as God taught me more about myself. Going into this internship, I thought that I didn’t like meeting new people. Well, this summer taught me that I really do! I also grew in leadership and confidence.

I’ve heard it said that you don’t really have a culture until you experience someone else’s – so true! Being immersed in another culture was hard, but completely worthwhile. The Mexican people are no longer a faceless nationality. Getting to know so many Mexicans so well caused me to view their culture in a completely different way – each person has a story, a personality … a face. I hope to use these experiences to share the Gospel in my everyday life, through word and deed, as I enter into my senior year of high school and seek God’s will for my college plans.

If you’d like to see pictures or read the blog of my summer, check out stephinmex.blogspot.com and stephinmex.shutterfly.com. The password for the Shutterfly account is monterrey.
Thank you again for your part in making this summer possible. I couldn’t have done it without you.
God bless, Stephanie Willis

Well, I thought clearing customs in Atlanta on the way in would be the hardest part of my journey...I thought wrong. My 4:00pm flight was canceled, so I was put on a waiting list for a 9:40pm flight that night. That flight was delayed until 12:30am, but there wasn't enough room on that flight...soooo...since I'm not old enough to get a hotel room apparently, I got stuck in "Dusty's Den" - the childrens "holding" room for the night. Basically it was a bunkbed. Luckily rather than having to wait until 6:30 that night like I was originally told, they got me out of there by 9:30. Suffice to say, it was not the greatest day of my life.

I was never so glad to be back in my own home and in my own bed...Until...

that morning I woke up with what I thought was a mosquito bite- until I pulled back the covers to make my bed and discovered a brown recluse!! That's what I get for bragging about being healthy all summer I suppose. Still! The irony that nothing would happen to me in Mexico, but the very night I return to my "safe" home- I get bitten by an extremely poisonous spider.

My mom immedietely got me into the doctor, and she said it looked like a pretty minor bite, but gave me antibiotics just in case. Apparently, there's nothing they can do about the venom- the only treatment is to try to keep it from getting infected. Well in a matter of hours later, my "minor" bite had turned into a full-on infection that was tracking the vein up my arm and spreading too fast to keep up with. We started the antibiotics and on monday I went back to the doctor. By this time, it was much, much worse, having spread nearly around my arm. It also started to swell and it was really hot to the touch. Not only was it very painful but it itched like crazy! Anyway, two more doctors visits, 5 shots, and 2 courses of antibiotics and steroids later, my arm has almost returned to its normal color and the pain is almost gone. The blessing in all of this is that only the infection and not the venom spread. In the worst cases of these types of bites, the venom can cause the skin to break down and wound care is required- often leaving pretty awful scars. I thank God I didn't have to deal with that side of it.

So now I am home and (finally) well. I am immensly enjoying being with my family, eating Ameican food, and worshipping in English : ). Thank you so much for supporting me in prayer and encouragment over these last two months. Expect to recieve an update letter in the next month or two- I should also have lots more pictures up at stephinmex.shutterfly.com in a day or so. The password is monterrey.

Thanks so much for everything, Stephanie

The Homestretch

I'm writing to you all from Atlanta!

After clearing customs and immigration (I learned something new there- apparantly, a tortilla press is a weapon- who knew?) I took a shuttle to our hotel, which is across the street from the MTW headquarters where I will be completing debrief training over the next two days- and then I will be HOME!!!!

This past week was the same VBS curriculum - Rancho Avalancha - but this time with a twist. Outside. In a tent. The Americans invlolved in this week at Vida Nueva Church joked that this week would be for our sanctification- I think they were right : ). This week was especially significant because most of the kids (close to a hundred this time) involved were not from the church as in past weeks. Also, we added a women's otreach-devotional and craft- and a soccer outreach. The soccor was fun but we got schooled in the US vs. Mexico games- Men 5-1, Women 3-2. One of those points was my fault- appartantly you get penalized for using your hands : ). Oops...

Anyway, that week was very exciting- pictures will follow.

Please keep me in your prayers as I reajust to life in the US- I don't anticpate many difficulties :).

Rancho Avalancho Take 2

And so ends the second week of VBS. This week we were assisted at Cumbres Del Rey Church by the First PCA in Margate, Florida. This VBS was unique in that it catered towards kids all the way up to 16 years old. I was excited by the opportunity to work with the teen group, helping to make their experience as in-depth and fun as possible. These older kids benefited from recieving personalized lessons from the church's pastor, Pablo, and they seemed to get a lot out of them. The exciting part was that only one of the kids in our group attended the host church, so hopefully, through this VBS, the children and their parents will be encouraged to revisit the church for regular services.

As I begin my last week in Monterrey, I would ask that you pray for concentration and perserverance for me. I'm finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything but what I will do when I get home. Thanks for your prayers and encourgaement during this time.

The younger kids enjoing a water balloon game. (Too bad the balloons were actually regular balloons and wouldn't pop : ) )

My Group making a craft. Go Rangers!

Our prayer time during the morning Bible lesson.

Rancho Avalancha

Well, we had our first team for VBS this last week, and it was pretty great : ). A team of 5 came from Rainbow PCA in Alabama to help out. The VBS was hosted by Casa de Dios Church and was made up mostly of church kids with a few kids from the surrounding neighborhood. The theme was Rancho Avalancha, or "Avalanch Ranch", and we did lots of singing, dancing, crafts, snacks and devotionals which all went along with the day's bible verse. The kids learned that "God is strong", "God is with us", "God is in control", "God is real", and "God is awesome". I had a lot of fun hanging out with the kids and they seemed to enjoy it and learn a lot as well.

God has been teaching me a lot about relationships this week. The VBS, and previously, the construction, are only half of what this summer is about. The short-term teams that come down are from churches that sponser the churches here and meeting with them and helping them with these projects is essential for successful partnership and relationship. For me, it's been amazing to get to know so many people, and realize that this is a "normal" country with "normal" people. I have loved realizing that teenagers, no matter what country they are from, speak the same language: ).

Kids praying after a movie

The devotional

Our Team : )

Different Perspective

If you´d like to check out another perspective on the work being done in Monterrey this summer, check out dansmexicostories.blogspot.com. Dan is the other summer intern working here.

Pictures of Monterrey

I thought you might like to see what Monterrey looks like. The city itself is very crowded and the houses are built out of cinder block and sit right next to each other- no real yards. Once you get out of suburbia and into the actual city, everything looks dirty. As a general rule, people drive like crazy- any rules are merely guidlines : ). Culturally, the city is very americanized with many familiar restaurants and businesses such as McDonald's, KFC, Blockbuster and Wal-Mart. Mountains surround the city and make for a spectacular view when the smog doesn't cloud them out.

2 Teams Down!

We said goodbye to our second team - Bethel PCA from South Carolina - on Saturday. We did lots of renovations on the new building of one of the local church plants, Cumbres Del Rey. Basically, it was one big open room that used to be a boxing gym. We walled off a large portion of it for the sanctuary (I learned how to dry wall) and did lots of painting and cleaning. The final outcome was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Another team will be coming at the end of July to finish it off- more painting and installing carpet and the like.

We have this week off and then will have three straight weeks of VBS and then I get to come home!!!!

Please pray for perserverance and endurance as I try to finish off the summer strong!

Here are some pictures from this past week of construction- feel free to ohh and ahh over the "extreme makeover" : ).

Before

After (Notice the beautiful, yellow wall in the background)

Our wonderful drywall and painting crew

The whole group got together for a day of shopping and sightseeing

Pictures From the First Team

Sorry it's taken so long to put up some pictures- but here they are!These are all from Casa Hogar where we worked with Pinewood PCA.

These are all the kids eating lunch. There's about forty of them in all.

This is me and Dante, my favorite baby. He smiled at anything and everything : ).

And this is the Pinewood team- they were really fun to work with!

I wish I had all the pictures of us painting- cuz we did a lot of it- but I don't have that memory card at the moment. Just imagine all of the above people with yellow paint splatttered all over them : )

One Team Down!

Well, my first team left this past Tuesday, and I was a lot sadder to see them go than I thought I would be. One of the most surprising pleasures I've encountered during this internship is that I actually do enjoy meeting new people. I made really good friends out of complete strangers in just a week! God has been working in mysterious ways- touching my heart and making big changes spiritually, emotionally and psychologically.

I'm actually writing from a Best Buy in Texas right now : ) We just finished helping a 2-year missionary family move- so now we're running errands : ) The next team arrives on Saturday and we'll be working doing ronovations on a local church plant- Cumbres.

Some praises I've had recently are: a decline in homesickness and an actual enjoyment in the work God is doing through me and the things he's teaching me.

An update on housing- the Mexican family I was staying with went out of town for a week, so I am now at the Craig's- they are a long term missionary family from New Jersey.

Thank you all for supporting me and praying for me- I appreciate you all so much!

God Bless,

Stephanie

Hey Guys!

Well, 2 days ago our first team arrived. They're a PCA Church in Jacksonville, Florida. We've been doing some light construction work at the Casa Hogar Orphanage. The heat has been incredibly brutal. Being able to hang out with the kids at the orphanage has been a really cool experience. (Sorry no pictures yet) A big answer to prayer was that my homesickness has finally started to subside. Please continue to pray for that though, and also for health- so far I haven't gotten too sick, but the odds are against me.

Some things that God has been teaching me-

• What missions is all about (He's really been redefining my definition of missions)
• Reliance on God
• Flexibility

Sorry there aren't too many details, I'll try to write more when I'm less tired : )

Blessings, Stephanie

Day 1

Well, this is my first post from Monterrey!!!
I got here last night around 11:30 local time, and got settled with the Mexican pastor here. His family speaks English and is super nice! For at least a few weeks, I will be living in a little guest house in their backyard- it's really nice and (I couldn't believe my good luck) has air conditioning! The first group of short-term teams won't be arriving until next week, so I'll just be helping out with some odds and ends until they do. People keep telling me to enjoy this down time because once it starts, it's going to be non stop madness.

Please keep me in your pryaers- I'm already getting a little disheartended with homesickness and culture shock. It's nothing horrible, but the summer away from my family and everything I know is looming before me, and I just need to step back and take it one day at a time.
I appreciate your prayers,
InChrist, Stephanie

Prayer Requests

Thank you everyone for your encouragment and prayer!
I'm leaving in 2 days (!) so here are some last minute prayer requests : )

1) That God would provide the remainder of my financial support soon.
2) That I would be able to settle in and establish a routine quickly.
3) That I would establish great relationships with the other three interns and my "host" missionary family.
4) That God would be glorified in everything that happens down there.

Financial Update

Please keep me and my support-raising process in your prayers.
I am leaving in one week (I know, hard to believe) and am still short over two thousand dollars.
This has truly been a faith-building experience, and I appreciate everyone's encouragment through this trial period.
Thanks, Stephanie

This is one of my favorite songs, and right now it's just how I feel about this summer's internship.

Matthew West - The Motions From the album Something To Say

This might hurt
It’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care If I break

At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just ok
Is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

Chorus
I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

No regrets
Not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love
Make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something

Take me all the way
Take me all the way
Take me all the way


Label: EMI Distribution

Dear Friends and Family, April 26th


I’m excited to write to you about a life-changing opportunity God has given me this summer. I’ll be working as an intern with MTW (Mission to the World) for two months in Monterrey, Mexico.


Many of you sponsored me on a mission trip to Peru a couple of years ago. During that trip and the time following, God set my heart on fire for missions. I desperately wanted to go on another mission trip the following summer, but lacked direction – direction God provided a couple months ago.


I looked into an opportunity for border ministry with some MTW missionaries from my church, but God closed that door. However, rather than being a set-back, this provided me with the perfect sending agency. I spent the following weeks looking into other countries with MTW. After several false starts, lots of frustration and fervent praying, God has opened the door for me to serve in Monterrey, Mexico!

So basically, this is what my trip will look like: For two months, I will be an extension of the missionary families already established in Monterrey. The first month will be comprised mostly of construction work with short term teams. The second month I’ll be assisting with VBS outreach.

During this time, I hope to help meet the Mexican nationals’ physical and spiritual needs in a tangible way as well as learn more about God and what He is doing in me. In addition to these day-to-day goals, I hope to explore my potential calling to be a mission photographer.

In this venture, I need a huge amount of help. In an extremely short time (my departure date is May 26th), I need to raise a prayer team and $6,430. This covers pre-field training, food, lodging, transportation, ministry expenses and honorarium. I firmly believe, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26)

Please pray about your involvement with me in this outreach. Both types of support are essential to success.


In Christ,

Stephanie Willis ~ 4934 N Highland Ct, Bel Aire KS 67220 ~ (316) 744-9697 ~ floridafan@cox.net
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