God gave our family the opportunity of going to Nicaragua with our MBC Loudoun Mission Team this summer. I went with my husband, Walt, and our two sons, Garrett and Ethan. This trip was a life-changing experience for our family.

I learned that there is a lot of truth in Proverbs 16:9, which says “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Before going on this trip, I had personally envisioned myself connecting with the younger children but things did not necessarily go as I had expected because God had better plans for me.

I had the opportunity to meet and build a relationship with Yessica, a 15-year-old girl who I initially noticed because of her beautiful eyes. When I complimented her, I noticed that she was very guarded about her appearance. I started chatting with her and she shared a little about her family – she grew up in a home with 10 kids and they had an alcoholic father who had left them. Our conversation deepened and I felt God leading me to say, “God loves you very much! Do you believe that?” I continued by telling her that the Lord had laid it on our team’s hearts to be in Nicaragua. There were many places in the world that we could have gone but that He had brought us here for moments such as these. Immediately, I saw tears. That is when the wall began to drop and she really began to share. I listened as she poured out her heart and told many stories – she had been working since she was 8-years-old, the abuse and misunderstanding she had encountered and many other unfathomable things. I wept as I felt my heart breaking for her. As the tears rolled down my face, I prayerfully told her that I could not relate to all her experiences because I had grown up very differently. I said our one-week presence in Nicaragua was not going to transform her life, but God could.

All too quickly, I realized that it was time for us to head back to the hotel. As our bus drove away, I saw her waving good-bye with tears in her eyes as she held one of her brother’s hands. I waved and knew that image of her would be forever imprinted in my mind.

Over the next few days, Yessica and I were able to connect frequently and continue our conversation. Before the trip, I had bought a brand new Spanish/English Bible and marked it with over twenty Bible verses that share the Gospel message. I had the privilege of being able to give her my Bible and share these verses with her, talking about how they apply to her life.

I experienced many wonderful people and things throughout our trip to Nicaragua, but meeting Yessica left the biggest imprint on my heart. I will always cherish our time together!

Everybody loves good news. But we really love God news, and August’s Second Saturday wasn’t short on it. We heard from MBC Loudoun’s mission team about their trip to Nicaragua where God did some awesome things in and through these individuals who have a passion for reaching across borders to share the message of Christ.

The team organized a Vacation Bible School for the Nicaraguan children that clearly showed God using a simple program to establish relationships with the children and teenagers. The team taught the children biblical truths. Most children in Nicaragua grow up without having the presence of a fatherly figure in their lives. As the team did the VBS, they had the opportunity to connect with the children and demonstrate God’s unconditional love to them as well as teach them biblical truths.

The team also visited Rama Cay, which is one of the poorest places in Nicaragua. One of the team members had been to Rama Cay the year before and described the change he saw between the two visits: “It could only be from God. The previous year, the people were closed and hardened. They didn’t greet or talk to us. They allowed us into their homes with reservation… This year, the people were more open, the children came out to greet our MBC team, and allowed us into their homes more readily. The change was astonishing.”

This is only the beginning of what God has begun to do in Nicaragua. The team created medical records for the children, helped provide children with nutritious food and set up a ‘Ladies Night’ at the church where they pampered, bonded with and encouraged the local women.

All in all, hearing from our MBC Loudoun Missions Team was encouraging. Hearing from them allowed us to celebrate all that God had done in and through them.

If you are interested in taking a short term missions trip with McLean Bible Church, you can find more information here.

There are just some things in life that don’t need any explanation. Watch the video below, as it gives a glimpse into the many ways God worked in and through all the students of The Rock that traveled to the Dominican Republic in the name of Christ.

First, a big THANK YOU to everyone that donated a bike! I admit, I had low expectations of how many bikes would be donated due to the limited time we advertised the collection. But the Lord scolded me (oh ye of little faith!) and by the end of the 10:45 service we had over 30 bikes lined up outside the main entrance! Incredible! I am consistently blown away by the generous, serving nature of this campus –the hands and feet of Christ are truly at work here.

Second, I want to say THANK YOU on behalf of ORPHANetwork, who will ship the bikes down to Nicaragua. The bikes end up at Casa Bernabe in Vera Cruz where teen orphans are trained on bicycle repair. This gives the teens valuable work experience while learning both a new trade and entrepreneurial skills. The bikes are sold and the profits go back to the Casa Bernabe orphanage. It truly is a life-changing opportunity for these teens and it continues to thrive through the partnership with ORPHANetwork and the generous donations of bicycles.

For more information about what ORPHANetwork is doing down in Nicaragua, you can visit their website at orphanetwork.org.

For September’s Second Saturday Event, the mission team that returned from Nicaragua in July shared about their experience in Bluefields. It was so great to see their pictures and to hear their stories. Team members shared stories of personal encounters with Jesus while serving the kids at the feeding center. They also shared about the spiritual changes happening in themselves as they were challenged by what they saw and experienced. Joel, one of the team leaders, shared pictures of the changes in Verbo church and the feeding center from when the first team went down in 2009 to this July. The changes were incredible! New benches to allow more kids to come and eat at the feeding center. New murals covered the walls of Verbo church and the feeding center. Church services packed with new faces. And MEN! Yes, men. Women are often left to raise the kids while the men are off elsewhere looking for work or employed on the cruise ships, so to see father figures return home and be reunited with their families is truly progress. Special guest, Cole Bingham, of ORPHANetwork, shared about how our partnership with ORPHANetwork is helping the church and feeding center in Bluefields. With our help, the feeding center can now feed 120 children a nutritious meal once a day. That’s DOUBLE what we could previously do!

It was inspiring to hear about all the things God is doing in Nicaragua and the ways that He allows His people to participate in His master plan. There are many things on the horizon with our partnership with ORPHANetwork –stay tuned as they continue to unfold throughout the year.

If you missed September’s Second Saturday Event, be sure not to miss October’s event! We’re celebrating one year of Second Saturday Events by going back to how it all started –with SUNDAE Saturday! Come and build a mouth-watering sundae and put on your thinking cap to help come up with ideas for another year of fellowship. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, October 9 in the Café after the Saturday evening service.

This summer the ROCK took 217 students (31 from the Loudoun campus) down to the Dominican Republic for a week-long mission trip. On Saturday, August 14th prior to the service we had a group of ROCK students and volunteers share about the trip. It was truly amazing hearing the stories of the lives they impacted, as well about how their lives were impacted –all in a week! The students spoke about the boldness God gave them to share about Jesus and the strength to get out of their comfort zones. They shared stories of praying with shop keepers in the local market, about leading a boy to Christ outside a bathroom, and, in less than an hour, raising enough money to sponsor nearly 2 operations for a teen who has been in a wheelchair all his life. The teen will need 4 operations in hope that he may one day walk. It was so inspiring to hear their faith –and a challenging reminder to all of us to put our faith into action here at home.

Special thanks to Mike Reed and Rich Duquette, Kyle Cox, Chris Densmore, Nathan Man, Mitch Braumann, Ryan Braumann, Grace Dreyer, Dominica Williams, Matt Lunsford, James Lunsford, Alex Sutherland and Lee Sutherland for sharing with us!

Don’t miss the upcoming 2nd Saturday in September! Our mission team will be sharing about their July trip to Bluefields, Nicaragua. Saturday, September, 11 at 4:30pm in the ROCK. Pizza will be provided.

We just returned from an amazing missions trip to the Dominican Republic where we took 216 people to further the gospel in Santo Domingo. Out of the 216 people we have about 50 adults and 170 students. 35 of them were Loudoun ROCK students. One incredible story I have to share is the hearts of these students in their desire to be an accurate representation of Acts 2:42-47 church. One day we went to an orphanage where there was a boy Israel who was 15 and had deformities in his knees and feet. Crippled in a wheel chair his entire life, we quickly found out that he was supposed to have had 4 surgeries to correct his illness and prayerfully have him walking again but the money somehow was lost and got tangled in other expenses. So immediately one of our students said to me “hey mike, why don’t we just pay for Israel’s surgeries?” We added it up and we figured that if each student from Loudoun just gave $20 that could pay for the first one, and if they gave $30, that could pay for two. We got on the bus and I challenged the students with the task and hand, and told them to imagine what the Lord could do if he was given the ability to walk and how he could be used by the Lord. Less then 1 hour later I had almost $700 dollars in my hand! We gave the money to Giavoni who is one of the missionaries and he broke down in tears. He could not believe such young people would think less of themselves and give to help a child walk instead of spending their money on their own needs. We have paid for his first surgery and half of the second one. The students are excited to raise more this year to prayerfully pay off all four surgeries needed! Praise God for what He is doing in these students and their passion to be used by Him and to give to those in need.

Jim’s Presentation on Iraq Trip 6-27-10 from MBC Loudoun on Vimeo.

We, the Nicaragua Team, just wanted to say thank you SO much to all those who attended and so generously gave. Some of you have already been big contributors to the trip and yet you were compelled to give even more. We as a team are so grateful to you all. It really isn’t a matter of just being grateful for the money. We are grateful also for your hearts, for the bottomless love you guys exude for the Lord and His work as well as your love for the team.

We are humbled and truly grateful. We can’t thank you enough for all that you do, for the support you offer. The people at the Loudoun Campus are truly a blessing and it is our hope and prayer that the Lord will bless you all and that your generosity will not return unto you void.

Special thanks to Jason G and all the folks on stage who donated your time. You guys did an amazing job.

Thanks again to all of you.

The Nicaragua Team.

Did you know that there are 40,000 children with special needs in the Washington D.C. area? That means there are a lot of parents out there feeling lost, alone, and exhausted. And those parents have an 80% chance of their marriage ending in divorce. That’s a sad and distressing statistic. If I didn’t have Christ and the loving support of others in my life, I am certain I’d be one of them. And it’s only through Christ and the help of others I can embrace and be thankful for both worlds I find myself in. That’s why I’m really excited to share with you that Kid’s Quest has selected Jill’s House as our missions project for October and November.

If you’ve driven into or past MBC Tysons recently, you can see the construction for Jill’s House well underway now. It plans to open in the fall of 2010. Jill’s House will serve children age 6-17 through short-term overnight care, social activities, and a range of therapy activities. This will enable parents to get the break they need to concentrate on their marriage or to spend with their other children.

This month our elementary children are learning about individuality and discovering who they are meant to be. As part of our Large Group programming, we’ll be sharing specific stories about individual children who will be served by Jill’s House, a place where children with special needs can discover and celebrate who they are meant to be in an environment that is welcoming, safe, engaging, and fun. Please share with your children how their offering gifts will be used to impact the lives of other children in the DC area and join with us in praying for all the lives that will be touched through this ministry.

To learn more about Jill’s House and how you can be a supporter, visit their website at www.jillshouse.org. Also, if you’re on Facebook, become a fan of their page at www.facebook.com/jillshouse.