Guatemala | India | Intercessory | Mexico | Thailand | Athletes in Action Volleyball Haiti
#MEImissions
Team Guatemala
Team Guatemala spent 17 days with Global Shore in El Tizate, a small village outside Antigua. After touring the town and learning about the history of Guatemala, MEI students spent their time connecting with students from Avivando el Fuego (Fanning the Flame). MEI Students started their day in one of the grade school classrooms, getting to know students and allowing them to practice their English. Then we would head to devotions and worship with the Guatemalan students. Our team was very impacted by this time. It was amazing to be a part of worship where so many students worshiped with their whole hearts and were so transparent in their love for God.
Later in the morning MEI students helped out on the school’s construction site, went on “hamper runs” bringing basic food and supplies to families in need, and assisted in sponsorship crafts with all the classes. Our time at the school was a highlight for many of our students. The students at Avivando el Fuego loved us with the same joy that that they loved God. Our time spent playing at recess and after devotions left a lasting impression on MEI students.
One of the highlights for our team was our lunch breaks. Lunch was hosted by several local families who invited us into their homes and cooked authentic Guatemalan food for us. The MEI team was split up into small groups and would travel to different homes for lunch. The conversations that took place with the host mothers impacted many of us. They would also offer tutorials about Guatemalan culture for us. Throughout our time we learned how to make tortillas, how to create traditional clothing, how to hand wash clothes and how to make traditional desserts.
We also ran two VBS’s; a four-day VBS during the afternoons in Huehuetenango and a two-day VBS in El Tizate. Our team loved sharing Bible stories, creating crafts, worshiping and playing games with children from both of these areas. One highlight from these VBS’s was playing with a huge parachute. The children had never seen such a large parachute and would ask each day if we were bringing it back!
While in Guatemala we also visited and participated in two church services. It was amazing to bless Luis, one pastor who has given his life to follow God and has a passion for seeing Guatemalans come to know God. We were able to spend some time praying for Luis and for the ministry he is involved in. We also supported him by sharing our DRIME dramas with the community. Luis was very encouraged by the time we spent in his community, and we were encouraged by the ministry he is doing.
Our team was significantly impacted while working with Global Shore in Guatemala, and several of us left a part of our hearts in Tizate. Some of our students are even sponsoring students they met at the school because after visiting the students and worshipping alongside them, they want to be a part of what God is doing in Guatemala.
Cassidy B., Kayla J., Charlie L., Brendan L., Mhari S., Robert S., Marissa W., Wendy W., Paige Y.
Leaders: Lisa Gossen & Fred Brown
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”2″ gal_title=”Guatemala 2016″]
Team India
Near a small town called Manali which is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Kullu Valley was where Team India set up base after being in transit for 39 hours. Over the next 9 days, the team immersed themselves into the community and poured love out onto the staff and residents of a children’s home called Dar-ul-Fazl (which means House of Grace). The children’s home, partially sponsored by an organization called Child of Mine, provides permanent residency, education and an upbringing centred on the Gospel for more than 70 children ranging in age from 3-19 years old. They are also committed to supporting their graduates right through to the completion of their post-secondary education.
Our MEI team came prepared to run VBS lessons
and crafts for younger children and alternate sessions for the older ones. We also ended each day with a time of everybody being together for singing and sharing testimonies and then breaking into small groups for discussion and prayer. Besides the lessons, the team also had the opportunity to scrape and paint several tables and benches on the property. Three of our girls painted a mural on a cement retaining wall beside the one done by last year’s MEI team.
A highlight of our stay was to walk up to a nearby village and work with the local women to clean up garbage in the community and along the roadside. They were so surprised that a team of foreign teenagers would come into their village and get down on their hands and knees to clean up garbage, that when we left, they had already committed to setting another date to continue what was started. There was also some free time to hang out with the older children of the home and play ping pong, volleyball and basketball. Our team members were very impressed – and somewhat humbled – by the skill level that they encountered in these activities. These people may live in a remote location, but they certainly don’t lack in ability!
After leaving Manali on a 15-hour bus ride through the night, the team hit Delhi for two very full days of being tourists. We toured Old Delhi, climbed the stairs up to the top of a minaret at a Muslim mosque, shopped at a local market, toured a 6-star hotel and visited a Sikh gurdwara. Our second day was spent in Agra having a guided tour of the Taj Mahal, a marble- working demonstration, and the Red Fort.
The whole experience had a tremendous impact on each member of our team, and we pray that our efforts also had an impact on those whom we went to serve.
Mikaela A., Cherokee J., Lynden K., Mark K., Celina L., Colton L., Dylan N., Raquel S., Cierra S., Naomi W.
Leaders: Sandra Fehr, Henry Zukowski
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”6″ gal_title=”India 2016″]
Intercessory Team
Our Intercessory Team has enjoyed the privilege of just that: interceding for the four Missions Teams. Many Wednesday lunchtimes, we met and prayed for the Guatemala, India, Mexico and Thailand team members. We prayed consistently for safety, health, spiritual growth, unity in Christ on each team, and God’s life-changing purposes to be accomplished. As we did this, we also enjoyed growing in unity and boldness within our own team.
At the Orientation Retreat, we worshipped and prayed with the other teams, we searched for scriptures to cover each day of the teams’ trips, and we gave these Bible verse lists to them as they left.
Over Spring Break, our team had the list of scriptures which had been chosen at the Retreat, and these served as part of how we prayed daily in our own quiet times for the other teams. We also met together twice at the House of James to pray as a group, covering the prayer requests of each individual on every team, which was so encouraging to us as well. We then drove over to Hope Central. Our late afternoons there gave us the opportunity to serve an early light supper to people in need of nourishment in the small downtown area of Mission. Serving as a team helped us relate in a small, practical way, giving feet to our faith, a sense of practical power to our prayers, and an active connection to the members of our other MEI teams serving around the world.
This year we also had the privilege of participating with Vancouver DRIME. Four members of our team learned two dramas at the DRIME workshop with the other teams in January, so at the halfway mark of Spring Break, we went into Vancouver on a Friday night, and had the honor of joining Van DRIME members for two hours of ministry.
We also had an International Potluck at the home of one of our members, where we enjoyed food representing each of the countries for which we had been praying. We took this opportunity to again pray as a group for each individual by name on each of our four Mission Teams.
We continue to pray that the teams’ mission experiences will have God’s lasting impact in many lives around the world.
Kaitlyn A., Asia A., Jasmin B., Savannah B., Ben E., Danica F., Cat J., Bailey P., Christy P., Nathan S., Ashley S., Sasha S., Sam W.
Missing from picture: Joelle D., Jake L., Emma O., Matthew W.
Leaders: Cindy Sue & Daniel Peters
Team Mexico
Team Mexico had the privilege of partnering with One Life, One Chance Ministries and Stoney Creek Expeditions to work in the San Quintin Valley – located south of Ensenada on the Baja. Our team of 12 was made up of only 3 people who were born in Canada and 8 who spoke English as their second language. This added some unique challenges and opportunities to our week together.
Our main service objective was to build a house for a family consisting of a single mom and her four sons. What we lacked in experience, we made up for with big hearts and lots of effort, and we were able to complete the house in just 3 ½ days!
The most impactful moment for most of us was standing outside of the new home and passing the keys around the circle. As each person received the keys, they took a moment to say a blessing on the home and the family and share what the experience had meant to them. This ended with Mrs. Mills handing the keys over to the mom who took her boys inside to see her new home. What she didn’t know was that we had spent the morning staging the home with furniture, bedding, cooking supplies, food, clothing and gifts for each person.
While most of the team worked on the house, a few students left the job site each day to engage in other forms of service. This included doing VBS crafts and games at a local kindergarten, shopping for supplies for the home, or playing with the children in the neighbourhood who were left at home while their parents went to work in the fields.
On the evening before the house dedication, we were invited to worship in the local church in the neighbourhood where we had been building. This was a great experience for all of us and one of our students was even invited to share her faith story with the church.
One of the neat things about sending MEI teams to the same location year after year is that it allows us to see, first-hand, the difference that previous trips have made in individual lives. What a blessing it was to watch 3 of our team members reconnect with the family they built a house for a year ago. It impacted all of us all as we watched them embrace each other and celebrate what having a home has meant for this family.
We are so thankful for this opportunity to serve in this way. We were able to make an enormous difference in the life of one family and, in the process of doing so, realized that God was making a difference in each of our lives as we shared His love with others.
Helen C., Jennae D., PJ P., Camille Q., Isabella R., Cindy W., Shay W., Joanna X., William Z.
Leaders: Linda Mills, Brad Knodel, Charlie Zhao
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”3″ gal_title=”Mexico 2016″]
Team Thailand
Who are the vulnerable and shunned in our own community? Our recent trip to Thailand gave us great cause to ponder and reflect. There we had the privilege of stepping into the family of an orphanage caring for kids with HIV; of visiting a hill tribe village and of working with the elderly in the slums of Bangkok. None of these people groups are held in high esteem in Thai society. They are the vulnerable and shunned. Indeed, they may be “the least of these” of which Jesus speaks.
After enjoying church in Bangkok, our team flew to Chiang Mai and had the pleasure of working with Canadian missionary and founder of the Agape Home, Avis Rideout. After visiting the Room of Impact on-site and hearing the powerful story of God’s work and call in Avis’s life, we better understood the ministry that occurs at Agape Home and we emerged feeling solemn but inspired at the same time. We then had the privilege of interacting with 80 children – many who were HIV+. Over the next couple of days, we enjoyed holding and playing with kids, teaching the Bible, leading crafts and sharing meals with the Agape family. A highlight was supervising all the kids in the pool one afternoon. It was quite the scene as toddler after toddler waddled out to enjoy a swim with team members.
We then travelled by bus through the mountains to Chiang Rai where we moved onto the YWAM base that MEI alumnus Rob Wiebe overseas. We were sad that he and his wife Cy were out of the country but were welcomed with love and service by base staff. A highlight there was some amazing team time where we wrestled with who God is and with tough questions regarding poverty and injustice that came through our daily interaction with those around us. We were also very privileged to participate in a major initiative there. That particular YWAM base dreams of visiting every home in Chiang Rai and providing them with a book of the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, along with Acts have been translated into Thai and color-coded to allow groups of people to read it together in dramatic parts/voices. The hope is that families and neighbors will gather to read together. We walked through one village over the span of three days and met with people on the street and in yards and houses. We were received with open hearts and homes and were able to pray with several families in addition to distributing Bibles. It was fun to return to the village on a subsequent day and see a man lying in a hammock, reading God’s Word. While in Chiang Rai, we headed three hours up into the mountains to an Akah Village where the MEI team interacted with a church and community for the third year. The people spoke of the relationship that has been built and their anticipation for MEI’s visit. We ran programs for children from the local villages, participated in church and had a wonderful evening praying for the people in an adjacent village. God comforted, healed and encouraged those seeking Him that night.
Our last stop was Bangkok where we served with missionary Noi and The Ruth Center. In Thailand the elderly are very often “the forgotten”. With very little government support, they often end up in the slums. Noi and her team minister daily in 14 slums in Bangkok. Our team was deeply impacted by our time here as we listened to peoples’ stories, bought and delivered food to them and prayed for them. We also had the privilege of running children’s programs in the slums, participating in a Bible Study with the elderly and running eye glass clinics. Watching the expression on faces as people found a prescription that helped them see after trying on several pairs of glasses was delightful. It was almost as fun as joining the grandmas and grandpas as they did action songs during worship one morning at the Ruth Center.
Thailand was hot. Our team sweat a TON and drank more water and Coke than we do in a year. Likewise, our hearts were also warmed as we were loved and blessed during our time with the people of Thailand. Love, smiles and touch broke the language barrier over and over again. We saw aspects of Jesus and ourselves in the poorest of poor as we listened to their stories and the humans behind the pain and struggles and at times behind the dirt and smells, were unveiled to us. We returned home to Canada realizing the vulnerabilities and struggles so prevalent in Thailand also exist here around us. Perhaps they emerge in different forms and with a different appearance; but the struggles, the pain and the vulnerable are also here. We pray that as we return to the many comforts of home, God continues to give us eyes to see, hearts to hurt alongside people around us and most of all, the courage to respond.
Alan A., Vanessa C., Julianna F., Kirah J., Matthew K., Janelle L., Hudson O., Martina S., Celia X.
Leaders: Heather Smith, Sean LaForest
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”6″ gal_title=”Thailand 2016″]
Athletes in Action Volleyball Haiti
For the last three years, Athletes in Action Volleyball has developed a partnership with Rod & Debbie Wray, a missionary couple working with Harvest International, who built a ministry at Camp Mahanaim in Les Cayes, Haiti. AIA headed out on March 17 with a group of both male and female, high school and university/college athletes and returned on March. 29. This trip has been a wonderful opportunity to provide a short burst of energy to the ministry of the Wray’s, while also allowing many of our own athletes to experience personal growth in various ways.
Trip Summary by Jason Warkentin (MEI Alumnus, Class of 2009)
As we climbed into the back of the open pick-up trucks on Easter Sunday and took our seats, there was a sense of anticipation in the air. After eight days of living in the country of Haiti, we had become familiar with a number of things; namely the heat, dusty roads, throngs of motorcycles, perilous driving conditions and lack of infrastructure, unfamiliar language and the material poverty of a country with an economy that struggles to even support itself. We were returning to the Renault slums for our second Sunday morning Sunday School service for 1300+ children and though we were seeing the results of many years of dedication and hard work from the Wray family, there remained a multitude of differences from the Sunday Schools we are used back home.
As we enter the slums by vehicle, the children start chanting “He-Rod, He-Rod, He-Rod.” This is not a specific Haitian greeting, rather it is what they think the name is of our host missionary Rod Wray. As we pick our way along the garbage lined, narrow dirt road, kids start to chase after the truck, excited to get to the compound for the service. While the usual morning routine of washing clothes in the nearby river, cooking meals on an open fire and tinkering around continues for the older members of this slum, the children are headed towards their highlight of the week.
We finally reach the compound and drive inside while some older Haitian volunteers hold the children back. The gate closes behind us and though we hear a mass of noise outside, we are separated from the children by a stone wall as we prepare the compound for the service. After the projector, microphone, sound system and benches are put in place, our team lines up to form a welcoming corridor. Through years of training, these children have been taught the importance of respect and order and as they stream in one at a time, they shake each one of our hands before taking a seat.
It would be difficult to find a starker contrast between that of a Haitian Sunday School child and one in North America. Children of all ages stream in without parents. They range from a few months old (carried by their three year old siblings) to pre-teen, from completely naked to clothed, from happy to sad to angry to despondent. As I shake each child’s hand, I wonder at their story. A few short minutes after the stream starts coming in, a young boy attaches himself to my legs. Quiet and shy, he attaches himself with an iron like grip to my left-hand and without speaking, looks up at me with large brown eyes. As we continue to greet the rest of the children, a few more attach themselves to me and others. Once the gate is closed, we return to find our seat around the outside of the seated group and those who have attached themselves to me race off to find their friends one-by-one. Only this young boy remains.
We find a seat around the outside and it becomes clear to me that all this child craves is attention, loving attention. He draws my hand around him and as I gently rub his back, he positions himself as close as he can beside me. Though I ask his name, I cannot understand what he is saying and so I leave the communication there.
The mass of children are led through a number of songs which they have been practising for weeks and the resounding chorus is almost deafening, “Jezi vivan, se vivan! Wὸch la woule (Jesus is alive, he is alive! The stone is rolled away). We join in with the choir, proclaiming the news of the risen Saviour. This act gives us a glimpse into the heavenly realms of worshipping God together with people of all nations.
The service continues with some more singing, Bible trivia and a brief message. The array of children and mental images are overwhelming. In the rows in front of me, a few boys tease each other, before it escalates to fist fighting and they need to be separated and removed. To my left, a boy sits on the ledge tapping my arm and pointing to a large boil on his leg that is the size of a golf ball and is oozing liquid. As he seemingly asks for help I helplessly shrug my shoulders and silently pray for him. To my right, a girl sits with an infection which has eaten away her upper lip. Again, I pray a silent prayer. In front of me a naked child paces down the aisle, looking for a place to belong. All the while, this young boy continues to lean into my touch, periodically gazing up into my face and stroking it with his hands.
After an hour, the service ends and the last portion begins, a food hand out. Initially, I must remove myself from the boy as I head to the gate at the front of the compound to form the farewell line. As the children meander out of the compound through our line, they tightly clutch their packets of rice and nutrition whilst shaking each one of our hands. Eventually, the boy finds me again, a rice pack in his hands and I pick him up, knowing that we will have to say goodbye soon. As the crowd of children dwindles, I know I must also send him on his way. Placing him down, I direct him out and with a small glance over his shoulder, he disappears through the gate.
Our short, one and a half hour relationship was brief, did not contain many words and will not continue as a result of our physical distance, yet there was something powerful about this interaction. This boy craved loving attention, not words or gifts or clothes or games, but the physical touch of someone who cared. I am humbled to have been able to give this to him.
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14”
As our group loaded back onto the pick-up trucks, there was a sense of reflection and encouragement. Yes, Haiti is a place with much brokenness physically, emotionally, materially and spiritually, yet the overwhelming feeling was that it is also a place of hope. Hope because the name of Jesus is being proclaimed by a chorus of 1300+ children at the top of their lungs, hope because there are others working to share his name, hope because a little boy received some loving attention, hope because Jesus is present in Haiti, hope because Jesus rose from the dead. Jezi vivan, se vivan!
A Brief Outline of our daily activities:
March 18 – Arrived at the camp and played volleyball with the Mahanaim Angels (local girls club team) before settling in.
March 19 – Ran a volleyball camp for 150 children in the morning. In the evening we were split onto different teams and played a tournament with locals.
March 20 – Participated in the Renault Sunday School Service for 1300 slum children. In the afternoon, 200 children and youth arrived for a 3 day camp which we would be helping run activities for.
March 21 – Hosted a soccer tournament for the camp, led a craft and later joined in with the group as they participated in activities like swimming, water slides, zip line, bike-riding and soccer. A few individuals shared testimonies and we participated in the evening talent show.
March 22 – Participated in the last day of camp (Relay races and soccer final). 
March 23 – Ran our second community volleyball camp for 150 children. In the evening we were split onto different teams and played a tournament with locals.
March 24 – Town visit, Market tour and village walk
March 25 – Haitian Volleyball National teams arrived at the camp and we played our pool-play.
March 26 – Second day of the tournament. Finished pool-play, had free time and water activities with the teams, then finished with play-offs (our team placed fourth of four teams).
March 27 – Easter Sunrise service at the Missionary Compound in Haiti. Sunday school at Renault. Invited local children to join us in the evening to play games.
March 28 – Tourist day to a water fall. Invited local children to join us in the evening to play games.
March 29 – Travel home.
Thank you for your prayers as we travelled. God was most definitely watching over us.
More info in the ‘AIA Haiti 2016 Updates‘ Facebook group
Team members: Josh W., Karissa M., Carson B., Ashley H., Danielle W., Jada W.
Leaders: AIA Volleyball Director Ryan Adams & 2009 MEI Alumnus & Men’s Volleyball Coach at CBC, Jason Warkentin
