We have been busy the last few weeks, getting to know each other as a team, and building team unity.
Our Sunday afternoon team time has been a really great way to connect with each other, to see how we interact with one another while sharing prayer requests and praise reports of what God is doing in our lives.
We will soon be learning more about the English lessons we will be teaching while we are in Colombia.
As a team we are individually memorizing Ephesians 1. If you'd like to try learning it yourself, we encourage you to take up the challenge!
Please continue to pray for unity for our team, wisdom for our leaders and unique ideas on how to present our English Lessons.
Thank you for your support of our missions team! We couldn't do this without your valued prayer support and encouragement.

WE'VE GOT THIS IN THE BAG!! 

It was such an honor to have our guests visit with us this past week all the way from Colombia!!
What a privilege for us to be able to see and hear in person the people we get to help.
We hope that you had a chance to meet and get to know them a little bit while they were here.
Many thanks to all the food the team members provided and for opening up their homes during their visit with us!!

This weekend we have another fundraiser to help out with to raise funds for the trip. We will be doing a bottle drive all over the town of Revelstoke on SATURDAY OCTOBER 5th.
The team and other volunteers are meeting at the church at 9am. If you would still like to help out please contact the church (250-837-9414) and let us know.

We could use YOUR bottles and your PRAYERS. So join us in prayerful or physical support this weekend as we canvas Revelstoke to raise money towards our cause!!!

This weekend we have some special visitors in town. Please help us give a big Revelstoke welcome to Diego and Claudia our international guests from Colombia!!!!

Feel free to join our Missions team for any of the following events if you'd like a chance to meet them:

Sunday September 29th: Diego and Claudia will be sharing at our morning service 10:30am
Afternoon: Halcyon Hot Springs trip. (the entrance cost is $12/per person and you must pay for yourself)

Monday September 30th:
Hike to McCrae Lake, meet at the church at 10am (expect to be back around 4pm) Bring your own lunch and water. Also make sure you sign up at the church.

Tuesday October. 1st:
Fishing with Diego and friends. Meet at the church at 10am, bring your own fishing gear and snacks.

What are we doing in Colombia?
Over the last three years our missions teams have been involved in the following acts of service and continue to look forward to helping with the following areas:

Teaching English (ESL-English as a Second Language)
Since 2011 we have taught 900+ student (teens and adults) in conversational English.

"Vive El Inglis" is a week long English Course with a strong emphasis on the students learning to speak conversationally. Games and activities are primarily what we use to reinforce the target language for each days lesson.
Since 2011, 11 different ESL courses have been taught in two different suburbs in the city of Medellion; this is to help achieve the local goverment's goal of Medellion to become a bilingual city by 2020.

Club Integral el Arca
Club Integral is a  children's drop in center in El Pacifico. This center is located in a poor barrio (neighborhood) in Medellion called El Pacifico. The mothers of many of the children that come to the drop in center are single moms who rely on prostitution to earn a living. The couple that run the center are committed to giving the children a chance for a different life and hope filled future. Our presence and interaction with the children when we are in Medellion is affirm to them that they are known and loved.
We have helped "Culb Integral el Arca" with finances to purchase school supplies, tables, chairs. We also help out with teaching Bible stories, songs and crafts and to interact with the children.

"Brazo's Abiertos"
We support Brazo's Abierto by taking gently used clothing for the infants and toddlers by our one on one interactions and conversations with the moms.
Open Arms (Brazo's Abierto) is a home for teenage moms who choose to carry and keep their babies. The moms are able to stay at this home for up to two years.
At the home they receive practical help and learn to care for their babies. The moms are also given job training, so that when they leave the home they are equipped to care and provide for themselves and their children.

Our Colombia Missions team has been busy this last week working 
hard for two fundraisers towards this upcoming Colombia trip.

We had the honor of welcoming Justin Hines and Ash and Bloom for a wonderful concert last week.
Saturday morning, bright and early, we were at the church hauling boxes of used goods while sweating profusely!!

We had such a great turn out for the concert and it was awesome to see such a world-renowned musician and his comrades preform such a great concert.

Hawking our wears at the garage sale proved to be easier than anticipated once we brought everything in from the early morning rain and we had a great turn out.

THANK YOU everyone who came out and helped support our cause. We are very thankful and appreciative!!!