2010 RMI News

Last Day

2010-07-22T00:06:00.002-04:00

RMI Day 30
Thursday, July 22
Gordon College

Believe it or not, the last day of the 2010 RMI is here. It's been a great month, and it will be hard to say goodbye. Students didn't want to go to bed tonight, but I think most are pretty tired.

Today was a day when mentors were invited to come and join their students at the RMI. Thanks to those who came, and we missed those of you who couldn't. In the morning, while Dave Horn and I met with the mentors, Chris, Tom and Lane met individually with each student in their respective group to debrief. In the afternoon, these three met with the mentors of students in their groups. The students and mentors played a few get-to-know-you games, and then the students gave the mentors a little bit of an idea of what they had experienced during the RMI through personal reflections and group presentations. In the evening, we had a nice meal along with a keynote address by Dr. Arthurs, who was one of the teachers during the seminary week. Later, the students displayed some of their talents at the Coffee House Talent Show. Mentors who can make it will be with us again for the final morning; those from out of town are staying the night here at Gordon.

The RMI ends today, Thursday, July 22, at 12:00 noon. Parents picking up their child are invited to have lunch with us at the Lane Student Center at Gordon. Lunch begins at 12:00. Final goodbyes are no later than 1:00p.

James

Buenos Dias

2010-07-20T02:07:00.002-04:00

Tom here for the Green Machine. It is now the exact time that we got up to catch our flight to Mexico City just 9 days ago. Everyone is tucked in and on their way to a peaceful night's rest. It is fitting, as today's theme was "Called to Rest."

Our time in Mexico was incredible. We were blessed with smooth travel days (with the exception of one lost piece of luggage on the return flight). The church that we served with welcomed us so warmly that we felt right at home. Pastor Roberto and his wife Enid, along with their two sons Dani and Roberto Jr., received us and guided us in our service in Mexico City. Our translator, Maki, allowed for her love of Mexico City to flow over onto us and fill us with excitement each day. Maki also thoroughly documented our experience via photography.

About our ministry site... Iglesia Christo Promisa Fiel is a young church that operates out of a storefront on Esparanza St. During the week, the storefront serves as a venue for children’s' birthday parties. They also host events in the evening in which they try to draw the community in. For example, we helped host a karaoke night. An hour before the singing commenced we split into groups and went out into the community praying and inviting people to karaoke.

Other ministry activities included a soccer and basketball tournament in a local park, painting and cleaning the church, an evangelistic presentation in the park, street cleaning, street evangelism, and taking part in the Sunday service just yesterday. Pastor Roberto was very kind to allow us so many opportunities to serve the church.

Most would agree that the food was sensational, but we did have some bouts with illness during the week. Most folks experienced some tummy troubles, but almost all are recovered fully. Despite this challenge and the challenge that the language barrier presented, the Spirit moved through our actions and ministered. We are so grateful to our ministry partners in Mexico and the rest of Compass groups for support and fellowship during the past week.

Thank you for your prayers.

-The Green Machine

TBC #3

2010-07-20T00:57:00.003-04:00

RMI Day 27
July 20, 2010

We're back from Mexico! And what a week it was! I am so proud of the whole team - they worked incredibly hard all week and kept a great attitude the whole way through! We've had a great time

TBC worked at Casa Hogar Emmanuel for the week. Casa Hogar is a Christian orphanage run by founders Leo and Angelica Cruz 14 years ago. Along with their four biological children, they take care of 18 orphans from age 5 yrs and up. During our days there we adopted some Spanish names for ourselves, played a lot of games, sang a ton of songs, ate a lot of good food, and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ricardo (Richie) and Sara Maria shone in their ability to connect with the younger kids. Taylor, Ashley, and Andres (Andrew) were hugely helpful as they helped translate for the rest of us. Ashley endeared herself to the Casa Hogar staff as she jumped into the kitchen to help cook up some moletas (deep fried tortilla wraps with tuna inside, topped with a salsa). Sara Mariah, Marcos (Mark) and Ricardo took charge of a lot of the games we played - and helped all the Mexicans become experts at our new favorite game: NINJA! Rebekah, though she doesn't speak a lick of Spanish, managed to connect with some of the little girls. The first day, she and Leslie (8 yrs) played a game of 'hide-n-seek' with some index cards tucked inside her Spanish dictionary. Alonzo had the kids cracking up with his soulful versions of the song "Yo Tengo Gozo" (I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy). Maria (Moriah) often had a little girl in her lap, and one or two playing with her lovely, long hair. At the end of the week, we all shared some sad faces, a few tears, and long hugs, then prayed God's blessings upon them and made our way back to Iglesia Cristiana Valle de Chalco (ICVM), our church home for the week.

This church has hosted missionaries working with Spearhead (Latin American Missions) for a couple years now, and they were incredibly generous in how they opened up their home and their church to us! Enrique and Eva Gonzalez, the couple that run the church, also live in a house on the same property. The church is a baptistic, charismatic church that is a daughter church of a Presbyterian church in another part of the city. We spent many hours sharing worship, prayer, and mealtimes with the Gonzalez family and other ICVM members. Our days always started and ended with many laughs and stories with these brothers and sisters. In fact, our days were loooong and jam-packed because we were usually awakened by thumping Hillsong praise songs sung in Spanish, around 7 in the morning, and we often didn't end dinner until 11 or 12 at night. During our evenings at the church, we helped clean, arrange tables and chairs for various events, and attended several worship services at the church. The TBC guys helped with some manly work of hauling wood and cinder blocks, putting up large tarps for roofs, and moving dirt outside the church property. The TBC girls were a huge help in the kitchen, rotating in with the guys to do dish duty, and often helping with some of the cooking for the day's dinner. All of us helped ICVM prepare for a large women's conference they had this past Saturday. Four hundred women from different parts of Mexico City attended the conference, and our host mom reported that two hundred of them received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!!!

All of us had a wonderful time getting to know the ICVM family. No matter what time of day, it seemed like their was a small crowd enjoying life together in the small courtyard of the church. Alonzo had a lot of the ICVM teens laughing with him as he sang and practiced his Spanish. Richie played a ton of soccer with some of the ICVM guys. Andrew was our charmer and jokester, and used his considerable Spanish very well. He was usually surrounded by the younger teenage guys who wanted to hang around him and even managed to get one of the shy little toddlers, Tita, to let him hold her. Ashley was constantly using her own Spanish to help translate for the group and share stories and explain jokes to our ICVM friends. Rebekah, Sara Maria, Ashley, and Moriah enjoyed getting to know some of their hermanitos and hermanitas (little brothers and sisters) at the dinner table. They also got to know some big brothers, who were a huge help during some late night travel in and out of the city. Lots of jokes were traded and lots of songs were sung together at the dinner table. Alonzo and Sara Maria endeared themselves forever to the Tias (aunts) of the church by how much they could eat at every meal. Mark had his 19th birthday at the beginning of the week, and both our church family and the Casa Hogar family sang and prayed for him.

One of our most powerful experiences during the week was our time of worship with ICVM. Their style of worship is very different from most of what we are all used to. Yet it was humbling and thrilling to worship the same triune God along side of these brothers and sisters from another part of the world and sing words of praise in a language different from our own. And we didn't just sing... we DANCED! ICVM also asked Taylor to give his testimony and asked the whole TBC team to lead the whole church in some worship during their Sunday service. Taylor did an incredible job, and truly shared a testimony of who the Lord is and how he has worked in Taylor's life. Then he turned around and led us in singing the Spanish versions of several praise songs. Andrew summed up our worship experience well when he said he just felt the Lord's presence there.

During the middle of the week, we had a day off from ministry in order to attend a Spearhead meeting in the city. Towards the end of the week, all the COMPASS teams reunited on Saturday to enjoy an outing to Xochimilco. We all boarded three 'lanchas' - long boats with roofs that seated about 20 at a long table right down the middle. As we floated along on some canals, smaller boats with mariachi bands and vendors selling food and crafts would come up and 'attach' to our lancha for a few minutes, then continue on. That night, we got to share in the celebration of Spearhead's 40th anniversary. Our own COMPASS team shared in the programmed festivities by performing the "Lifehouse Skit" on stage. Later on, we joined in with other Spearhead missions teams to sing a Spanish praise song on stage.

Another powerful experience for our team were the goodbyes that happened at the end of our stay, which were hard and long. Our Casa Hogar friends each kissed and hugged us, and wished God's blessings upon us. We shared small gifts with the directors of the orphanage, and each of the children. Email addresses and Facebook sites were traded. Then more hugs and kisses. Our ICVM friends first prayed over us during their Sunday service. Then we got to linger over lunch together. Then many more hugs and kisses, and repeated questions of when we might be coming back. It was truly a humbling experience to be embraced by the brothers and sisters of the church and have them pray earnestly for God's protection and blessing upon us in all that we do, wherever God brings us next. We will miss our Mexican brothers and sisters very much and we are grateful for the glimpse that our time in Mexico offered us as to how the gospel is literally continuing to spread to every corner of the world, to every tribe, and tongue, and nation.

Please pray for us as we enter into the last few days of RMI. Each TBC member has a lot to process, and it will be hard to leave the presence of so many new, yet close friends here. Pray that they will continue in a lifestyle where every part of their day is worship of the God that created us. Pray that they will worship the God who made himself nothing, out of love for us; pray that they will follow his example and seek to humble themselves and work for the good of others first. Pray that they will continue to grow in their knowledge and experience of our God of love and grace.

Lane

Kaleo returns to the USA!

2010-07-20T00:38:00.003-04:00

Hola from Gordon College this is Chris. It is 1:00 AM and we just arrived back to Gordon College. Technically it is Tuesday morning but it still feels like Monday because we have been have traveling all day. Our trip to Mexico City was amazing and God worked in some amazing ways. One of the best things about our trip has to be the relationships that we built with the people of the host church where we stayed. They were all so loving and caring and there were defintely many tears shed as we said our good-byes.

I am sure one of the things that everyone will tell you about our expereince was the food. They sure do know how to cook for a lot of people. Although we had a few upset stomaches we all were welcomed back to the States with a late night trip to McDonald's. You can't get any more American than that.

All in all I think this mission trip to Mexico City really opened a lot of our group's eyes to what God is doing internationally. It is always great to be able to worship with people from a different culture and a different language because I think it was a reminder to all of us that God is much bigger than America and the gospel is spreading throughout the nations.

It was so great to have Josh rejoin the Kaleo group on Wednesday since a sudden illness the night before we left for Mexico (Saturday night 7/12) prevented him from flying down the with us. He is such a trooper for traveling down there by himself and was greeted with huge hugs.

We also had some very powerful Table Talks while we were in Mexico City including a night where we spent meditating on Jesus' love for his disciples when he washed their feet. Our Table Talk for that night was titled "No Greater Love" and we ended up washing one another's feet. You could really feel the Spirit of God working in our group.

Pray for us that we will continue to seek after Jesus these last few days and take what we have learned this past month to reshape the rest of our lives. God is doing something amazing in everyone of our lives so expect them to be a little different when they get back. Many of them may even be a lot different. I hope you can echo my prayer for them: That they may drop their 'nets,' deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Jesus!

- Chris Rappazini

Casa Hogar Emmanuel

2010-07-15T23:42:00.003-04:00

RMI Day 22
Thursday, July 15
Mexico City

I was with Lane's group (True Blue Crew) today in Chalco at the Casa Hogar Emmanuel orphanage. It didn't take long to realize that this is a special place. God placed this kind of ministry on the hearts of Leo and Angelica, the parents of the orphanage, decades ago, and they have been at Casa Hogar Emmanuel for 14 years. It is a well-kept facility, with a small, open courtyard, a small, clean dining hall and adjacent kitchen, and girls and boys bedrooms. It even has a room for a visiting physician to check out the kids regularly and a jam room with guitars, keyboards, amps and a drum set. The group has been eating well, and today was no exception: spaghetti with cheese and mole with chicken. It was 5-star-restaurant worthy.

The Compass group divided themselves into teams in charge of songs, games, and crafts respectively. On this day, Taylor led a time of singing in the open courtyard along with Alonzo, Moriah, Andrew, Rebekah and others. His "Mas rapido?" after once through a song would always be greeted by "Si!" A game of Pato, Pato, Gonso (Duck, Duck, Goose) followed. Lively conversation and activity filled the air always. Even the Compass students who don't know much Spanish were doing their best to communicate. The kids at the orphange were delighted. The Compass students were delighted. EVeryone is having a wonderful time.

The Compass students are staying at a church 5 minutes down the road. We said goodbyes and left the orphanage and headed to the church. We were greeted by a flurry of activity, as the church is getting ready for a huge women's conference this weekend (estimated 500 women). The Compass group jumped right in to preparations. It is a scene that is somewhat hard to describe. For starters, Chalco itself, being on the outskirts of Mexico City, is different and hard to describe in few words. The church is a fairly large building--if you can call it that. A concrete floor with pillars with rebar sticking into the sky--much of it is open air, about half is covered by a tent-like covering--cinder block walls. Richie, Taylor, Alonzo and others helped move stones and dirt on the sidewalk. Taylor, Sarah Maria, Ashley, Mark and others helped hang posters around the interior walls.

These are long days for True Blue Crew. Their LAM leader commented to me that she is impressed with them and commended them for their willingness to engage people at the orphanage and church and their positive attitudes.

A few quick words about the rest of the Compass group... Everyone was together yesterday for a whole group meeting along with LAM Spearhead participants... about 80 people in all, inlcuding the president of LAM and the founder of Spearhead. Representatives from the Compass group performed a skit for the entire group, and they did a masterful job.

There have been a few students who have gotten sick. Tom's group in particular had a tough night Tuesday night. By the end of the day Wednesday, most seemed to be feeling better. Josh has also rejoined the group, and this was cause for celebration at the whole group meeting.

I wish I had time to tell you all I see and hear, and I don't even see and hear half of it. The groups are doing wonderfully, overcoming the anxiety of being in another culture, the uncertainty of what they will be doing next and their own weaknesses and limitations. I trust they are learning much, and I hope they are enjoying it all in spite of the challenges.

James

First Day at Sites

2010-07-13T00:40:00.010-04:00

RMI Day 20
Monday, July 12
Mexico City

Something about flying 500 miles an hour at 35,000 feet into another culture makes that first night of sleep extra sweet. We all came down from our 4th and 6th floor rooms to this morning's 8:00 breakfast at least a little refreshed. Scrambled eggs--a little spicy--refried beans, bread and orange juice. The teams spent some more time getting oriented before heading out to the sites.

By early afternoon each team was at its site. Tom's group is at Iglesia Biblica Cristo Promesa Fiel, a new independent church plant that meets at a storefront children's party room in the north part of Mexico City near the Basilica of Guadalupe, one of the most famous sites in Mexico City. Today the group visited the basilica. Chris's team is at Iglesia Nacional Presiteriana Bethesda, an established Presbyterian church in the northeast side of Mexico City near the airport. Lane's team is at Casa Hogar Emmanuel, a Christan orphanage for boys and girls established 14 years ago on the southeastern outskirts of Mexico City in Chalco. Lane's group is partnering with and staying at a nearby church, Iglesia Valle de Chalco.

James

We're Here

2010-07-11T23:27:00.005-04:00

RMI Day 19
July 11, 2010
Mexico City

US Airways flight 829 touched down right on schedule, about 1:30p EDT, or 12:30p CDT, which is the time zone Mexico City is in. We passed through Migracion, retrieved our bags (thankfully all there!) and on through customs. In the arrivals receiving area we were greeted by Veronica, Lauren and Maki, our lead facilitators for our time here. They brought us to Hotel Stanza, our home base for the next 24 hours or so. There we had a fantastic lunch, a buffet of tasty Mexican fare. After an hour or two siesta, the group gathered in a room at the hotel for an orientation session led by Latin America Mission's Spearhead directors Paul Johnson and Wendy Der. The Compass teams then broke up into their Table Talk groups and headed off for a much needed night of sleep.

So the third and final leg of the RMI has begun. It is the culmination of much work as the teams have been preparing all week, and they are looking forward to going out to their sites tomorrow afternoon and beginning their time there. One important thing I should note is that Josh came down with the flu Saturday night and was not able to make the flight with us. He is deeply missed, and we are all looking forward to his rejoining the group once he is feeling better. We miss you Josh!

James

Academic Week

2010-07-10T16:50:00.005-04:00

RMI Day 18
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Gordon College

Like the backpacking trip before it, the seminary week has challenged and stretched the group. Monday through Thursday students gathered in room number AC237 at Gordon-Conwell to learn from some of the best teachers around in their respective fields: Dr. Jeff Arthurs in Communication and Preaching, Dr. Carol Kaminski in Old Testament and Dr. Peter Anders in Theology and Church History. They listened attentively and had lots of questions. After classes, an hour-and-a-half each afternoon was reserved for preparing for our projects in Mexico City. Then after dinner each night Dave Horn led a Bible study culminating last night when five students led Bible studies following the model Dave had taught. Lots of listening, learning, and thinking this week... It's not mountain-climbing, but it's still hard work.

On Friday we went into Boston again for an urban plunge experience focusing on churches and ministry in the city. We divided into three groups and visited three different churches. One group had the opportunity to meet and visit with the senior pastor of Boston Chinese Evangelical Church and have lunch in Chinatown. Another group visited the Latino church Lion of Judah and had lunch with one of its pastors. A third group went to the home of a member of South End Neighborhod Church where they visited with the senior pastor and had a delicious lunch as well.

Today is a little bit more of a relaxed day before a long travel day tomorrow. Plenty of packing to do tonight before going to bed early. See our travel itinerary below. Thanks for your prayers as we embark on this journey and the last of the three major parts of the RMI month.

James

US AIRWAYS 11JUL BOSTON MA CHARLOTTE NC 615A 832A
US 883 SUNDAY LOGAN INTL DOUGLAS
Y ECONOMY AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A321
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

US AIRWAYS 11JUL CHARLOTTE NC MEXICO CITY 947A 1236P
US 829 SUNDAY DOUGLAS JUAREZ INTL
Y ECONOMY AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

US AIRWAYS 19JUL MEXICO CITY CHARLOTTE NC 140P 624P
US 828 MONDAY JUAREZ INTL DOUGLAS
Y ECONOMY AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

US AIRWAYS 19JUL CHARLOTTE NC BOSTON MA 752P 1003P
US 1776 MONDAY DOUGLAS LOGAN INTL
Y ECONOMY AIRCRAFT: AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

TBC #2

2010-07-07T13:54:00.002-04:00

Gordon College
July 7, 2010
Day 15 of RMI

Folks, we're smack-dab at the half-way point of the RMI. It's incredible how time has flown, and yet there is still so much that awaits the RMI team! Right now, we're in the middle of our seminary week. We've already heard from Preaching professor Dr. Arthurs about how to tell your own story and the story of the Gospel. Our students did a great job practicing a 3-minute gospel presentation. Old Testament professor Dr. Kaminski walked us through her "CASKET" curriculum on Tuesday, essentially giving us an overview of the whole OT. Today and Thursday, Theology professor Dr. Anders is speaking to us about who God is, how he works in this world, and how the Church has responded to him throughout history.

We thank you so much for your continued prayers! Our group has had a full first few days back at Gordon as we transitioned from the wilderness back to the dorms. We've learned a lot about what it looks like to be real and honest with each other in community, even without the added focus of being alone in the woods together for days at a time. The Lord has been faithful to our TBC community, helping us grow in our covenant to care for him and for each other. Yesterday evening, we were blessed with an extended time of worship and prayer during our Tabletalk time, and again with the larger RMI group to close out the night. Many honest conversations and prayers were shared. Please continue to pray that the Lord would help us to love him more and love each other more!

Please also pray for our missions prep for Mexico City as well! We've divided up some tasks in order to really tackle the work ahead for us this week. Our theme for our VBS is "God, our Father." The students thought that these orphans at Casa Hogar might be really appreciative and moved by learning about our perfect Heavenly Father in light of the fact that they are all missing their earthly fathers and mothers. All of the teaching and activity we do will hopefully show our new Mexican friends something of how God loves us as our Father. Taylor, Andrew and Moriah will be organizing a worship service for Mon night that will involve Spanish and English songs, scripture, and a testimony or two. Richie, Mark, and Sara Maria will be organizing games and activities that will help us get to know the children at Casa Hogar and provide some lessons as well. Ashley, Alonzo, and Rebekah will head up the efforts to plan short lessons in Spanish and English, using bible stories, skits, songs, and crafts. Though we do have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it, Brad (Missions Specialist) is helping us by reminding us that our number one help is God himself and our number one tool is spending time with him and his Word. Please pray that the Lord would work mightily in the hearts of the Casa Hogar orphans. We also pray that we are a deep help and encouragement to the Cruz's, the Mexican couple that adopted all 18 orphans and run the orphanage themselves.

That's all for now. It is a privilege to witness how God is at work in these students!

Lane

Green Machine

2010-07-07T12:04:00.007-04:00

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Day 16
July 7

Greetings! This is Tom Henry, mentor for the team known as the Green Machine. Our time in the wilderness provided students a multitude of experiences. We slept in tents, tarps and under the wide open sky. We stood amidst the clouds on mountain tops and fended off the mosquitoes in the valleys. We journeyed through both celebration and struggles.

The Green Machine wants to thank all of you who have been supporting us through prayer, and we encourage you to keep praying. God is stretching us in our definition of ministry and worship. We are drawing to a close of our academic week here at Gordon-Conwell. Since Lane's update, we have heard Dr. Anders for two days now speaking on theology and the ministry of the Church, past, present and future.

Our Tabletalks continue to provide the opportunity to address questions that have arisen throughout the day (and what great questions have arisen!). We have also been spending much of our Tabletalk time in prayer. After Tabletalk yesterday we had the opportunity to Skype Wendy Der, our contact with Latin American Missions in Mexico. Wendy shared some specifics of our ministry site and partners. The church that we will be partnering with in Mexico City is Iglesia Christo Promisa Fiel (Christ the Faithful Promise Church). Roberto and Enid Ramirez planted this store-front church about one year ago, and the church serves as a venue for children's birthday parties during the week. Each and every member of Green Machine, Tanner, Lisa, Eric, Anne, Lizzy, Jon, Scot, Travis and Jordan, have invested in prepping for VBS, evangelistic shows, clean-up brigade, teaching music, writing testimonies, organizing sports tournaments, and prayer walks.

Again, thank you for the support you provide in prayer. Grace and peace.

Tom

TBC

2010-07-05T08:41:00.004-04:00

Gordon College
Day 13 of RMI
July 5, 2010

This is Lane here, mentor for TBC, which stands for "True Blue Crew." You'd know us by our blue bandannas proudly displayed. Our theme song thus far has been, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and we sang it proudly as we returned to base camp at the end of our week in the woods. The unofficial meaning of TBC is "To Be Continued..." meaning, what has begun here at RMI for these 9 students will surely continue after the RMI month is over. The group has drawn very close together and they like to refer to each other as Family.

We survived our La Vida adventure! Every individual did fantastic, and attitudes were stellar as we navigated (literally!) our way through the Adirondack wilderness. We started off with a couple days at La Vida's Base Camp, learning how to work as a team through the ropes course, rock climbing, and learning camp skills together. From there, we ventured into the deep woods, climbing to the top of Mount Dix and back, and hitting a couple other camp sites as well. Our last day in the wilderness we "shwacked," forging our own path with compasses and maps. Be sure to ask your sons and daughters about night floods, dug visits, solo time, ACE's, "freako butter," and the epic 8.6 mile run when you see them again!

Richie and Mark were incredibly helpful as they carried extra weight in their packs without a word of complaint and provided steady encouragement to the group. Richie deeply desires for everyone to have a fantastic experience and his energy is a gift to the group. Mark is a rock steady support, and some of the ladies refer to him as their "big brother." Alonzo is our entertainer and had our sides splitting with laughter most of the trip. But he also serves as an inspiration to the other TBC members through his sincere prayers and his reminders of scriptural truth. Andrew is another funny one, with an incredible repertoire of music and he lead us in singing every day of La Vida. He's also a great thinker for the group, and really adds to group discussion time with his thoughtful questions. Taylor has really helped the group to grow close through his honesty and genuineness and impressed all of us with how well he tackled his fear of heights this week. Ashley constantly checked group members to see how they were doing, in spite of her own knee injury. Her determination and high spirits helped us all to persevere. Moriah brings such compassion to our team with her heart that is often deeply moved. She also brings a lot of laughter to the team, because her own is so infectious! Rebekah sees everyone's needs very well, and is so great about approaching each person to encourage and support them. Sara Maria is fearless and enthusiastic with each task that comes her way, and spurs on the rest of us to match her pace.

We're now back at Gordon for a week in class with some seminary professors from GCTS. We would love your prayers as we continue to process the incredible experiences from La Vida, wrestle with deep questions of theology, ministry and church history this week, and prepare for our missions trip to Mexico next week. Our team will be planning and running a Vacation Bible School for an orphanage southeast of the heart of Mexico City, and we have much to do in preparing for that.

It is an honor and privilege to watch how our God is at work in each of our lives already. Thank you for your continued support and prayers!

Lane

KALEO

2010-07-02T20:15:00.005-04:00

RMI Day 10
July 2, 2010
La Vida Base Camp

"Everywhere we go, people want to know. Who we are? So we tell them. We are KALEO. Mighty, mighty KALEO. Oh yea!"

This was what you would hear if you were following us on the trails of LaVida. That's right our group has officially chosen their group name as KALEO. Some of you might be wondering what this odd word is. Well, it is the greek word for "calling." The group has felt that everyone was called here by God for a speacial reason and that God has a specific calling for their life. Please continue to pray for the Kaleo group and that God would speak into each and everyone of their lives.

In fact, many of the members have already felt over the past few days what God has been calling them to do in the future. It is incredible to see Him work through their lives and stretch them to do things they never even imagined.

As I write this post, we are having a celebration service, since this is our last night at LaVida. I am so proud because Kristan has just finshed giving a short testimony to everyone that was on a LaVida hike (approx over 100 people and staff). She did an amazing job and spoke with boldness from the heart.

Also, Caleb was an excellent leader throughout the trip and continues to encourage the team. Sarah surprised everyone with her will to accomplish tasks and try new things that were very difficult. Josh has continued to document a lot of the exicting things we have done so I hope you all will be able to see his great work when we are finshed. Dan is making everyone laugh and I am sure he has some incredible dance moves. Mitchell has really stepped up as a leader and is always the first to volunteer and learn something new. Blake has inspried us all by seeing the love of God and His mighty work in everything that we do and everywhere we go. Austin continues to be the gentle giant that he is and is always there to help people out and give them a helping hand. I can't forget about Chelsea who was unbeleiveable on her day as a leader. She set a wonderful example for the rest of the group to follow including myself.

It is such a privilege to serve the Lord by leading these students. They are truly seeking God and learning new things each day. They have grown so close to one another and are even starting to call each other brothers and sisters. This is fitting since we always pray family style (in a circle holding hands). I can't wait to see how God is going to use them in the next few weeks and I pray that they will all listen for His voice and their calling.

Chris

Solo

2010-07-01T17:33:00.009-04:00

RMI Day 9
July 1, 2010
La Vida Base Camp

Students are on their solos. They began this morning and will continue through tomorrow morning. Another cool night, but the sky is clear. This is good news. They are probably all in their sleeping bags under their solo tarps, which they have learned how to use for shelter. They are far enough apart to feel like they are on their own, but not far enough to be out of quick reach of the leaders, who will check on them periodically. In the morning they will gather together again in their small groups for sherpa stew, a concoction of split peas, lentils, vegetables and spices. Then it's back to base camp.

Tom's group is coming off a long day of hiking up and over Giant Mountain. They crossed highway 73 into the Dix Mountain region and are doing their solos at Round Pond, which is where Lane's group had been several nights ago (the one with all the rain). Lane's group is also in the Dix region, near Lillypad Pond, a smaller pond about two miles from Round Pond. Lane's group bushwhacked all day yesterday and got to their destination campsite after 9:00p. I visited both Tom at Round Pond and Lane near Lillypad Pond today, and they both reported that everybody in their groups are doing well. I also received word back from Chris's group that they are too doing well. Leaders report that the students in each group are getting along remarkably well with each other and are working together as they set up and break down camp and move along the trails.

All three groups will be heading back to base camp tomorrow. Hard to believe their backpacking trips are coming to an end. The base camp prepares for their arrival--a big cookout with hamburgers and all the sides, and ice cream. It will be a great reunion and a great time of celebration as students reflect on all they have learned and achieved.

James

Placid Lean-to

2010-06-29T21:45:00.004-04:00

RMI Day 7
Tuesday, June 29
La Vida Base Camp

Chris's group (Josh, Caleb, Austin, Sarah, Chelsea, Kristan, Dan, Blake, Mitchell along with Chris and two La Vida sherpas, Alicia and Anna) is hiking in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness region. I met up with them last night at the Placid Lean-to, a couple of miles outside of Lake Placid, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Lean-to's are coveted sites and are often already claimed by other groups, but Chris's group nabbed this one. I arrived at nightfall during Table Talk. Most of the group slept under the lean-to, some in tents. I could hear them talking and laughing from my tent 30 yards away. It was a perfect night. For one, it was dry, and a comfortable temperature too, the kind that you could start the night on top of your sleeping bag but would need its warmth by midnight.

Cream of wheat for breakfast with brown sugar, cranberries and other fixings. Starting about now, three students from each group are chosen to be leaders of the day, and it is their duty to assign tasks and make decisions, under the watchful eye of the leaders. The group would need their energy for today's hike which was scheduled to include a mountain ascent. I left them during Compass Time before they broke camp.

Tom's group (Lisa, Eric, Travis, Anne, Jordan, Jon, Elizabeth, Tanner, Scot, along with Tom and two La Vida sherpas Caitlin and KB) is in the Giant Mountain Wilderness region. Their journey today was to take them to the peak of Giant Mountain at 4627 feet. Up and over the mountain to a campsite at the top of Roaring Falls, a beautiful falls visible from highway 73. The weather today on the mountain was partly cloudy and cool, although with the heavy packs you keep warm with just a t-shirt. The climb would take a fair amount out of you without a pack; with the pack, you might hit several points during the day that you think you can't go too many more steps. The group will wait, you will make it, and you'll sleep good.

As one student put it, the groups have gotten past the point of caring about how dirty and smelly they are. Three more nights on trail; four more days till we hit the Pizza Hut in Saranac Lake on the way back to showers at Gordon.

James

Round Pond

2010-06-28T14:23:00.004-04:00

RMI Day 5
Sunday, June 27
La Vida Base Camp

Lane's group and Chris's group climbed and repelled on Owl's Head today. Tom's group did high ropes. All three groups spent their first night away from base camp as they begin their extended backpacking trips. Lane's group is in the Dix mountain region, Chris's in the McKenzie region, and Tom's in the Giant region.

I met up with Lane's group around dinner time. (Rebekah, Andrew, Sara Maria, Alonzo, Taylor, Ashley, Richie, Moriah, Mark, along with Lane and two La Vida sherpas, Ryan and Brittany) Tents were up and students were taking turns filtering water. This is quite a job--each person has two 32-oz water bottles each, and a total of 24 bottles must be filled. Several students were busy cooking. Each group has two small gas stoves. Tonight's menu: pasta with red sauce.

After dinner, cooking pots, bowls and spoons must be cleaned, and the bear bag must be hung, lifting any food items high above the ground where no animals can reach. Then we all gathered around a fire in the fire pit for Table Talk. It was a good night for a fire, beginning to cool down after a warmish day. Lane led this time of sharing and discussing the day's events and journal, focusing on success in light of today's rock-climbing challenge.

As we finished up, it began to sprinkle lightly, an omen of what was to come. If it had been a brief shower, the sound of it might have soothed us all to sleep, but instead the rain persisted. Every time you stirred awake, it was still pouring down. You could feel the water trying to get through the tent, and eventually it did.

Although the group was off to a wet start, they are in remarkably good spirits in the morning. They've seen a little bit of what life is like on the mountain, and they feel a little bit more like they can take whatever it might bring.

James

Ropes and Rocks

2010-06-27T11:19:00.004-04:00

RMI Days 4-5
Saturday-Sunday, June 26-27
La Vida Base Camp

The three groups are rotating through low ropes, high ropes and rock climbing. The ropes courses are on the base camp property; the rock climbing is done about an hour away on a small mountain called Owl's Head. I was able to be at the ropes course to see some of the students go through the high ropes course. The course is a series of six elements, starting with an incline climb on a single rope with knots for footing, the Indian Jones bridge, onto the Burma Bridge, and a few others. Each student geared up with harness and helmet, climbed up the starting ladder, and took on the course. For many this was there first attempt at anything like this; some were old pros. Without exception, everyone I saw succeeded in every sense of the word, taking on the course and their fears. Many made their way through all six elements, and even the ones that did not made it much farther than they thought they could.

I'm sure you're wandering how this student is doing or that student is doing. Without giving a person-by-person breakdown, I can tell you that all participants are well. It's a bit of a challenge to get used to being in a wilderness context and being away from creature comforts. Students are also encouraged to "Be here now." They generally don't know exactly what the day's itinerary is, and are learning to enjoy not having to know. I'm sure some are weary, physically and emotionally, but the experience will prove to ultimately strengthen them. The RMI and La Vida leaders are working diligently to ensure the group's development and safety.

Rain threatened most of the day on Saturday, but never really broke loose. Today, Sunday, is cloudy and a little warmer. Two groups are heading out to Owl's Head now. I'll be joining them for a day of rock climbing and repelling and then staying with one of them at a campsite near Round Pond off highway 73 near Keene Valley. Not sure when I'll be back at a computer, but it may be several days.

Talk to you then,
James

La Vida Here We Come

2010-06-26T15:57:00.008-04:00

RMI Day 3
Friday, June 25
La Vida Base Camp

We were on the road by 7:15a and arrived at base camp at about 3:30p. In between, there were songs, riddles, games and snores. Compass Time was on the bus too. Stopped for pizza in Lake George, NY.

Upon arrival at basecamp there were more group games and initiatives mixed in with orientation to La Vida. Each student passed through the gear shed to pick up a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tarps, tarp cords, bug nets, rain jackets and packs. Considerable time was spent learning how to pack the bag, including making sure everything inside will stay dry if the weather is wet--which is a good possibility according to the forecast. Each of the three groups set up camp on the La Vida property, away from each other. The groups see each other on and off, but don't yet have a good idea of where each is staying in relation to the others. Each group prepared and ate their own dinner at their respective campsites.

The temperature in the evening dropped to the 40s. Nothing like a warm sleeping bag on a cool night under the stars.

James

Getting Oriented

2010-06-24T22:08:00.004-04:00

RMI Day 2
Thursday, June 24
Gordon College

Wake up call was 6:30 this morning and breakfast 7:00-7:45--a classic college bacon, eggs and pancake meal. This is an important day to set up the month. Five students from Gordon-Conwell were part of a panel discussion on spiritual disciplines. They spoke on the value of living an intentional life, of setting aside time to be with God, of journaling and praying, etc. Students were given leather journals that they will use daily during their Compass Times throughout the month, and they headed off to their first Compass Time. In the afternoon, the RMI staff helped the students get oriented to the program so they can get the most out of this month. The main event of the afternoon was a treasure hunt. Tom taught the group how to use a compass to set a bearing. Then students used what they learned to find 5 points in the woods behind Gordon. Each group found all 5 points. A quick stormed moved through, so we headed to dinner a little early. After Table Talk we packed for our trip to La Vida. The bus will roll away from Gordon at 7:00 tomorrow morning.

The next report will be from the La Vida base camp in the Adirondacks.

Signing off,
James

Opening Day

2010-06-24T01:00:00.003-04:00

RMI Day 1
Wednesday, June 23
Gordon College

Gedney Hall is quiet... A few hours ago it was full of sound. Students were gathered in the central lobby area singing worship songs for at least an hour before they were pressed into honoring the 11:00 lights out policy. It's the middle of the night now and I'm pretty sure everyone is asleep.

It's the end of a pretty long day for everybody. Many traveled long distances, and everyone had the sometimes awkward task of negotiating new acquaintances from all sides. Most students arrived between 9:30 and 11:30 am. Students, parents and other family members had lunch together followed by an informational meeting for parents. During this time, students participated in a number of activities including filling out a questionaire and taking a Spanish quiz. After the meeting, parents and students took 15-20 minutes to say goodbye. Goodbye parents. You are missed.

A good part of the remainder of the afternoon was spent playing group games in the big grassy quad at Gordon College. The possibility of rain was in the forecast, but the sun won out and it got hot. We played various name games and initiatives that required working together, including the human knot.

After a good dinner--choice of chicken parmesan or steak tips, the 27 students were divided into 3 groups of 9. These small groups are a key part of the RMI structure. Students meet in their groups every night after dinner for Table Talk, an hour-long small group discussion time processing the events of the day. Students will also be with their small groups for their backpacking trip in the Adirondacks and for their ministry work in Mexico City.

After Table Talk, all 27 students gathered to hear an introductory message from Dave Horn about calling, a central theme of the Compass program. Mary led us in a great time of singing and prayer, and the students participated whole-heartedly. Then they came back to Gedney and sang some more.

A special day. A special group.

Thanks for your support and prayer, and thanks for reading.

James

Welcome to the 2010 RMI Newsroom

2010-04-09T09:05:00.002-04:00

Dear Compass friends,

You want to know what is going on at the 2010 RMI, and following these reports is the best way to stay in the loop. Although our schedule often has us in places that Internet access is not always readily available, we are going to do our best to make regular posts during the RMI. So tune in starting June 23.

Sincerely,
James Bowers
Compass Director