Singing . . . One of my favorite parts of the trip

I love worshiping with music.  I am not great at it, but God does not care.  I really enjoyed our music team at the camp in Mexico.  With having only a very short time to get to know each other and work out what they were going to do, they did a fantastic job.

Prayer Time

What a great day yesterday!  We made to El Paso last night.  We enjoyed a great time of worship together around the pool before getting some rest for our next day of travel.

Roman spoke from the Bible on unity.  This was such a huge part of what was developing yesterday.  However, this is our greatest need as we move forward.  Please pray that the love of Jesus will continue to unify the hearts of his people, and that there would be no Mexican, American, young or old.  Pray we would work as one body in advancing the kingdom.

Pray also for passage over the boarder this morning (approximately 2 hours from the time of this post).

Once across the boarder, the liklihood of more posts is very low.  So just know we are thankful for your ongoing prayers.

What Do We Do?

What does this team do when one of the vans decides it needs a break in the middle of nowhere New Mexico?

We worship the God who created this beautiful place.

Lunch in Las Vegas

On The Road

We are on our way!  We just reached New Mexico.  We will spend the night in El Paso before crossing the boarder tomorrow.

Will you join us?

10 days until Gabe and I leave for Mexico.  Thank you to all who contributed to make this happen.  The trip is 100% funded.

God is already moving in the lives of our team.  We are already seeing his hand at work.  I asked for prayer that God bring the right people on the team and He finished that job on Friday morning.  A father and his daughter were given the opportunity to join and I watched as the support came in literally one minute.  I wish I could describe it.  It was crazy to watch a miracle happen.

My question for you is "will you join us?"  Not on the trip unless God performs another miracle.  Next Monday evening, the 30th, Gabe and I will begin a time of prayer and fasting from dinner until the next evening at dinner when our family eats our final meal together before we head out.  This will be a time of surrender to God and his will on this trip.  Please let us know if you would like to join us in this time.

Specific prayer requests for the trip:

1. Good team building time as we get to know each other on a road trip (this is the kind of stuff reality shows are made of and we don't want that)

2. Boarder crossing Thursday morning

3. Reliable vehicles

4. Our team will hear God's voice and obey.

5. Opportunities for ministry outside of our schedule.

I will do some posts on the road but Mexico will be tough.  If you do not hear from us before we get back across the border do not be surprised.

Thank you for your prayer support.

Brandon and Gabe

Gabe on "The Missions Dilemma"

​For the past seven weeks, our team of missionaries has been working our way through a series called Missions Dilemma. It is lead by a missionary named Steve Saint. This series was filmed with the idea that we are doing missions the wrong way.

​Steve Saint has been in missions for most of his life. When he was only about seven years old, his father, Nate Saint, was trying to reach out to a tribe in Ecuador. Nate and four other men would fly over the tribe and drop gifts. They seemed to be friendly enough.

​So Nate and his friends tried to land their plane by the river to make an attempt on communicating with the tribe. But instead of that warm welcome that they were expecting, the men of the tribe speared Nate and his friends.

​When Steve heard that his father was dead, it changed his life. But he did not stop reaching out to this Ecuadorian tribe. He has made friends with them and spoke the word of God into their hearts.

​Throughout his years of missions, Steve hasanalyzed many problems with missions today. Here are some points that stood out to me:

 

​-“Shepherding is for the benefit of the sheep, not the shepherd.”

​This applies to short-term missions like the trip I am taking. Yes, I could come back changed. Yes, I may have grown stronger in my relationship with God. But what about the people that I went down there to change. Were they changed or are they going to keep on doing what they were doing before?

 

​-“The Bible says that god is calling us to be servants, not to be servant-leaders.”

​When we go down to Mexico, or on any missions trip, we need to make sure that we do not look down on them or try to take control of their situation. Instead, we need to view the situation from their perspective.

 

​-“We as Americans carry an authority with us.”

​First of all, we are not “Americans.” We are people of the United States, and we only think that we are Americans. The people of Mexico are also “Americans.” When we travel on these trips to help the poor or the hungry, they view us as “superior” because we have plenty of food and fancy clothes and little books that let us go to other countries. If they are going to look up to me, I feel that I need to honor that authority and show them how to honor God.

 

​-“Do missions with them, not for them.”

​If we are going to do missions, we need to make it last. For example, if a missionary goes down to a place in need of water, she will want to build them a well. However, if she builds a well with fresh water and then leaves, the people will drink from the well. But what happens if the well breaks? They don’t know how to fix it. So the people go back to drinking from the dirty lake. That well has done NOTHING. This missionary should have built the well with them, showing them what each part does and how to fix it. Then, when the well breaks, the people can fix it and can be drinking pure water. I want to invite the Mexican youth to build and serve with me, instead of me building and serving for them.

 

Thanks again to those who have donated and please keep us in your prayers.

 

God bless,

Gabe Alverson

 

Time is Ticking Away

Less than 29 days until we depart for Madera, Mecico.  The time is just flying by.  So much to do before we leave.

Another date is also quickly approaching.  12 days left to raise the support we need for the trip.  If you had been planning on donating to the trip and had forgotten or just keep putting it off now is the time. 

Thank you to those who have given already.  We are so blessed.

To those who are not led to give but are committed to praying for our team, thank you.  We need you.

To those who have not given yet, thanks for taking the time to get involved soon.

I know it is summer and we are all busy.  To make it easier there is a link on the home page to donate.

We really appreciate all if you.

Alversons

PS Stay tuned for a post from Gabe coming soon.

Almost Half Way There

That is right.  We are almost half way there.  We are about $100 away from being half way there on our fundraising with 1 month to go.  Thank you so much for those who have already given.

It would be awesome to break that half way point by the end of this weekend.  So can one person do $100. If not could two people do $50.  It would only take four people to donate $25.

Thank you for getting involved.  We are very excited as time is quickly approaching.

To donate just click the link below.

Donate Here

Note:  All donations given online are not tax deductible.  To make a tax deductible donation please mail checks made out to Grace Place to The Alversons at 130 Keep Circle, Berthoud, CO 80513

3 Reasons to Come to the Mission's Yard Ssle in Berthoud Tomorrow

So you should already be making plans to come to the yard sale tomorrow.  However if you still have not come up with a reason to come let me give you three to choose from.

1.  You might find something you want or need for a great price.  The odds are good.  There is a lot of stuff to sell.  That tanning bed you always wanted or that bathing suit for the kids will be there tomorrow.

2.  This one you probably have not thought about.  Many of you are planning to have a sale this summer to make some extra money.  Why not come buy a bunch of stuff tomorrow and then you can sell it at your sale and make more money.  Win-Win!

3.  Lastly, everything that does not sell has to be moved onto a truck and hauled off.  Quite frankly, that is a lot of extra work.

So if none of these reasons inspire you to come shop just do it because it supports a good cause.

As always you can make out checks to Grace Pkace and mail them to the Alversons, 130 Keep Circle, Berthoud, CO, 80513.

Missions Yard Sale

Doing some spring cleaning and need a good cause to donate those things you don't use anymore (not your trash)? Bring them to Grace Place for the Missions Yard Sale. When you have that space cleaned out then come on May 17th and buy stuff to fill it back up.

Hugs All Around

I am so excited! It sounds like things are coming together for us to spend a day at the orphanage in Madera. Heather is concerned I might come home with a couple of extra kids in my suitcase. On a serious note. As the time of the trip gets closer, please pray that each of us will identify the child that we are to have an impact on. It is easy to get overwhelmed in an orphanage and miss those moments. Thank you for those who have stepped up to support the trip. We still need help to make this happen. Non tax deductible donations can be made from this site by clicking the donate here button. Tax deductible donations can be made out to Grace Place and sent to me at 130 Keep Circle, Berthoud, CO, 80513. Thank you for joining in on the Alverson Adventure

Have Passports, Will Travel

Passports arrived today.  This thing is happening! 

Background of Madera by Gabe

Dear Friends and Family,

Here is some background information of Madera:

 

The town of Madera is located in the mountains of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Madera means “wood” in Spanish, because a large U.S. lumber industry located there. Even today, a small section of American-style wooden houses stand firm in the city of “Barrio Americano.” Now, the lumber industries have provided more employment for the people of the area.

Madera stands proudly at 2112 meters above sea level. This city was founded in 1906. It is about 270 miles from the state capital. In 2005, Madera had a population of 15,267.

The Rocky Mountains stretch through Colorado and runs into Mexico, enclosing Madera in a series of mountains called the Sierra Madre Mountains. 

Thank you for your prayers and financial support.

Gabe

Prayer update:  Passports are approved and on the way.

Please pray for the financial needs to be met.

Pray for a class on missions that starts Tuesday that the team will be doing together over the next 6 weeks.

Pray that the correct people will join our team to go with us.

For those interested in getting involved financially, click on the Donate Here page or see the .Letter from Gabe on where to mail checks.

Where is Madera

So we will be driving to Madera, Mexico.  This immediately caused me to ask the question, "where is Medera?"  The next question was how long is it going to take to get there?  Thanks to the world wide web it was easy to find the answer.  Map

So there you have it.  !7 hours and 18 minutes.  Of course that is without stopping.  I am glad I love to drive and I love road trips.

Thank you to those who have already stepped up to help fund the trip.  We really have been blown away by the generosity in, basically, one day of support raising.  

Prayer Request: we applied for passports this week.  Please be praying that the process goes quickly and smoothly.

For those interested in getting involved financially, click on the Donate Here page or see the .Letter from Gabe on where to mail checks.

Sneak peak:  Coming soon we will hear from Gabe about a little history and culture of Madera.

Grace Place Has Talent Tickets On Sale!

Help raise money for Madera Mexico trip and have a fun evening at the same time.  Gabe and I will be selling tickets tomorrow at Grace Place for the Grace Place Has Talent Show.

Letter from Gabe

Dear Friends and Family,

This year, my dad and I have the opportunity to join Grace Place on their annual missions trip to Madera, Mexico. It will be from July 2 to July 9. We will be serving at Camp Huapoca, a youth camp in Mexico. We will be taking 30-40 Mexican youth to the camp. This will give us the chance to develop relationships with the people of the area. As we develop relationships, the people will want to hear more about the greatest love of all: Jesus.

My hopes are to seize the opportunity to help those in need. I am also excited to get a chance to interact with a culture other than my own. This will be the first time I have ever had the chance to leave the country. We will be worshiping The Father in both Spanish and English.

The cost for this trip is $600 per person. If you would like to support us, please mail checks made out to Grace Place to:

The Alversons

130 Keep Circle

Berthoud, CO 80513

I would also really appreciate you praying for our trip.  Please pray for our team to be united, for relationships to be built and for our safety. Because of safety concerns, many people have chosen to quit traveling into Mexico on mission trips and we feel it is a very important time to be there loving on the people.

God Bless,

Gabriel Alverson

Welcome

Thank you for stopping by.  As some of you know, Heather and I were missionaries with Adventures in Missions.  During that time our newsletter was titled Alverson's AIM Adventures and then later changed to just Alverson's Adventures.  Gabe, now 13 years old, is preparing to go with me on his first missions trip.  So the adventure continues with the next generation.  This site is designed to keep you up to date on that adventure.  Come back often to get updates, see pictures, learn about financially supporting the trip, and see photos.