Over the course of two weeks, we trained 35 pastors in the book of Revelation. Other missionaries on our trip taught courses on Preaching and the book of Romans. During our visit, we had the opportunity to hear some amazing testimonies.
Read MoreSEND Relief (part of North American Mission Board) has a significant presence on the island of Puerto Rico. CATC sent a nine-person team to be a part of the remarkable work that is happening there. Our team served alongside a NAMB supported Puerto Rican church as well as an adoption agency known as Adoptando en Puerto Rico.
Read MoreThat evening, a person who had graduated from Compassion’s program spoke to the campers about how she was “released from poverty in Jesus' name.” Amy’s heart was touched. For $30 a month, she could support the needs of a child in poverty across the world. Amy just started a job at the local theater, making little more than minimum wage. She decided this was how she would spend her money. After all, it wasn’t hers, it was God’s. And there was Lucy’s picture, calling her name.
Read More“Fine, I will learn this book called the Bible, and I will use it to defend myself against these ‘Christians’. I will know it better than them and prove that they are wrong.”
Read MoreOur God is one of the intimate details. He uses his people to accomplish his care for the vulnerable, the weary, and the lost. Every step of the work had disruptions, but God was using these diversions to form relationships, to show people his love through his Church, and to carry out his plan. God is not far away. He is near to the brokenhearted. He may not be working in a way that seems obvious to you or to me, but he is working none the less, and his work is perfect.
Read MoreThrough this experience, God is exposing my self-centeredness. I can be so possessive of my time, schedule, and personal priorities. He is teaching me to consider someone else's needs first. God is conforming me to the fruit of the Spirit and teaching me the loving way of Jesus. Any inconveniences we have experienced are small in comparison to what God has shown us. We are serving him by loving his children, and we have greatly benefited from new, lifelong friendships.
Read MoreCassie saw the negative effects of a fostering situation at a young age when a family she knew in high school went into care, and the system split up the siblings. The harsh reality of this brokenness in the world awakened her heart to a way she can serve Jesus and love her neighbor.
Read MoreOur church had the joyful opportunity of celebrating Shalee's baptism as a new creation in Christ! She has an incredible story of how Jesus conquered the overwhelming struggles in her life to adopt her into his family as his daughter.
Read MoreMiriam went on to share with us a little more about her husband. He had grown up in the neighborhood where they lived. Most of the people in the neighborhood were related to him in some form or fashion. Cousins, second cousins, uncles, aunts. He earned the nickname “Papo Fuerte.” Papo’s mother’s maiden name was “Fuerte.” But that is not solely how he got the nickname. Papo was a welder by trade. But basically, he could fix, or build anything he put his mind to. You name it, Papo had built it. He built the entire concrete house 30 years ago where they were living to this day. He built the water tank used to irrigate all their land. At one point Miriam told us the story of how he built a private elevator in someone’s personal home. Papo would also repair and build for everyone in the neighborhood. If anyone ever needed anything, he would not hesitate to build it for them and take care of his family. Family is everything in Puerto Rican culture, or at least on the surface it is. Fuerte means strong in Spanish, and Papo was the neighborhoods strength… was.
Read MoreOn Thursday morning, June 13, a small team of nine CATC Covenant Members departed DFW Airport on a plane to the Mecca of the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our church partner, Flourishing Grace Church, sits in a city called Bountiful, just outside of Salt Lake. The agenda for this trip was not the usual, see-a-need, fill-a-need style mission trip. There was no painting fences or hosting Vacation Bible Schools. Their goal was to establish relationships, to meet with and encourage our partners in ministry, and to simply pray.
Read MoreMegan has chosen a profession that requires her to take up residence in the Valley of Tears. Joseph Tenney, worship pastor at Church at the Cross, spoke a few weeks ago on people who are called to live lives of suffering, never experiencing deliverance from the Valley. For the first time in her life, something in her head and heart connected, she realized that her home was in that Valley−and it was good. “I’ve been a nurse for seven years and [Joseph’s sermon] helped me to finally see the whole reason God has put me in the place He has. It’s okay to be frustrated and to voice that, but it’s unrealistic of me to ever ask for God to take all of this away, because that’s not going to happen in my environment. When He comes back we will not have to face death anymore. Babies will not die. Nobody will have to die. All those tears we have cried will be dried up, and it will be no more.”...
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