Day 7

Off to Fort Hancock today!

The morning started early at Fort Hancock. The construction was going fast and furious, as Brian Hill and his crew were hanging sheetrock on the ceiling. The sheetrock on the walls had been completed, but Brian and the gang were on scaffolding, putting the 12' sheets of drywall on the ceiling high above. As soon as they finished one row, they moved to the other side, and another crew came behind them laying the insulation on top of the sheetrock. All the while, Jerry Bailey lead a smaller crew in completing the walls in the offices and bathrooms.

Over lunch at Angie's restaurant in Fort Hancock, Brandie and I had the distinct privilege of visiting with Dr. Hugh Wilson. Dr. Wilson is a member of Second Baptist Church in Lubbock. He is a doctor at the prison in Plainview. As if that weren't enough, he also sings with a group, and is the host of a classical music radio show. He was a delight to visit with, and has one of the funniest, driest senses of humor I've ever come across. He kept me in stitches over my double bacon cheeseburger and fries. Dr. Wilson, if you read this, thank you!

At 5:15pm, the construction came to a halt, as we prepared for the scheduled 6:00pm block party at the church building. Much like we did at the Sparks colonia, we cooked hot dogs, had music, and gave away shoes. But at this party, the Pastor of the church was able to speak. Pastor Romero told the large crowd that this was their church. He told them that only Jesus could save them from their sins. Toward the end, he extended an invitation to salvation. In all, 37 men, women and children exchanged their lives for the life of Christ during the block party at Iglesia Bautista Emanuel tonight. We don't like to boast about numbers, but we don't take credit for these decisions for Christ, so I suppose it's not really boasting. In total this week, 48 people gave their lives to Christ in the El Paso area. Much work is left to be done.

I can only pray that God allows me the opportunity to return to El Paso and watch as He continues to do miraculous things here!

Tomorrow, the last day of Vacation Bible school at the Sparks colonia. Thank you all for praying for Brandie and me and the rest of the CBF / Buckner Team in El Paso.

Grace and Peace,

Ken Noles

Day 6

Yet another busy day in West Texas!

We woke up this morning and headed to Sparks colonia. Daniel and his group from FBC Memphis are doing a great job. We saw three more children exchange their lives for the life of Christ today, bringing the total to 9! Vacation Bible School has averaged about 30, so to see 9 of those children become born again is a huge blessing!

After Vacation Bible School, Daniel and Mario S. took the FBC Memphis group over to Juarez to the Mercado. Brandie, Mario, and I went to the local Wal-Mart to buy supplies for tonight's block party at the Sparks Community Center. We got hot dogs, buns, mustard, ketchup -- all the things you need for a cookout! Brandie decided that the girls needed something, since we were giving away skateboards, so she got fingernail polish and hair accessories, deciding that she and the ladies were going to paint every fingernail in that colonia, and I think they came close to it!

After Wal-Mart, we met up with Dorothy and Jessica at a local Chinese food place for lunch.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with preparing for the block party. But, to be honest, nothing could have prepared us for what we encountered there.

Brandie and I left at about 5:15 to head to Sparks and the Community Center. Along the way, we got a call from Mario G., who was also on his way there. He said that the directors of the Community Center had just called him and said they were in the parking lot, afraid to get out of their truck, because there were so many people there. They estimated that there were as many as 200 people at the Community Center at 5:20. Remember, the block party was not scheduled to start until 6:00. All I could think of was, "we don't have enough hot dogs!" :) We immediately called our prayer warrior friend Dorothy and said that we needed God to multiply buns and hot dogs!

I can't describe to you the sight when we topped the hill toward the Community Center. In the middle of a West Texas sandstorm, there were families lined up from the front door of the center, all the way around the building and into the parking lot. There were at least 300 people waiting in line when we arrived.

We started the BBQ pit (which we had to borrow from one of the local residents, because the one we had was WAY too small), and began feeding the people, and putting shoes on their feet. Just getting the hot dogs cooked and assembled was a comical foray into controlled chaos! Three guys were cooking, three were ripping open hot dog buns, and two were throwing the wieners in the buns, and giving them to the people. Inside, our volunteers were steadily getting the right sizes on the right feet, and painting every fingernail in sight.

While all of this was going on in the front and inside of the building, we were playing music, and giving away the 20 skateboards we had bought as door prizes, at the back of the building. One by one, we called the childrens' numbers, and they came and got their new skateboards. Some of the immediately opened the boards and took them to the skate park adjacent to the center, others were content to keep them for another time. The looks on the faces of the children were priceless, and full of the glory of God.

Although this was our first time doing work at this Community Center, I noticed some striking differences between this one and the ones we serve in the Rio Grande Valley. First, I noticed that this Community Center is not used much. Other than a female aerobics class I witnessed on Monday, the Center has been closed and locked up tight, with no activity going on there, either inside or outside. Second, I noticed that the people of the community don't seem to have much respect for the Center. Honestly, I think the two things go hand in hand. Because there's not much activity, and not many services available, at the Community Center, the community doesn't see it as a valuable resource. Further, because they don't see its value, they don't respect it. People were content simply to throw trash on the ground and watch it blow away in the sandstorm. I think that if the Community Center were used more effectively, the people of the community would have more respect for it.

Having said that, I can say that we served over 500 people at that block party tonight, and there were actually more people than that. The director of the Community Center said that there were 150 people who left before she began counting, and she counted 500. So, add those together, and we're looking at a total impact of about 650 people in about 2 1/2 hours.

Did we make everybody happy? No. Were we able to meet every need? By no means. Was everybody thankful? No. But what was done tonight? We served people in Jesus' Name. I've decided that we need to do all we can, and leave the results up to God. Tonight, our team came together and truly did all we could do. Now we turn things over to the local pastors and trust God to bring the harvest.

A word to my family -- I love you, all of you. I miss you, and though Brandie and I are having a great time serving the Lord in El Paso, we are counting the days until we get to see you again. Kirby, Colton and Cooper -- Mommy and Daddy love you. We're glad your swimming lessons are going well, and we hope you're enjoying spending time with Lin Lin and Poppa.

Tomorrow calls for sheetrocking the inside of the church building in Fort Hancock, and the block party there tomorrow evening. Pray for all of the workers to remain strong and purpose-filled. pray for our bodies. We're all tired. Pray that God would give us new strength and determination to complete the task before us.

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

Day 5

Last night's Juarez dinner did a number on my stomach. Let's just say that Montezuma has had his revenge on me all day :(

This morning started with a trip to Fort Hancock to help with the construction of the church building. By 8:30, the temperature was already in the 90s. I had the privilege of getting on the roof of the church with Brian Hill , Kirby (a volunteer from FBC Levelland), and Jeff, the Student Pastor at FBC Levelland. My job was to roll out the felt that serves as the foundation for the roofing shingles. While Kirby and I rolled out the black material, Jeff came behind us with the nail gun, and secured the felt to the decking. once the felting process was complete, Brain and his crew came behind us, quickly putting shingles on the roof.

At about 11:30am, a semi arrived at the church building, loaded down with nearly $5000 worth of sheetrock, doors, and insulation. We helped unload the trailer, making sure everything is where it needed to go. Meanwhile, the volunteers inside the building continued their projects, comleting the framing for walls that extend from the tops of the office and classroom walls to the ceiling level. And again at the same time, the students from FBC Levelland were leading the children in a sports camp.

I love it when God gives us new ideas, and we have the flexibility to make them happen at the spur of the moment. Yesterday at dinner, I was sharing with Jorge Zapata about the demographic research I had been doing on the Sparks colonia where we are working this week. My research uncovered that 75% of the residents of that colonia are under the age of 18. Jorge and I both have a heart for children, and so this statistic struck us very deeply. I also shared with him about the skateboard park that has been built beside the Community Center in Sparks. Moved by compassion for these children, Jorge decided that we need to throw a block party for the Sparks community tomorrow night. So, I met him at Wal-Mart today, where we bought 20 brand new skateboards to give away as door prizes tomorrow at 6:00 during the block party (which we just scheduled a few hours ago) at the Sparks Community Center. I'm boiling over with anticipation of what is going to happen in that community as God gets a foothold there!

Tonight, our leadership team felt it was imperative that we come together and pray. We needed to pray for the mission, yes, but we also felt it was important that we pray for ourselves personally. Each of us, to a person, has been distracted by "life back home" this week. Jorge has been sick for a week, Brandie and I are dealing with family issues, as is Dorothy. Jessica is struggling with decisions about college. We all have needs that we must lay at the feet of Jesus. So we did that tonight. As a result, I believe that God is about to pour out His Spirit on the El Paso / Juarez / Fort Hancock area in a way that has yet to be known in the state of Texas. We prayed, and believed God, that El Paso will be the epicenter of a mighty move of God's presence. We prayed for revival, which we know has already come. And we will continue to pray for revival! Why do I say revival has come to El Paso already? Today at Vacation Bible School in Sparks, 6 precious young children exchanged their lives for the life of Christ!

Thank you all for praying for us... Please don't stop! Your prayers are being heard and answered, as God's Holy Spirit covers this place!

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

Day 4

It's day 4, and things are moving quickly and smoothly...

We began the day at Sparks colonia, in southern El Paso, where the team from FBC Memphis was leading Vacation Bible School (VBS). We've partnered with the Sparks Community Center and the Mision Bautista Tierra Prometida to provide VBS for the children of the area. While Daniel and his team lead VBS inside the small church, Brandie, Mario and I helped coordinate the distribution of nearly 450 pairs of shoes to the children and parents of the community. To see the looks on the children's faces as they put on their new shoes (or cried because Mommy wouldn't let them wear them until school starts) was worth any and every amount of sweat we dripped during the 2 1/2 hours inside a metal building :)

While we were at Sparks, work continued fast a furious in Fort Hancock, under the direction of Brian Hill and his team from FBC Levelland. half of the roof is completely shingled, and the other half awaits shingles (it has been felted) tomorrow morning. So tomorrow, my plan is to go to Fort Hancock, climb up on the roof of that new church building, and nail some shingles up on the roof.

Concurrent with the construction project, the team at Fort Hancock also conducted a Soccer camp. 50 children came to the soccer camp, braving the heat and dust that surrounds that little church building! What a blessing!

After all of the activities were over for the day, we met up with our leadership team for dinner. With us we Jorge and Rosa Zapata, Cheyenne and Priscila Solis, Dorothy, Jessica, and Mario. We drove across the Americas bridge into Juarez, Mexico. Once we arrived, we had the privilege of meeting Hermano Francisco. Francisco is the Vice President of the Mexican Baptist Convention. After leading us to several restaurants which, unbeknownst to Francisco, are closed on Mondays for maintenance, we went to a neat restaurant called Ajuuva. We sat, laughed, ate, and talked. A quite aggressive female mariachi sang to (and flirted with) us, as we just enjoyed one another's company, talked about plans and dreams for the mission in El Paso, and cast a vision for how we could join what God is doing in El Paso. All in all, it was a great day.

Kirby, Colton, and Cooper -- we love you, and can't wait to pick you up on Sunday when we get back. Be good for Lin lin and Poppa, and enjoy your swim lessons today!!!

Tomorrow -- Fort Hancock!

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

Day 3 (on Day 4)

Greetings everyone...

I'm sorry I didn't get to post yesterday, but it was a VERY busy day.

After a quick trip through the Sparks Colonia, Brandie and I began our day with a worship service at the new church building in Fort Hancock. It was their first assembly at the site, and it was a great time! I stood at the back of the unfinished sanctuary and marveled at the work of God in that place. "Gringos" like me, worshipping side by side with the local Hispanics... I smiled and thought to myself, "it smells like heaven in here."

Pastor Ramiro preached about becoming a hero in God's eyes. He told us that we were all heroes, because of our faith in Christ. He looked his congregation in the eyes and reminded them that they thought he was crazy when he told them that they would build a church on that lot. I laughed as he told them, "well, I guess we're all crazy now!"

After the service, everyone stayed around the church building for a while and wrote blessings, prayers, and scripture on the unfinished walls. One particular blessing for me was to watch Dorothy go from door to door in the building, and write Scripture over the top of the doorposts of each door. The symbolism was striking. As Moses sprinkled the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrews' homes, the angel of death passed over the land, and God's children were not harmed. My prayer is that the blessings and Scripture written on those doorposts will serve as a shield to Pastor Ramiro and his congregation.

We returned to the hotel, and completed some paperwork, then had a meeting with one of the groups leading Vacation Bible School. The meeting concluded at about 10:30. Brandie and I watched a movie, went to bed, and slept well... :)

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us and the mission. I will post tonight about today's events, including the Vacation Bible School and shoe distribution we conducted this morning... An incredible blessing that I can't wait to share with you about.

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

Day 2

Busy day today...

After meeting Dorothy and Jessica for breakfast in the hotel, we all traveled to Fort Hancock. Fort Hancock is about 4o miles Southeast of El Paso, and it's where some of our group is building a church building for a local congregation in the poorest area of town. Fort Hancock is easy to find; the church site is not. After we got to the town itself, we spent about 30 minutes driving around making phone calls trying to find the church site. We finally found it, and when we did, we were overwhelmingly blessed at what we found.

Brian Hill and the crew from First Baptist Church in Levelland, along with some help from two men from First Baptist Church in Clint, had the exterior walls, the roof trusses, and the roof decking completed. Teenagers were on the roof finishing putting the last of the roofing nails in the decking, and three men were on the other side beginning to roll out the felt, in preparation for putting the shingles on the roof. All of this work had been completed in a sum total of THREE DAYS!!! A miracle, by any account!

As we walked around the site, given the grand tour by another volunteer from First Baptist Church in Levelland, we came across lots of boxes, all filled with shoes. Each box was meticulously labelled with the gender and shoe size. In all, there were 500 pairs of shoes that had been donated, ready to hand out to the wonderful people of Fort Hancock. The shoe distribution will be on Thursday.

Dorothy led me, Brandie, Jessica, and Mario (a Buckner intern) in laying hands on and praying over the boxes of shoes. We prayed that the parents and children who received these shoes would also receive blessing from God, as that is the intent behind our delivering the shoes to the community.

And before we left, I got the opportunity to climb up on the roof and help finish nailing down the decking!

We came back to the hotel for a brief time, to prepare for the evening. At 5:15, we loaded up and headed back to Fort Hancock for our opening meeting / worship at Benito Martinez Elementary School. I lead the music, and Tommy Speed, Mario, Brandie, and Dorothy spoke. There was a wonderful feeling of family, camaraderie, and single-mindedness among all the volunteers.

After the service, everyone loaded up and drove to the new church building site to see the progress on that project, and to know where to meet tomorrow at 3:00 for that congregation's very first service in their new building!

I have to tell you, the new church structure is incredible. I told Dorothy that as I was walking into that building, I felt like I was walking into the ark. Through Noah, God miraculously built an ark to save His people from destruction. God used that ark, in the middle of the desert, to protect a remnant of the people for Himself. I believe, with all my heart, that God will use this building, made of wood, metal and concrete, to bring hope, joy, peace, and LIFE to that community.

Just as Noah had his detractors and nay-sayers, so this church is not without opposition. At least two other local churches in the town of Fort Hancock oppose this church building a building. Whether they are opposed to the church constructing a building, or just upset that we are helping them build it, I do not know. But this I do know -- God has a work in mind for the town of Fort Hancock, Texas. It's HIS work, and He'll do it with or without permission from the local church.

Please pray for peace in that community, and that a spirit of cooperation and partnership would rise up from the ashes of jealousy, or competition, or whatever is causing the strife.

Speaking of local churches, I would also ask you to pray for a church in the area I heard of today. It has less than 15 members, but has a very nice building with plenty of seating. Buckner has made arrangements to have another, Spanish-speaking, church meet in the building as well. The Spanish church has 40-45 members, but the host church will only allow them to use a very small room in the building, along with one hallway, and will not allow the Spanish church to become members of their church. As a matter of fact, the pastor of the host church has asked, on numerous occasions, "when are they leaving?" How sad.

Please pray for this church. I've left the church's name out purposefully, but God knows the situation all too well.

Tomorrow, we worship with the congregation in Fort Hancock in their new building. I can't wait...

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

Day 1

Brandie and I made it to the airport, after sending the kids with Grandma and Grandpa, in plenty of time to catch our 5:15 flight. Brandie got to experience the "heightened security measures" at San Antonio International Airport, with its special glass room and handheld wands.

The flight to El Paso was good. We landed on time, and jumped in the rental truck to head for the hotel. It took us some work to find the hotel. It seems like there is a La Quinta on every corner of Interstate 10 in El Paso.

After we checked in, and got settled, we had the privilege of having dinner with Mario Gonzales, who works with Buckner's ministry to the Colonias. He's been with Buckner for only two months, but we were very impressed with him. He was able to show us pictures of the work that has already begun on the Fort Hancock church. In just three days, the crew, under the direction of Brian Hill from First Baptist Church in Levelland, has completed the framing, siding, windows, and much of the roof of the new church building. He told us that tomorrow's focus is the completion of the roof and beginning the electrical wiring. Amazing progress for three days!

After a fantastic visit with Mario, we came back to our hotel and met with Dorothy Foster. Dorothy is a member of the Coordinating Council for CBF Texas, and serves as the mission's prayer coordinator. We talked about logistics, then came to our hotel room and prayed together with her and Jessica, a student at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (and outstanding travel partner for Dorothy). We are always blessed to have Dorothy and Jessica with us.

Tomorrow, we'll head out to Fort Hancock at about 10:00 and see the progress on the church building there. Most of our group will be arriving tomorrow afternoon, and we get to meet together with them all at the Fort Hancock Elementary School tomorrow evening. I can't wait to meet everyone.

For our prayer intercessors, here are some things to pray for...

1. Safe travel for those who are on the road.
2. Peace and discernment for all of us, as we determine what the most important needs are, and seek to meet them.
3. The health of all the workers, especially Brandie.
4. Single-mindedness among all of the volunteers.

We love you all, and thank you for praying for us...

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles

The Morning of...

I could hardly sleep last night. And, no, it's not completely due to the fact that Brandie's parents were here and kept us up until 12:30am telling work stories :)

We leave today. As with any trip, the anticipation of the departure is both exciting and nerv-wracking. While I am at work all morning, Brandie will be packing the last of our things, making sure that TSA will permit everything we've packed. The house-sitter is coming at 10:00am to meet the dogs, and Brandie has one last doctor appointment before we board the plane at 5:15pm.

I can't wait to get out there with everyone and swing a hammer in the hot El Paso sun. Thank you to all of you who have already begun reading this blog, and who have assured us that you'll be praying for us as we go. Rest assured, we need it!

Next post tonight...

Grace and Peace,
Ken