Mexico Mission Trip 2009 Wrap Up

Buenas Naches Amigos and Amigas,

 

We are back. We arrived yesterday morning around 11 AM after driving all night from Basconcobe, Mexico. It was a long drive but significantly shorter than the drive there. It was also uneventful, which is the best kind.

 

It was great to get back to see Shannon, Carter and Addison.

 

We had a great week full of hard work and ministry. God has blessed beyond measure and Cameron and I learned that we have been blessed to be a blessing according to Genesis 12.

 ² "I will make you into a great nation
       and I will bless you;
       I will make your name great,
       and you will be a blessing.

 ³ I will bless those who bless you,
       and whoever curses you I will curse;
       and all peoples on earth
       will be blessed through you."  

The work that we accomplished will benefit teams that will go down to Basconcobe in the future. The next event there will be a discipleship training class for the pastors in the region. Mike Fike, from Sun Valley, will be joining Enrique Medina, the founder and leader of Ravah, for the first of seven intensive 3 day training sessions that will train pastors how to teach people how to become disciples of Christ. This type of training is more than they have ever had before. In speaking with Enrique, he feels like this will revolutionize the region in respect to their knowledge of how to have a relationship with God. It is our prayer that the work that we have done will allow these pastors to train at a site that will allow them to focus on what God has done for them and how they can better relate to him.

 

The team took literally hundreds of pictures, some of which are located at http://basconcobe.winkflash.com. There are also a number of videos which are located at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=40F2F94748BF23F3.

 

As you have heard from us a number of times this past week, we have been blessed to have this opportunity to serve in Mexico and that we would not have been able to do that without your prayers and financial support. Thank you for serving through Cameron and I. You also have been blessed to be a blessing.

 

Sincerely,

 

Cameron and Sheldon

Mexico Mission Trip 2009 Day 4

Buenos Noches Amigos and Amigas,
 
We are just now preparing to sit down and eat dinner for the last time in this year of 2009. It has certainly been a very challenging year for our family and many families that we know. This all seems pale in comparison to the challenges that face the people of Basconobe, Mexico each day. We take for granted so many things that we have and these folks have so little and yet seem so happy and content with the lives that they lead.
 
Cameron and I just got back from a New Year's Eve church service that was still going strong after 2+ hours. Cameron was getting a little antsy so he begged me to go and so we left a little early. I am not sure how long they will go. The people here love Jesus just like we do in the states. It was pretty awesome to worship with them and listen to them read the scripture in Spanish although we both were a little lost.
 
Today we finished off the concrete pour that we started yesterday and completed most of the water tank connection. We even got started on the project for tomorrow which consists of putting a roof on the second level patio. The changes that we have been able to accomplish this week have been impressive. God certainly has blessed with a great team this year.
 
We were able to go to the nearby town of Navojoa to do a little shopping in the outdoor market. It sure was different that going to the mall. It was interesting to watch all the women when they spotted Cameron and his bleach blond hair. They were gawking and smiling and straining to look at him. A number of women tried to touch his hair. He finally got tired of the all the attention and asked me to buy him a hat to hid his hair.
 
We had another opportunity to share the gospel with the local children and some parents during VBS this afternoon and it was great to see some of the kids that we saw yesterday. Our prayer that the local church will have an opportunity to continue to water the seed that we planted in them.
 
Tomorrow we hope to complete the projects that we have started and then get cleaned up and packed for our 10 PM departure. We plan on driving through the night so as to avoid the five hour delay at the border during the middle of the day. Please pray for Matt and I as we are the only drivers on the way back.
 
We hope to update you one more time from Basconobe before we leave and then will get some pictures and a synopsis of our trip to you later this weekend.
 
We pray that each of you experiences God in a whole new way this coming 2010. Cameron and I thank you for giving us the opportunity to start our 2010 serving God as he has called each an every one of us to do.
 
Happy New Year.
 
Cameron and Sheldon

Mexico Mission 2009 Day 3

Buenas Naches Amigos and Amigas,

 

Greetings from Basconobe, Mexico. It has been another productive day here on the compound. We completed the installation of the water tank this morning and poured a lot of concrete for the patio. It was an awesome team project in which we will complete tomorrow ( I hope).

 

After the work project was complete for the day we went to a local museum for lunch. This museum had a lot of amazing artifacts from the region and as the per usual the food was awesome. Cameron entertained the team by doing a little break dancing to the music that was playing. It was a blast to see him do his thing.

 

After lunch we scurried off to a local park that had a basketball court to hold our daily VBS. It was an awesome sight to see over 130 kids singing and dancing to the music provided by Matt and Enrique. Nicole Swartz told the story of David and Jonathon. Then we gathered the kids in to teams of 10 to 12 and did a craft. It was difficult to communicate to the kids but I believe that we began to build some relationships that hopefully can be built over time by the local church here. Tomorrow we intend to go back to the same place. We expect to have many more kids tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow we hope to complete the concrete pour and connect the water tank to the local water supply. We are also going to celebrate the end of the year and the decade with the community.

 

Thanks for supporting Cameron and I on this adventure. It has been a blessing to the people of Basconobe and the people that this local church serves.

 

Cameron and Sheldon

 

 

 

 

Mexico Mission Trip 2009 Day 2

Buenos Dias Amigos and Amigas,

I want to give you an update for yesterday as we got in real late from going to a local baseball game last night with the team.

Yesterday we made very good progress despite a slow start due to tired bodies and a little rain. The "big hole" is now complete and ready for the water tank that was delivered yesterday. It was exciting to see why we had been digging and digging and digging and digging. When that was completed we had to put in a water line to fill the tank. The supply line for the water was across the street from the compound and we had to "pothole" to find it. Once that was complete we had to dig a a couple of trenches in order to get a pipe under the road. We literally pushed a pipe through the ground so we didn't have to dig a 20 foot trench 3 feet down. That pushing took a couple of hours of very hard work.

While the boys were working hard the ladies were finishing preparations for VBS. Late in the afternoon we all left our shovels and went to the Igelsia and had the opportunity to hang out with 40 kids in the area. It was an absolute blast. We sang songs, told the story of Cameron and Luke (other wise known as David and Goliath - Luke is 6" 8" and still growing), colored, stickered and built relationships with the kids. Cameron was again on sticker patrol and made sure that everyone had plenty of stickers.

Cameron has been playing the role of "gopher" throughout the day which has been very helpful. He is always willing to serve. If you know Cameron then you know he is very particular about what he eats. That really hasn't been a problem down here. He is trying new things and liking them mostly. Trips to the corner store also help as there is Salsa Verde chips that he loves. Did I mention that he is one dirty kid. There is no shortage of dirt to play in and Cameron is getting his share. Thank God for those that came before us and installed showers and hot water heaters.

We have been blessed to be joined by a group from Castle Rock, Colorado and began to build relationships with them. This groups has been coming here for a number of years. They are eager to serve and are awesome to hang out with and work with. We are blessed to have a number of college age kids that are hard workers and have strong backs. They are responsible for the "heavy" lifting with us "old guys" doing the "thinking".

Today we are planning installing the water tank, connecting the feed line and then will be rewarded with another project. While we were working yesterday a very large supply of concrete, gravel and sand were delivered with the hopes that we would be able to install a large cement pad for the gathering area. If all goes well we will be able to get that started today and finished up tomorrow.

The work we are doing here is hard but we know that it is a labor of love and those that will come after us will benefit. It will give others a few more creature comforts for when they come to the area to serve the people in the region or train to disciple the locals.

Thank you for supporting us. I hope that one day you might be able to come here and see the good work that Ravah Ministries is doing in the region. Cameron and I are truly blessed to be here.

Cameron and Sheldon

Mexico Mission Trip 2009

After a 15 hour trip to Basconobe with many stops along the way we finally made it. It was a long drive but we mostly had success with the team that we travelled with in getting across the border and through the various checkpoints along the way. One of the vehicles in the caravan was not able to make it across the border due to inspection (they were carrying large quantities of flour and gifts for the pastors in the region). They were finally able to get across the border this morning at 7:30 and arrived around 3 this afternoon.

Cameron and I had a uneventful drive and spent the time playing Nintendo DS, reading and watching Scooby Doo. When we finally arrived at the "compound" where we would be living for the next 6 days we were greeted by Victoria and Jose and a large quantity of food including the most wonderful flour tortillas we have ever had. Cameron stuffed himself silly and wanted to take some to our room for later. We got our beds set up and hit the sack around 11.

After a pretty good night of sleep we were ready to get to doing what we were going to do. After another good meal we did a short devotion and found out that we needed to help dig a pit that was nine feet in diameter and six feet in depth for a water tank that was needed. This seemed like an insurmountable job but there are many people here with a willingness to serve and strong backs. After about four hours of digging we finished for the day with about two-thirds of the job complete. While I dig some digging Cameron was on dirt spreading duty. A little lunch and a little siesta we got set up to host 30 pastors and their families (about 200 people) to celebrate the alliance that has been built up over the past few years. It also gave us the opportunity to serve them dinner and give them gifts. The kids were very excited to receive things that American kids would take for granted and probably wouldn't want.

Cameron has been doing a great job hanging out with the local kids playing tag, soccer and American football. During the party he made balloon animals for the kids and served the families dinner.

Tomorrow we are planning on hosting our first Vacation Bible School and hope to be able to minister to the children in the area.

It has been a tiring but fun day. We are heading to bed for a good night of rest and looking forward to doing what God wants us to do.


Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

Sheldon and Cameron.

Merry Christmas To All

It is, once again, that time of year where we review the year and catch everyone up to what has been happening in the Brown household this past year.

Cameron
Cameron has the privilege of being in first grade and part of the Chandler Academically Talented School gifted program in the Chandler public schools. His teacher Mrs. Robbins submitted information to the Arizona Republic newspaper for an article on how kids in the crowd stand out and he was featured in an article. The reason she chose Cameron is because he can recite all 50 U.S. states in the order by which they gained statehood.

This year Cameron became a missionary to the natives of Mexico. His dad and him took an overnight trip to Mexico and met with some indigenous folks that worked at a greenhouse south of Nogales, Mexico. On December 27th they are going to go to Boscanobe, Mexico to spend a week serving Ravah ministries by working on their facilities and hosting vacation bible school for the local children. Cameron has been looking forward to this trip since April.

For almost a year Cameron has been taking piano lessons and is doing quite well.  He has played in two recitals so far and doesn't get nervous at all (at least we can't tell).

Cameron participated on a swim team for the first time this year and qualified for the finals in the breaststroke. In his heat he finished first after his friend Gabe gave him a tip that only an experienced swimmer could give (swim faster).

The best news of the year came from Cameron - he announced that he asked Jesus Christ to be the boss in his life. Mom and Dad could not be more excited. Plans are to see him get baptized sometime in March.

Carter
Carter is in his second year of preschool and loves to learn, although it has taken us almost 12 months to find this out. He loves the academics but could do without singing in Christmas programs. He is very, very, very shy and would like all the attention on others rather than himself.

Carter is very coordinated and learned to ride his bike without training wheels in early January.  He loves to go ride on the "jumps" by the house. He has taken some good spills but always gets back on the bike.

We are blessed to have a swimming pool in the backyard and Carter loves it the most. He is able to swim across the entire length under water with just one breath. It is quite a sight. Next year he will be participating on the swim team with his friend Josh and his brother Cameron.

Carter is a little indecisive and that fact was evident when he chose to have his birthday party at Makutu's Island like his big brother. But then he changed his mind to having a pirate party at the park with a Piñata and then finally decided, at the last minute, that he wanted to go bowling.

There is one thing that Carter is not indecisive about and that is doing whatever his friend Josh is doing. If Josh is doing it then he wants to do it. This is how we get him to try out a few things.

Addison (Peanut)
This is one person that does not have a hard time deciding what she wants. She wants everything. She is also highly independent. If you have something on your plate of food that she doesn't have then she wants it. Addison pays attention to everything and is always listening to what is going on around her. She has to be part of every conversation, game and happening that goes on around her. Her favorite line is, "I can do it by myself!" This little girl keeps everyone on their toes.

Addison's summer activity was swimming. She took swimming lessons again this year and can finally keep up with her brothers in the pool.

Much to our delight, Peanut loves to participate in Awana's Cubbies at a local church. She absolutley loves to sing and dance to the songs. She loves to be in class with Carter and does a great job memorizing verses.

Shannon
The quote of the year from Shannon was "When does Grammie get here?" We are amazed that she keeps her sanity trying to keep up with three busy children especially Cameron, Carter and Addison. She gets away from reality for a bit by tuning in to "House Hunters International" on HGTV (it's her favorite).

She needs her Dunkin Donuts coffee with French Vanilla creamer first thing in the morning or the day is a complete disaster.

Cameron's teacher hosts a book club once a week, where parents can learn how to better parent their children. This has been a time of learning and understanding of these talented children for Shannon and has given the opportunity to meet other parents with similar challenges.

Shannon has been participating in supporting the womens ministry at church and  greatest ministry, allowing Sheldon to participate in the ministries he is involved in at church.

Sheldon
Sheldon was honored and privileged to be asked to be on the Board of Servant Leaders and their church (Sun Valley Community Church) this year. He is in his 18th year at SRP and has no plans to leave anytime soon. He still loves cycling and teaching the kids to ride their bikes.

We almost lost our beloved desert tortoise Big Guy. he got out of the back yard one day and we thought we would never find him. We went on a tortoise hunt every night after school/work but were unable to find him. We put posters up with Big Guy's picture on it and someone finally responded and we got him back a few days later. He is safely in a box in the garage taking a long winters nap.

This past fall we had the best family vacation ever. Shannon's dad blessed us with a 4 night stay in Rocky Point. The weather was awesome and the water was even better. We played at the beach in the morning and spent the afternoons at the pool. Shannon and Sheldon logged many hours under the cabana enjoying the sun and the kids. The kids played so hard they would fall asleep while waiting for dinner. It was an awesome time and we can hardly wait to go back.

Many of these happenings are captured in this blog so take a few minutes and explore. We would love to hear from you and if you have a blog please let us know so we can explore it.

God has certainly taught us many lessons this year and we are blessed to have a God that loves us so much that he sent his one and only son to be an example for us and, more importantly, to die for us. We can have a relationship with God because of his Christmas gift to us. He is the Reason for the Season.

May God bless you and your family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sheldon, Shannon, Cameron, Carter, Addison, Nala, Big Guy, Twisger and Disger

Carter's Pre-school Concert

Carter invited us to see him, and his classmates, perform a few Christmas songs that they had been working on over the past couple of months. Carter isn't the most confortable in front of a crowd but his friend Ella sure is. She's the one following the line from Elf "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear".

Cameron's First Christmas Recital

We had the pleasure of finally getting to watch Cameron play piano in his Christmas recital. He worked very hard, as well as tried the patience of his mom and dad, in practice and played very nicely. See the videos below to see for yourself.

Carter's 5th Birthday

First Carter wanted to have a pirate party at the park, then he changed his mind and wanted to have his party at Makutu's Island. Then he finally decided to have his party at the bowling alley. Cosmic Bowling, yesterday, was an awesome time (even though the shy boy didn't bowl as much as his friends) and the pins were flying.

Carter hung out and drank his Dr. Pepper from his bowling pin cup and enjoyed watching all of his friends throw the ball as hard as four to seven year olds can throw.

Check out this video of some pics and video of all the cosmic action.

We opened gifts at home with his Grammie, Grandma and Papa. Check out this video of his nerf gun that Uncle Casey picked out for him.

Tonight, after a dinner of Carter's pick of Ravioli from Costco, Carter opened his gift from Mom and Dad. It was "the best gift ever" and the whole family joined in. Good times. Happy Birthday Carter!

Addison's 3rd Birthday

It was a great time had by all even those who weren't used to 19 kiddos with a lot of sugar. We decorated cupcakes , colored pictures of cupcakes, ate cupcakes, ate cupcake lollipops, opened chinese crackers and ate all kinds of sugar things. Check out a few pictures of the action.

And when it was over Addison relaxed by watching Calliou.

One worn out Peanut

This is what happens when one little girl goes to the beach for a few hours.

Fall Break 2009

The boys are on fall break and we are living it up at Puerto Penasco, Mexico otherwise known as Rocky Point. Thanks to Shannon's dad hooking us up with a sweet condo less than 100 feet from the beach. We spent the day at the beach finding shells, digging holes, building sand castles and throwing sand at each other.

Hopefully we won't be so tired after tomorrow we are able to make it two more days.

Have a great fall break everyone.

Sheldon, Shannon , Cameron, Carter and Addison (Peanut)

Summer of Fun

We are well into the summer of 2009 and what a summer it has been. Seems like everything we do revolves around the pool. Since we have a pool in our backyard the kids can hardly wait for it to be warm enough to jump in. Dad has a different idea of what warm is and Mom has an entirely different idea.

Well it finally warmed up enough and they made the cannon ball jump. Cameron and Carter resumed like they had never stopped since last summer. Addison was a little more tentative. Mom enrolled Carter and Addison in swim lessons and Cameron on a town swim team. They all excelled. Here's a video of our P-nut at swimming lessons:

Here's a video of our Carter making a big splash

A few weeks ago, Dad, Cameron and Carter had the opportunity to go to the Diamnodbacks game and watch the game from the famous stadium swimming pool. It was a good time for all. Anyone out there done a cannonball in front of 27,000 people? Cameron has. Check out the video.

Cameron was involved in a Town of Gilbert swim team program. He absolutely loved it. He went to practice every weekday for 30 minutes where he learned the 4 main strokes (freestyle, breast, back and butterfly). He started off finishing in the back of the pack but by the end of the season he had qualified for the championships in breaststroke. In fact he won his heat in the championship placing him 7th, out of 16, in his age group. It was an awesome sight to see this little guy swim his heart out and beat all others in the pool. Check out the video.

School starts soon so our pool time will be a little less but still be hanging out at the pool in the evenings and the weekends. Come by anytime and cannonball in.

Promoting Carter

Carter has completed his first year of pre-school. He did a fine job learning his ABC's, shapes and colors. Speaking of colors, Carter is an expert at the coloring book. He does a great job. When he grows up he says he wants to be a garbage truck driver.

Here he is with his teachers, Miss Kelie and Miss Tara, and his friends Ella and Joshua. Carter pretty much won't do anything unless Joshua is doing it.




Here he is doing the peanut butter dance with his friend's Joshua and Ella.




Congratulations on a great year Carter! We love you.

New Belts

Last night Carter and Cameron earned their new belts in karate. Carter earned his yellow belt and Cameron earned his green with white stripe belt. Check out the pictures of the boys and their friends.

Cameron was also used as an example of the skills that were learned as green belt.