Baltimore - DAY 6

Hello Friends and Family,

This is our FINAL DAY in Baltimore.  Described by these words - Outstanding, God-Fearing, FUN!, Outside my Comfort Zone (in a good way), Passionate, Enthusiastic, Authentic, Supernatural and MORE!  These are the words our team are using to explain our time in Baltimore this week!  God has gone before us in so many different circumstances that are truly unexplainable.  He has provided for our team when we were faced with opposition.  He has provided for our team when we did not have the words to say.  He has provided for our team when we were exhausted and felt like we could not give anything more.  Our God PROVIDED!  We are blessed!

TWO TEAMS today - We planned a trip to Washington DC from the beginning of our Mission Trip, and many of the team members decided a month before we left Allen to work that day instead of sightseeing in DC! So, 8 of us ventured to DC and 10 stayed back to work again with Church of the Harbor with Jeff Belcher and his team.  Morning was spent making follow-up calls from the week and canvassing the neighborhood in Canton, a section of Baltimore.  After lunch they prepared for the afternoon STOOP PARTY!!  At night, families will come out of their homes and hang out together on their steps - their STOOP.  The team cooked dinner outside their STOOP and 30 people joined the team for a night of fellowship and more.  Jeff actually had the opportunity to lead a lady to the Lord tonight!  PRAISE GOD!  So our team loved the time with Church of the Harbor and served so faithfully today.

Our sightseeing time was really a blast.  I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

We are headed home in the AM to Dallas.  Please join me in prayer as we leave at 9am to get home at noon!  Cannot wait to see everyone back home.  Thanks for reading this week and praying for Baltimore.  This is only the beginning of what is next for our team!

Keith and Team

Baltimore - DAY 5

Hello Friends and Family,

Day 5 is complete!  We turned a chapter to another amazing experience today.  Our theme verse was from Philippians 2:2-11, where Paul speaks to us about being UNITED IN CHRIST!  It is only through the POWER of Christ in our lives that we can experience supernatural strength and unity to make it through our day - and sitting down to write you tonight, I can testify that God unified our team in a tremendous way!  Thank you Lord for showing yourself to each one of us.  You have bonded our hearts from individuals to a unified team of missionaries.  It is a beautiful thing to experience.  Thank you Lord!

We ventured outside of inner city Baltimore to the town of Cockeysville, Maryland.  Jeff Belcher, Pastor, along team members Wes Gresham and Tyler Silvey, spent the entire day with our team.  They have been in the Baltimore area only 9 months, so we experienced what a true church plant looks like.  Pastor Jeff is on the ground floor of starting Church of the Harbor.  We spent the morning hanging door hangers in a brand new area they are trying to reach.  Church service, which they call "Gatherings" began at 2pm at the local Community Center.  They rent it for $12.50 an hour!  What a deal for a church plant!  Worship was amazing, along with hearing the word of God!  Three new FIRST TIME GUEST attended!

We traveled in the afternoon to worship with Captivate East Baltimore, where we were met with Pastor Tally Wilgis, Colleen Smith and other friends from the Community.  The worship service began at 5pm - BTW - WHAT A MESSAGE TONIGHT!!! - followed up with dinner (HIPHOP CHICKEN - SLAP YOUR MAMA GOOD FRIED CHICKEN!!!) for the community and fellowship with everyone!

And you thought we were done?  NO SIR - then we traveled to Church of the Harbor - Canton where Pastor Jeff and his his team opened up their home for Sunday night church.  Burgers, chips, fellowship along with great worship and another message from Jeff on James!  AMAZING message again!  It was truly a great experience to be with them today!

We are spent!  Long hours, and guess what - we get to do it again TOMORROW - please pray for us again as we reach out to our friends here in the Baltimore area!

We love you and appreciate you reading!  Keith and Team

Baltimore - DAY 4

Hello Friends and Family,

Reflection on the day brings me to the word REDEMPTION.  God is in the business of redeeming His people.  He takes the old, sinful man and brings him back to life.  We began our morning focusing on this verse - 2 Corinthians 5:15-17 - 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All of us are in need of a Savior.  We are all broken and poor.  It is only because of Jesus that we have hope and purpose.  He redeems us and transforms us into a NEW CREATION!  Praise the Lord!

Both BROWN TEAM and ORANGE TEAM combined for a day at Captivate East Baltimore for a Block Party for the community.  We set up 3 bounce houses, basketball goal, AWESOME DJ!!, sidewalk chalk, face painting, balloon animals, fingernail painting, hot dogs, snow cones and more!!  Man, it was a huge undertaking.  Our team served so well in the heat as we were able to witness to many children and families today.  Through the bead bracelets, we were able to share the love of Jesus to many, and over 150 contacts for Captivate East Baltimore were registered for follow up!  It was a great day!

Pastor Tally - pastor over all three Captivate Churches in Baltimore, spent the afternoon with us and shared his story of Redemption as well.  It was a fantastic time as we heard his own story of God moving in his life and giving him a vision to reach this great city.  Look for his video to be posted soon.

We were so exhausted after our day that we took the night to visit the inner harbor of Baltimore and eat some great seafood together and hang our feet off the pier for a while, laughing and reflecting on our day together.

God continues to move and redeem his people, and we know it begins with us!  Thanks for the prayers and continue to lift us up as we enter tomorrow at Church of the Harbor.

Prayerfully yours - Keith and Team

 Kaelyn Bunting loving on kids at the Block Party

 Laurie Lafon with some of the kids from the community

 Sean Taylor was just ROCKIN the face painting all day!

 Alex Jenks has the moves!!  So much fun!

 Pastor Tally and Colleen wrapping up our time together being photo bombed by kiddos

End of Block Party at Captivate Church East Baltimore

Baltimore - Day 3

Hello Friends and Family,

Day 3 is in the books!  WOW - God continues to teach us and extend the invitation to worship Him!  What an honor it is to be here and experience the culture and the work of God in the city of Baltimore.  Our theme verse for today came from 1 Peter 4:10 - Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  We knew our day of serving the Lord was going to be eventful, sometimes difficult and filled with unexpected challenges, and our team met the challenges with great enthusiasm!

BROWN TEAM - another day spent with Charlie Brown with Graffiti Church in East Baltimore.  After being rained on yesterday and not being able to get out into the community for evangelistic followup from Sports Camps, our team spent the morning going door to door connecting people to Graffiti Church and sharing the Good News.  Mark Headrick had the opportunity to share with a Grandfather who trusted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior!  What a blessing.  The afternoon was spent BOILING 200 hotdogs for Graffiti Church's Bus Stop Outreach.  Ask Gini Cole about the smell!  YUM!  From 4-5:30 our team handed out dogs, chips, water, cards to Graffiti church and a Bible to everyone there.  And Mark Headrick once again led a man to the Lord!  WOW!

ORANGE TEAM - another day spent with Captivate Church East Baltimore.  Our morning was great because we were able to prepare for our BLOCK PARTY, prepare for afternoon VBS and clean out a room that Miss Colleen desperately needed to use for her GEM Program.  After the morning of labor, our team greeted 15+kids and loved on them, sharing our SUPER HERO theme and having a blast!  It was beautiful to see them come together and serve today.

EVENING at Orioles Game - we just could not come all this way without spending time at The Orioles at Camden Yard.  WHAT AN AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL BASEBALL STADIUM!  Our friends from Graffiti Church and Captivate Church joined us as we just sat back and enjoyed our night.  The fireworks at the end as we were leaving the Camden Yard about made Denise Francisco jump out of her skin.  I think she thought we were in the middle of a shooting!  HA!!!

Thanks for reading and praying for us.  God continues to lead and teach us.  Hope to hear back from you as you read this and pray for us!  Blessings - Keith and Team  

 Inner Harbor in the morning

 Captivate East Baltimore Entrance

 Captivate Superhero Games!!

 Bus Stop Outreach with Graffiti Church

 Stan Cole and Mark Headrick picking up trash in the Community Park

Camden Yard!

Fred Curtis and friend Vanessa with Carlos from Graffiti Church

The Lafon Family

A picture is worth 1000 words - FUN

Pastor Tally's Mom, Daughter and Sister from Captivate Church with us tonight

 

Baltimore - Day 2

Hello Friends and Family,

Our team is THRIVING in the inner city of Baltimore.  God is so good!  He continues to lead and direct us as we come along side some amazing church planters and leaders in this city. Our prayer this morning as a team came from the Old Testament in the book of Micah 6:8 – “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  It was obvious God was challenging our team to submit our lives to God today in so many areas, and after our share time tonight, it was sweet to hear the testimony of the Lord in and through everything that happened today!

Two Teams - Brown and Orange...

Brown Team spent the entire day with Charlie Brown at Graffiti Church.  What an education on inner city church planting!  With the help of his two interns for the summer, Fred and Carlos, our team set out to learn about East Baltimore.  We picked up trash all morning, which God used to open doors for us to witness to many people in the community.  Graffiti Church has yet to have a physical building, so Charlie and his wife, Diana, hold Bible studies in their home throughout the week.  Also, the summer is filled with Sport Camps which Charlie and his team lead for FREE to the community.  The hand of God is on this man and his ministry to East Baltimore.

After completing the task of picking up trash and eating lunch together, we set out to make home visits with Charlie - but God had other plans - a storm front came through and God diverted us to learn more about the city of Baltimore.  We visited the graveside of Annie Armstrong.  (Who is Annie Armstrong?  Click here to learn more about the International Mission Board.  http://www.sbclife.net/Articles/2012/03/sla7).  Then Charlie took us to the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue where the Freddie Gray Riot happened a short couple of months ago.  We were able to pray over that area and for the Holy Spirit to bring peace to this area of the country.  Then we met up with Joel Kurz - pastor of The Garden Church.  (http://www.thegardenbaltimore.com/)  Joel is a pastor that Cottonwood Creek has been supporting for over the past 2 years through our ENGAGE ministry at the church.  He is making an impact like you would not believe in Baltimore.  The evening was complete with a Bible Study at Charlie's home!

WHAT A DAY Brown Team!

Orange Team spent the entire day serving at Captivate Church.  Colleen Smith, the leader of the GEM Youth Program at Captivate Church helped direct our team as we came along side our friends from North Carolina to love on these precious inner city kids.  This neighborhood is desperate for the Lord, and our team dove in with both feet to reach out and love on our friends in East Baltimore.  From working on projects around the church, to playing basketball, making crafts, sharing Jesus through devotionals and more, our team became the hands and feet of Jesus!  It was a beautiful thing to watch as God transformed us all as a team.

WHAT A DAY Orange Team.

And this was one day!  WOW - cannot wait for tomorrow!  Please continue to pray with us and for us as we serve and love God and the people here in Baltimore!

Prayerfully yours - Keith and Team Baltimore

 Ben and Emily Picking up trash in East Baltimore

 Story - As the Brown Team was picking up trash, we visited a neighborhood called Barclay, where many children were out front on their Stoop playing.  Stan Cole met a precious young girl who came up to him with roller skates on - without shoe laces.  The next thing I know, Stan was building a relationship with this precious girl and began to take the shoe laces off his shoes and put them on the skates of this child.  It was a picture of humility, love and care for this girl.  They were so happy to have the skates working properly.  I know it was a small act, but the picture spoke loud and clear of how we are to approach those in need - humbly and gently.  This is just one story of what God is doing in the hearts of our team.

 Charlie and Diane Brown

 Orange Team at Captivate Church

 Orientation from Charlie Brown about East Baltimore

 

Joel Kurz from The Garden Church 

 Pennsylvania Avenue - Freddie Gray Riot area

Baltimore - Day 1

Dear Friends and Family,

We have arrived in Baltimore Maryland.  Fun Fact - Maryland was the first Catholic settlement in America - hence the name MARYland.  We arrived separately - 10 together from Love Field, Stan and Gini came a day early and met us here, the Lafon Family Adventure Vacation/Mission Trip met us here as well as Mark and Kelly Headrick.  All to say - we are here and loving this opportunity.

Once I got our transportation covered, lunches purchased and tummy's full, we all rallied together for an unexpected ministry opportunity!  God opened the door for us to visit our friends from Graffiti Church - Charlie Brown, and Captivate Church - Colleen Smith.  I truly did not know if we were going to be able to get to them tonight, and I am so thankful God allowed it to happen.  Both places and teams experienced God moving and working in these places.  It truly set the stage for us to build relationships with the people here in a great way!

Our prayer this morning was from Proverbs 16:2 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.  This day and this week is not about us, our team, our agenda or anything of us.  We are committing our lives to the Lord and desiring for Him to lead and direct our comments, relationships and more.  It is a blessing to watch the Lord work in our team!  It is only day ONE!  Cannot wait to see what God does tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and I sure hope you visit daily.

Please continue to pray for us - Keith and Team

Story - I had the opportunity to sit down and hang with Katoria at Captivate Church.  She is a 14 year old precious girl (Picture Below).  Colleen shared with me that she is hard to get through to.  God gave me an opportunity to share with her tonight about my family, my trip to Kenya and more.  I told her about my youngest daughter LaurenKate and her decision to accept Jesus this year.  Katoria asked, "Did you make her decide or did she decide on her own?"  I thought that was an interesting question, so I shared with her LaurenKate's story, which gave me an opportunity to witness to Katorya.  Come to find out, she accepted Jesus this year as well and had been baptized just like my LaurenKate.  God seems to be doing a work in her life, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share tonight with Katorya.  Please pray for her tonight!

 Leaving Love Field

 Aaron and Shawn at Captivate Church

 Dance Party at GEM - Captivate Church

 My new friend - Katorya

 Kaelyn, Braydon, Ben and Aaron

 The Lafon Girls!!

 

Baltimore, Maryland - Here we come!

Hello Friends and Neighbors,

I leave tomorrow with a team of 20 faithful men and women to be ON MISSION in Baltimore, Maryland.  Our church, Cottonwood Creek Church, has teamed up with the North American Mission Board and ADOPTED Baltimore as our SEND City.  Because of this partnership, we are seeking out opportunities to come alonside many churches and church planters and serve the people in Baltimore.

With the circumstances this past year in Baltimore, we all know that God is working in this area.  With all of the violence and turmoil, men and women are standing in the gap in this great city and making a difference.  This week we have an opportunity to be a part of this work, and we are so excited to serve and share Jesus!

Here are the 20 Team Members attending.  Please join us in prayer for them this week - July 29 - August 4, 2015

Mark and Kelly Headrick
Stan & Gini Cole
Denise Francisco
Ben & Emily Anderson
Alex Jenks
Dennis Burkett
Keith Tyler
Lafons - 6 - Jason and Laurie, Lexi, Maddie, Gage and Victoria
Aaron Stiefer
Sean Taylor
Brayden & Kaelyn Bunting

We will be working with:
Captivate Church - East Baltimore
Graffiti Church
Church of the Harbor

You can follow us daily on this BLOG to see how we are doing and how to pray for us!  Thank you in advance for your time and prayers.

Excited to serve - Keith and Team