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Missions Update
Oklahoma Mission Trip
We entered the camp at around 3 pm the first day and you could feel the excitement of all on the bus as we drove through the entrance. Our mission base was for the youth to learn servant leadership and it started by having the young men carry all of the women and young ladies luggage to their cabin first and then going back and retrieving our own. This was only the first of many task and challenges that the Denton youth met and exceeded.

Our evenings started with Children’s Church service at 8pm. The first service only had 8 children show up which is usual for this trip. As the week progressed more and more showed up. By the last night we had 24 children to sing songs with and praise the Lord. Our children’s service started with song and dance which was followed by a short sermon. Then the children broke into small reinforcement groups which were led by our youth. They did a wonderful job leading and controlling the children.

Our mornings started with VBS which was led by one of our adults but basically managed by our youth. We designated different youth to lead song and praise, small groups and recreational activities everyday. The afternoons were a time for the Denton youth to go to bible study classes and to mingle with the Asian and Native American population. It was wonderful to see our pre-teen youth lead by example and not follow someone else’s lead. We asked them to spread themselves into groups of people they did not know and to make friends. They did everything we asked of them and more.

The mission trip to Oklahoma is one that my family and I look forward to every year. Even though Oklahoma is not across some ocean or a thousand miles away, the need for love and Christ is very evident there. This is a wonderful opportunity for our youth to learn how to share Christ to people they have never met and a wonderful opportunity to learn leadership skills. My family and I are excited to go next year.
-Randy Evans

Haiti Mission Trip
Here are just a few highlights from our Mission trip to Haiti. You can find more information and pictures on www.fbcdmissions.blogspot.com.

The first day we headed to the place we were assigned to clean up an area to build a house we spent a 3 hour bus ride through the city streets crowded with people, cars, and street vendors before we arrived at our destination. After taking many pictures of this amazing mountainside village of endless houses, we were saddened by the realization that they appeared from a distance. The few homes that were actually still standing had major damage caused by the earthquake. The whole side of this mountain was completely destroyed by the earthquake. We climbed through the rubble and shifting earth to our destination. To uncover the foundation of a family's home flattened completely as countless others. It looked like a never ending task at first but little by little, brick by brick we saw foundation and steps of the former house appearing. Emotions ranged from tiredness to joy as the Haitian neighbors pitched in to help in the assembly line of buckets. The father of the house worked endlessly to uncover and rebuild the home his daughter was killed in. One of the best things of the day was learning a little self taught Creole and being able to see happy expressions on the Haitians faces as we spoke to them in their native language. Of course all we have learned so far is "good morning", "good afternoon", and "Jesus loves you". We will head back on Tuesday and work to get as far as we possibly can this week.

In the crèche with the babies, before I even stepped on the porch, one little tiny girl named Diana was holding her arms out and crying to me to hold her. When I sat down with her, Francesca also came over and sat in my lap. They both stayed in my lap for 2 hours. If I tried to put them down they cried. The Haitian workers were crèche top to bottom and we had to move from the porch to inside. One lady was cleaning out the fridge and it was spotless. After lunch I went back to the crèche and held Diana again. When she got down, I went and picked up a tiny baby girl named Grace. She has a sister named Hope. I held her and played with her until she feel asleep. The children then got bathes and got powdered and clean clothes put on. They are all so well cared for and clean. From what we have been told, this is a top notch place compared to other places in Haiti. They currently have 45 babies here and all but 6 are already in the process of being adopted by families in the US and France. Seeing the children here is really sad and breaks my heart, but they are really well cared for and it is a wonderful place for them to be until they are adopted. They are also in the process of adding more space to take in more kids.
One day we did the rice feeding. It started out with us finding out the rice was delivered about 90 minutes early. So just as we were trying to grab some lunch we had to jump in the Tap Tap. We got there and unloaded the rice into one of the classrooms at the school. After it was loaded we had about 2 hours before the people would arrive for the rice. A huge downpour of rain started and lasted about 20 minutes. After that it slowed down to a light mist that was so refreshing. Several of our groups went outside and started playing Ninja. Soon that got a few kids playing and before we knew it, all the kids came out of the classrooms and we had about 60 kids playing Ninja. After that, we sang Jesus Loves You in Haitian. It was an awesome experience seeing probably 100 kids in a circle singing. We sang a couple more songs and then did some movement games of Chicken Dance, the Macarena, head-shoulders-knees, and thumbs out. It was a great experience to see the kids having such a good time.

Missions Around the World
From The Heart of Megan:
Dear FBCD Family,
Summer is in full swing here in South Asia! The temperature is hitting the upper 90's, mangos are in season and the monsoon rains are on their way.
This past month has been full of activities, challenges and new friends, so thanks for partnering with me. Knowing you all are back home lifting me up is such an encouragement. Since I last wrote, I had the opportunity to go back to the village and lead a weekend VBS. It was fun seeing the kids again and ministering to them through stories, games, songs, Scripture, and tutoring.  Ask that the seeds planted that week are harvested in the future.
Last week, I spent three days traveling to a nearby country and back to renew my visa. It was a stressful trip anticipating the outcome of our the immigration meeting--would I be allowed to return immediately or would I be required to wait two months. Father heard all our prayers and blessed me (and my traveling companions) with a smooth border crossing both ways. And on my flight back, I was sitting next to a young woman who was traveling to my city for a college admission interview. We talked about lots of spiritual things and I got to share Truth with her. She called me the next day to tell me she was accepted and is moving to my city next month! An answer to pr for more national friends! Thanks for lifting me up.

PR for this month:
-There is a big gathering in the States this summer for my region, and there is lots of work to be done in preparation. While my supervisor is gone for ten weeks, most of the graphic design projects for the gathering fall to me. Ask that I be productive and inspired in the creation of many different pieces for the event.
- Lift up my friendship with the young woman I met on the plane. We are supposed to get together as soon as she moves here in June.
- Please continue to lift up Uncle Vales, my elderly artist friend. I have seen him the last few weeks and he has been reading the Word. Ask for fruitful conversations and focus for his heart.

Love you all and lifting you up!
Megan

From The Heart of Kelsey Townsell:
Sweet Family and Friends:
It has been pretty quiet around here for the past few weeks.  We’ve been in between big events so we’re taking this time to catch our breath and get organized for the summer.  In a few weeks, our summer missionaries will be joining us!  FBCD’s own Jon Hoffner (yay!) and a girl from Tennessee named Hannah Phelps.  Please be in prayer for them as they join our team.  In my next few letters I will be updating you about our summer events but please be in prayer for those…we have so much going on!  Activities and events planned include a trip for the teenagers to West Virginia, 4th & 5th grade boys in North Carolina, 4th & 5th grade girls in Virginia and then four weeks of Sports and Fine Arts camps.  I am incredibly excited to be here for the summer, I have heard of what goes on and am excited that God is allowing me to be a part of it this summer.

He has really blown my mind lately.  At the beginning of April, I received a letter from the building I was living in that said I needed to move out.  I was slightly panicked but I knew that SOMETHING would work out; I quickly began looking into options but every door was being shut.  I was starting to stress. During one of our Thursday meetings, my boss and I sat down to discuss my options, at the moment it was looking like a house at Rockaway Beach (2 HOURS from work) or a tent in Central Park…neither were ideal!  The very next day I received a phone call from the dorms I was living in, there was an opening in the other building but the administration has some hesitancy concerning my finances.  I quickly prepared an outline of my budget and took it to the dorm coordinator; at one o’clock that afternoon he called and asked if I would like to move in that day!!  Praise the Lord, My Jehovah Jireh!

I hope everyone is doing well, please continue to labor in prayer over the kids and families Graffiti 2 comes into contact with daily.  There seems to be a general air of apathy in the neighborhood lately and it’s a little discouraging.  Please pray that God reignites that fire and that people get excited for Him again!  Also, I am in the process of trying to secure a longer-term position here, some things have fallen through and we are hitting a wall with funding but I know God is calling me here and He has this in His hands!  Thank you.  I love you all and MISS you all!

God is Love,
Kelsey

From The Heart of Alecia Dockery:
With my departure date of September 1 less than a month away, I wanted to share some things with you so that we can both enjoy the World Race together. During my eleven months my team and I will be backpacking through the Philippines, India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Romania, Ukraine, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and one other country in Asia. We will spend a month in each country working in safe houses, AIDS clinics, orphanages, doing VBS, running sports camps, etc. Mainly we get the privilege of building relationships and loving on the people in each of these communities in whatever way we need to in order for them to see Christ.

I covet your prayers both for myself and my team, but mostly for the people that we will encounter. Prayer that God would open their eyes to see His love being poured out of us into them, and for our hearts to be broken to the point that we can love beyond ourselves.

It's going to be a long eleven months, but the very thought of getting to experience the transcendence of God and who He is among such diverse cultures first hand brings sheer joy to my heart. Thank you so much to all of you who have already been praying for me, coming to my fundraisers and showering me with support in so many other ways.
I am so blessed to be part of a church that sees the need and wants to change it.
You can follow me everywhere at: www.aleciadockery.theworldrace.org.

Love y'all!
Alecia