Summer 2017 • Gonzalez Newsletter • Athletes in Action
“This is the first time I open a Bible,” Gavin whispered to himself as he turned to Genesis to discover God’s design for sex during one of our teaching sessions of…
Bahamas: Happy Sad (Family Mission Day 4)
Well, today was a full day of readying the garden for seeding, loving the children at VBS and spending quality time with the church leaders as well as with our own team. We are pretty tired, but not weary. We are sun-kissed, but not burned. And we are happy, but also sad. Today was our […]
Brazil- weddings, teams, and kids galore!
I find myself combining two months posts into just one and I really don’t know where to start! To say we’ve been busy would be a total understatement! We had the incredible privilege to see our oldest daughter, Jessica get married recently. We are officially the proud parents of a wonderful son-in-law, Nathan Becker. Pete […]
Bahamas: Robots and Rakes (Family Mission Day 3)
Greetings from the island! Things are underway and going well, not without some usual distractions and diversions that always seem to accompany a mission, but nothing that surprises God and prevents Him from doing what He wants to do here. Yes, it’s HOT! Yes, the insects enjoy us! Yes, the technology didn’t initially work as […]
Bahamas: Getting to Work! (Family Mission Day 2)
We are ready! This morning, right after breakfast, we began detailed preparations for today’s work. The dads in our group went to assess the spot where we will build a garden, while the rest of our team met to practice (pic below) for the teaching and worship time of today’s VBS. Once the soil and […]
Bahamas: Safe, Sound and Sea-sickless! (Family Mission Day 1)
Good morning, Christ Journey! As you prepare to gather in Coral Gables or Kendall in Miami… or anywhere around the world if you’re joining us online, our power-packed team of 12 is preparing to worship Bahama-style at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in McLean’s Town, Grand Bahama. We had a long day of travel yesterday, making […]
July Cru newsletter – Larry and Betty Barr
The timing of the two emails from a university faculty member couldn’t have been better. We had just begun to work on a newsletter to highlight an outstanding new resource (A Grander Story: An Invitation to Christian Professors) just released by Faculty Commons, Cru’s ministry to faculty and graduate students. And who should we hear […]
Touching Miami with Love & Run51 Music Video
Touching Miami with Love kids know how to live and enjoy each moment! We were so pleased to be invited to take part in Run51’s latest music video for their song “This Moment.” Jason Burris of Athletes in Action at the University of Miami is Run51’s drummer and long-time partner of Touching Miami with Love. The […]
Ecuador • Fundación Amor y Esperanza • May 2017
In April, we received a team from our Christ Journey Church family. Twenty students and leaders blessed us with their hard work on the ongoing construction for our new school building. The Christ Journey team worked with the students at the school during the mornings and then they headed to the new school building to […]
May 2017 • Gonzalez Newsletter • Athletes in Action
“God is on the move in the UM Athletic Department,” said Kyle Bellamy, as he spoke during our appreciation brunch this month. We had the honor of hosting Kyle and his family in our home as he shared with our…
May Cru newsletter – Larry and Betty Barr
Unfortunately, we didn’t think to snap the picture that would have been worth a thousand words. Machine parts were lying about while the repairman tried to attend to the needs of our aged and ailing photocopier. He practically crawled inside the machine looking for the proverbial missing screw, although in this case it was an […]
Brazil Update
Hello everyone, Please check out our latest newsletter!……
April • Gonzalez Newsletter • Athletes in Action
She’s only been involved with Athletes in Action (AIA) for the spring semester of her senior year, and Angela Algee is taking advantage of…
Brazil- April Easter Update
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Matthew 28:6 What beautiful words those are! To know that death does not have a hold over our Lord and Savior! Today was such a beautiful day to worship and thank our heavenly Father for His Son, His sacrifice, and His love! This has been […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 6
As this middle school mission trip comes to its conclusion, Evan and I reflect on our final day filled with a hope, encouragement and excitement that is truly unexplainable. We began our final morning incredibly early, just as the sun rose, to participate in a local church service which began on the street to honor […]
Brazil- March Update
So many things have happened since our last update …. A really big blessing is that the girl for whom we requested prayer in our last update trusted in Jesus as her Lord! She came to our four day sleepover Camp and was impacted by what she learned during that time. She tearfully gave her […]
April Cru Easter note – Larry and Betty Barr
Standing before Pilate, Jesus clearly and simply stated His purpose. “. . . for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” (John: 18:37) “What is truth?” Pilate asked. But he refused to search deeper to discover the answer to His own question. Our country […]
Ecuador Mission Trip – Day 5
Assuming that you’re reading when you wake up, good morning! It is currently 1 am here in Ecuador and we are still up writing each others encouragement letters, and needless to say, we are all very tired. Our day began with chocolate covered fruit kabobs and blue skies. As we all pilled on to the […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 5
Today, we woke up to an amazing breakfast that consisted of pancakes & eggs. Later, at about 3:00, we drove over to the youth center to start VBS. In VBS, we talked about seashells and how they represented the empty tomb that Jesus rose from. Today was the last day of VBS and it was […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 4
Today started off with some of the kids trying to keep up with our marathon runner Evan. They ran about two miles on the beach which really made it difficult! After that we went to the church to put on VBS and Christine taught the kids that they should “always share Jesus with others!” I […]
Ecuador Student Mission Trip – Day 4
Happy day to all of our family and friends! It’s Marlee, Tori, and Ryan speaking, and we would like to apologize for how late this post is going to be. Tonight’s devotional with Pancho and Pity was overwhelmingly beautiful and we’re still recovering from the intense amount of tears shed because of the breakthrough experienced […]
Nicaragua Student Mission Trip – Day 4
Crowded streets and traffic were replaced by winding roads and horses, as we made our way to Ruby Ranch. It was almost impossible not to stare in awe at the scenery that surrounded us. We arrived at Ruby Ranch and received a disclaimer from Krista Farrington who warned us that, “It’s the dry season, so […]
Nicaragua Student Mission – Day 3
When waking up to a beautiful sunrise and birds chirping, our day was already set up for success. After making some of the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to ever be created, our team enjoyed breakfast and hopped on to the bus to head to day 2 of our VBS at Club Esperanza. Our […]
Ecuador Student Mission Trip – Day 3
While it rained, our second day at Amor y Esperanza was a beautiful success. Learning from trial and error from the first day, as we gathered for lunch for some fantastic burritos, the team was expressing how great today was and how much the kids enjoyed the math lessons. After building relationships with the kids […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 3
Today was even more than expected. We had amazing French toast and fruit. Once we got to the church, we painted the entire thing. During VBS, the kids learned that even on our crabby days we can still turn to God. Christine asked me to share the Bible story of “Jonah and the Whale” with […]
Nicaragua Student Mission Trip – Day 2
Today was a great day of JOY! We visited Club Esperanza for a full day of fun and hard work. From the red light green light to the armor of God, the children spread immense joy and happiness. The side walk is half finished and the bones of many are sore but we still hold the […]
Ecuador Student Mission Trip – Day 2
Click here to watch the morning with the kids. We back, part 2. It’s just us boys this time. Reed, Niko, Trevor, Colin, and Ryan. Today we woke up to a surprising beautiful view; excited to meet our students for the first time. We loaded up the bus and headed out to Amor y Esperanza […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 2
Today was even better than yesterday. Some of the guys woke up at 6:00am so they could work on the church. Today we just primed the church and dug up all the weeds with butter knives. Once we finished working we started to prepare for Vacation Bible School. We set out snacks for all the […]
Nicaragua Student Mission Trip – Day 1
Waking up at the crack of dawn, we felt exhilarated at the thought of what was to come, while at the same time a nervousness that was driven by us both being first time Mission-Trip-goers. The church experience in itself was so different than anything that we had ever been to. Whether it was the […]
Ecuador Student Mission Trip – Day 1
Hello from Ecuador, it’s Amanda, Brianne, and Lindsey here. We’re going to take this blog all the way back to the beginning of our day. We woke up to the lovely knocks of Mr. David Gray at the door at 7am… sharp and headed UP the many…MANY stairs to eat the amazing empanadas and blackberry […]
Bahamas Student Mission Trip – Day 1
Today started up nice and early. We woke up at 7:00 to go to the Palm Sunday service at New Emmanuel Baptist Church. The service was incredible and the worship was even better. After church we came back to our bungalows and ate gourmet PB&J’s which where delicious. After we finished eating we drove over […]
Touching Miami with Love Supporting Families
Family time is important in order to strengthen bonds, and sharing in special events together creates memories that make being a part of a family feel special. But what if you don’t have transportation or you can’t afford the entry price for the popular events in your city? Without a car, it is hard to […]
March Cru newsletter – Larry and Betty Barr
We designed our display to be self-explanatory. Someone passing by our table at the post conference could easily grasp who we are, what we do, and why. 65 . . . 25 . . . 400 . . . HIKE! Well . . . no, we weren’t talking football. Panel #1 of our display simply […]
Update- Brazil
Happy 2017 to everyone from all of us here at Apascentai Minhas Ovelhas (Feed My Sheep) Brazil! We are overjoyed at the abundant blessings that the Lord has poured on this ministry. He continually provides for our needs and opens doors which seem impossible, to the human eye, to open. If you have not read […]
January & February • Gonzalez Newsletter • Athletes in Action
“Come meet the team Wednesday at 5pm,” said Head Baseball Coach, Jim Morris, as he invited Steve DeBardelaben and I (Anthony) to share our ministry with the UM Baseball players. During the team meeting, Steve, Jason Burris, and I shared our testimonies and made ourselves available for follow up. Amazingly, 21 out of the 31 players indicated a desire to…
Year end blessings- Brazil
What a joyful Christmas Eve celebration of Jesus’s birth in the slums that are overridden by drugs, crime, prostitution, drunkenness, hunger and abandoned children and infants who die young. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit was the unseen God attending and providing a banquet in honor of His Son’s birthday […]
January Cru newsletter – Larry and Betty Barr
Jane’s regular job as a flight attendant gave her a flexible work schedule, and she wanted to invest some of her free time in Christian ministry. A friend suggested that she contact Cru (known then as Campus Crusade for Christ). Sure enough, John, the Southeast Area Director for the campus ministry needed a part-time, volunteer […]
Athletes in Action • Gonzalez Newsletter
Shannon McCarthy has been a frequent story that we’ve shared. She has recently completed her final soccer season with UM as the team captain, and here’s what she wrote as her “Captain’s Corner” entry on the Hurricane Sports webpage. “Recently, I have been asked what the best part of my college career was. Academically and athletically, […]
New Missions Blog
We have launched a new website for Christ Journey! We give thanks to God for the skills, dedication and provision in making this possible. Many more improvements are still on the way. We hope this new online experience will be of much benefit to you. Stay tuned for updates from our local and global partners!
