A Week of Stories – #3 Accepting Christ
Each day after basketball camp one of team members had the chance to share a devotional. I know that during the devotional time a lot of seeds were planted in the minds and hearts of th
ose at camp, but this story is about a seed that had already been planted being harvested!
This picture is of Dave sharing during the devotional time at camp. Here his the story he gave us on what happened as a result of his devotion.
“After the morning practice session, a boy named Prince came up and spoke to me. He told me that after hearing my devotion the previous day, which at the end of the devotion I asked the kids to accept Jesus in their hearts – he went home, read the bible and he said he accepted Jesus into his Life that night. I was shocked to hear him say those words. Various thoughts ran through my head – I was amazed, felt blessed. I then also questioned his motives in my mind, as I really did not think my words were that inspiring. But afterwards, I believe it was something in the works as he has gone to church, but had not accepted Jesus. I got to know more about Prince including his family and built a friendship. He has been on my mind and in my prayers.”
Please continue to pray for Prince and his family! Pray that he would become a strong disciple of Christ and lead others into the same relationship that he has found!
A Week of Stories – #2 God Provides in Unexpected Ways
A lot of the questions we get on trips revolve around the idea of how God will provide the necessary things when people go on a Global Impact Trip. How will I raise the money, make sure my familiy is taken care of, get time off work..and of course the list goes on and on. Sometimes God provides in ways we wouldn’t expect, but its all about perpective and watching for when God is walking ahead of you. I couldn’t help but share this story about God’s provision for one of our trip members…
“The company that my wife worked was bought out a few years back. She has been working with the new company since then and has been expecting to lose her job anytime, as her company transitions their clients to the company’s new product. Even though she could expect losing her job anytime, she thought it was going to be sometime next year. As the trip was approaching us, my wife was getting a little stressed about working and taking care of the two kids with homework, practices, and general parenting responsibilities. Well at the end of October just a week or so before we left, she was informed that due to a reduction in force, she would not have a job. Some people may think that this is terrible; I thought it was a blessing. She did not have the tasks of balancing work and parenting while I was gone. It was one less worry for her and me.”
Sometimes God providing doesn’t look like we think it should, but he is always one step ahead of us. 
A Week of Stories from CAR – Story #1 Church
Over the next five days we want to take some time to share stories from our team!
This first one is about their church experience. I’ll let Amanda take it from here….
“One of my favorite experiences was going to Church Sunday morning with Ernest (the local pastor). It was pouring rain, yet people still walked and came from all over to enjoy a time of fellowship and worship together. The heartfelt singing, music playing, and people dancing was beyond words. A small boy came forward when it was time to put in any offering and I noticed he had a hard time finding his pew again to sit back down. It turns out the little boy is completely blind; yet that nevergot or gets in his way. After the service was over, this little boy, got all of us “Americans” together and prayed his little heart out on our behalf. Tears came from my eyes, but more importantly, my heart was so full of love for God and this amazing little boy!”
The little boy is in the middle of this picture wearing a blue and white striped shirt.
I love this story! Even though the little boy was blind he didn’t let that stop him from worshiping God or praying for our team. This made me wonder…do I let thigns get in my way of reaching out to others and sharing my resources with God? I know that the answer is yes to that. Obstacles come in my way and I let them stop me from being on God’s mission to bless all nations. This boy would not be stopped in his mission. Let’s pray for a spirit like his!
Central African Republic Pictures!
Here are some great pictures from the Central African Republic Trip!
Back Safe!
The team is back safely! They told us they had around 150 kids at camp everyday and all got a chance to share their testimony with them. We can’t wait to put some pictures up for you all…but that will have to wait till Monday! Thanks for your prayers!
Central African Republic Trip…Wrapping Up!
We just heard from the team again and they wrapped up their last day of ministry this afternoon! Everything has gone awesome this week and they have spent a lot of time investing in the kids they have come in contact with. Tomorrow they will be debriefing as a team and spending some much needed time resting. We are planning for several of them to post their thoughts and experiences about their time in Central Africa on the blog when they return so stayed tuned for that!
Please continue to pray for the team as the make the trip back to the States! Culture shock is often much harder coming back home so pray that God will give them the wisdom to continue to process what they have experienced. We know your prayers have made a difference on this trip so thank you for the time you’ve spent in prayer on behalf of the team!
Airport Pick-Up Info:
If you want to greet the team at the airport with us please meet in the back parking lot of Connection Pointe at 11:30 pm on Thursday, November 17. If you have questions feel free to email me at breeves@cpccweb.org!
Thanks for being a part of their journey to Central Africa! We can’t wait to hear what God has been doing through them!
Basketball Is Everything…or is it?
We just heard from the Central African Republic team and everything is going great! Thank you so much for your prayers for unity and for every experience they are having. We know that your prayers are making a huge difference as God continues to work in and through them. The team said the kids are loving the basketball camp that they are hosting and they have already had some amazing experiences and memories. (More to come on this!)
For now here are a few thoughts on the team…..
For the 7 days they are in Central Africa, basketball is everything.
- Basketball is the reason we are in Central Africa in the first place. Did you know…the Central African government actually asked for basketball clinics which left the door wide open for us? Pretty amazing and unheard of!
- Basketball is what connected many amazing people to make this trip possible. Did you know… the basketball league at Connection Pointe donated over 20 basketballs along with many jerseys, the Pacers added 20 more basketballs, and Adidas donated 3 boxes of shirts? Also, every member of our team has some significant amount of basketball experience and are very passionate about the sport!
But, most of all, basketball is what so easily connects our team to kids 6,795 miles from our home. Basketball breaks down the language barrier and opens doors to trust and love that would take weeks or months to otherwise build.
But if we just have basketball…what’s left? Well, nothing. If we were just going to play basketball, would this trip would really be worth it? While it would be a great experience, it probably wouldn’t make that big of an impact in Central Africa. But when we use basketball; we start to give Hope, it becomes an avenue to share our Faith in Christ, and becomes a way to invest in a community we would have never had a chance to be part of. This is why basketball is not everything. Basketball is the main thing on this trip, but basketball isn’t everything. Christ is everything. Basketball just connects us. Praise the Lord for a few Hooisers who love basketball and have a passion to share their faith! We know that as God works through them they will leave a huge impact on the Central African Republic.
Keep praying!!
Leaving for Central Africa!
The Central African Republic team is headed to the airport. They are due to arrive in Africa at 11:30 am tomorrow morning (our time, 5:30 pm CAR time)! The team will be working with kids in CAR doing basketball camps and sharing their faith through their love of basketball. We can’t wait to hear stories of how God moves through this team! Stay posted for a mid-trip blog update (pending internet access). Please be praying for smooth travel for the team, health and energy while they are in the country, opportunities to share their faith, team unity, and for the Holy Spirit to move in and through them!
In a country in desperate need of hope I couldn’t think of words better than these to describe our team and the hope that they are bringing to the Central African Republic. Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
Basketball…in Africa?!
In a continent long know for their passion about soccer Central African Republic has been united by another sport, basketball. Central African Republic won the African Championship in 1974 and 1987 but has since been ravaged by civil war and caught in the middle of other wars happening in the region. Kids who once spent time shooting hoops were now caught in the middle of a war-torn nation and were often being captured to be child soldiers. On November 7-18 we are sending a team of basketball lovers to offering hope through the sport the once unified the worn torn country. We couldn’t imagine a more perfect partnership…. Hooiser Hysteria with the Central African Republic’s love of the same game. The team will be conducting basketball clinics for kids in Central African Republic bringing hope and the love of Christ to a country in desperate need of both. Please join us in praying for the team as they go! Internet is hard to access in CAR so we’ll do our best to keep you updated but will do a complete update when they get back!
global impact @ connection pointe 