Celebrating our 30^th Preteen Mission Trip This Summer

As we were preparing for the mission trips this summer—numbers 29, 30, and 31—it hit me that by the end of the summer, we will have been on more than 30 mission trips with preteens in the last 14 years. Along with many others, I have witnessed many God moments that have blessed my life immensely. I will never forget what I have witnessed. This newsletter will highlight a few of these amazing events. I still love the mission trips; however, it takes me a lot longer to recover after each trip now that we are doing three per summer. Please keep Vicki and me in your prayers this summer, that we will get rest and for God’s supernatural strength to endure throughout all three upcoming trips.

Corpus Christi, Texas – 2004

On Monday of this trip, a young man named Mark (5^th grader) taught the Bible study at an apartment complex in Corpus Christi. He taught the lesson and gave an invitation. Seven children and students came forward to trust Christ for salvation. Mark and the other L.I.T.s at the apartments led all seven of them, including three teenagers, to Christ. That night Mark told me, “Brother Clint, when I was speaking today, there was something like fire that was going through me.” I was a little shocked to hear this, but I told him, “Mark, that was the Holy Spirit!”

Revival at Jersey Village, Texas – 2005

If you have been to camp, you know that the spiritual high always seems to hit at the pinnacle event on the last day of camp right before you go home. On the Jersey Village mission trip, that high point happened near the beginning of our trip on Sunday evening during our worship time. The Lord led me to call the preteens to surrender their lives to Him. While the kids were out that afternoon, I felt led to move the chairs in the room aside and lay down a masking tape cross on the floor. After I put it down, I returned the chairs to their regular places. That evening during the worship service, I had the L.I.T.s move the chairs out of the way and stand around the edges of the cross. I shared that God calls all believers to surrender to Him and abandon everything to follow Christ. I shared what Paul says in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus tells us the calling of all disciples: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). I told them that we were going to sing a song called “The Wonderful Cross.” I said, “If you want all that Jesus has to offer, then here is the invitation: When the song gets to the point where it says, ‘Bid me come and die that I might truly live,’ that is your invitation to step into the cross, sit down, and surrender your life to the Lord.” I started playing the song, and at the point of the invitation chorus, the kids all stepped into the cross, including the adults, and they all sat down. When the song ended, the Spirit of God fell in such a powerful way that they were all broken before the Lord. It is hard to explain what I and many others felt that night and throughout the whole week. They wept and cried over their sins for several hours. I heard kids confessing their sins aloud. Some walked over to someone they had offended and asked for their forgiveness. Then, their prayers turned into intercession for the lost—lost family members as well as kids who needed the Lord. Each day, they became fearless evangelists. They witnessed to everyone they met. As they testified each night of the trip, many of us wept for joy to hear what was coming from their mouths. I could write a book about what we witnessed there.

The Vomit Mission Trip in San Marcos, Texas – 2009

Vomit doesn’t usually bring good memories, but this time it did. Our church hosted an event at a lake near our church the weekend before our mission trip. A lot of the kids from our group went to the lake and swam. What we didn’t know was that there was a parasite in the water that caused those who came in contact with it to become really sick with an upset stomach and the other things that go along with that. That’s all I have to say about that. We didn’t realize this until we were almost to San Marcus and kids started getting sick on the bus. Our nurse on the trip quarantined one side of the building with all of the kids that were sick. We had Germ-x everywhere. The nurse had us all regularly washing our hands and disinfecting the building. Before the week was over, we had sent 14 children and leaders home. No this isn’t the amazing part. What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. That week, the remaining kids led 97 children and adults to Christ! Many of the L.I.T.s had to step up and teach every day at their ministry locations. It turned out to be an amazing trip.

One Twelve-Year-Old Girl Leads Three Generations to Christ

During the 2012 mission trip in Fort Worth, Texas, an elderly gentleman stood up during the evening testimony time and shared what had happened at his ministry site that day. He said, “Sarah (age 12) taught today. When she came to the point of giving the invitation, she said, ‘If you would like to accept Christ as your Savior, raise your hand.’ Well, a lady standing there raised her hand, then her daughter next to her raised her hand, and then her granddaughter did as well. Sarah sat down on the curb at the apartment and led all three of them to Christ!” He continued to share, “I have never seen anything like this! It is hard to believe that from one girl sharing the Gospel, names from three generations were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life today.”

Praises and Prayer Requests

Praises

• For God’s continued provision for the ministry
• For open doors internationally

Requests

• We need a 15-passenger van for our Catoosa, Oklahoma, mission trip. Please pray for the Lord’s provision of a van or for the funds ($1,500) to rent a van.
• For God’s grace for Clint and Vicki for the mission trips—pray that we will be able to rest and have the strength needed for the three trips this summer
• For God’s wisdom concerning our international ministry opportunities
• For God’s provision of an RV to use as our mission trip office and a place for Vicki and me to stay during trips
• Please pray for the funds to pay for the two shower trailers the children and adults on the mission trips will be using this summer. The cost is an estimated $750.
• For the Spirit of God to fall powerfully on all three mission trips this summer. Pray that the lives of the L.I.T.s will be changed for the rest of their lives.