2011 Youth Mission Trip
Friday July 15
Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!"
Thursday was another work day, with our groups canvassing the area with doorhangers for North Hills Baptist Church as well as flyers for their upcoming VBS. I thank the Lord for the safety and mercy He has blessed us with, especially given the many miles we have driven and walked. While it may seem like a minor thing, the "uneventfulness" of a passing out doorhangers is due more to God's watchcare over us in so many different ways. One of the pics shown here is a snake I walked up to while passing out doorhangers. I didn't hang around to find out what kind it was (although I still left a doorhanger!). The group continues to work hard with a good spirit. Pastor VanDelinder has already received several calls from those who have received the flyers and are interested in sending their children. Praise the Lord for this, and pray for continued fruit!
In the evening the group split up again for either visitation or small group Bible study. The emphasis of the small group Bible studies this week was giving your personal testimony of salvation, and several from our group shared how God saved them. 
Interestingly enough, many from North Hills were exposed to the Gospel at a young age, and so they could relate to many in our group who also heard the Gospel while still young. There is nothing more exciting than seeing God change a life and have that person enthusiastically tell of the change God is making in their lives. At one point, I asked Pastor V if I could take some of them home with me (he said we would need to work out a trade if that were to happen). A true test of one's faith is the unity that exists between a believer and you. And as the pictures attest to, there was an instant bond with these believers. I felt like we were at a Bible study at home with all of you! I really wish you could be here!
One more thing before I go: While discussing the unity between believers, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how blessed I am to be with this missions team. 
Only God can put 25 diverse personalities together for a week and have them not only coexist peacefully, but also enjoy and treasure being with each other. They are constantly looking out for the interests of one another (Philippians 2:3-4) without any spirit of dissention. There is a God-given spirit of unity that has governed our group to the praise and glory of God. While we can't wait to see our wives and kids, Seth and I love spending time with them, having so many conversations be related to our love for God and living the Christian life. Grace Church of Mentor is truly blessed to have these youth, because they live out what they believe. Imagine spending a week with 24 other Christians who love God and love you - and they really show it - what a privilege! May Jesus Christ be praised!
Michael Hixson
Thursday July 14
Psalm 103:1-2, 5
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits...Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle."
To all those back home,
My sincere apologies for not having an update yesterday. Actually, the update was typed and ready to go, and then my laptop decided it didn't want to connect to the internet. No connection, no update. So I will shorten Tuesday's update and combine it with yesterday.
Tuesday was a site-seeing day, and we were given a tour of historic Round Rock Texas by Pastor Van Delinder. Even though he has lived here only a year, he probably knows more about the history of the area than most residents here. We got to see the namesake for the city, the infamous "round rock", and we also learned about the culture of this old city. After that, we went down to Austin, where we visited the Texas History Museum and the State Capitol (the pic is with our tour guide, Comfort). We learned about much of what makes Texas so unique and self-identifying, and we were even given a brief lesson in geography, learning the importance of how to distinguish between an island and a peninsula (an inside joke, if you couldn't tell).
That evening we walked downtown and ate dinner in the Austin-style, eclectic restaurants. The food was great, and from there we went down to the Congressional Bridge to go bat-watching. Yes, the animal, and not the superhero. Every evening at dusk, thousands and thousands of bats pour out from underneath the bridge where they'd been sleeping. At times there can be so many that they fill the night sky like smoke. It was an Austin experience to say the least!
Wednesday was back to work, and our kids hit the pavement with doorhangers in the morning and visitation in the evening. I again want to praise the Lord for their hard work and positive attitude. The temperature has hit 100 every day we've been here, and yet the team serves without complaint. Also keep in mind that many in the group are also doing afternoon projects (yesterday was prepping the house for painting and getting flyers ready for their upcoming VBS). They are getting their money's worth from this trip, that's for sure!
Finally, what I think to be the highlight for us, we took part in small group Bible studies with part of the congregation. These take place Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and while half the group was doing visitation, the other half stayed back for the small group study. It was a great time to hear some of the salvation testimonies of their people, including Benny and Katsumi Ignacio. This couple has been such a blessing to so many in the group just from their testimony, and we are privileged to have met this brother and sister in Christ. Tonight the other half of the group will take part in the small group study that meets on Thursday nights, and we are looking forward to hearing about what God has done to change the lives of the people of North Hill Baptist Church.
Thank you again for all your prayers. Everything has gone smoothly, and the team is working (and sleeping) hard to God's glory.
More to come,
Michael Hixson
Tuesday July 12
Phiippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
Monday was all that we expected, and then some. We started by meeting Pastor V (as he is known around here) at his house and heading out for a few hours of doorhanger distribution. Though it isn't very glamorous, putting up doorhangers is the quickest way to spread the word about North Hills to the community of Round Rock. And as we proved, it wouldn't be a Grace Church missions trip without a few run-ins with a dog (you can ask Ryan Grenier about that one when he gets home). In all, we spent about 3 hours in the morning distibuting doorhangers, and about half the group went out again after dinner for another two hours. It was a very profitable time, and we were able to cover alot of ground in a short time.
After lunch, we came back to Pastor V's house to work on some home projects. After the work we were able to do today, I think all of us earned honorary citizenship to "manville" (see attached picture)! In the 100 degree heat of the afternoon,part of the missions team was able to prep Pastor V's house for painting as well as pour concrete and fix several posts on his fence (kudos to Seth Brandt and his leadership on that one!). While doing that, others cleaned and rearranged Pastor V's shed, while others mapped out the destinations of evening visitation, while still others washed and cleaned out the church trailer and vehicles, while still others filled cracks in some of posts on Pastor V's porch, while still others made store runs for supplies and equipment for later in the week. Needless to say, after the afternoon projects and the doorhanger distribution, the missions team slept well.
It really is a blessing to see how hard the team worked in the conditions they were in. In addition to the heat, the sheer number of people around begs for a large amount of patience and flexibility. Sometimes its "hurry up, the group is about to go!", while other times it's "Hold on real quick; I'll get with you in a minute." As a group, they are a joy to be with because of their Christ-like attitudes and self-sacrificing behavior. The team did in one day what it would have taken Pastor VanDelinder and his people weeks to do, and they did it joyfully. As we continue through the week, please pray that this spirit would continue as the team feels the wear of long hot days. As a group, we have been emphasizing the need to sacrifice for others - primarily because we do for others, we do for the Lord, and He is the giver of joy.
Today (Tuesday) is our site-seeing day. We plan on a comprehensive tour of Round Rock, and then we'll head to Austin for a day at a museum or two, followed up with some local fare and some bat-watching (yes, like the animal; it's an Austin thing). Thank you once again for all your prayers - we couldn't do anything without the Lord working through them!
Michael Hixson
Monday July 11
Thank you all so much for your prayers! To me it's very obvious that all of you are praying. Thus far we have been blessed to have a smooth and uneventful schedule that has been free from any setbacks. It is nice when the Lord allows you to do what you planned on doing without throwing in any monkey-wrenches (it's tempting to say "knock-on wood" at this point, but we all know that God's monkey-wrenches are just one more way he shapes us to be like His Son!).
The morning worship service was held in a community center here in Round Rock. The facility is very spacious, and it will be great for them as they continue to grow. Counting us, there were about 60 in the morning service. Anna Kubiak and Tim Lemponen shared their salvation testimonies, and I need to say that I don't ever get tired of hearing how someone comes to know Christ. Based on what Pastor VanDelinder has shared with us, Round Rock is a city where many have heard the Gospel, and many that have visited their church actually made professions of faith at some point, but they have since lapsed into spiritual inactivity. These two testimonies from Anna and Tim were great reminders of God's amazing grace and patience as He draws men to him. Our group also ministered in song, and several helped in the nursery and Jr Church services as well.
It was also a great day to meet the members of North Hills Baptist Church. You all would be praising God to see your children fellowshipping and talking at length with the folks here (and, in typical GCM style, staying longer than we probably should after the service fellowshipping with them!). In the evening we all were invited to a fellowship at the home of one of the members. The McAdams family was so gracious to open their home to our large group and to their church family. It was great to meet Elizabeth McAdams, a college student at Baylor, and we've invited her to come be a part of our ministry this week as her schedule allows; our girls were able to build a good relationship with her.
When the church members of North Hill described why they came to North Hills Baptist Church, the two words that seemed to describe their previous church experience were "impersonal" and "showy." There isn't a lack of large, Protestant churches down here, but unfortunately many have bulit their ministry on an entertainment atmosphere where the congregation is more of an audience as opposed to a body of believers. I am thankful for Grace Church and our pastors, who both preach and live a lifestyle where people are souls who are to be loved and fed, and not simply a crowd to be pleased. Our group has been blessed to be with these people, and for me to hear all of the spiritual conversations held between us and the believers from North Hills was worth the trip all by itself.
Thanks again for all your prayers. Today we start our doorhanger distribution. Please pray for strength and for safety, and especially pray for open doors (no pun intended) for the Gospel.
We hope that your Lord's Day services and worship were God-glorifying, and we look forward to being back with you next week.
Michael Hixson
I John 5:1-3 1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Fathe loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
Saturday July 9
We got up bright and early (well, early at least) and got to the airport by 5 AM. Everything went smoothly as we checked in and waited for our flight to Dallas. It was the first time that some in the group had flown before, so nerves were a little bit of a factor, but once we were up in the air, everything was fine.
We arrived in beautiful and warm Austin Texas, greeted by 95 degrees at 10 AM. We've been told that this has been the 25th day that the temps have risen above 100 degrees down here. However, we are making it a point to thank the Lord for the heat. Anyone can complain about how hot it is, but we aren't always as quick to be thankful for the heat as compared to the last 6 months! (or the AC in our vehicles too)
We met Pastor Jeremy VanDelinder and his family today, and we are blessed to be ministering to their church and to them. They both have a heart that is willing to "roll with the punches" that come to the first-year church planter. Both he and his Assistant Pastor Jim Olt were kind enough to spend the day with us as we settled in and prepared for the week ahead.
Throughout the day we were able to come in contact with many in the community of Round Rock. We even saw a man with a Cleveland Indians jersey on--here in Texas of all places! The Lord is blessing us with interaction with unbelievers, both in the plane and here in Round Rock.
Please pray for our ministry to North Hills Baptist Church tomorrow. With that in mind, pray for Tim Lemponen and Anna Kubiak as they share their salvation testimonies with the audience.
While it's only been one day, we miss you back home and really want your prayers. More to come tomorrow!
Michael Hixson
Psalm 16:2,11: "O my soul, you have said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.'"