many a tear did fall

We are actually on the bus on our way back to the border. Our last night was filled with tears, laughter, joy and of course God. We have been on the mountain top this week and our experience has been as if we were physically next to Christ himself. It will be diffacult to return homd and contain our joy. We were a group of 18 who many would say got together and decided to take a trip to Mexico, but each of us on this trip know we were called by God. Each of us had a major role in the sucess of this trip... And it was a huge sucess. If you are reading this you know someone on this team, Please sit down with that person and ask them about thei experience! You will be moved with the details and proud of your team member.
We have all grown closer to one another, a bond that will never be broken, but more importantly I can without reservation say we have all grown closer to God.
On behalf of all the Adults on this trip I want to thank the parents for allowing your young adults to go with us... It has been a privilege to get to know and Love them.!
Lance

We are a school on a mission right? I say yes! but to have a successful mission everyone needs to work together and that doesnt just mean just us 18 the entire school as well we are a school that will be moved and will be changed. at least thats what i would like for my last year is to see a transformed school dead to themselves concerned with others as we are wrapping up our day here having our last meal im going to be real these ninos (kids) are my passion i dont wanna go back to nashville i havr nothing to stress about anymore but i have awesome stories for all my friends and family back to my previous subject... For my school to be new and actually have respect for teachers and love their friends you can still have a good time and be you. These kids are my passion and this is what i feel like im called to do forvmy life maybe not here but you get the point. Dinner is starting
Much loveu

In His name
Vince

Our last full day

It's kind of a sad day for us. Our last full day here and at some point we have to say goodbye to old and new friends. We always look forward to seeing family again but still we are sad. We have taken over a thousand photos and many videos. We'll put them together and find a way to get some of thos to all who would like them.
Today is a big clean up day and we'll be focused on that. But the thing we look forward to the most is getting back to playing with the kids. In all my trips I have to say this is the hardest working group we've ever had mostly because of our small numbers but also because they just seem to get it. The real reason we are and thats for the kids. They don't seem to mind the hard work at all. The hours have been from around 7 AM to 10 PM truely non-stop. We'll packing today think about the kids we have met here and we be kind of sad but we will also be thinking of our family back...and the new appriciation we have for you all.

Day 5 update

To say we are busy is an understatement!!! We have meals to prepare for the babies, we are working hard on the art project at the ninas dorm and there are rice crispy treats being made for about 130 of us. We aren't in a panic and everything is being masterfully handled by the team. I'm pretty sure all of you would be very pleased if you could see your team member in action. Really what we have accomplished this week is a task taken on by a team normally twice our size. We are all worn out but its a good tired.
The adults and veterans on this trip all agree this group is amazing and we all lift them up to the Lord in prayer

Day 5

This is tresdon stphens. Were having a amazing time here at the city of children. This is a really
Eye opening experience for all of us. At first when i arrived i was hoping that this week would go by
Quick qnd fast, now i wished this week would never end. Mom if your reading this i love you dad austin and
Addie and thank you for everything you have done for this trip trust me it was well worth it.
Please keep the kids and the city of children in your prayers.

Adios. God bless.

work on the wall

The group working on the wall today has so far made great progress. It's a pretty ambitious project but NCS is up for it. The word of the week is "flexable" and we have been that!! It is hard for me to describe to you how amazing this group is. We have taken hundreds of pictures and some videos to record this epic trip. We can't wait to show you how God has used us this week. Keep praying!

Update from Brit :)

Hey guys its Brit! Mr. Lance just gave me the ENORMOUS honor of writing on the blog. Phew hard work is being done down here in Ensenada. But it is well worth seeing all of the kids smile. Every night we have american devo and the question that is asked is, "Where did you see God today?" Well yesterday was our benevolence day and God was absolutely everywhere. After we gave the five families food, we were going to go to get Brother Franco's daughter from school. We went to the wrong school but when we got out with oreos and bracelets, at least 50 kids swarmed us. Megan got toothbrushes out of the van anf she had to hold them above her head in order to not get tackled. Every one of those little kids was blessed yesterday and we were too. Everyone is having a great time and soreading Christ to the ones who need him. We love you all. To my Mom, Dad, Jared, Bre, and Brook, i love you guys and ill see you soon! :)

And so begins another day

We have much to do today, but it starts with breakfast. We begin our work project to and then we are going to play like 5 year olds! Actually we have worked hard every day and have been playing like 5 year olds all along.
This has been a great trip a this team has amazed me everyday. I wish each of you could watch this group in action.
I'll try to get the kids to blog some today and give you their story.
Lance

bed time

Its bed time here at the city. Another great day and looking forward to see what God has in store for us tomorrow!!!

God has blessed our day!

God never fails. He has blessed our day and really it's only about half over. Today we sarted out with a great breakfast... Again... And then we loaded the two benevolence vans and drove straight to the "Smart and Final" the name of the grocery store here in Ensenada. We loaded up food for about 20 familys and drove to El Zorillo Mexico. We met Brother Franko at his Church, The Church of Christ of El Zorillo. Ask about Bro. Franko when we get back he is an amazing man and can hug like no one i have ever met. We then bagan our benevolence trip that turned out to be better than we could have expected. We took food for 20 family's but I happen to know we made hundreds of people happy. It was the best day of benevolence in the 6 trips I have made. We have some great pictures to show you when we get back! When we returned to the city we all got recharged by playing with the kids again. Right now our chefs are in the kitchen, Mrs. Torrez is desigining our wall and the crafts director Mrs. shelton has her team working on tonights crafts.
We have VBS after dinner and then more play time.
Gottha go for now, I'm pretty sure I have a job to do.
Keep praying it's really working!

Sunday is always an amazing day at the City of Children

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast and Church led by the Mexican Preacher. We haven't stopped since then. We've been very busy. We took a tour of the City from 10:30 to noon, we then made lunch for the babies.. so precious.
Then we had a really fun relay race with the teens. We prepared dinner for the young girls. Another sucess. I wish some of you parents were here with us to your teens to witness how truely amazing they are. We did VBS tonight and put on a little skit... Academy award winning. After VBS we made cards for benevolence and played. Right now it's 9:55 and we are working on crafts and benevolence items for tomorrow. We are all very tired buts it is a great feeling. All the groups we bring are special but this group has come together like no other. You would all be very proud.
We love you all!!!!

Full day

We just finished our day. It has been amazing. We had Pizza with the teens from the City and then we played the "trash can game". It was amazingly fun. Parents buy your kids a trash can for Christmas and I'll send you the rules. One condition; you have to play with your kids. It's 8:30 here and 10:30 where you are. We are headed to bed.
Good Night to all. We love you guys!!!!!

Through the border

OK family and friends we have made it to Mexico and are through the border. All is well and FYI we have taken up the cell phones and passports So now we are actually on our way to the City to see our friends. Keep us in your prayers!

in n out

We are in and out of the "in n out"! Yum! Now headed to the boarder. Say a prayer for green.

we are here

The eagles have landed! All are safely back on the ground.

on the plane

Everyone has boarded the plane. Next stop san diego!

the mission begins

OK so far so good. We have made it through security at the airport, and all is well. We want to thank Coach Brothers for driving the bus to the airport. Congrats on the NCS Football team win! God has given us opportunities to share our story and everyone we talk to seems inspired. Keep us in your prayers.

Packing for our trip

Tonight we packed supplies for our trip. Amazing things happen when you get out of God's way. We have been collecting items for a couple of months now.... So we started packing and when we finished we had 18 supply duffel bags.... the exact number of team members. 1 supply bag for each of us. AMAZING!
That's not the only way God has shown up... We had some issues collecting the hoodies and shoes... so again God provided us a connection to Soles for Souls who supplemented our collection! That connection came from Vince making an announcement at his Wednesday youth group and one of his friends whose father works for Soles for Souls told the Dad..."Vince needs help".
We have had a great deal of support from local churches and church families, and for that we thank you.
We have had enough money donated for 18 of the 20 food boxes which means the money we earned at the other fund raisers will go for some other things we can provide to the kids at the City of Children.
God has provided over $20,000 to make this trip possible.
I do know this...it is no mistake we have 18 people with 18 supply bags and God providing everything needed to make this an unforgettable journey for all of us going.
We are vessels used by God to provide for the needs of the world... it's his party and we are here to celebrate with him. We all need to stop and thank God for opportunities provided us.

2011 NCS Mission Team Trip to the City of Children

Hello to all who have joined us here on our Blog. We hope you enjoy our updates on our travels. Our Mission Statement as you know is "Changing Hearts and Lives one Mission Trip at a Time". Of course we always intend on changing the lives of those who God puts in our path and yet we are all at the same time transformed. Please join us and witness the transformations. As always please pray for us and know with out your amazing support this would not be possible.
We leave is less than a week!