Texas Mission Trip 2024

I'm so very thankful that God opened the way for Brennen and Graysen to go on their first mission trip, with their cousins, and a great group of college students! My sister made the mention, and God filled in the rest. The boys were able to fundraise everything they needed from friends, family, and even Olive's other people :) 

For nearly two weeks, they worked hard, built homes, roofed homes, painted homes, prayed over homes, and served the local community by distributing food, helping at local ministries, offering a carnival for the local children (Brennen said there were hundreds), and pursuing whatever God asked them to do. There were times of worship, Bible study, games, meals, fun, compassion, silliness, joy, and some new friendships. 

The group had an online folder they all could contribute trip photos and videos to (which is where most of these came from :) Brennen sat with me (while it snowed) and showed me all the things and told me stories about the people and events pictured. What an amazing experience, serving God and growing in His goodness!

I'm not entirely sure I have these pictures in the correct order, but the boys rode 18+ hours straight to the border of Mexico. They made several stops along the way for gas, to switch drivers, to get food, and to take group photos . . .

Upon arrival in Texas, to keep everyone awake and active (kind of like combatting bus jetlag), they took two groups--either to a bird sanctuary (Graysen's choice) or to a massive clothing depot (Brennen's choice) where kids could climb mountains of clothing and buy anything they liked for less than a dollar a pound. Brennen did not end up with this stylish attire, but the guy behind him in the bikini went for it, lol!

The next day, the teams worked on framing walls and adding them to the foundations the lead team (my nephews) got going a week earlier. This was only a half day of work, because it was also beach day! The (very exhausted) teams loaded onto buses (and promptly fell asleep) for the drive to South Padre Island. Ocean, sand, beach volleyball, and some sunshine--amazing!

The next morning was church! The boys said the team would sing a worship song first in Spanish, then in English, then switch back and forth verse by verse. The college crew also did skits (my nephew seemed to be in most of them :) and were surround by children (again, nephews are much loved by the littles!)

After church was the carnival . . . Graysen helped distribute food and then helped with the games. Brennen said they kind of set up their own games; I think Graysen helped with limbo, and Brennen held the dolls (I'm not sure if these were prizes or ones the kiddos brought with them from home). They did another skit about sheep and shepherds (I think my nephew was usually the "bad guy," but it is hard to tell from snippets :) It looked very well-attended from the photos, and I know the gospel was presented in both English and Spanish to those who gathered!

When Monday rolled around, the boys began their 6 or 7 a.m. to past 11 p.m. daily schedule. Generally, they worked on the houses (there were three) for around 8 hours a day. Brennen taught some of the mission trippers who hadn't worked with power tools, how to. Graysen at some point got to ride in the back of a truck, "It's legal there, Mom!" and while doing so, intentionally joined in a massive police and helicopter chase until roadblocks barred their adventure's progress. Interesting.

The college has been running this trip annually for 14 years (I think the boys said), so they have got a system in place that works! One of the homes, the largest they've ever built, will house three families. Another, the family has waited two years for--and to show their gratitude, they'd often cook meals for the volunteers on the worksite. Brennen approved of this practice! :) 

I learned that my boys already knew how to hang drywall using one of the big machines pictured below. They also built on their chicken coop roofing knowledge, expanding to roofing entire homes (and apparently only one cousin was *slightly* injured by a rogue nail gun fire during this learning experience :) Brennen said he got to cut a window hole in the wall, because someone else's first try wasn't quite where it was supposed to be. The boys felt like they already knew how to do most of this stuff, but I was surprised by just how much of the building they all did--under the guidance of a professional contractor and his family and several "old timers" who took care of the electrical and maybe (?) plumbing. 

I loved seeing the videos of Brennen leading worship on guitar! And the photos of the students praying for each other and the homeowners and the leaders. Also during these times of fellowship, they played a game called "Signs" that apparently took up at least a couple hours of each day :) My understanding of the game is: everyone makes up a signature sign, and then a guy or gal (like Monkey in the Middle) tries to catch someone making their sign, so they don't have to be in the middle anymore. Distractions via song or other means were allowed. Simple, but clearly extremely entertaining :)

Wow, what a lot of work they did! When their portion of the houses were complete (another team from another state is scheduled to come in and do the finishing work, like mud, tape, and trim), the students crowded into the freshly built homes. They presented the homeowners with quilts and keys. The leaders spoke a blessing over the family and the home, and then all the kids and crew went outside, inside, wherever they could find a space, and they prayed for the home and the family--or families--it would shelter. Pretty awesome!

As you know, their return was delayed by all the crazy sauce weather across most of the United States. We are thankful they made it home safely! But we are also thankful that they willingly gave this time to Jesus, they shared the skills and knowledge they've gained over the years to serve others, and they got to connect with their cousins to accomplish a mission they will never forget. Love, love, love!