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Before we go, something Lorin wanted to share…


Lorin will be 50% of the female contribution of our CoEd team. She’s coming on the trip for a the first time, and wanted to share some of her thoughts..

Just a word of praise.  I remember during one of our meetings that someone said that we should be sharing with others about our upcoming missions trip.  Well, it’s easier to do with friends, but I had an opportunity to bring up the upcoming Habitat trip to Biloxi while visiting with my doctor.  

A few weeks ago, I dropped a container of frozen food on my foot and after the bruising went away I noticed that there was still a small lima bean sized bump on top of my foot that was causing pain.  I put off going to the doctor as I didn’t want to hear any bad news that might prevent me from going, but after a while I figured I was in denial and needed to find out before we left, whether or not the bump could affect my health.  (Being diabetic, I need to be careful about foot injuries.)

Anyways, it turns out that it’s a ganglion cyst caused by the impact.  I can have it drained when I return.  But the neat part is that I was able to share with my doctor about the Habitat trip and it turns out that she is a Christian and wants to hear about how the trip turns out.  She also mentioned that she was looking for a church with a growing career group.  I referred her to one of our branches and am praying that she will come for a visit.

Praise God that he gave me this opportunity to share and it wasn’t as “scary” as I thought it would be talking with a relative “stranger.”  I’m not always sure what I should be saying and shy away from talking with someone about God-unless I know they are Christians.   Praise God that through studying his word and prayer that he’s making me bolder about sharing the gospel.

Another neat thing was receiving a sign of confirmation from the Lord that I’m learning to obey and hear His call.  This past week a verse in James came to me about becoming complete in faith.  I decided to add something about that to my original children’s message.  It was a blessing to hear Pastor Kyle give his message about the James passage just a few minutes after our children’s message.  I felt that it was the Lord’s confirmation to me that I’m at least walking in the direction he wants me to go.  I sometimes feel doubt and wonder if I’m doing what God wants, or am just going through the motions.  Kyle spoke of satan’s attack on our thoughts and I felt like that was so applicable to things I’ve felt. 

Thank God that we have a loving savior who graciously guides us and plants people and his word into our lives so that we know that we are walking along his way.  I keep looking for those “breadcrumb” trails to make sure I’m on the right track.  In this world there are so many false trails and attractive temptations that if we are not familiar with God’s word we can be so easily sidetracked.  I need to remember that we are not of this world and that our treasure is not here, but in heaven.  When I stand before the Lord and the white throne judgement I pray that I will hear the words, “Well done.”

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2011 Combined Teams prepping

For our last (joint) meeting before we leave, we were instructed to “practice.”

This is from our first year, where after a few hours of hammering (which we normally weren’t used to), we noticed a little soreness in our arms. Also, we found that some people weren’t too used to hammering in a nail. Let’s not use someone’s house as our first guinea pig.
So Kelly got us some wood, we brought our various hammers, and started pounding some nails in to practice
The Stilettos were out for side-by-side comparisons, and the veteran team members, well, they stood on the wood and pointed. 🙂 Something tells me that Esther will be an interesting person to video….
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2011 Team(s)! We’ve got three of ’em

2011 Combined Team

Okay, it’s been a few months since we had finished our last trip to Mississippi, and we’ve grown in some spiritual, some waistband, and some numerical ways.

We will be sending three teams to Mississippi this year, and the prayer letter is going out soon.

1) A 1-week Coed Team;
2) A 1-week Men’s Team, which will fly out the week immediately following the Coed Team, and;
3) One additional Men’s team which will stay in Mississippi for the span of both weeks.

One of the hardest parts for us in our trips has been working with the Habitat staff, only to leave them after just a week’s work. So we’re hoping to have more time to get to know and support them by staying through a second week.

We just had our second planning meeting since the teams have been announced, where we were assembling our information/prayer letter.

If you’d like to download a copy of our prayer letter, click here

Here’s our team photos, and then a video introducing you to a few members of our team..

1-Week Coed team
(Back) Bart W, Art F, Steve O, Mo N, Kyle S
Lorin L, Esther L, Gary H, Carl A

1-Week Men’s Team
 (Back) James S, Jeff H, Tom I, Ken M
Rich I, Ron N, Jeff L, Glenn I
2-Week Men’s Team
(Back) Craig K, Brent K, Kelly C, Brian “Bu” C
Chris C, Gary M, Peter L, Tommy Y, “Uncle” Roy N

Okay, the video you wanted to see… 🙂


Interviews featuring Gary M, Jeff H, Ron N, Esther L
Still not sure what smells she’s talking about…. 

On an unrelated note.. this is Denise (one of our site supervisors from 2010)’s profile picture on facebook.. thought it was hilarious..

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2010 Team presentation videos up

At our church, after any team goes on a mission project, we typically have a presentation for the people back at home that sent us. This year, since we had the two teams, we decided to have a joint presentation of both the Coed and Men’s teams.

Thanks to Brian Sueyoshi’s recording, we were able to capture our combined team presentation on video.

Once again, you can double-click to see it full screen

Evergreen SGV Katrina 2010 team Presentation Part 1/2 from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

Evergreen SGV Katrina 2010 team Presentation Part 2/2 from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

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2010 Leaders Summary

From 2010 Men's Team-Day 5-Live

Notes from Craig Kakihara, leader of the 2010 Men’s Team…

Pictured here with Calvin Harris, the HFH construction driver for whom he prayed at the job site….

After three years of leading Evergreen men to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one question I am frequently asked is “How was this year’s trip compared to last year? Usually, my answer is “Every year is different.” However, one thing remains the same: God always gives me reason to thank and praise him.

1. Praise God for safety on the job sites –only one near miss as Peter, by the grace of God, was spared from falling off of the roof.

2. I thank God for team unity and the commitment each man made to ensure that this trip was all about Jesus and not self.

3. Praise God for people who received prayer from our team – Kathy, a future homeowner putting in sweat equity, received prayer at the job site. Calvin, a Habitat for Humanity construction staff member received prayer that God would continue to use him as a positive role model for Mississippi’s youth. Brad was our site supervisor for whom we prayed that God would develop as an effective leader. Loren, our wonderful Habitat Volunteer Coordinator, walking restaurant guide, and friend for whom we prayed over a personal situation.

4. I thank the Lord for allowing us to travel with and serve alongside our brothers from Lifesong Community Church. It was a blessing to see the Evergreen men reaching out to the Lifesong men and offering encouragement. From their blog:

“Yes, we have done many things separately. Things like team training, fundraising and commissioning. And yes, we are working on a different house than they are. But, we still feel a deep kinship with our brothers from Evergreen SGV because they are exactly that: our brothers. Psalm 133:1 reads, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Indeed, how sweet it has been to dwell with our brothers in Christ from Evergreen! We have been encouraged by their humility, by their faithfulness, by their generosity and by their love.

Yesterday, during our afternoon break, one of the Americorp members working with us asked if we were with those guys from Evergreen. Gregg said, “We’re separate but the same.” Those wise words from our team sage (we affectionately call him “Gii-Chan”), summarized this relational and theological reality so well. We are separate teams. We registered separately. We have separate team leaders and different church names on our T-shirts and name tags. But in Christ, we truly are the same. We serve the same Master with the same purpose for the sake of His glory. And in that, we truly are “brothers.” We share a bond and a love that runs deeper than blood. So every time we look two houses over and see our brothers working on their house, we genuinely feel how good and pleasant it is to dwell with them in unity.”

5. Praise God for the inspirational devotional messages shared through brothers like Craig Wakamoto, Brian Williams, Gary Murakami, Keith Fukuyama, and Pastor Jon Hori. These messages set the tone for the men “doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus” as Col. 3:17 teaches.

6. I thank the Lord for the testimony of Chris Chan who, because of a family situation four days prior to our departure, wasn’t able to make the trip and thus blessed his wife and family because of his obedience to God.

7. I praise God for the positive impression made upon fellow volunteer team Mandarin United Methodist Church who expressed their appreciation for the camaraderie shared with Team Evergreen. We even prayed together in the parking lot as our MUMC friends boarded their bus for the trip back to Jacksonville, FL.

8. Famous quotes from the mission trip: “The trip is over but the mission is not.” “When we’re in the Lord’s will, we feel his pleasure.” “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present.” “I’m just sayin…”

9. Praise God for Gary’s thoughtful multimedia show and inspirational sharing by Peter and Bu at our Presentation Luncheon.

10. There is so much more for which I can thank and praise God, but I don’t want to forget the over 200 kind and generous supporters, family members, co-workers, and friends. Thank you for sending us on this trip. May God bless each of you.

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2010 Men’s Team Compilation Video

Here’s the video that we used at today’s presentation. Very moving. Thanks for putting it together, Gary!

If you’re viewing this, it looks even better full screen (you can double click on it)

All Work & All Pray from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.

Evergreen SGV (evergreensgv.org) Katrina 2010 Men’s Team Final Presentation video. Summarizing the mission trip of 13 men in partnership with Habitat For Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast (hfhmgc.org).

See our blog at http://sgvhabitat.blogspot.com

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2010-Men’s Team-Reflection from Jonathan

`It’s been a couple weeks since we got back, and in some ways, it seems as if it was a year, some ways it seems like it was yesterday.

When we returned, there was much to do, including assimilate back into our “normal” lives.

Sorry it took so long to put this up, but here’s Jonathan’s Note:

Jonathan, an active member of Evergreen SGV’s young adult group, Converge, was a first-timer for the Mississippi team.

As well as working in many capacities on the team, he also served as one of the chief videographers (and commentator). He started out kinda quiet, but by the middle of the trip, he was quite chatty. He said it was a function of getting to know the guys.

In response to Tommy Y’s question of “what is one word that summarizes your trip?”

Humbled –

I am humbled by the way the Habitat/Americorps workers dedicate their lives in serving others. They have made a decision to signficantly change their way of life, move to a new state, and earn a very small wage to help those who are in need. God is using them, not only pour out love onto the locals, but to show us that there is much work to do in the missions field.

Overall

God opened my eyes and heart for the people in Mississippi during our missions trip, which was my first. I was very touched by the way the Habitat/Americorp workers dedicate themselves in helping others. They made a long-term committment in building houses for those who are in need, despite making below the poverty-line for wages themselves. I feel spoiled, living in Califorina, with so many luxuries nearby. It was a wake-up call from God. There are so many opportunities in the field to help and minister to people. It reminded me of the verses in Matthew 9:37-38, “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'” It is my prayer that our Father can teach & use me to share about His love onto others.

It was also a blessing to serve with so many godly men from church. I’ve got the opportunity to get to know each of them more. Their heart for the Lord is a very admirable characteristic. I look forward to other opportunities in serving with them in the future. Praise God for all that He has shown us during the trip. God is good! All the time

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2010 Men’s Team-Day 6-The Return

Time at Antioch House.

After a great night’s rest at Antioch House, we had a home cooked (and partially volunteer cooked) meal, then ourour last meeting as the combined teams. After some songs of praise and worship, Pastor Jon led us in a time of Communion, reminding us that the mission doesn’t end when we stop hammering, but the work within and towards others continues.

…

Waiting it out in Gulfport/Biloxi

Kyle’s Welcome back