It’s that time of the year, one of my favorites as groups from our church and churches across the country are sending their people out on short-term mission trips.  My wife and I are once again going with our church to the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico this summer.  I will be updating with blogs and pictures as much as possible.  We have a large RV and trailer that left last night to make the drive, as well as multiple flights of people flying into Albuquerque till Friday afternoon.  The whole team minus the driving team will be in Albuquerque Friday night and then we will meetup with the drive team on Saturday in Window Rock, the capitol of the Navajo nation.

Please pray specifically for the health of each of the team members before and while they are travelling on Friday as well as protection for the drive team as they make the long drive.  Also pray specifically for Keith and his health and energy on this trip as he recently finished his chemo treatments for cancer. You’ll remember he found out about his cancer one year ago exactly on Friday after having to fly back early from last years trip thinking he had severe kidney stones.

Click the picture above for the album of pictures from the 2009 Navajo trip

Navajo Mission 2010
Black Mesa, NM & Window Rock, AZ
June 11th – 19th

Each year Woodland sends a team to New Mexico to minister at the Navajo Reservation. They work mainly with three organizations: Western Indian Ministries, Forest Lake Baptist Church in Black Mesa, and Rez Refuge. Ministry opportunities include: construction and renovation, distribution of clothing and health care supplies, outreach at local orphanages, and senior craft seminars, as well as many other opportunities to serve.

This summer a group from Woodland will once again be heading out including, Shana (my wife), and I. This years project list isn’t finalized as we try to find out from the people what the greatest need is and assist in those areas. along with the projects listed above. I will once again be helping out with their wireless networking, computers repairs and upgrades, and implementing a backup system at the school. We ask for your prayers and financial support as we prepare for this trip. We also are looking for computer, monitor and networking equipment donations.

You come back from a Mission trip with all sorts things going through your head.  How you’re going to change, what you’re going to change, things you can do, things you should’ve done, going back next year, etc. I kept waiting for this great ephipany of a blog post to write and share….I’m still waiting. It’s hard to even know where to begin but I feel I need to start writing to get the process going.  First off I want to thank each of you, those that prayed, those that gave, those that followed along, it took each of you for this trip to happen and for it to be a success.  There are many things about the trip I’d like to share but right now I there is something more important to share.  Keith Martin, our Worship Arts pastor, is the leader of the Navajo trip.  He’s been dealing with back pain for quite awhile and it got progressively worse on the trip to the point he ended up coming home early to have it taken care of.  It comes to find they have found a mass in his abdomen.  All  that to say, please keep up with his status and pray for him, find out his latest at http://www.gowoodland.com/keith

It seems strange to me that in just 4 days, @sberg and I will be heading out with 14 others on a mission trip to the Navajo nation.  Not really sure why it seems strange we’ve done local missions, stateside missions, and even a couple of international mission trips, but this one already has a calling to me and us.  Not sure what it is or why it is but it seems to just make sense, this trip to go out west will be a trip into what will seem like a 3rd world country with more cultural and spiritual difference then i’ve had to deal with before.  For a techie that normally has a Blackberry in hand, a laptop on the shoulder and never far from internet and connectivity this will be a challenge for me as well.  And that’s a good thing! One of the things I struggle with is stopping and connecting and embracing the things that are most important, those relationships with God, with family, with friends. If you’ve ever talked with a person who has been on a mission trip they almost always say that it had more effect on them then it did on those that they were serving, that’s what i’m looking for, that moment, that realization, that focus. Pray for the Navajo and our group, pray that all involved will grow closer to the one true God. Thanks.

Have I told you lately how much I love the fact that Mozy sends me an affiliate check every month? It’s pretty easy to get people to sign-up for a free 2GB online backup site that works great. It’s one of the ways I’m using to help pay for my Navajo Mission trip so know that not only is it something i use and love it’s also helping support a great cause. So follow this link, http://bit.ly/mozyfree, sign-up for your free account and then once you’re registered click on the affiliate link on the bottom of the page and get ready to start getting your checks from Mozy.

As many of you know and as many of you are as well, I’m a huge fan of the CITRT community. Yes, community, we are a group (or “ungroup” as some say) that definitely come together mainly through our techie tool of the internet. In just over 2 weeks my wife (@sberg) will be heading to the Navajo Nation which is mainly in Arizona and New Mexico on a mission trip.  I was getting ready to write up another post this morning to ask for prayer and for those of you so inclined financial support (for the two of us the trip will be over $1600) when I get the incoming link notifications that my buddy Jeff Suever has posted on his blog about our trip in today’s post called CITRT Member on a Mission.  I can’t even say how much I(we) appreciate the support that Jeff and others have shown and given us and can only hope we can live out God’s love this well to the Navajo. The following comes from Jeff’s blog I just thought it HAD to be shared

If you have ever been blessed, encouraged or made to laugh by Derek, join me in supporting them in any way you can. Financially would be great, but in prayer (really, do it this time) would be more than appreciated as well. Whip out that fancy phone, put task reminders in there for

• every Wednesday beginning June 24, ending July 8
• once per day, beginning July 9, ending July 18.

Each year Woodland sends a team to New Mexico to minister at the Navajo Reservation. They work mainly with three organizations: Western Indian Ministries, Forest Lake Baptist Church in Black Mesa, and Rez Refuge. Ministry opportunities include: construction and renovation, distribution of clothing and health care supplies, outreach at local orphanages, and senior craft seminars.

This summer a group from Woodland, Shana (my wife), and I will be heading to the Navajo Nation July 10th – 18th. We will be working to renovate and develop a Youth Community Center for the reservation, along with the projects listed above.  I will also be helping out with their network, computers, and possibly starting a computer lab.  We ask for your prayers and financial support as we prepare for this trip.  We also are looking for computer, monitor and networking equipment donations.