UTRI News

Summer Days Driftin’ Away...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:33:09 -0500

Well, It’s been a great summer here at UTRI. We started with the TN BCM and their week of work projects at Jonatan and Carolina’s church in Reynosa. Then, the Glidewell youth followed soon thereafter with a VBS at Alamo Community, and after that we had our first annual Day of Hope.

During the month of July we hosted two Vacation Bible Schools in Alamo and Mexico. The interns did a great job gathering teaching material, making crafts, planning snacks, and putting together games. They truly had a challenge in planning it all from scratch and translating it in a different language! It was a true blessing to see the 25-30 kids on day one grow to 70-80 kids on Friday. Many of the kids in the community around Jonatan and Carolina’s church do not attend a Christian church. The majority of the community is of the Catholic faith. We were blessed to be able to share the truth of Christ with them.

The Interns spent 4 days and 3 nights at the orphanage to help out and experience life in a different culture. They spent most of their time sanding rust off of school chairs and desks and applying new coats of paint. The orphanage plans to begin a kindergarten in a small community near their church. The interns helped in making this dream become reality.

The last weekend of July UTRI hosted a Disciple Now weekend for the youth of Travis and Katie’s church (Alamo Community). It was an exciting weekend filled with fun, food challenges, scavenger hunts and teaching about having a relationship with God. Clay taught about God’s plan for our lives, the sower and the seed, setting stakes, and accepting Christ. The youth were very receptive and challenged to make changes. One young man said it was the best weekend of his whole summer. We are thankful that God used this event to touch hearts!

As this summer comes to a close we thank God for the opportunities He has given us and we look forward to the exciting year ahead!

RIo Grande River Flooding

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:08:24 -0500

Due to the large amount of rain we have had, the Rio Grande River is overflowing. The Hidalgo bridge has been closed until the water recedes. Also, our friends along the river are dealing with major flooding in their homes and churches. Please pray for all the people trying to protect their homes during this time.

Day of hOpe

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 13:48:28 -0500

This past weekend UTRI held its first annual Day of Hope. The purpose of this event was to encourage and give hope to the church. We were able to do this in two locations. We did one in the morning at Alamo Community Church and the other at night in Mexico at Pillar of Hope Church. There was a small service where the short- term missionaries gave testimonies of what God had done in their lives. The church members also had a time to give thanks. They gave away prizes, had games for the kids, served a meal, and gave away hygiene bags. It was amazing to see God bring the short-term missionaries and the Hispanic community together in this event. Not only were Alamo and Pillar of Hope encouraged, but all of the churches that came to serve were blessed to be a part of the event. Sunday, one family came and all were saved at the service in Mexico! God did powerful things in the church this weekend by uniting the body.

Hurricane Alex

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:23:45 -0500

Hurricane Alex has decided to arrive in just a few hours. Thankfully, although Alex is a large storm, the National Hurricane Center is predicting that it will make landfall over 200 miles from us and only as a Category 1 or weak Category 2. Of course, this will cause lots of rain and some wind gusts that may cause problems for our friends in Mexico. Please keep them in your prayers. Also, our “Day of Hope” event begins on Friday. Pray that all of our short-term missionaries will arrive safely and that despite the weather we will be able to effectively minister to the people of Alamo and Reynosa.

BABY ON THE WAY!

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:17:35 -0500

We (Clay and Angie) are having a baby!! Next week we will find out if it’s a boy or girl. Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby and smooth pregnancy.

Due Date: December 5, 2010