Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Who are we and what are we doing?

In June 2006, we were on a mission trip in Natal, Brazil. Here is where we became the V-Team. On this trip, we began talking about what we would want to do after high school. The 4 of us knew that we would like to pursue missions for the rest of our lives whether it be full or part time. The idea of an around-the-world trip came up. So, while in Brazil, we decided that we would pursue taking a trip of this caliber.
On July 19, 2006, Andrew Yarger, one of the members on V-team was struck by lightning and killed. This was hard for all of us and the talk of our trip came to a screeching halt. A few months after Andrew's death, God really began tugging on the hearts of the other 3 of us. We sat down and started to discuss the possibility of still taking this trip. God made it very clear that we were still to go.
For the next year, we laid out a list of countries that we had friends or some form of contact in. Through prayer and lots of emails, God narrowed our list and we were left with the 8 countries that we will be visiting come Fall '08-Spring '09. In September 2007, we sent out our first support letters and started raising money to go. Since September, we have been planning and emailing and doing everything we can to prepare ourselves for this. This last spring, some friends of ours offered up their time and house for us to have get-togethers to share about our mission with others. In May, we purchased our plane tickets this trip really began to feel set in stone. We leave from Denver, Colorado on September 1, 2008 and arrive back in the USA on March 24, 2009.
Now for what we are doing...

Our itinerary consists of Haiti, Brazil, Germany, Ukraine, Uganda, India, Thailand, New Zealand. In each of these places, we will be partaking in various types of mission work such as: music/worship ministry, evangelism, discipleship, work projects, Young Life, youth work, and overall, doing the work that God has called us to do.

In the last 6 months, God has made very apparent in our 3 lives that he has called us to this trip and wants us to put our hearts and souls into this. It is our desire to follow his call and we are doing so.

God Bless,

Christian Outlaw
Andrew Leigh
Evan Stookey
(V-TEAM)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey brothers,

It's Kíki from brazil!
I thank God for your lives and for the trip. I wish you guys an awesome time traveling the world sharing love, life and God's word! I can't wait to see you guys and have a blessing time while you three are here in Natal, Brasil. I'm praying for the trip!

God bless and keep you all safe!
In His love,

Kaique Paulo - Kíki

Kelley J. Leigh said...

Hey, WOw.
This is just the beginning of many blogs to come! Can't wait to read all about the amazing God things you'll see all over the world.

But first, you need a better pix of the three of you!!

:)

Kimleonard said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kimleonard said...

Wow, this is cool. Will you be blogging while you're on your trip (when you can get internet access!)? I'm praying for a safe trip, for the people you're meant to encounter, and for the difference you'll make (and the difference this will make in you!)

In Christ,
Kim (Andrew's aunt)