Christmas 2011

We cannot believe our time here is nearly finished!

We have had such an incredible experience. Our hosts have been amazing, and the hand of our Savior has reached many!

This will be the final update before we begin our return journey, early Monday morning. Each student will contact their family to inform what time our arrival at the Awe Star Ministries office will occur.

Yesterday, we had one the most compelling ministry experiences of our lives. We drove out to a Colonia beyond the city limits. Homes were assembled from skids, plywood, scrap sheet metal, and anything else that would hold its form.

Fences were constructed from pallets or formed plastic. Even a used childsize toy car was woven into the fabric surrounding one home. It is the poorest area we have seen.

The van drew extremely quiet as tears streamed down the faces of several students. Most could not believe what they were seeing. They will return with hearts that are extremely thankful for what they have, but also broken for what they have seen and experienced.

The excesses that exist in the US culture could not have been more pronounced.

We encountered some of the sweetest spirited people that we met on this trip. Many surrendered their hearts to Jesus! When we finished, we prayer drove up and down many of the streets here.

We headed out to a plaza after this where children were roller skating around a track erected for the Christmas Holiday season. We had a significant audience, and once again saw the Lord draw many to Himself! Praise God for His amazing work!

Thank you parents for surrendering your children to do His will. They are changed and moved.

After ministry last night, our students joined the church body in a New Year’s Eve Celebration of worship, prayer and fellowship. It was a once in a liftetime experience for many!

What a great way to usher in the new year!

After church today, we will head out to do our final two ministry sites, before packing up this evening! Expect a phone call from your student tomorrow morning. We will try to hold them off until a decent hour.

Our Savior is amazing, and has had a deep impact on the lives of those in Nuevo Laredo and those on this team.

We Praise His Holy Name for this experience! Be exalted Lord God!

Until we return,

Deanna and Brent Higgins, CC’s

Yesterday, one of our translators, Ieda, celebrated her 15th birthday! Quinceaneras are a huge deal in this culture. We were privileged to share in her celebration. Ties were brought in for our men to wear, one of our young men was asked to escort her in, Deanna was afforded the opportunity to place a ring (that lit up) on her finger, and I was blessed to place a tiara on her head.

We had such joy in celebrating with her! Our team really has experienced such a great deal of joy on this journey!

We ministered in three locations yesterday afternoon. The first was a plaza that we walked to, and interacted with children and other people of the land. The Lord moved, and we saw Him draw new believers to Himself.

Next we returned to the mall we had ministered in two days ago, once again sharing our drama and interacting with the people of Nuevo Laredo.

Our final ministry last night was in kind of a half-way house. It is a residence which keeps those who have been ejected from our country and do not have legal papers of residence. Some have been there for 9 months or longer, awaiting assistance to become legal.

Here we shared the Gospel and saw several men and women surrender to Jesus. We also passed out some shirts and hats that we brought in with us, as gifts for them. This encounter opened the eyes of our team in a brand new way.

They were busy discussing how little the people of this land have and how blessed they are with all they have at home.

Another amazing dinner was shared by our team and translators last night. This time it was chicken and tortillas. SSSoooooo good!

The team is out shopping at this writing. Each team is accompanied by at least two nationals for assistance.

We began the morning with sleeping in a bit, then breakfast and teaching. It was interesting to see our students who have been costume-clad all week, morph back into themselves.

While they are themselves, they are armed with a new passion for reaching out to the lost. We fully expect stories of divine encounters upon their return!

We will minister in two locations this afternoon before joining the body here at Primera Iglesia Bautista for a New Year’s Eve celebration! We will begin at 7 and go to midnight, with a meal at 10 pm.

Tomorrow, we will hold our own teaching early, then join the body again to worship our Savior corporately. We will minister in the afternoon, then have our final teaching tomorrow night. We cannot believe our time is almost up, here!

What a blessing to see the Lord work in and through the lives of these young men and women!

We praise God for them, and for you! We ask you to continue to lift us up that we would finish strong, remain healthy, have no issues with border crossing, and have a safe, joyful trip back to you.

Deanna and Brent Higgins, CCs

The wafting aroma of grilled beef from area street vendors, mixes with the cool Mexican night air to multiply the rest we so badly need after spending ourselves for Him. We drift off to this aroma but our stomachs are full of the burritos the sisters here at Primera Iglesia Bautista have graciously prepared!

Yesterday afternoon we ministered in a local plaza, that was within walking distance. The plazas here are so beautiful! Back in March of this year, the team I brought saw dead trees everywhere. It was if the city had died.

Not true, the freeze had only halted growth temporarily, and with a fresh touch from our Creator, all is green and lush again.

This mirrors the new life coming into the people of Nuevo Laredo this week! We saw several at this plaza and surrender their hearts to Him!

Then later, we ministered in an area mall, in front of their Christmas displays. Yes, we proclaimed the reason for the season!!!

Last night we had worship and teaching, and the Lord is moving among us in such precious ways!

We slept hard, then rose to time alone with Him, and breakfast. We headed out to minister at three locations this morning. We continue to see Salvation come to many!

Every team member but one has now led someone into a relationship with Jesus! We are so thankful to be a part of reaching this city for Him!

Morale is high, and hearts soar at His provision! We have met many wonderful people, and cannot believe our trip is half over. Your students will return to you speaking the Spanish they have learned, and telling you about new relationships and all the Lord has done.

We believe the best is yet to come!

Please pray for our continued good health and rest, our relationship building opportunities, our ministry and Anabel, the missionary we work with here! His favor rests on her and she has done so much to increase His kingdom here in Nuevo Laredo! We are most fortunate to work with her! 

We are praying for you!

Deanna and Brent Higgins, CC’s

This team is amazing!

Deanna and I have taken teams to many countries and have brought several here to Nuevo Laredo. However, few have been the number that have had as many proactive ministers on them!

This team loves Jesus and cannot wait to share Him at every turn. One of their biggest issues is waiting their turn to share. Not that they are impatient, just that they are anxious to share! We are humbled by their attitudes!

Oh that our churches were full of this heart! His Heart!!!

Last evening, we had another amazing meal. We ate cheese quesadillas to  our our hearts content, along with the rice, beans and meat on the plate. It was amazing!

Yes, we are taking in our daily dose of pb&j as well. Breakfasts each morning consist of juice, cereal and fruit options. All are eating well and staying healthy.

Yesterday afternoon and this morning, we ministered in plazas and flea markets. We have seen more and more people surrender their hearts to Him!

The team is so encouraged by the moving of God’s hand here. Today we were even chased down by a sober alcoholic who was begging to know Jesus! He spoke even of taking in paint (we were unsure what method, as he spoke of drinking it) to get a high, but was so weary of it that He needed Jesus to wash him clean!

He did!

Praise God!

The team is eating just now and preparing to head to another plaza and then to a Wal-Mart parking lot to minister! We cannot wait!

Our hearts were filled last night with worship and teaching. God IS moving, and we are loving on Him with our complete surrender!

We wish you were here to experience His glory alongside of us!

Thank you so much for your continued prayer support! We are being well cared for, and all are having an amazing time in and with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Please pray for many more hearts to surrender to His love and salvation. While we are seeing many, fear has clearly taken this city, and we know who is the author of that. Pray we continue to love and grow as a family and as His body! The food is amazing, and we like to eat!

Until later,  Deanna and Brent Higgins, CC’s

This morning the team finally began to minister to the people of Nuevo Laredo! Everyone was so enthusiastic about beginning!!!

I should stop and say that our dinner last night were authentic empanadas, made by our hosts. OH MY GOODNESS, were they wonderful!!! This incredible dinner was a welcome distraction to hours of training!

We ministered this morning at a nearby plaza and then a youth prison.

At our first site we ministered to many onlookers. Some of them surrendered their hearts to our Savior! Our trip has already been worth all that went in to getting each person here! No monetary value can be placed on the salvation of the lost!

Our second ministry site had many young men who were incarcerated for many different reasons. There were a few young women as well. They were mirror images of our team, in terms of ages.

One of our students was recently saved himself. His testimony of God literally saving him from death as he experienced an overdosed drug trip, was both compelling and a vessel for breaking down the walls in this prison.

Five young men surrendered their hearts to Christ from this group. Their eyes affixed on our young man as he told stories they could directly relate to.

Our God makes no mistakes and knew what He was doing when He equipped our team with this new believer who has been radically transformed!

This afternoon we head out to a plaza then a flea market to minister to more of those the Lord is drawing to Himself.

Please pray for our team to keep up their current level of enthusiasm, to remain healthy, to recognize distractions, respond to teachings and to continue to eat well as our evening meals are being prepared by sisters from our host church (yes, we are suffering for Jesus!)

Deanna and Brent Higgins, CCs

The Mexico Christmas team had an amazing evening, and morning!  We had a fantastic travel day. We saw no delays or issues on the way here. When we arrived in Laredo, we picked up our final team member at the airport and went and had dinner together. Our first as a team! We had great fellowship!

The team came together through a time of testimony and teaching. They spent time in their small groups, dubbed Mom and Pop time (Mom= Ministry of Multiplication and Pop= Passing on Principles) to end their evening.

The heart of this team is to serve and minister! They discussed how difficult it is for them to wait to get out and share.

They arose this morning to individual quiet time with the Lord, then had a filling breakfast.

At this writing, they have been assigned roles in the “Chronological Bible Storytelling set to the Performing Arts”… or drama. They will spend this day training for this method of ministry. They will work very hard, but we expect a huge payoff, as we are trusting the Lord to impact this city that lives in fear!

We talked about the fact that we are not fighting ‘for victory’ but ‘from victory!’

We cannot wait to see what He has in store for the people of Nuevo Laredo!!!

Please pray for physical well being, strong minds willing to do what is necessary, and fully surrendered hearts (both ours and those we minister to)!

Thank you for praying! Your role in our ministry is vital! We cannot do what He wants done if each of you are not obedient in prayer.

We can’t wait to report what incredible ways He moves!

Deanna and Brent Higgins, Country Coordinators

Check under the picture tab and see all of the smiling faces in Mexico! More to come later.

We got a call from Awe Star’s staff, Brent and Deanna Higgins, announcing that the team has arrived at First Baptist Church, Nuevo Laredo, MX. Thanks so much for your prayers and support as this team reaches out to the lost in a city that desperately needs Jesus. More updates will be coming soon.

Your servant,

Walker Moore, President/Founder, Awe Star Ministries

Welcome to the Awe Star Ministries Trip Updates! This page will give you an inside scoop on the great things God is doing in and through our team in Mexico. Here, Team Leaders will post frequent updates via text and pictures. You can access the text updates on this page and view trip pictures by clicking the “trip pictures” tab located at the top of the page. In the updates, you will read stories of salvation, revival and other ways God is changing lives. You will see pictures of students ministering, studying and fellowshipping with team members and the people of Mexico.

Here is how our trip updates work!

TEXT: View text updates immediately above this note. The most recent updates appear at the top in order of their posting (generally by date).

PHOTOS: View photo updates by clicking on the “Trip Pictures Pictures” tab at the top of the page. Pictures will be posted in this area as well as pictures being embedded into the text updates. Please download and utilize the pictures freely to encourage others to pray. Mom and Dad: we strive to include as many students as possible in our photos, but please do not be alarmed if your student does not appear daily. Keep watching!

PATIENCE, PLEASE (IMPORTANT!): Internet access in international locations can be inconsistent, and our busy travel/ministry schedule sometimes keeps us from posting and/or loading new photos. When you don’t see an update, please keep praying and know that we are doing our best to stay in touch!

COMMENTS: This vital feature allows parents, friends, pastors and other supporters to leave comments on the posts. Comments remind the leadership and team of your love, support and especially of your prayers on their behalf. To leave a comment, simply click the title of the post next to the date. This will lead you to the specific post’s page where you can comment at the bottom. A page will open that allows you to leave yours. Please keep all comments:

1. Respectful and upbeat: Anything else has the potential to detract from our important work.

2. Appropriate: All comments will be reviewed by Awe Star staff or leadership before they appear. This prevents spam or other potential problems for our missionaries.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at kenny@awestar.org. You can also call the Awe Star Ministries office at (918)664-3500.

We are so grateful for the many ways you have already supported this group of student missionaries. Bathed in prayer, they will do incredible things for our Creator. They will return with many stories of the ways God touched hearts and changed lives—including their own.

Kenny Hindenburg

Manager of Ministry & Multimedia