“As our translator shared about his past and how God delivered him, other men began to share how Jesus delivered them too! One man shared that he keeps falling and falling but now he knows he is no longer a slave to his sin because of Jesus.“
 
We entered through a secure gate and were led down a narrow, but bright outdoor path to a courtyard. Awaiting us were about 18 men who had spent anywhere from the last five days to the last three months searching and seeking. Their backgrounds were as various as ours, but the direction of our decisions had led us all to that place today. The Team had an amazing and unique experience in our opportunity to visit a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Nuevo Laredo. 

Our students knew from the beginning that this dynamic was a bit different from the plaza we had visited the day before. Within this courtyard there was a unique atmosphere. The men we were about to encounter had been broken, crushed by their sin, but a great work had already started in many of their lives. We had several men communicate their need to commit their lives to Christ. One man, Hector, needed the healing guidance a little bit more than some of the others. His roller coaster lifestyle had led him to this facility for the third time after he had received his third DUI.

Hector said, “I saw the story in your drama that you talked about that you see with your eyes, but I really saw that second story. The one with your heart, and it was so emotional it brought me to tears.”

As we left the facility, our students knew that in the midst of being called by God to go and encourage these men, God turned the needle of the compass as we found a new breath of exhilaration to share the gospel.

God moved in incredible ways at the Rehab center as well as the Maximum security prison. Please pray for us today as we have our final day of ministry!

“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy.” Psalm 99:1-3 
 
This morning #TeamMexicoSpringBreak presented the Freedom drama in a local plaza. When they were done, a student talked to a man who had actually seen the drama performed near this same plaza the day before. The man began telling the ministry team, "Yesterday I was on the way to the bar and when I came upon the team doing the drama I stopped and watched it. I did not talk to anyone, but I was so moved that I left and never went to the bar! I could not stop thinking about what I saw.” The student continued to share the Gospel with this man and he prayed to accept Christ!!! 
 
#TeamMexicoSpringBreak has been captivated by the presence of God. As they continue to move from plazas, markets, orphanages, and homeless centers, God is moving in their midst! Each night stories of divine encounters fill the air as students share how God is moving each day. Please continue to pray for the Lord to display His wonders and draw many people to Himself. 
 
A few captions from the day:
 
“For me the most impactful thing is being able to watch how God moves people to the right place at the right time for an encounter, and also how God is transforming students.”  ~ Jamal Sterling
 
“It has been really awesome seeing so many people come to Jesus!” ~ Logan Elkins
 
“I love seeing the eagerness in the students! They fill their ministry packs and prepare for the next ministry opportunity because they are so excited about sharing the gospel at the next ministry site!” – Caitlyn Green, Team Director/Country Coordinator

#TeamMexicoSpringBreak headed out yesterday for an intense day of ministry. Awe Star teaches about walking in the Awe of God. It is referenced in Acts 2:43, “Everyone kept feeling a sense of AWE and many signs and wonders were taking place through the apostles.”
 
As teams entered markets, parks, and Refugee centers, each team filled the air with prayer. The atmosphere was thick. First time student missionaries were nervous and maybe a little scared, but prayed with intensity that God would do in them what they knew they could not do themselves.  
 
They had been prepared to share their story on the street, but after they performed the street drama - a chronology of the gospel in the local language - they were told that they were to prayerfully engage the people. Stepping out in faith, they looked for The One that God was leading them to talk to. 
 
Most of these student missionaries have never engaged in this type of intense ministry. Obstacles of language, self-doubt, and a little fear accompanied them as they stepped-out with as much faith as they could muster. 
 
Then it happened: Student after student began seeing God break out of eternity and invade time to fill their mouths with words as they boldly shared the gospel. Families, children, displaced peoples, and even the homeless were being transformed as students talked with them about Jesus. It was beautiful. It was the Awe….
 
 
A few captions of the day:
“I saw a boy, and I knew God wanted me to share the gospel with him. I asked the leadership if I could go talk to him. We had stopped for lunch but God had more in store. I asked the boy if he knew who Jesus was. He said no. I then shared all the way from creation to resurrection and the boy wanted to receive Jesus. It was awesome!”– Jedi Edwards
 
“We were in the refugee center and we had just done the drama. I saw a couple of little girls and began to share the gospel with them. Then a few more showed up; before I knew it, ten kids had come over and I was able to share the gospel and lead all ten to Jesus!" -Madison Swopes
 
“I was most surprised today that when we prayed, God really answered! It was raining and we began to pray so people could see the drama and hear the gospel. Then all of a sudden, the rain stopped. We did the drama and as soon as we were done, the rain started back! God stopped the rain so we could share the gospel!” –McKenna Barnes

Awe Star’s trips across the border to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, take us back to the roots of this ministry when our founder, Dr. Walker Moore, first began taking students while still serving as a youth pastor. He noticed the huge difference the mission trips made in the students’ lives, so he kept taking groups back to Mexico to serve. What started as a student trip to one county has now become a multi-national ministry with trips for students, medical teams, and others.

This Saturday, March 16, Awe Star will return to Nuevo Laredo on our annual spring break trip. We already have many prayer needs and—even if you’re not able to join us on the field—we would love for you to partner with us in prayer! Here are seven prayer points to guide you before and during our spring break trip, March 16-23:

1. Preparation: Ask that we would have everything we need for our final preparations. This includes students packing and preparing at home and our office staff, who must make sure drama costumes are ready, food supplies are purchased, vans are available and ready, and attend to many more last-minute details. Most of all, ask God to go before us and prepare the way for the ministry He desires.  

2. Travel: Travel to, from, and within the country must all be covered in prayer. We drive to Nuevo Laredo, leaving before dawn on Saturday morning, March 16. Pray for our drivers, our vehicles, our border crossing, and travel within the country as we move from drama site to drama site. Pray for safety and sweet fellowship as we go and tell.

3. Focus and Unity: The students will learn our 18-minute pantomime drama, “Freedom,” soon after we arrive in Nuevo Laredo. They have only a short time to memorize and practice it before heading out to share the gospel. Pray for attentive focus, ease in memorization, and true unity throughout the week so the drama can serve as a creative and effective tool for the kingdom.

4. Leadership: Please pray for our country coordinators and team directors as well as our POPs and MOMs (male and female small group leaders). These different levels of leadership include different levels of responsibility for making sure the mission is carried out, the students are safe and well cared for, and that genuine discipleship takes place. Ask God to grant them an extra measure of wisdom, especially as they must often deal with the unexpected.

5. Connections with Believers: Please pray for Pastor Nicolas Alba and the other church leaders and translators with whom we will work. Ask God to bless them for the time they give us and for His favor on their lives and families. Ask that their ministries, their churches, and their kingdom influence would grow exponentially.

6. Divine Encounters: When a willing witness meets a seeking soul, it creates what we call a divine encounter, which opens the door to sharing the gospel. Pray for many such divine encounters from start to finish of this trip. Often, it’s the most unexpected divine encounters and the most unlikely situations that become the best places for the gospel to take root and grow.

7. Lasting Impact: Pray that the influence of this trip will be felt far beyond spring break 2019 in the lives of the missionaries who have chosen to leave home and family behind, in the lives of the nationals who work with us, and especially in the lives of the people we serve and lead to Christ. Ask God to allow the reverberations of this trip to echo into eternity.