Training is an Adventure All Its Own....

Our LST training is well underway....and while it's been a lot of work, it's also been a blast!  We love how God incorporates so much joy into serving Him!! 

Edana, Kent, Madi, Kendall, Wes & Bailey
Neteroi Team 1

We meet weekly for 2 hours at our home church (Park Plaza Church of Christ) with all of the Let's Start Talking (LST) teams that are going out on summer projects (more on that later in this post).  Our training takes place in "LST Land," as our trainer, Jamie, refers to it. There's something unique every week in LST Land....it may be a "typical" greeting in the language of our destination country.....or maybe wearing strange head gear to help us step out of our "comfort zone".  No, we don't typically wear bunny ears, Irish girl hair, or funny hats to training....unless we're in LST Land! :]

We just returned from an intense training weekend in Dallas, Texas where we trained with over 150 missionaries in the central US who will be going on summer LST projects, just like us. Have we mentioned how humbling it is that God has called us to "go"? Truly, we can't say that enough!

It was a fantastic weekend with LOTS of information, and also, a lot of team building exercises.  From attempting to build the tallest structure with some unusual supplies...

wire coat hangers....

more wire coat hangers....

wire coat hangers and an empty paper towel roll....

all poked into a cardboard box, with some tape,
and a random plastic bag...

Just look at that engineering masterpiece!

Okay, so we may not have won the contest, per say, but what we walked away with was the confidence that we have a really good team who can work together (that's 1A {1 Another} leadership) under pressure.  Oh, did we mention that we had to build these contraptions in 10 minutes?  Oy!

Our lunch time activity proved just as successful, as God continued to mold the dynamics of our group together.  It was a "scavenger hunt" of sorts with challenges related to transportation, talking to strangers, identifying a random building....things that forced us to put our noggins together and find solutions....again, with time restraints.



This is Wes, running to get the physical address from the
above-mentioned random building...did we mention the time restraint?  Go, Wes!!

Oh, yeah!  Made it back with time to spare!!

Every training session is an "adventure" all its own; but at the heart of each session is God....and our readers that we pray for each and every day.  We hope you're praying with us, too.  God calls each one of us by name....and He already know each and every reader that He is going to bring to us. We can hardly wait to know them, too....and to introduce them to you through this blog.  Thanks for taking this journey with us!

We mentioned earlier about our LST teams that we're training with at Park.  Our team ~ which includes the four of us and the precious, young couple you see with us above, Kendall and Wes LeFlore ~ will be traveling to Niteroi on June 17th.  There is another Niteroi team of six who will overlap us a day in Brazil.  There is a team of ten heading to Honduras. And two darling young women will be heading to the Ukraine (for six weeks!).  We would love for you to keep all of us in your prayers as we prepare to share God's Word around the world! 

LST Park Plaza Summer Mission Teams 2011

Your prayers mean the world to us….we can't reiterate that enough!  And we can't thank you enough for praying for us and partnering with us in God's work.  We are blown away by what God is doing through you....prayers, words of encouragement, and generous donations continue to come our way.  We are truly humbled as we thank God daily for you and your faith that "through Him, all things are possible."

Sending you our love,
Madison, Edana, Kent & Bailey

We love and appreciate you so much!!

*If you would like to contribute toward our work in Niteroi, you may do so online at www.LST.org/2011projects/brookfamily1; or donations may also be mailed to Let's Start Talking Ministry, PO Box 99321, Fort Worth, Texas 76199-0321.  Please include "Kent Brook" in the Memo.  Thank you!

Please Pray with Us....

Last week, we blogged about making the decision to go, but neglected to tell you about what we will be doing in Brazil.....and our training to get there!

As part of the Let's Start Talking (LST) ministry, our mission team.....

Niteroi Team 1:
kendall, wes, bailey, madison, edana & kent

from Park Plaza Church of Christ will be traveling to Niteroi, Brazil in June for 2 of weeks of work -- after 8 weeks of intensive training with THE most dedicated and amazing trainer...

Jamie (our trainer) with her hubby, Pat, in Brazil

About our training ~ We are training each week at the church building with Jamie, and heading to Dallas THIS weekend for super-intense training with mission teams from all over the USA who will be going out into the mission field on summer projects.  We're very excited to get to work with other mission teams & the LST staff. Can hardly wait to share this experience with you!

Our mission ~ We will be sharing our faith, one-on-one, with people in Niteroi who are interested in reading/practicing their English.  In many other countries, the opportunity to practice English with Americans (for free!) is a huge deal!  That's where we come in.....we will be working with readers from the book of Luke.  So, while we're practicing English, we'll be sharing the story of Jesus with them, too.  Oh, how God's going to move in that!!  (insert goosebumps here!)

We would love for you to join us in prayer as we prepare for this life-changing journey.  Please pray for our readers ~ while we do not yet know them, God calls them by name.  Pray that their hearts will answer His call and be softened to His Word as we share it with them.  Please pray for our training ~ that we will completely set aside any anxities we have so that God care prepare our hearts to share His Word.  Please pray for our team ~
that we will grow in faith, love, and unity with God and with each other.

And please pray for our financial needs as we continue to raise funds for this work.  We are 1/3 of the way in reaching the $10,800 goal set before us as a family, which goes toward training, airfare, food, lodging, and all working expenses for all LST projects.*

We have been so extremely blessed by the generosity of friends of family.  It's very humbling to know that so many believe in what God has called us to do.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!  (we can't say that enough)

Please know that we are incredibly grateful to have you as a partner in this work, whether through prayer, financial help, or both.  We will continue to share, through this blog, the many ways we know we will see God in action during the weeks and months ahead....beginning with One Soul Won....Many More to Go.  (insert more tears of joy here)

Bailey's Baptism ~ March 2011

We thank God for you daily!! 

*If you are interested in making a tax deductible contribution toward our mission work, you may do so online at http://www.lst.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=428670&supid=322505719. Thank you for your consideration.

One Soul Won.....Many More to Go!

God is already working in glorious ways through this mission trip!  Following our first training session at Park last Wednesday night (that's March 30th, if you're counting back), our daughter, Bailey, was baptized!!



Mitch baptizing Bailey

 It was so beautiful to witness our child giving her life to Jesus Christ!  There just are no words to adequately convey the emotions we felt.  There were lots of tears.....of joy!  God is so good!  (I'm crying as I type; it's just.that.awesome!)

Bailey was extremely blessed to be surrounded by her sister...

Bailey & Madison

 her Mama Sue (grandmother)...

Bailey & Mama Sue

aunts, uncles, cousins, youth ministers, and friends....

March 30, 2011

While we all gathered around her in prayer, love and joy, I know her Daddy Jim was celebrating in Heaven. 

Madison, Edana, Bailey & Kent

Grace. Pure grace.  That's the God we serve.

Making the Decision to Go....

...was one that we prayed over for some time.  Kent had already served with a tremendous group of Christian brothers in South Africa.  Let's Start Talking (LST) was a ministry that has been on my heart since we came to Park Plaza Church of Christ nearly six years ago.  But taking the entire family just hadn't crossed our minds -- until last year.

Seeing other families make the commitment to go and serve our Lord has been inspiring to us!  The seed was planted, and God continued to nurture the seed within us until it was time for us to make a commitment to Him, too.  The Sunday that "sealed the deal" in our hearts was hearing Wes Gotcher, a missionary (and his precious wife, Carrie) that our congregation sponosered in Brazil, tell us about the tremendous things God is doing in Niteroi!  We knew we wanted to be part of sharing our faith and helping the Kingdom grow in Brazil.  Isn't God amazing?!?

Since making that decision, evil has thrown a lot of challenges at us, including a major health crisis within our family. But through it all, God has protected us and continues to bless us beyond what we're worthy of.  That's His grace for you!  That's the kind of God we serve -- loving, faithful, forgiving. 

We're excited that He's called us into action.  It's time for the Brook Family to step up and step out -- in faith.  Please pray for our family as we begin this journey of servitude.....  ~edana