Paul’s 9th B-Day Mission Trip to Faceplant Ministries in Oregon
Recently, I traveled with my son, Paul, to Medford, Oregon for a 3 night mission trip to partner with Faceplant Ministries January 20-23.
Paul turned 9 on this trip, and it was a special daddy/son mission where we both got to have firsthand experiences with God. Right away we saw favor on our first flight to San Francisco when the flight crew hung up a picture Paul drew, and then the pilot came out and greeted Paul and invited him to sit in the cockpit after the flight. Furthermore, on the way home, we had the same flight crew from San Francisco to Maui—and the crew greeted Paul by name as he was boarding the plane, celebrated Paul’s drawings brought him free snacks (again).
Redemption and transformation is already happening at “Faceplant Ministries” a new 501c3 in Medford, Oregon. We were privileged to be there for the demolition of some old walls and counters, and as we did two dump runs, graffiti covering, and worked with a rad team, it led to a huge transformation of the space.
Thankful to stay with Adam and his family and his dog.
Paul developed a new healthy fear of drugs, seeing needles and some of the problems caused by drug use visible in the area around the“Faceplant" building.
And then we were also able to enjoy a bonus snowboarding afternoon during one of the two full days we were in Oregon.
We said the Mission Was To “Wash Feet,” and though we didn’t literally do this, we had great opportunities to serve and pray for people.
A family showed up in the 25 degree weather to check out Faceplant just because they saw the skateboards
Fruitful and effective with a big team working together to help gut the building
Anointed trip to In & Out with Adam ministering to some kids from his neighborhood asking the two
So thankful for Life-giving friends Like Adam with his rad family in Medford, Oregon and Jon & Kyle in Ashland, Oregon. Fire Chief Jon taught Paul and I that his 3 rules they always use for whitewater rafting and learning to snowboard are: "1.) Safety 2.) Don’t Panic 3.) No Complaining (Because then everyone has fun).
Thankful to be “shoulder to shoulder with soldiers for God’s Kingdom.”
In the One Love of Jesus (1 John 4:9),
Joshua
