Follow updates on our Austin Stone youth ministry trip to Memphis, TN at Tyson Joe's blog! Read about their unexpected travel incidents!

Over the next several months, we will be sending teams all over the world! As you look at the summary below, please pray for the teams and the people they will serve.

Join us this Tuesday, June 1 at our First Tuesday prayer service as we pray for those who will go and do this summer all over the world [details and map].

Keep checking back for stories from our teams as they serve as Christ's hands and feet this summer!

Check out Todd and Scott's blogs to follow updates and photos of their team's time in North Africa.

Photo courtesy of Todd White

Photo courtesy of Scott Wade

Students from Reagan High School are going to Kenya this Summer in partnership with The Austin Stone and Manna Worldwide. They will be at The Austin Stone this Sunday to talk about their vision and how you can help. Watch this segment on them from KVUE below and stop by after the 9am, 11am, or 5pm services in the cafeteria of Austin High School to hear more.

Look closely, though. These teenagers aren't friends - they're family. Their relationships run deep and visitors are immediately included within this bond. The home-cooked meal comes from the hands of volunteers and their homework isn't really homework, but questions of purpose. The young man writing poetry isn't just another hopeful artist, either. His work sings of love and hope and finding clarity in the midst of chaos.

It's Monday night in the St. Johns neighborhood. And these students from Reagan High School will be taking the biggest leap in their [KEEP READING]

Please check out these opportunities to support the relief effort underway in Haiti. We will continue to provide further means of involvment as the opportunities develop.

Relief Teams

 In this first phase of relief, teams are being assembled to provide the skilled assistance needed for basic rescue and care. If you are trained as a disaster relief responder, a medical worker, or if you can speak/translate Creole. Mercy Works is assembling teams that will begin deploying this Monday and every subsequent Monday indefinately. Fill out the application on their site and email it to the contact provided if you are interested.

Fundraisers

While some organizations are asking for goods to be donated, the most helpful means of support in the first and critical phase of relief is money. This allows the aid organizations and ministries to purchase the needed supplies as close to the area of need as possible and provides the needed funds to deliver these items as well. We have listed a couple of opportunities to participate in giving funds over the next week.

Benefit Concerts/Shows

Dominican Joe all-day, Haiti disaster relief fundraiser - this fundraiser will be all day Monday, January 18th with live music from 10:45 am until 12:00 pm. Check out the website for more details.

Hope for Haiti - a benefit show hosted by Music for the City, will be at The Parish at 7pm. The show is $10 and all proceeds will go directly to Real Hope for Haiti. Check out the website for [KEEP READING]

March 12-20th

This March we are sending a team to work with our local partners in North Africa. Team members will have the opportunity to serve refugees, the poor, and the disabled with the love of Christ in this predominantly Muslim nation. If you would like to learn more about joining this team, contact us by email.

This team will fill up fast and the deadline for applications is set for January 15th, so please respond quickly if you would like more information.

Church-Wide Trip to the Dominican, Jan. 8-16th

Thiscoming January 8th-16th The Austin Stone is sending a short term trip to theDominican Republic. We are committed to serving along side of Makarios as we see God redeemand renew His people. If you are interested in being a part of the team, please click here to sign up. If you have any other questions, pleaseemail makedisciples at austinstone dot org.

[The Following is a post from ASCC Partner and Area Minister, Jeremy Hager]

Well we are about halfway through our time in the Dominican and so far God has really been faithful to reveal himself to us! We arrived in Santiago on Friday night, and then drove the rest of the way to Puerto Plata the next morning. Since our first two days here were over the weekend our trip started off restful, and we were even able to visit a local Church Sunday morning. Once Monday came though, the work began!

We spent the day getting the new addition to the Makarios School ready to be painted. Makarios has added a second school building with 3 rooms which will give them the much needed room to [KEEP READING]

The D.R. team leaving on August 14th will be taking items to Makarios for the upcoming school year. If you would like to donate, please drop the items off at the sign-ups table this Sunday. Below is a sample of some of the items they have requested...

• Flashlights and batteries
• Zip lock baggies. All sizes and lots of them.
• small hand soap dispensers for school bathrooms--preferably antibacterial (no foam soap please)
• Large containers of hand soap that we can refill the small ones with
• Moisture absorbers you put into closets to prevent mold. We need these for our medical supply closet. We need 2 every 40 days. * 5 clip boards-the kind you hold in your hand
• grapefruit seed extract
• boxes of pens and pencils for the school

Click here for the total list.

[written by Shanna Wright, an Austin Stone partner that recently returned from a family trip to the Dominican Republic]

I have been thinking about this post for a long time. It was funny to see that through all my reflecting, the answer was sitting there in a simple conversation I had the night after we returned from our travel to the Dominican Republic. Here is my answer to what it was like to take our sons, ages 6 and 8, on a mission trip to a foreign country...

I was talking with a friend who wanted to know how the boys did on our trip. We were really just two moms sharing about our kids...a very natural thing for moms. Honestly, they were Americans. They complained about the heat. They turned up their noses at food they did not recognize. They cried when they were overtired or embarrassed. They were spoiled and rotten. Now to be really honest...we all were. The adults on the trip were also hot, tired, did not always like the food, and were sometimes embarrassed by a lack of skills. However, we are adults. We are trained to keep those things inside so we do not look self-absorbed. But honestly, the ugly truth is still there. In our flesh, we want things our way. As we watched the boys struggle, our first inclination was to press them to rise to the occasion. We tried conversations, persuasion, even a little nudge to the back of the arm with a look of disapproval. Ultimately, this did nothing. All our earthly parenting skills did nothing. We did what we should [KEEP READING]

CHECK THIS OUT! Everyone you see serving are folks from The Austin Stone serving in North Africa this summer!!

Will you join them? If you're interested in serving in North Africa, email us.

[This is an incredible update from one the Stone's summer workers in North Africa..]

 "And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him." (James 5:15)

We got to witness this verse in action at a clinic about a week ago. We went to one of the Sudanese refugee camps that I had not been to before. There were not very many patients that needed to be seen, so we just kind of sat around pretty discouraged. Finally, a lady came in with her son. It became obvious very quickly that he had cerebral palsy (basically a gradual and continual loss of muscle control and tone....this seems to be common here in this country). This little boy was six years old. He was sitting in his mothers lap and had no control over his legs, arms, or neck. He wouldn't really respond to questions at all or make eye contact. His mom was basically holding his head up and he was having lots of muscle spasms. We were moved by the condition of this boy and there was really nothing we could do to help him. One of the girls on the Austin Stone team knew a lot about physical therapy. She asked the mother if she was doing exercises with him and she told us she did these everyday and demonstrated what she was doing.

There was nothing more we could do other than pray. We gathered around this boy and just begged God for healing.

After we were done, I left the room to check and see if there were any [KEEP READING]

[Written by one of our summer workers in North Africa]

We really have been trying to lean into God and allow Him to provide us with these signs referred to in Mark 16:17-20. In one clinic that we have held often there are twin sisters in their late fifties that attend this clinic promptly. Starting out these women were both showing signs of poor health just as the rest of the patients. After watching their progress they both had developed large swelling in their lymph nodes and had numerous rock hard lumps in their breasts. One of our nurses (there are 2 nurses from the Austin Stone serving at this time in North Africa) advised that both women receive a mammogram so that they would be able to receive a proper diagnosis, but between a doctor and two nurses the symptoms were obviously showing a fast moving case of breast cancer.We sent them off with prayer and submitted their physical needs before the Lord.

The following week when we returned the sisters were back at the cinic to hand back the results of the mammogram that had been requested. Much to God's praise these women had run a completely clean test and after the nurses checked the sisters for themselves they showed none of the symptoms that were present just six days prior! It was as if they had been made new again.

All that I can say is that God really loves His people and He is willing to bear His arm right in front of those who love Him in return. What I was able to witness was the [KEEP READING]

today was our final day at the school. we had to get to the school early this morning and i thought for sure i was going to have my chance to see the chickens killed, but alas, no luck. we had our final graduation ceremony for the second class. then we went out to a field and played soccer and frisbee with the kids. it was super hot, but really fun! again it was cool to watch our kids jump in with the other kids.

here are our kids with our gua gua (van) driver, juan. he is the best!

jumping rope with new friends.

then we went to see the new makarios house that is being built. the structure is fully done, but they need more funding to finish it out. it is going to be pretty stinking sweet!

here is everyone on the roof. it will be awesome!

the third floor (roof) is my favorite!

see why i love the roof so much!

after touring the new house, we went down to the malecon and walked around. then we got ice cream as a treat. it was not only sweet, but the ice cream shop had air conditioning, something we have not experienced since we have been here.

tonight we dwelt on psalm 8 and the majesty of the lord. we had the kids read it tonight (which is pretty sweet. if you read the psalm you will see why) and then we spent some time looking at the moon and stars (v. 3-4) and talked about how big god is and how powerful he is to control all those things. we did have 2 little ones fall asleep during the devo and prayer. the cool rooftop in the dark was too much to [KEEP READING]