The Valentines’ Awesome Adventure
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| Awesome Adventure Team (Timmy, first row second from right) |
Many of you who are
residents of Porterville, California will remember Brian and
Christine Valentine. Several years ago, Brian moved from the East
Coast to become the youth pastor of a church in Porterville. He and
his wife, Christine, were actively involved in the life of the church
and community.
Just before the
birth of their first child, they decided to move to Pennsylvania to
be closer to family. They currently reside in Mechanicsburg,
Pennsylvania with their son, Timmy, and daughter, Sarah. Timmy
Valentine is now twelve years old, in the sixth grade, enjoys math
and geography and some day hopes to be an architect.
About two years
ago, the family began sponsoring a young child from Honduras through
a Christian non-profit organization. That prompted the decision that
Timmy and his dad made to join their church’s fourteenth annual
“Awesome Adventure” mission outreach to Honduras at the end of
July.
The primary purpose
of the outreach was to share the Good News of Jesus with elementary
and middle school children in four schools, partnering with a local
Honduran mission group. While the students were engaging in various
activities with the team from America, their teachers were attending
a workshop conducted by the local missionaries.
According to dad
Brian, the same four schools love having the Awesome Adventure teams
come and keep requesting them year after year. Last summer’s group
consisted of twenty-seven people, from middle school age to adults.
The older kids worked at the two middle schools while the younger
kids, including Timmy and his dad, went to both elementary schools.
In this way about
one thousand children learned about the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ during the week the team was there. A variety
of approaches, such as songs, puppets, Bible lessons and testimonies
were used, along with the help of student translators from a Honduran
Christian International School. There was a great response to the
message presented, with many of the kids accepting the challenge of
taking the next step in their relationship to God.
Timmy also had the
experience of giving his testimony in front of the students. Through
a translator, he told how his mother had driven by a cemetery when he
was four years old and how he had wondered what it was for. After
explaining it to him, she went on to tell Timmy that if he received
Jesus into his heart, he would be in heaven with Him forever. Timmy
still remembers praying and asking the Lord to come into his heart.
Although sharing this story was hard for him at first, he said that
it got easier.
One highlight of
the trip for Brian and Timmy was when they were able to meet the
child they sponsor for the first time, along with her mother. The
little girl, Nahomy, is about the age of Timmy when he first received
Christ. They even went swimming and played in the pool together on
that sunny Saturday morning. A translator helped with the
communication; however laughter, love and good fellowship doesn’t
need to be translated!
Along with the
enjoyment of seeing Timmy’s love and heart for the Honduran people
and watching him grow over the course of the week, Brian Valentine
came away with a new insight.
“There is a strong sense of family in
Honduras,” he said. “People are open and friendly. Kids come up
to you and want to hold your hand or give you a hug. They are friends
first, even before getting to know you.”
What made Timmy
want to go on the trip in the first place? “It was the fact that
you get to teach about Jesus in the public schools!”A surprising
answer from such a young fellow; however, it is not surprising
considering the dedication of his parents to the Lord. He and his
father are already planning to return to Honduras with the team next
summer!
The name Timothy
means, “He who honors God.” Timmy is off to a good start in
learning how to do this. His favorite Bible verse, quoted from James
1:5 at the beginning of this article, reflects a desire to honor God
by seeking wisdom. We can all learn and be inspired by him!
*James 1:5 NIV
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| Timmy, his dad, Brian and their sponsored child, with her mother |
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| Teaching the students Christian songs |
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