Once again the team was up and on the road just after 5am. Jody was kind enough to meet us to send us off and say our final goodbyes. Shortly after hitting the road we received word that a firefighter from our department was gravely injured in a structure fire the night before. After a few calls we got more information and as you already know it was Firefighter Paramedic Glenn Allen from Fire Station 97. There is no need for me to get into any details, most of which you already know. However, I would like to share some things that might not be so publicized. Glenn was a believer. He and his family had chosen the Lord long ago and were strong in their faith. His best friend is a pastor and the person who accompanied department officials to make that difficult notification of his passing. For those of you that don’t know, the selection of that member is done ahead of time and placed in your personal record book. So we praise God that he chose Glenn before the foundation of the earth to have a personal relationship with Him and that now he is with Him for eternity. His funeral is tentatively scheduled for next Friday, February 25th.
Our first stop was San Antonio where we had the privilege of meeting up with one of John’s long time friends, Mike Ramsey. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and prayer. Mike was a special blessing to me because as it turned out Mike headed up the missions’ ministry at my church for about 8 yrs. We had always known them as the Ramsey’s out in the Philippines. Next stop was Las Cruces, New Mexico, where we planned on spending the night. There we had our second blessing of the day. When we stepped out our rooms heading to grab a bite to eat, there in front of us was a gentleman with a fire department shirt on. We thought it was a coincidence but as it turned out Jay had been in contact with this person for a few weeks. This gentleman turned out to be Mark Chavez from the Firefighters For Christ, Albuquerque Chapter. We were also blessed by his beautiful wife Mary Jane who accompanied Mark on the 4 ½ hour drive to Las Cruces. We went on to have a wonderful dinner and a great time of fellowship and prayer. Thank you Mark for the work you are doing in the Albuquerque area. I want to take the time here to give a special thanks to Jay who arranged our meetings with the chapters from Arizona and New Mexico. God had placed it on his heart and he acted on it. As it turned out it was a huge blessing and encouragement to our team. Thanks again Jay.
Well our last day on the road started a bit later than the norm. We convinced John to let us eat the free breakfast at the hotel that was served at 6am. At first he declined until he learned we would gain an hour back at the Arizona border. It turned out that Mark met us there to say our goodbyes so John was glad we stayed. From Las Cruces it was off to Phoenix then Tucson. Somewhere in that drive around 10am we received word that they were planning on removing Glenn from life support at around 11am. Turned out they did around noontime and he only lasted 15 minutes until the Lord took him home.
With heavy hearts and rain, which we figured were tears from God, we made the final trek home to Vinnie’s house. Vinnie only beat us home by less than an hour, which gave us the opportunity to fellowship with him for a while and to thank him again for his part in this great venture. Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe and giving us this opportunity to serve you and for the many blessings you bestow on us.
Before I say goodbye, let me highlight a few of the blessings God blessed us with throughout this trip, especially on Day 3 the training day. These are in no particular order and forgive me if I’ve mentioned them before:
- The numerous phone calls, emails and texts we received throughout the trip of encouragement, information and prayers
- Jody and Agustin for making all this possible and their faithfulness to God.
- The trailer park manager, forgive me for not remembering his name. What a blessing to see such unselfish service all for the glory of God.
- The Mission firefighters that not only accepted us with open arms but assisted with the training and translation. They asked many questions regarding the ministry and was evident God was touching their hearts.
- Deputy Chief from the city of Pharr who had heard there was going to be some training put on by LA City firefighters not knowing at all that we were associated with Firefighters For Christ. As it was, he is a Christian that has been interested in starting up an FFC Chapter there for quite some time. So what were the chances of sitting right next to the founder and president of FFC….no chance there, thank you Jesus!
- Jose the waiter where we had our buffet dinner. He shared with us that he enlisted into the army. That was searching for some meaning in life and that he had been making regular visits to the army Chaplain. We shared with him that it was no coincidence that he was serving us. That God is seeking him out and we were there to confirm that. We encouraged him to continue to see the Chaplain and to get a bible and to ask God to speak to him.
- The Director of the Civil Protection League and his wife were very receptive to our Christian faith and the work that God was doing in Mexico. They talked to John for quite some time and you could sense the Holy Spirit working in their hearts.
- Lastly, the team God put together. Such a huge blessing!
I know I’m forgetting quite a few things besides all the names I couldn’t remember. As you know Dan is the one who normally writes these updates and those are big shoes to fill. Miss you Dan! Thank you all for the many prayers. Thank you Jesus for being so faithful and answering all of those prayers. Thank you God for all the blessings we witnessed and received and for giving us the opportunity to serve you.
This is a bit lengthy so hang on.
After a short night of sleep due to training preparations the team was up early for devotions at 7:30am. John had ask me to lead the devotion the night before but because we were up so late I didn’t get a chance to prepare anything that night. So in the morning I shared a message I had heard at my son’s church a few weeks ago that had impacted me very much. The pastor taught out of Matthew 8:5, the story of the Centurion that had a servant who needed healing. Only twice in the bible is Jesus ever amazed and this was one of them. We have heard this story before and we mainly attribute the Centurion’s faith, as the faith in Jesus’ healing power, which I believe, is correct. But the Pastor brought up another perspective, which was very interesting. As we know the Centurion’s had a lot power and authority over 100 Roman soldiers, which he also professes to Jesus in verse 9. Is it possible that Jesus was amazed that this Centurion had great faith in Jesus’ authority and power? Is it maybe that Jesus was amazed that this Centurion understood that there is power and authority in the name of Jesus and that Jesus is looking for men that want to stand up for Him? That maybe we should men and not wimps in light of that power. That we have that type of power and authority in His name right here and right now. The Centurion was basically saying that, hey I’m like you when it comes to authority and Jesus was basically saying yes I know and I need more strong men like you. Anyways, read it for yourself and see what God says to you. But for me it was a big blessing and encouragement to stand for Jesus in His might and His power, like a MAN.
We met the team from Mexico for breakfast around 8:45 at the IHOP. There were many familiar faces and a lot of hugs went around the room for some time, especially John and Vicente who have developed a tremendous relationship. Their team consisted of 13 members and two wives. The Fire Chief (Vicente) and his wife, the head of the Mexican Civil Protection League and his wife, one Battalion Chief and the rest were Captains. After breakfast we headed to the Mission Fire Station for our training. Upon arriving the Guadalupe firefighters got their first look the fire engine and of course they were very excited. After a brief look at the fire engine they got a tour of the fire station while our team began preparations for the training. The training consisted of a classroom session and then a yard exercise. Jay and I got the easy part of prepping the classroom session. Chris and Matt got the hard part of the setting up the yard exercises. After a brief informal ceremony where our team received beautiful gifts from the Guadalupe firefighters the training sessions finally began. We spent about an hour and a half in the classroom going over engine operation, pumping operations, maintenance, hose lays, ladder evolutions, etc. After that we went out to the side of the fire station and conducted ladder evolutions and hose lays. This went on for about 3 hours but it felt like one because we were having so much fun. Now it was time to go and put the engine into action. We drove about two blocks away to a school yard where we put the engine through wet pumping operations. We loaded 2 ½”, 1 ¾”, 1 ½”, and 1 inch lines all at the same time which put the engine through some vigorous pumping. The engine held up great and the firefighters were very impressed with its capabilities. After all the fun, we went back to the fire station and loaded all the sections of hose that was donated along with all the fittings and tools. Now it was finally time to eat and the Mexican firefighters treated us to dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s a good thing too because we had decided to work through lunch so we were all starving. After dinner it was time to say our good byes. Originally the training was scheduled for 2 days, but once we put the program together we thought we could do it in one day and everyone was in favor for that.
God did many other special things this day that I want to share, but because this report is so lengthy, I think I will consolidate those things along with what ever happens on our two-day trip home into one final report. Thank you so much for your prayers and just as always on these trips, God makes all your prayers become reality right before our eyes. To God be the Glory!
Howdy ya’ll. Well how do you say another day on the road in the great state of Texas. Well, we started out at 5am out of Las Cruces and it didn’t take long for John to realize he didn’t get enough sleep last night, because within an hour or two he gave up the wheel to Jay. John got a much needed two hour nap or so and from then on it was no looking back he never gave up the wheel again. I think John thought he lost those two hours of driving not realizing Jay drove and he tried to make it up by a non-stop run to San Antonio. So about 2pm we convince him that a man cannot live on bread (snacks) alone so we stumbled (googled) across a 5 star BBQ/Smoke House and had a wonderful Texan lunch. We had the pleasure of meeting the owner and taking a few pictures with him. After that it was just highway and fuel and fuel and fuel and highway. We finally arrived in Mission Texas around 7pm. The Mission fire station is a beautiful and big station that was built about 4 yrs ago and is their Headquarters. Vinnie beat us there by about 4 hrs and had already off loaded the fire engine. We had an opportunity to meet the on shift firefighters and take a quick tour of the facility. Which is well equipped for our training sessions that we’ll be holding there for the next couple of days. After that we said our good byes to Vinnie who was heading out to Seely Texas to pick up another load. But we didn’t let him leave without praying with him. I’d like to give him a special thank you, he really did us a big favor by taking on this venture. Please keep him in your prayers. Of course Jody, Agustin and the boys were there to greet and feed us, so after picking up some pizza we headed off to our home base to get some much needed rest. The Guadalupe firefighters were not there and they haven’t seen the fire engine, so we’re excited to see the look on their faces tomorrow. Please pray that the training would go smoothly and safely.
Pray for John that God would give him strength and rest, the drive out was very exhausting. Pray that the Holy Spirit would prepare the hearts of the firefighters and that He would use us mightily. Thank you all for your support and prayers, we love you and miss you.
Thanks to Vinnie Jenkins and his After Midnight Trucking Company, Fresno FD's Fire Engine is on its way to the Mexican - Texas border. Jay Tracy and those he works with in Fresno, CA were instrumental in procuring the engine for the Fire Department in Guadalupe, Mexico. In Mission, Texas, the Guadalupe firefighters will meet Jay and four LAFD firefighters, who will spend time training them and renewing friendships, which began two years ago with FFC's mission trips to Monterrey, Mexico.
Lt. to rt.: Before the road trip began, donations of hose from Pasadena FD and LAFD were loaded by Vinnie Jenkins, Pat Stilson, Dan Rodriguez and Victor Laveaga.
FFC members from Tucson, Chandler, Mesa and Phoenix met the five California FFC members, who are following the fire engine to Texas.
Their waitress took their group picture during their lunch together in Arizona. It was a great time to encourage each other and to pray for ministry opportunities that the Lord will provide.
Jay Tracy & Rick Weigele renewed their friendship today in Phoenix. A few years ago Jay & Fresno FFC's Chapter hosted Rick's Christian Skateboard Evangelist Team at Jay's church.
From Jorge:
A warm welcome to all. The day started off early with the team meeting at Vinnie Jenkins house in Ontario at 5 am. Well some of us got there at 5 am, but I won’t mention any names…but he drives a silver truck. For those of you who don’t know, the team consists of John White, Jay Tracy from Fresno, Chris Martinez, Matt Webber and myself from Los Angeles. Vinnie who is driving the semi-truck with the donated fire engine is also from Los Angeles. The original plan was to meet up with Vinne in El Paso but since he had a 16 hr head start we couldn’t catch up so he continued on through to San Antonio. The five of us stopped in Phoenix, Arizona to meet up with the local Chapters there. There were 4 area chapters represented which were Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe. There were a total of 14 of us there including ourselves. We had a great time of fellowship and sharing all the things God is doing with the chapters and also in our personal lives. The overall theme was your credibility in the firehouse by your living out your trust and faith in Jesus Christ. John finished the meeting by telling some stories of sharing Jesus Christ with some members that normally would not give you the time of day unless you had that credibility. Some even on their death-bed. Praise God, John had that credibility.
The rest of the day consisted of driving, storytelling, and keeping John awake. Not always in that order. We ended the day with a so-so dinner at John’s favorite restaurant and after 13 hrs on the road, we finally bunked down in our motel rooms at 10 pm. For those of you who know John that’s 4 hrs after his bedtime.
Tomorrow evening we meet up with Vinnie and the fire engine in Mission, TX. Jody, and Agustin along with the team from Mexico should also be there. We heard today that the team from Mexico will have around 10 members.
Please keep us in your prayers, we have a long way to go but we are very excited to see what God has planned.