Dr. Tim McGarvey took his team (Northwestern College Symphonic Band) on an outreach mission trip to Chihuahua, Mexico during the first week of March. The team got off to a rough start as they had 2 feet of snow fall in Omaha the day before their flight to El Paso. Dr. McGarvey led his team through the adversity and made a real impact in Chihuahua.

The Northwestern College Symphonic Band held 5 concerts. Camargo City Theater, The Heroes Theater, Palabra Viva Church, Chihuahua City Theater and Delicias City Theater were blessed by their performances.

Some of the pieces performed were Magnum Mysterium, Southern Harmony and Be Thou My Vision. The Gospel was shared during intermissions. During each performance Dr. McGarvey explained who the pieces were composed for and why. He also explained God’s mystery about sending His son Jesus to earth in order to die for us.

Accolades were printed in the local newspaper with the headline: “The Heroes Theater Vibrates”. It mentions how two bands, the Northwestern College Symphonic Band and the State Philharmonic of Chihuahua, gathered together to play in this concert. The Director of the Department of Culture of the State of Chihuahua was heard saying: “It is great to take God out of the church and bring Him to the theater. It doesn’t matter if I get fired for this!”

After the concerts the team was able to share the Gospel and hand-out bibles. Some of the people told C.O.I.’s missionaries that they felt peace in their heart while the band was playing. Dr. McGarvey’s team received a very warm reception.

In all, nearly 7000 people attended the concerts and over 500 people accepted Christ. What an abundant harvest! This mission trip was a resounding success.

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The summer tour season is starting very soon with Christian Outreach International. Each summer, many mission groups come from churches and schools to one of our mission sites around the world. It is a great time to meet new friends that have the same goal as we do - sharing God’s love to a world in need. If you have ever wondered about short term missions, I am here to tell you that they are a wonderful blessing to literally everyone involved. Those who go, those who host, those who are met and those back home. Let’s look at the four groups.

Those who are met: Missions can open your eyes to the needs of others. The people whose needs are being met by the mission group will encounter the real God, lived out in the lives of the group members. They will see how beautiful are the feet of those who bear Christ.

Those who go: The mission team. They meet to prepare, grow as a team, grow individually closer to God. They are presented with chances to stretch themselves out of their comfort zones, and see boldness that they may not have even known that they had. They see God use them, and I believe that there can be no better feeling than that. Their faith is increased, their vision grown and their desire to serve God in all that they do is encouraged.

Those back home: The senders. They are the ones who cover the group in prayer and back them financially. They are the encouragers and the ones that share in the celebration of a job well done. They see a group that returns fired up for ministry and looking to continue ministering to others in their community.

Those who host: In our organization, there is staff at all of the sites ready to facilitate the ministry of the teams that come. We have opportunity to meet new friends with a similar interest in evangelism and Christian service. In the long grind of the summer, we are encouraged by each group that comes, as we see their desire to serve and their passion for God.

God’s design is so perfect that by answering his call to participate in short-term missions, in any way, you will be richly blessed and see Him working in your area and around the world.

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