Today was a very different sort of day. This morning there was nothing on the schedule for us to do except what is called ATL (Ask The Lord). We were challenged to spend time in prayer and ask God to reveal to us what He would have for us to do today. We will share more of the details of what we did during that time when we get back and have our service Sunday night. Let me just tell you that it was a real blessing. This afternoon's VBS went very well for being the last day. The teenagers did a great job as usual with interacting with the kids and teaching them. It was hard to say goodbye to a lot of the kids that we had gotten close to throughout this week. I had challenged the teens yesterday to make the most of their last day here. I let them know that they will never see, apart from divine intervention, any of these kids again, and never see those in the nursing home again. I did not want any of us to leave Mississippi with any regrets thinking that God led them to minister to someone in some way and they ignored what God was telling them. They have all enjoyed their experience here and at least in some way have a different perspective on the mission field whether in Mississippi, Russia, or in Lincolnton, North Carolina. They have had the opportunity to minister to individuals on a regular basis this week just like you and I have each day of our lives. In the end, it is not the amount of opportunities a person has had to share Christ with others but what they have done with the opportunities God has provided them.

I ask that you would pray once more for us in the morning and throughout the day that we will have safety in travel. We look forward to seeing home again (also a warm shower doesn't sound too bad either). Church, I cannot thank you enough for having a heart for these teenagers, their families, and missions.

What a rewarding day today was. This morning the guys had to get up a little bit earlier than the girls in order to leave for our construction site about 40 minutes away. The Girls Home that our girls were supposed to go to today ended up cancelling on us so the ladies went back to the nursing home that we all went to yesterday. The ladies from the other church group went with our girls this time though. They had a good time and were able to see a lot of the same people we saw yesterday. The residents were excited to see them again. This time the girls took some finger nail polish and were able to paint some of the elderly ladies finger nails. They loved that! the girls said! As I already mentioned the guys traveled to a work site today. The gentleman whose house we were helping reconstruct was in the army in Iraq when the hurricane hit and his house and the area around his house was under over 30 ft. of water. As you can imagine, he lost everything and now he is trying to rebuild from a lot of the scrap wood that he salvaged from his old home. When we got there we split up into teams: one team was to start working on the restructuring of the floor, while the other team started clearing a lot of the brush and trash that was around his property and in the neighborhood in order to burn it. The team that was working on clearing the property got all that done and then moved over to help us finish up the floor. We would have completed that, but we ended up with not enough materials to finish the job completely. It was a real encouragement to see the sincerity in an army man's eyes as he struggled to thank us for coming out to help him.

Our VBS went very well today! As I was sitting around several of the kids during the lesson I thought back to how I had asked for your help yesterday in praying for their attentions to be drawn to the lesson. It was amazing to see how much the kids were intently listening to each word as the lesson was presented. Tomorrow is our last day of VBS and our teens are sad to see it come to a close because they have absolutely fell in love with those kids. They have been able to have such a tremendous impact on the lives of these kids. Please help us pray one more time as the Gospel is presented that the Holy Spirit would move on the hearts of these kids, and they would realize the value of Christ.

I hope and trust that Highland Drive had a great service tonight. At the end of each day we have a time where we "Debrief" the day and have a time of worship. Tonight's was awesome as Courtney, Jennifer, and Ryan led the music. I truly felt God's presence in that time. Tomorrow we will be having a special service so I am really looking forward to that. I trust that you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have counted as a blessing that I was able to write it. I will post one more tomorrow night and hope to have even greater things to say that the Lord has done in and through us.

Hope all is going well at home. Tonight I am going to let a couple of the teenagers tell you what God has done in and through us today.

 

Jennifer Aderholdt-

Today we went to a nursing home. I am kind of scared of nursing homes, but today I put that aside and just went to talk to the people there. It was fun and I realized they shouldn't scare me, they are people. Nothing is different! I met this one lady, Ms. Holand, she was very sweet and has a hobbie of making little crafts for the other people there and all the visitors that she meets! She asked us to come to her room and gave us some little crafts that she had made. She collects roosters because she said the different colors remind her of how all people of all kinds, we all come together to make something beautiful like the roosters tail. The nursing home opened my eyes and also helped me get over my fear of nursing homes. All the people there just loved having us visit, they just like the company and having someone to talk to.

 

Danielle Mayes-

We went to a nursing home today. As Jennifer had said I was a little scared to talk to them at first but as you get to know them and they tell you there life story, their hobbies, what they like to collect and many other things you realize that they are just regular people. And I hope that we really touched them today because some of them do not get that many visitors. I also met Ms. Holand, she was a very nice, kind lady. She likes to make crafts. She also likes to collect roosters. Just to let all of yall know Ms. Holand gave Jennifer and Courtney an ornament that she had made out of christmas cards. Jennifer's was for her birthday, which is Friday if ya'll didn't know. It was really nice to get to talk to the elderly people and hear there stories and it really touched me to see how blessed we really are because we do have a home to go back to. We are hoping to go back Thursday and give Ms. Holand a rooster because she said she remembers who gives them to her and we want her to remember us. She is very special to us, and will she will always be in my prayers.

 

Misty Edwards-

     Well today was long and tiring but we made it :] We went to the nursing home as you all know by now...at first I was really scared, and it was way out of my comfort zone but after we got there and talked to a few people I started to relax and talk a little more...me and Danny were walkig down the hall looking for some people we could maybe talk to...when i looked at her and said " I wish God would just make it plain who he would like us to talk to and bring joy to" then there was this lady and we started talking to her and she told us a lot bout her self basically her life story and she said she was so glad we were there. I think we really brigthened her day :] we asked her if she would like a piture and she agreed so we both took a picture with her....Before all that there was the really nice lady Ms.Holland who gave us bookmarks and little bags she made her self it was really cool!! she's very talented!! the last person we talked to was a really funny man named Millard well him and his wife! he was really funny...we took pictures with him to and he shouted with joy it was so great...i had alot of fun after i stepped out of my comfort zone...later that day after dinner and all we were having team time and i was a bit down...and we had just gotten back from BK and i was putting my bookmark away and i opened my bible to John 14 and started reading i read vs 1-4 and it comforted me as i read becuase it started " Do not let your heart be troubled " and something esle something like that....well that's all for today G-night :]]

 

The teenagers have really stepped up to the plate on this trip. They seem to be sincerely open to what God has for them to do. I wanted them to write tonight and let you know how your sacrifice has in some way contributed to their experience and their meeting with God on a different level. We are excited about the rest of the week! Tomorrow's VBS is going to be great and we expect many more kids to show up. Please help us pray for their attention to the important lessons that are being taught. We are conducting the VBS outside and there are many, many distractions. The guys will be going to a house tomorow and helping put in a flooring system for single dad who was in Iraq when the hurricane came several years ago and lost everything he owned (pray for our safety). The girls will be going to a Home for Girls so pray that they will make an impact on their lives. I cannot wait to get back and see the letters that have been written to these teenagers saying that you have been praying for them at just the right time. As always we are praying for you back home!

 

Whew!!! What a tremendously long day today was. This morning we decided to walk to the site where we would be having VBS that afternoon (about a mile away). On our way we were able to clean up several streets that were littered with trash. It was amazing to see how many alcohol containers were on the side of the road. Once we got to the site, we were able to clean up a little around that area and begin Prayer Walking through that neighborhood and some other neighborhoods that were close by. After about two hours of prayer walking and picking up trash the guys were instructed to go back to the church and mow the grass while me and the girls continued prayer walking through other neighborhoods. During this time we were able to contact several kids and invite them to VBS that evening. We also ran into one of the teenagers that we had met in service yesterday. His name is EJ (Ryan and EJ hit it off because EJ actually played the piano for the offeratory during service the day before). After a little over three hours of prayer walking and picking up trash in this humid Mississippi heat we went back to the church totally drenched in sweat. We ate lunch and then prepared for a few minutes for the VBS. At 1:30 we loaded up the van and headed to the VBS site. In no time there were several kids who came out to meet us. Several that we had met earlier and some new ones. The kids were pretty difficult to settle down at first and listen to the lesson, but our teens did a terrific job of helping settle them down. Courtney and Jennifer taught them two songs and the entire group did a skit for the kids; which they loved. They then were presented with a lesson, question-answer time, and craft. At the end, we were able to play some games with them, but they thought the most fun game was dumping their cups of water on us. At Debrief and Worship this evening, Courtney, Ryan, and Jennifer (they need a group name) led us in worship and testimony time. We finished the day off with a relaxing trip to the local McDonald's where they have several gaming consoles for the kids to play. Tomorrow promises to be just as long and hopefully as rewarding as today. In the morning our group will be headed toward a Nursing Home where we will have the opportunity to build some relationships there and hopefully opportunities to share the Gospel. The Lord has really blessed us with many opportunities to serve, and we thank Him for them.

 

P.S.- We were asked not to bring cameras on the first day of ministry, but tomorrow I will take my camera and take several pictures that I will share with you.

We are finally at our location in Long Beach, Mississippi! After trying to find another van last minute and 11 hours of road time, everyone was ready to come in and rest. We ate supper, had some introductory remarks from the AIM (Adventures In Missions) leadership and then the leaders from the churches got together and went over the schedule for the week. I am so excited about the opportunities that the Lord is going to give us this upcoming week. It is going to be filled with a lot of new things that we may not be accostumed to. I thank you so much church family for praying for our safety in travel as we made our way down here. Please continue to pray for our hearts to be stirred by God, our opportunities for ministry, and our continued safety as we are away from home. So far everyone is doing terrific and we are praying for the services at Highland Drive tomorrow morning.

 

P.S. - Please stay posted as I will be trying to give you a daily update on our activites and progress. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up for everyone to see. Cannot wait to see you again and tell you in person how grateful we are for your sending us.