Mission Trip: ATL

 

 

 

Sunday June 17th

We Made It to Kentucky!!

We left around nine on Sunday morning and about twenty minutes into the way, we had something rattling in the brown van, It was just the air. We were all anxious to get out of Iowa, just waiting for someone to say we’re not in Iowa any longer. After about eleven or twelve hours, we picked up Nate and got to the church. We went inside, got our shirts and journals and went to sleep. We had a long day ahead of us on Monday.

 

-Dena

 

Monday June 18th

Walken and Talken

On Monday, the fun began!  We had team bonding, which was also done on the way here in the vans but we had to work together.  First we had to listen and trust our partner to lead us through an obstacle course, and the listening mostly reminded us of God helping us through the darkness we live in.  The other team bonding activity was rolling a marble through a tube, this took more teamwork and communication than the other one.  We also went on a walk and talk.  We walked in a park and talked to someone.  Monday was a really good day for everyone.

 

Lindsey

 

Tuesday June 19th

 

And now for Tuesday…….

 

 

Greeting from Kentucky!!  The day was full of challenges, fellowship and most importantly God.  We started the day as usual with a round of song singing and an awesome talk from our guest speaker Nate, and this was followed up with some quiet time to reflect on the message.  Then we break into small groups and have a grand old time together discussing what we have been reflecting on.  After lunch we had a chance to take a nature walk at a park here in Benton.  It was great seeing some of the sights and having a chance to talk to each other.  The rest of the day was spent with the kids getting a chance to develop the outreach preparation.  It exciting to see how God moves and is preparing us for what he has in store.  Thanks for your prayers up there, they are a much needed support and the whole team greatly appreciates them.  Lata!!

 

 

Colin

 

 

 

 

 

How 'Bout Some Pictures.......Click Here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wed. June 20

 

            Today we woke up to an up beat fun time of worship. We sang numerous songs that got us on our feet dancing for the Lord. We even got a train going around the sanctuary. Then Nate told us a story of a boy he went to school with. He told us about his home and school life and how he had made a lasting impression in his, Nate’s, life. It got us all reflecting on how we see and treat people and realizing how simple words or actions can have big consequences.

            We traveled to a near by park today for some team bonding. The leaders tied string between two trees creating a web. We then were responsible for getting everyone over to the other side of the web without touching it in any part of our bodies. It was difficult and made us force to work together, however after an hour and a half, we had all reached the other side successfully.

            Nightly worship was a little different tonight. We all gathered downstairs and listened to Kristen and Nate read us the story of Jesus cleaning his disciples feet. Once they were done the small group leaders did as Jesus did and cleaned our feed and said a prayer over each of us individually. It was an awesome night and it was even more awesome to feel God’s presence so strongly with us.

 

-         Megan O.

 

Thursday’s Blog

 

Today was our last day with our guest speaker, Nate. It was hard for everyone to see him leave because he was an inspiration to all of us and really spread God’s word well.

            The People of St. Matthews church have blessed us in so many ways. Tonight the man who owns a local restaurant invited us to come eat there for free. Another man from the church offered to pay for our meal that night.  It just so happened that one of our waiters had gone to Honduras the previous year to do mission work, so we invited him and his friend back to the church to share their experiences. It was fun to see kids our own age that have experienced what we’re experiencing right now.

            We continue to ask for prayers as we will continue to pray for you all.

 

- Victoria

 

Friday June 22

 

            Today was the last day at the church. We cleaned and cleaned. The church was very nice to us, they were a body of Christ.

            We traveled to Atlanta. It took about six hours, we only stopped twice.  We have bonded so much as a team and have learned to trust each other.

           We arrived at the campground late tonight. We all met Miss Cathy, and the 4 boys (Johnathon, Anquan, Kentavious, and Jediah) that Miss Cathy takes care of.

            We are all praying for this town of Atlanta trusting the Lord to do his work.

 

-         Lindsey

 

Saturday June 23

 

Happy Birthday Dena and Derik

This morning we rearranged the tents and got more situated for the rest of the week. We had our quiet time and ate lunch and then were blessed with some free time. We were able to go swimming, paddle boating, miniature golfing, walking, running or just hang out. It was fun spending more time getting to know one another deeper and seeing how God has blessed us all in so many ways.

In the evening Miss Cathy’s boys arrived, as did some of the men that volunteer to help her out. They brought more Airstreams for us and even spent the night in one themselves. We spent the night hanging out around a camp fire making smores and worshiping. Walter, one of Miss Cathy’s helpers even joined Collin on the guitar. They are all great people and I know I can speak for us all when I say we are looking forward to getting to know them more.

 

- Megan O.

           

 

Sunday June 24

 

Today we got up and ate breakfast then we put on a church service for the people in our camp ground. We went around in groups asking people if they wanted to join us. We sang songs and put on a couple of skits. After Church we had quiet time and we had to write our testimonies out.

After that we headed into Atlanta. We stopped at Capital View Apartments, it is a bunch of apartments that less fortunate families live in. We went door to door inviting people to come to the BBQ. A lot of kids showed up. We played games, sang songs, made bracelets, did dances and put on a couple of skits for the kids.  We cooked and served hot dogs, chips and cookies to everyone. I think everyone really enjoyed it. We were there for about 4 hours.

After we left the apartments we went out for pizza and we had a blast. A guy who worked there gave us ice cream sandwiches. After we ate we went back to the camp ground and went to sleep. It was a long day but it was all worth it.

Love you, miss you!

 

- Chelsea M.

 

 

 

Monday, June 25

 

Today we woke up and it’s my [Ryan Emerson’s] birthday!!

We began the day by going to Ms. Kathy’s home.  Ms. Kathy sold her former house [and the old Baptist church they used for ministry] that was just down the street from Lil’ 5 Points in Atlanta, and they moved to this 13 acre piece of land [on the southwest side of Atlanta]. Kathy, her husband Paul, and a handful of helpers are building a camp for inner-city youth on this land, using Air Stream trailers for housing. Today we helped them by organizing, building, and landscaping; some of us planted a plant/flower garden along their frontage road and up the lane, some sorted and folded clothes, some cleaned, and some pulled nails out of useful wood they’ll use for building. After working, the crew took a random hike through the woods looking for the river…quite the adventure! We headed back to John Tanner State Park for dinner. Afterward, we were surprised with a random road trip to Alabama [just 15 miles away]. We celebrated my birthday there with an ice cream cake from DQ.

 

- Ryan Emerson

 

 

 

Tuesday, June 26

Another beautiful hot day in Atlanta, Georgia! Today was our second opportunity to minister to children at an area housing project complex, Edgewood. We arrived, split into groups, and went door to door to invite the children to join us outside to play. As the children gathered, it became obvious this was a rambunctious crew! We played ball games, painted fingernails, and just chatted in an effort to introduce ourselves and get to know the kids. After a while of playing, we made lunch for all the kids…  peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then we got out our crafts and started making “salvation bracelets”, an intentional effort to begin to share about our amazing God! This was a wonderful way to talk about who God is, how much He loves us and desires for us each to know Him. I invited the children to listen to this “story” as we made a bracelet. With a group of about 10 kids in a circle, various ages, I was surprised how well they listened. As I introduced each color (bead) and talked about what it represented, I would review the ones we had already threaded on the leather strap… they were quick to respond and for the most part attentive throughout. After doing several groups, we decided it was time to share about our Lord in a big group. So, the Zion youth shared the dances to Shackles and Redeemer, and then acted out Daniel in the Lions Den, Noah’s Ark, and the crowd favorite… TogDor. The first two were wonderful ways to share about God’s people and how He was present in their lives. TogDor is a funny story about the difficult topic of forgiveness. Then, the final drama, “With or Without You”, set to U2’s song, shared about God’s great sacrifice and His constant presence with us. This was a hard day for the youth. In the large group, many of the kids were rowdy and created distractions, but they asked to see the “With or Without You” drama a second time, after Steven talked about it. So we were encouraged by the willingness and desire of their hearts to understand; We are thankful, God is working and we must have hope and trust in that!

 

- Kristen Meier

 

 

 

More Pictures!!.....click here

 

 

 

Wednesday, June 27

Ministry at a new housing complex... This was a really hot day!!! Going into the day, Ms. Kathy prepped us that this complex was more impoverished and prone to violence than the others. When we arrived, we noticed there were no trees. They had all been cut down to discourage the tenants from hanging out ‘outside’, since it often led to violence or enabled drug transactions. So, any respite from the heat came from huddling close to the mansard-style buildings that didn’t even provide an overhang. In clear view from the complex was a local penitentiary. This was a harsh reminder of the unfortunate choices made by many for evil and not good and a motivator for us to share God’s message of love and grace. The children were excited to see us. We began by handing out water and wrote their names on each water bottle. This helped us to identify them and also made it more personal to them, too. Our ministry followed a similar structure as the previous day. Ms. Kathy arrived with boxes of clothing to be handed out to the children as well; it was exciting to watch them walk away, with Christmas morning surprise and thanks! Late in the afternoon, as we were leaving, one mother of a small toddler approached me and thanked me. She said “this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for this complex”… That is so hard to imagine, but I’m thankful we could share Christ in a tangible and unconditional way by loving our brothers and sisters.  Our day concluded with a stop at Lil’ 5 Points to give sandwiches to our homeless friends. It was contrasting to leave there and enjoy an Atlanta Braves game together as a team that night… certainly gives rise to thoughts of being faithful stewards of the resources God has provided for us. This was our final day of ministry, and although it was apparent some were getting anxious as thoughts of home danced in their heads, our hearts remained heavy for the many lives of those we had encountered during our ministry in Atlanta.

 

- Kristen Meier

 

 

Thursday, June 28

Thursday was a fun and sad day. It was a day a lot of us had been looking forward to because we were given some free time in Atlanta before we left. Many of us were ready to pack up and say goodbye to the city we called home for 7 days, but some of us were sad to leave Atlanta, the many neighborhoods with beautiful children we grew attached to. The morning began with a free for all breakfast of leftovers (from bologna sandwiches, to watermelon and cereal). We even had our first Georgia peaches! We took down the tents, packed the vans, and said our final goodbyes to Anquan, Jed, & Jimmy [two of Ms. Kathy’s lil’ boys and one of her helpers]. 3 of the many people I will never forget. It was really sad to leave the boys… We exited John Tanner State Park and looked forward to our next destination – Underground Atlanta for free time. We had two hours for lunch and shopping. We split up and found different things to do. My group made a long stop at a bracelet vendor; they were leather bracelets engraved with whatever… back in the vans, we made our way to Nashville, where we spent our last night at Christ Lutheran Church. After dinner out, we spent the evening in worship and sharing. Then, each of us was given a henna tattoo of a sun, to remind us that God is rising up with in us and we each must take a stand in this world…and RISE UP for Him!

-Morgan Hejna

 

 

Friday, June 29

After a full day of driving from Nashville and mostly sleeping in the vans, we are home. This is where the mission truly begins. “Awake, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” – Ephesians 5:14. May Christ shine us on us as He empower us and equip us for His daily ministry through us with our friends, family, and the lost in our midst. …To God be the Glory. AMEN!