I can't believe that I am just now getting to this. Sorry! Our mission trip to Memphis was incredible as usual. God never ceases to amaze me. I took (literally) hundreds of pictures. I have included links to the pictures. ( Album 1, Album 2)You can also find them in my facebook albums. There is so much that I could share, but I will give you my highlights.
Every year as we prepare and help our students prepare, we always think about how we are going to change those children and their community. Every year God changes us! You would think that we would get it by now, but apparently we are slow learners. There was one student that we thought would be a great part of the team, so Bryan approached him about going. After some consideration (and I am sure parental consultation) he decided to go. I knew that he was afraid of kids, but thought that he would enjoy other aspects of the week. The first day he was a little reserved on the site, but he began warming up on the second day.
That night we took the team to WalMart. On the way back I heard the student talking to his parents on the phone. "I'm pretty sure I am not afraid of kids anymore." The tears began to flow as I thought about how HUGE a thing that was for him. I am tearing up now just thinking about it. God is so faithful to use us and change us to be more like Himself if we will just be willing to step outside of ourselves.
On Thursday, we were sure that our Bible Club was going to be rained out. Determined not to give up on the next to the last day (Friday was the close of the summer), our site missionary Austin, told us that we could go door to door and just talk to the kids or play with them on their porches where it was dry. Our team was so excited and immediately figured out ways to adjust their jobs for the day. After dropping our students off at various locations in the neighborhood, Bryan and I drove over to an apartment complex where we dropped some students off earlier. Some of our students were sitting in a covered area in front of one of the apartments with several kids making salvation bracelets.
The rain was letting up, so we started driving around telling our other students to come over to the apartments. Within 20 minutes or so, the rain had stopped and we had filled the parking lot with kids. There were bicycle games going on, crafts, Frisbee games, and ball games. Kids we had not seen all week were hanging out with us. Since our story that day included a gospel presentation, we didn't want to miss that opportunity. The boys leading that day, adjusted and did GREAT!!! The kids were more attentive than any other day. (If you look at the pictures you will see the apartments and some of the houses surrounding them. These apartments are luxurious compared to the rest of the neighborhood. Don't let them fool you. We are in one of the 5 poorest neighborhoods in America.)
The last thing that I want to share is probably the most important. Our kids were truly changed! There was a fire ignited in them to change their own community. Before we made it back to Powdersville they had plans and weren't going to let us talk them out of it. On Saturday, August 15th (2 weeks after our return) they got together and canvased the neighborhood around the church. They made fliers and handed them out inviting all the kids to a Saturday Bible Club at Marathon. The next Saturday 17 high school students (there were only 14 on the mission team) arrived at the church at 9:00am, prayed, walked the neighborhood collecting kids, and had a Bible club.
There were 16 kids and only one of them was a child that comes to our church. They have a club planned for one Saturday every month with hopes for more during the summer. It was a great day! The kids enjoyed it and our students did an incredible job. We were so proud of them. There were 6 or 7 adults there to help, but it was completely student led. Our students are amazing and are serious about serving their community. Several more projects are in the making, so be on the look out for more doting!
The hands and feet of Jesus, that is what our students are becoming and we couldn't be prouder!
*We made friends with some very cool Vietnamese students from Houston. (There are a lot of pictures of them as well.)
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