The final days of the summer for InVision are coming near. We have had a lot of good times together and this week may have been the best one as a team. This week has been filled with Bible studies, worship services, walking on the beach, shark hunting and yes, even a proposal for marriage. We have spent the last week at Fort Caswell helping out with their World Missions week.
All of us have experienced Caswell before except for Britney. She really enjoyed herself. She grew up in the mountains and doesn't really care for the beach but she really enjoyed the sharks... The week started off with us finding Todd enticing sharks with his toes. Yes there were some kind of sharks on the beach of Caswell... needless to say we avoided the water all week. However, Britney and I went shark hunting the first couple days and took lots of pictures that will soon be up for everyone to see on facebook, including a battle between a shark and a crab! The crab won.
While there was a lot of rest and play we did do some "work" this week. We were paired up for Bible studies with different age groups for the week. All of us had a different experience. I was paired with Mike to lead the 10th grade class, Andrew and Britney were leading the 6th grade class and Kristen helped to lead the 8th grade class. We all had good conversations with our kids all week. We even had some trust us enough to tell us about things going on in their life and how we could be praying for them!
The worship services were great this week because while we were doing some of our stuff we were also getting fed by the speaker. The speaker was Adam Robinson. He hit on a lot of key points this week that helped us all to think about our lives and what we are doing with them. His stories were hilarious and they were always brought back home to help us ask the question "What am I doing for God?" After the worship services we got a chance to talk with people and pray with them. We know that we were not the ones to put a desire in their hearts to come and talk to us about salvation, things in life, or what God might be calling them to do, however, we were honored to be used by God to help guide them and pray for them. It was an amazing experience for all of us!
And now the moment you have all been waiting for... the PROPOSAL! It all started the morning of August the 7th with a sugar packet being flung down on Andrew's tray followed by the words "you dropped your name tag." A clique if I ever heard one but funny just the same. Still, this couldn't have prepared us for what happened later that same day... We were all sitting a lunch talking about our Bible studies and what was to come that night, when all of sudden Andrew was approached from behind by a large group of teenage girls. One of them (sugar packet girl) was on a mission to win Andrew's heart. She commanded him to stand up claiming that they had to talk while, at the same time, her friends made an announcement which drew the attention of the entire cafeteria to the event that was about to take place. She confessed her undying love for Andrew while falling to her knees with a ring in hand... yes there really was a ring! Andrew looks at the girl like she is insane and responds with "I don't even know your name and I have a girlfriend." The girl then threw the ring in Andrew's face and storms off to sulk and be comforted by her friends. She never spoke to Andrew again.
As you can tell our week has been a very interesting one, filled with worship, Bible studies, animals, relaxation and broken hearts. It was an amazing week to end our summer together on team InVision. However, please stay tuned to the blog because Andrew will be writing one last blog after debriefing.
We would all like to once again thank you for your prayers all summer long. We could not have had the "God moments" we have had without your prayers for us. I ask that you please pray for Mike as he is leaving for Campbell tomorrow, he will not be with us for debriefing. I also ask that as the team separates in a couple days that we continue to walk with God and follow His will for our lives. We can not thank you enough for all of your support this summer!
Peace.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
There and back again...a Canada tale.
About two weeks ago InVision left of a plane for Canada and now we are about to head back to the states. We have spent the majority of the last two weeks in a town called Milton. Milton is located in the providence of Ontario about 45 minutes outside of the city of Toronto. It has a population of about 70,000 people and is growing rapidly with about 8 families moving in daily. It is is a very diverse and ever-changing mission-field. We helped out a church called the Sanctuary Church. They met in a sports center...awesome! We have had a lot of pretty cool experiences here.
Upon arriving in Canada it took us a while to actually meet a Canadian. First, we met the pastor of the Sanctuary Church who was from North Carolina. Then we met a IMB missionary...also from North Carolina. Next, we met a church group who was also doing mission work in Milton...still from North Carolina. So for the fist two hours we were in Canada we met only people from North Carolina. Ironic...definitely. Finally we met the daughter of the host family Mike and I stayed with who was in fact actually from Canada.
Each time we go somewhere different we have a completely different experience. Canada was no exception. During our two weeks in Canada we have done a variety of things and have done things in different ways. Canada, on the surface, seems very similar to the States...if you only glance at it. However, once you look beneath the surface, even just barely, you see the Canada so very different. There are so many different cultures, so many different types of people, so many situations jammed into one place. As is was put at one point by the Associate Pastor of the church, The world is coming to Milton. and this statement is very true. I have never seen a place that has so many people being constantly injected into the population. The neighborhoods here are just house upon houses, upon town-houses crammed in the the smallest amount of space possible. This makes Milton a very unique mission field and these are the people the Sanctuary Church is trying to reach.
During the past two weeks the team spent a lot of time doing park ministry. Milton is dotted with small parks. in these parks we would spend our time doing free face-painting, sidewalk chalk, and music. It is amazing how many connections you can make through as simple an act as face painting. Kids absolutely love it and when the kids or their parents ask who we are and why we are doing this we get to share that we are a creative ministries team from North Carolina that is helping out a local church called the Sanctuary. Sometimes this lead to more conversation and sometimes it did not. Even though I know we were no longer in the Bible Belt any longer I was amazed sometimes at the complete lack of faith. During one of our park ministries Amanda was talking to a young boy and when she was telling him why we were here she said that we loved Jesus. At this the boy said, " Aw, come on...people up here say that Jesus does not exist." Amanda replied, "well I believe he exists." To this the boy said, "Well, I don't...well maybe just a little...but not much." This simple exchanged is not something you hear every day from a kid mouth in the states. We were encouraged to share with people out own personal experiences in our faith. The people in Canada are pretty open minded, they do not argue with personal experiences. There is a large and growing Muslim population in Milton that the IMB missionary is targeting in their ministry. Park ministry was a lot of fun and lead to a lot of cool experiences with kid and adults alike.
Another big part of what we did with park ministry is block parties. We had two bock parties, one on each Thursday that we were there. the first one we did in conjunction with the church group from North Carolina. There was about 30 or 40 of them so needless to say it was a big affair. We had face painting, crafts, games, drama, music, and puppets. There were a lot of people from a variety of cultures. There was a lot of good conversation going on and it was a pretty cool experience. The second block party was on a much smaller scale since it was put on by just the five of us and some people from the church. It was also really cool. during the first half how we were afraid that no one was going to come but eventually people showed up and it go busy. At this block party we had free food, games, face-painting, and music. This block party was neat experience because we got the see the Church come together and do something with us and there were some pretty awesome conversations here too.
Another cool thing we did was the farmers market. Basically the entire downtown main street was turned in to a big market with people sell anything form fresh produce to handmade crafts. The church had a booth and here we did free face-painting yet again and also gave out balloons. In addition to these things the team did dome live music and interpretive movement. T was awesome to do these things in the middle of a crowd of people. We had a lot of fun. One of the coolest things was that we had three families that we met at the farmers market come to the church the next Sunday.
While here we also visited Niagara Falls and Toronto. Both of which were awesome experiences. It is hard to explain the wonder of being in a boat at the base of the falls. God is awesome!
We have seen God work in awesome ways these past to weeks. We had an awesome worship service Sunday morning. He has cleared up the weather for every event we had even when it was supposed to poor. He has brought people to us. He gave us some amazing people to work with and he has just blessed us with an awesome two weeks. In the week leading up the the second block party we prayer walked the area everyday. It was awesome to see the results of our prayers.
The people we worked with in Milton were amazing. Our two host families were fantastic and we are going to miss them. We have had such a great experience here. Every morning we jammed out with them and had devotions. Awesome! I have had such a great experience and leaving is definitely bittersweet.
As our summer is coming to a close we ask you to continue to pray for us as a team and for our worship ministry. We have one more week which is at camp Caswell. I also ask you to pray for the Sanctuary church and their ministry in Milton and the relationships they are trying to build. Pray for the children and their families here. Pray for the young boy I mentioned earlier. Pray for two guys that we met while here that need God. I just want to thank you for all your prayers a support this summer. Canada was great and I am glad to have had this experience.
-Andrew
Upon arriving in Canada it took us a while to actually meet a Canadian. First, we met the pastor of the Sanctuary Church who was from North Carolina. Then we met a IMB missionary...also from North Carolina. Next, we met a church group who was also doing mission work in Milton...still from North Carolina. So for the fist two hours we were in Canada we met only people from North Carolina. Ironic...definitely. Finally we met the daughter of the host family Mike and I stayed with who was in fact actually from Canada.
Each time we go somewhere different we have a completely different experience. Canada was no exception. During our two weeks in Canada we have done a variety of things and have done things in different ways. Canada, on the surface, seems very similar to the States...if you only glance at it. However, once you look beneath the surface, even just barely, you see the Canada so very different. There are so many different cultures, so many different types of people, so many situations jammed into one place. As is was put at one point by the Associate Pastor of the church, The world is coming to Milton. and this statement is very true. I have never seen a place that has so many people being constantly injected into the population. The neighborhoods here are just house upon houses, upon town-houses crammed in the the smallest amount of space possible. This makes Milton a very unique mission field and these are the people the Sanctuary Church is trying to reach.
During the past two weeks the team spent a lot of time doing park ministry. Milton is dotted with small parks. in these parks we would spend our time doing free face-painting, sidewalk chalk, and music. It is amazing how many connections you can make through as simple an act as face painting. Kids absolutely love it and when the kids or their parents ask who we are and why we are doing this we get to share that we are a creative ministries team from North Carolina that is helping out a local church called the Sanctuary. Sometimes this lead to more conversation and sometimes it did not. Even though I know we were no longer in the Bible Belt any longer I was amazed sometimes at the complete lack of faith. During one of our park ministries Amanda was talking to a young boy and when she was telling him why we were here she said that we loved Jesus. At this the boy said, " Aw, come on...people up here say that Jesus does not exist." Amanda replied, "well I believe he exists." To this the boy said, "Well, I don't...well maybe just a little...but not much." This simple exchanged is not something you hear every day from a kid mouth in the states. We were encouraged to share with people out own personal experiences in our faith. The people in Canada are pretty open minded, they do not argue with personal experiences. There is a large and growing Muslim population in Milton that the IMB missionary is targeting in their ministry. Park ministry was a lot of fun and lead to a lot of cool experiences with kid and adults alike.
Another big part of what we did with park ministry is block parties. We had two bock parties, one on each Thursday that we were there. the first one we did in conjunction with the church group from North Carolina. There was about 30 or 40 of them so needless to say it was a big affair. We had face painting, crafts, games, drama, music, and puppets. There were a lot of people from a variety of cultures. There was a lot of good conversation going on and it was a pretty cool experience. The second block party was on a much smaller scale since it was put on by just the five of us and some people from the church. It was also really cool. during the first half how we were afraid that no one was going to come but eventually people showed up and it go busy. At this block party we had free food, games, face-painting, and music. This block party was neat experience because we got the see the Church come together and do something with us and there were some pretty awesome conversations here too.
Another cool thing we did was the farmers market. Basically the entire downtown main street was turned in to a big market with people sell anything form fresh produce to handmade crafts. The church had a booth and here we did free face-painting yet again and also gave out balloons. In addition to these things the team did dome live music and interpretive movement. T was awesome to do these things in the middle of a crowd of people. We had a lot of fun. One of the coolest things was that we had three families that we met at the farmers market come to the church the next Sunday.
While here we also visited Niagara Falls and Toronto. Both of which were awesome experiences. It is hard to explain the wonder of being in a boat at the base of the falls. God is awesome!
We have seen God work in awesome ways these past to weeks. We had an awesome worship service Sunday morning. He has cleared up the weather for every event we had even when it was supposed to poor. He has brought people to us. He gave us some amazing people to work with and he has just blessed us with an awesome two weeks. In the week leading up the the second block party we prayer walked the area everyday. It was awesome to see the results of our prayers.
The people we worked with in Milton were amazing. Our two host families were fantastic and we are going to miss them. We have had such a great experience here. Every morning we jammed out with them and had devotions. Awesome! I have had such a great experience and leaving is definitely bittersweet.
As our summer is coming to a close we ask you to continue to pray for us as a team and for our worship ministry. We have one more week which is at camp Caswell. I also ask you to pray for the Sanctuary church and their ministry in Milton and the relationships they are trying to build. Pray for the children and their families here. Pray for the young boy I mentioned earlier. Pray for two guys that we met while here that need God. I just want to thank you for all your prayers a support this summer. Canada was great and I am glad to have had this experience.
-Andrew
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Something in the water...
I'm back and once again adding to my long list of blogg entries. Well, not really...if you have been following this blog you would know that is in fact my second blogg entry, but hey, there was only two entries between this one and the last one I wrote, soooo...I am getting better. Anyway, the last week has been spent in Mike's hometown, Roseboro, NC. Now, if any of you are wondering where in the world Roseboro is, you will find this quaint little town right outside of Fayetteville and the people that live there are "just good folks." That is what the sign says.
Upon arriving in Roseboro we had supper at Mikes house and were met by everyone and their uncle...literally. Mike had aunts, uncles, nephews, his pastor, and just about anyone else you can think of in attendance...it was quite a family affair. Also. to give you an inkling on the size of the meal, Mike's mother had six different types of desserts prepared. We ate well to say the least.
The week started with a day full of performance. We started Monday with a performance for the very people who give us so much support. Yes, we had a short worship service for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina itself. It was a lot of fun to show them what we do and they were very appreciative and encouraging. For any of you reading this that go to Appalachian, We got to see and hang out with Randall who is the Videographer and works at the office in Cary this summer. That was really cool. He even has a pretty big office all his own...nice. when we got back from Cary we immediately did programs at two different nursing homes. Now, there must be something in the water of this area because the people in the nursing homes this week were much more alert than they have been at other nursing homes in the past. the nursing homes this week were awesome experiences and we could all tell the the people there were glad to have us. The day ended with dinner with the pastor. Let me just say that he is quite a funny guy.
On Tuesday we switched gears entirely. We had an eight hour workday...painting. This was not just any painting either. I guess you could say this this painting experience was very bright...color wise. We painted the new youth room with a combination of lime green and what we have come to call barney purple. Very bright indeed. My personal opinion is that it has kind of a Doctor Seuss look. You will have to judge it for yourself whenever we get pictures up.
Wednesday was a pretty awesome day. We did another nursing home with more very alert people, (I am telling you there must be something in the water!) and Wednesday night we had a big hour and a half program which was pretty awesome. Once again, if you are reading this and you go to Appalachian you will like to know that Megan brought her youth group to see us and Storm's parents came to see us. It was a pretty cool program and it was only the second time we had done one that was so long. We had a lot of fun.
Thursday was more or less a "relax" day. The only eventful things was me getting my drivers license renewed (Yay!), Mike going to an eye doctor appointment, and Kristen heading off to Charlotte for the weekend for a teaching fellows conference.
Friday was probably one of the most interesting days we have had all summer. On Friday we took the special needs class to the lake for the day. We all had a great time and the kids had a lot of fun as well. We played in the lake, had bible study, went to an arcade, rode fair rides and just basically had a blast. it was so awesome to see them overcome fears and just enjoy themselves as the day went by. It was a tiring day. We left the church at 10:00 a.m. and did not get back to 11:30 p.m. It was long, but very rewarding and fun . It was awesome just to see those faces light up and see everyone have such a great time.
Saturday was a day off. We went to Raleigh and saw a musical called "Daniel" which one of Mike's friends was in. It told the story of the book of Daniel and was fantastic. It was quite humorous because it had a lot of references to music from the 90's. We also went to the mall and just basically hung out.
On Sunday we lead some music and got to see six baptisms...awesome! Then we had lunch packed up and drove to Raleigh where we are spending the night. We will be flying out of the Raleigh airport at 11:35 a.m. tomorrow morning for Canada! I am really excited and kind of nervous. I have never left the country and I have not been on a plane since I was small. We can not wait to see what Canada will bring!
As you continue to pray for us we ask that you pray for our trip to Canada. That we will stay safe and have a powerful impact for God! Also, pray for relationships we have made and have yet to make. Pray for our performance ministry and that God will continue to use us. Thank you all for all you are doing.
- Andrew
Upon arriving in Roseboro we had supper at Mikes house and were met by everyone and their uncle...literally. Mike had aunts, uncles, nephews, his pastor, and just about anyone else you can think of in attendance...it was quite a family affair. Also. to give you an inkling on the size of the meal, Mike's mother had six different types of desserts prepared. We ate well to say the least.
The week started with a day full of performance. We started Monday with a performance for the very people who give us so much support. Yes, we had a short worship service for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina itself. It was a lot of fun to show them what we do and they were very appreciative and encouraging. For any of you reading this that go to Appalachian, We got to see and hang out with Randall who is the Videographer and works at the office in Cary this summer. That was really cool. He even has a pretty big office all his own...nice. when we got back from Cary we immediately did programs at two different nursing homes. Now, there must be something in the water of this area because the people in the nursing homes this week were much more alert than they have been at other nursing homes in the past. the nursing homes this week were awesome experiences and we could all tell the the people there were glad to have us. The day ended with dinner with the pastor. Let me just say that he is quite a funny guy.
On Tuesday we switched gears entirely. We had an eight hour workday...painting. This was not just any painting either. I guess you could say this this painting experience was very bright...color wise. We painted the new youth room with a combination of lime green and what we have come to call barney purple. Very bright indeed. My personal opinion is that it has kind of a Doctor Seuss look. You will have to judge it for yourself whenever we get pictures up.
Wednesday was a pretty awesome day. We did another nursing home with more very alert people, (I am telling you there must be something in the water!) and Wednesday night we had a big hour and a half program which was pretty awesome. Once again, if you are reading this and you go to Appalachian you will like to know that Megan brought her youth group to see us and Storm's parents came to see us. It was a pretty cool program and it was only the second time we had done one that was so long. We had a lot of fun.
Thursday was more or less a "relax" day. The only eventful things was me getting my drivers license renewed (Yay!), Mike going to an eye doctor appointment, and Kristen heading off to Charlotte for the weekend for a teaching fellows conference.
Friday was probably one of the most interesting days we have had all summer. On Friday we took the special needs class to the lake for the day. We all had a great time and the kids had a lot of fun as well. We played in the lake, had bible study, went to an arcade, rode fair rides and just basically had a blast. it was so awesome to see them overcome fears and just enjoy themselves as the day went by. It was a tiring day. We left the church at 10:00 a.m. and did not get back to 11:30 p.m. It was long, but very rewarding and fun . It was awesome just to see those faces light up and see everyone have such a great time.
Saturday was a day off. We went to Raleigh and saw a musical called "Daniel" which one of Mike's friends was in. It told the story of the book of Daniel and was fantastic. It was quite humorous because it had a lot of references to music from the 90's. We also went to the mall and just basically hung out.
On Sunday we lead some music and got to see six baptisms...awesome! Then we had lunch packed up and drove to Raleigh where we are spending the night. We will be flying out of the Raleigh airport at 11:35 a.m. tomorrow morning for Canada! I am really excited and kind of nervous. I have never left the country and I have not been on a plane since I was small. We can not wait to see what Canada will bring!
As you continue to pray for us we ask that you pray for our trip to Canada. That we will stay safe and have a powerful impact for God! Also, pray for relationships we have made and have yet to make. Pray for our performance ministry and that God will continue to use us. Thank you all for all you are doing.
- Andrew
Sunday, July 12, 2009
One week until Canada!
We have been super busy the past few days so there is a lot to catch up on. God has been at work and its been good! We have now moved on from Weaverville already been to Lexington and now are in Roseboro... as you can see we have been busy traveling.
Lets start by filling you in our last few days in Weaverville. We gained kids every night at Bible school. Pastor Job was so excited be cause we had kids coming that had never came to church before. He is hoping that through this VBS he will get there families to start coming. His mission is not in the number but to just see people saved... He has a true heart for that area. We got to hear the kids sing songs in Spanish and in English. It is so awesome how God knows all languages and can reach people in something as small as a VBS three nights a week. The last night we had three pinatas for the kids... they really enjoyed that (praise God no one got hit with the large piece of wood we were using!).
Wednesday we went to the "Welcome Table" in Swannanowa near Weaverville. This is a community lunch where anyone is welcome to eat for free. There were homeless and wealthy people there. We sang a lot of songs for them and got to meet some cool people. We also got to meet one of the boys that has been in the Juvenile Center for about 6 months. He was there to help out in whatever way he could... he got to come as a privilege. It was really nice to be able to talk to him and kind of get to know him because we were going to the Juvenile Center the next day.
The Juvenile Center was an interesting worship experience but I think it was one of our favorite places the whole summer thus far. This was an all mall facility so we got a few laughs while we were there. the boys were excited to see us because this was considered a special event... however a lot of them were excited to see girls close to there own age because they don't see many. Just to give a few highlights the boys enjoyed the service and were very attentive... they even participated in one of the dramas... haha. One of our dramas is about Hosea and Gomer and there is a fake auction to buy "Gomer" at one point and a few of the boys raised their hands... it was funny... but we knew they were paying attention. They really enjoyed "Forever Love" the all girl interpretive movement... haha. But on a more serious note... we saw a few boys sing along during our songs, which was very encouraging and hopeful for us. Please pray for the one boy we got to meet and spend time with at the Welcome Table and the other boys. There was also one boy who sat with his head down the whole time... we were not sure if he was praying or crying... please pray for him. As the boys were leaving the area we were in they said good bye and thank you from afar. I feel like God was working in that Center... I will continue to pray for them throughout the summer I hope you will too.
We left Weaverville on Friday and traveled to Lexington, Kristen's home town. That night we had a hang out with the youth where we ate and played some get to know you games. It was a lot of fun and we ended the right with some praise and worship. Pastor Ray told us about a girl that was ready to make a commitment to God but hasn't let everyone know yet, he was hoping that we could encourage her to do so on Sunday. So we prayed about it and talked with her some this weekend. On Saturday we had an all day youth event where we played beach volleyball (we weren't at the beach... it was a sand court), played lots of games had Bible study and had a chance to tell them about what we do over the summer and what other summer missionaries are doing this summer. they had a lot of fun, it was a good day to hang out with them. This morning we led the service and the girl Pastor Ray mentioned came up and let everyone know Jesus was Lord of her life now... she came up with her Dad and they will be Baptized together (How special is that?!?). After the service we had a good-bye supper with the youth. I sat beside a boy that hadn't come to the events this weekend. I talked with him a while... he is 19, into drinking and stuff and is going to joint the army in about a month. I told you this in hope that you will also join me in praying for God to make Himself known in his life... it sounded like he has lived a rough life.
Lexington treated us all very well and we hated to say good-bye to the youth. However, after lunch it was time to move on once again. It was a hard weekend for some of us on a personal level but it was a great one with youth... we can tell God is at work in our lives. Now we are in Roseboro (Mike's home town). We are ready for another week (One more week until CANADA!)! We are so excited!
Some things you can be praying for to recap... all the boys at the Juvenile Center, especially the boy we got to spend time with. the ministry Pastor Job has at the trailer park in Weaverville. The youth of First Baptist Lexington. the boy I got a chance to talk with at lunch. the girl who joined the church and her father. And please pray for our team for personal things going on in our lives... pray that we would not let them affect our ministry. And for us to continue showing the love God has given us to the people around us! By the way I know all of these people's names I just don't feel comfortable sharing them on the internet... Anyway Thanks so much for reading ALL of this and for your prayers... the team really appreciates your work as prayer warriors!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Moving on...
We spent the weekend with Britney and her family in Cullowhee. It was good to hang out with her family and see the world that God created. It was an interesting weekend for myself because we were in Cullowhee, where I could possibly be next year. :) We went through Western Carolina University on the way to her house and any other time that we went anywhere. Britney also has a beautiful view from he back porch... you can see three different states from her back porch and you can see WCU in the valley. It was so awesome because, I could stand on her back porch and pray over WCU and what might happen next year. I loved being surrounded by nature and the things God created once again.
For the 4th we got to go to the lake with Britney's family. It was a lot of fun and we all got a chance to tube or knee board. Then we went to see fireworks that night. It was a nice day off.
Sunday was one of our busiest days so far. We lead 3 worship services that day. Webster Baptist Church has two morning worship services and we got to completely lead both of them. Her church was so responsive... you could feel the love that people had for each other. Between the services we got a chance to hang out with some of the college students and get to know them. It was pretty cool because we didn't have planned praise and worship time but that is what it turned into. People playing guitars, drums and piano while all of us sang praises to the Lord! I got a chance to see Jeff as well. He is the campus minister at WCU and we talked about what might lay ahead and stuff... it was really exciting. After the second service we went to Britney's house to eat and pack up. It was so great to see Britney with her family... I think we all learned a little bit more about who is and why she is that person.
After leaving Cullowhee we headed to Weaverville. I must say that I was super excited about coming to Weaverville because it is a place that we came to last year and I loved it! I got to see a lot of faces that I knew and meet some new ones and the team got to meet people that we had told them about. As soon as we got there we met out host families (which are amazing!) and got settled. Then it was off to the church to set up and lead worship again. Todd came to the worship service and it was good to see him again. We got a chance to talk with him afterward and get some supper. Miley learned how to drive a stick shift in about an hour in order to come see us as well. If anyone can do it she can... haha. It was great to see her and catch up on a few things in life as well. The other team members got to meet her and put a face with a name. Walker was also there because he is the youth leader at that church now. So it was like a mini reunion for the old team and we got to introduce them to the new team. Both teams are so amazing! It was great to catch up with the old one but I am looking forward to spending more time with my team now! Serving the Lord all summer with 4 other people brings so much bond to your lives and I love having that bond with more than one team :)
Yesterday we got a chance to meet a lot of different people here in Weaverville. We went to the senior citizen lunch and did a short service for them before they ate. We got to meet almost everyone there and some of them shared part of their story with us and others did not but it was still cool to meet them. Then it was off to a families house for lunch and hang out time with them. After lunch we went to a nursing home and the pastor's mother-in-law was there. It was cool to meet those people and lead them in worship. Most of the people there were alert and talked to us about where they went to school and where their children and grandchildren went to school. How much we reminded them of their grandchildren and stuff like that. There was also one lady there who knew God and what we were doing because she talked to me afterward and shared a little bit of her story. Then we went back to the church to plan for VBS at the trailer park. Pastor Job is a church planter at the community and he helped us travel and pick up kids to come. There are mostly Hispanic children that live in this community but that was not a problem because all of them spoke English. Even though Pastor Job knows Spanish. His ministry started there about 2 years ago and there are people who support him and others who do not support the church being there. The children here just want to be loved. We played with them in the field for a while and then went inside for snack, songs and Bible Study. We are using Boomerang Express material. Some children were really interested and others were not... but I also found it interesting that we had adults coming to this as well. They didn't say much but I know that they were listening.
Then we got to come back and spend some time with our host families. We are really excited to go back tonight and see the kids again. We have lots of cool ministry opportunities coming up this week. So there will be more to come.
Thank you for all of your prayer for us this summer. We ask that you pray for us as we witness to all different types of people this week at the trailer park, the church, nursing homes and a juvenile center. Ya'll are amazing!! :)
For the 4th we got to go to the lake with Britney's family. It was a lot of fun and we all got a chance to tube or knee board. Then we went to see fireworks that night. It was a nice day off.
Sunday was one of our busiest days so far. We lead 3 worship services that day. Webster Baptist Church has two morning worship services and we got to completely lead both of them. Her church was so responsive... you could feel the love that people had for each other. Between the services we got a chance to hang out with some of the college students and get to know them. It was pretty cool because we didn't have planned praise and worship time but that is what it turned into. People playing guitars, drums and piano while all of us sang praises to the Lord! I got a chance to see Jeff as well. He is the campus minister at WCU and we talked about what might lay ahead and stuff... it was really exciting. After the second service we went to Britney's house to eat and pack up. It was so great to see Britney with her family... I think we all learned a little bit more about who is and why she is that person.
After leaving Cullowhee we headed to Weaverville. I must say that I was super excited about coming to Weaverville because it is a place that we came to last year and I loved it! I got to see a lot of faces that I knew and meet some new ones and the team got to meet people that we had told them about. As soon as we got there we met out host families (which are amazing!) and got settled. Then it was off to the church to set up and lead worship again. Todd came to the worship service and it was good to see him again. We got a chance to talk with him afterward and get some supper. Miley learned how to drive a stick shift in about an hour in order to come see us as well. If anyone can do it she can... haha. It was great to see her and catch up on a few things in life as well. The other team members got to meet her and put a face with a name. Walker was also there because he is the youth leader at that church now. So it was like a mini reunion for the old team and we got to introduce them to the new team. Both teams are so amazing! It was great to catch up with the old one but I am looking forward to spending more time with my team now! Serving the Lord all summer with 4 other people brings so much bond to your lives and I love having that bond with more than one team :)
Yesterday we got a chance to meet a lot of different people here in Weaverville. We went to the senior citizen lunch and did a short service for them before they ate. We got to meet almost everyone there and some of them shared part of their story with us and others did not but it was still cool to meet them. Then it was off to a families house for lunch and hang out time with them. After lunch we went to a nursing home and the pastor's mother-in-law was there. It was cool to meet those people and lead them in worship. Most of the people there were alert and talked to us about where they went to school and where their children and grandchildren went to school. How much we reminded them of their grandchildren and stuff like that. There was also one lady there who knew God and what we were doing because she talked to me afterward and shared a little bit of her story. Then we went back to the church to plan for VBS at the trailer park. Pastor Job is a church planter at the community and he helped us travel and pick up kids to come. There are mostly Hispanic children that live in this community but that was not a problem because all of them spoke English. Even though Pastor Job knows Spanish. His ministry started there about 2 years ago and there are people who support him and others who do not support the church being there. The children here just want to be loved. We played with them in the field for a while and then went inside for snack, songs and Bible Study. We are using Boomerang Express material. Some children were really interested and others were not... but I also found it interesting that we had adults coming to this as well. They didn't say much but I know that they were listening.
Then we got to come back and spend some time with our host families. We are really excited to go back tonight and see the kids again. We have lots of cool ministry opportunities coming up this week. So there will be more to come.
Thank you for all of your prayer for us this summer. We ask that you pray for us as we witness to all different types of people this week at the trailer park, the church, nursing homes and a juvenile center. Ya'll are amazing!! :)
Friday, July 3, 2009
Praising Jesus from the back of a mechanical bull...
For any of you that have been following our blog for InVision 2009 you may be wondering why Amanda is the only one to have posted anything. Well, basically, the fact is that I have just been really slack...sorry. However, now I have finally gotten my act together and decided to post on the blog! (Yay!!!) Anyway, this summer has been amazing. We have do so many things and had so many incredible experiences! We have given performances that range from 3 minutes to a hour and a half. We have done Vacation Bible Schools, we have done Bible studies, and we have even done a block party. We have been in charge of teenagers and one week I personally was in charge of 20 first and second graders! (They were definitely a handful) This summer has just been awesome so far and I can not wait to see what the rest of the summer will bring.
For the past week we have been in my hometown, Lincolnton, NC. This is lovely little town that is nestled between Hickory and Charlotte. It was nice to be able to reconnect with my family and friends and it was pretty awesome to be able to show the people of Lincolnton and, more specifically, the people of my home church, Freedom Church, what our team has been doing this summer. We had our longest worship service to date last Sunday night at Freedom. The service, which was an hour and a half long, contained 20 of our 22 different pieces. It was awesome to be able to do so much all at once. We were all a little nervous, but in the end we could definitely feel the Spirit of God moving in that place. It was an awesome experience.
Over the course of the week we had worship services at three different nursing homes. Nursing homes are cool because the people there are always so happy just to have young people there. It is always fun to do programs at nursing homes because you have to learn not to be distracted by your surroundings. You are pretty much guaranteed to have that elderly lady who is in the back yelling to her neighbor, "I can't here a thing, can you hear!"
As I said earlier it was nice to reconnect with friends. Well, on Wednesday night InVison lead the youth bible study. Wow! It was an awesome and yet weird experience. I was sitting up there helping to teach teenagers that I had been sitting and learning with not to long ago. I think the Bible study went well and it was a lot of fun.
What I would consider one of the most interesting things we have done so far occurred on Thursday night. Thursday night we were part of a block party. Have you ever tried to do sketches (dramas) for people who are just walking by and not really paying attention? Well, if you haven't, let me tell you, it is an odd experience. So, we spent most of the night doing music and interpretive movements. These two things seemed to get more response from he crowd. The interpretive movements were especially good at catching peoples eye. As the block party was ending the team got chance to go check out some of the other attractions. Some members of the team were able to ride a mechanical bull...Amanda riding the bull was especially humorous. If you just glanced at her her hand motions would make you swear that she was praising Jesus from the back of that bull! ( Don't worry pictures will be up on facebook sometime in the near future.)
Well, today we traveled to Sylva, NC. This is Britney's hometown and it is right beside Western Carolina University. Her home is up on top of the mountain and is about 30 minutes from anywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous up here and the view form her porch is phenomenal! The team as a whole is glad to be back in the cool of the mountains and is looking forward to celebrating the fourth of July with Britney's family.
As a team we thank everyone for their prayers and ask the you continue to pray for our team as we move about North Carolina and eventually to Canada. We ask that you pray for each worship service we lead and that we can continue to help others worship God with us. We ask that you pray for the people we have and will encounter this summer and that God will use our team in a mighty way. Thank you for all your support.
-Andrew
For the past week we have been in my hometown, Lincolnton, NC. This is lovely little town that is nestled between Hickory and Charlotte. It was nice to be able to reconnect with my family and friends and it was pretty awesome to be able to show the people of Lincolnton and, more specifically, the people of my home church, Freedom Church, what our team has been doing this summer. We had our longest worship service to date last Sunday night at Freedom. The service, which was an hour and a half long, contained 20 of our 22 different pieces. It was awesome to be able to do so much all at once. We were all a little nervous, but in the end we could definitely feel the Spirit of God moving in that place. It was an awesome experience.
Over the course of the week we had worship services at three different nursing homes. Nursing homes are cool because the people there are always so happy just to have young people there. It is always fun to do programs at nursing homes because you have to learn not to be distracted by your surroundings. You are pretty much guaranteed to have that elderly lady who is in the back yelling to her neighbor, "I can't here a thing, can you hear!"
As I said earlier it was nice to reconnect with friends. Well, on Wednesday night InVison lead the youth bible study. Wow! It was an awesome and yet weird experience. I was sitting up there helping to teach teenagers that I had been sitting and learning with not to long ago. I think the Bible study went well and it was a lot of fun.
What I would consider one of the most interesting things we have done so far occurred on Thursday night. Thursday night we were part of a block party. Have you ever tried to do sketches (dramas) for people who are just walking by and not really paying attention? Well, if you haven't, let me tell you, it is an odd experience. So, we spent most of the night doing music and interpretive movements. These two things seemed to get more response from he crowd. The interpretive movements were especially good at catching peoples eye. As the block party was ending the team got chance to go check out some of the other attractions. Some members of the team were able to ride a mechanical bull...Amanda riding the bull was especially humorous. If you just glanced at her her hand motions would make you swear that she was praising Jesus from the back of that bull! ( Don't worry pictures will be up on facebook sometime in the near future.)
Well, today we traveled to Sylva, NC. This is Britney's hometown and it is right beside Western Carolina University. Her home is up on top of the mountain and is about 30 minutes from anywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous up here and the view form her porch is phenomenal! The team as a whole is glad to be back in the cool of the mountains and is looking forward to celebrating the fourth of July with Britney's family.
As a team we thank everyone for their prayers and ask the you continue to pray for our team as we move about North Carolina and eventually to Canada. We ask that you pray for each worship service we lead and that we can continue to help others worship God with us. We ask that you pray for the people we have and will encounter this summer and that God will use our team in a mighty way. Thank you for all your support.
-Andrew
Thursday, June 25, 2009
front porch sitting :)
I love being outside in God's creation! It's so amazing to think about God when you look at all He has created. I do a lot of front porch sitting when I'm at home and even though it's not the best view in the world it is still a view that I love to look at and think about all the memories of working in the garden with my family, mowing the yard, playing games and tending to the roses. Sitting here I like to think about how I also had a hand in helping things to grow that God created. I feel so privileged to be able to be used by God in helping tend his creation... whether it be through tending the garden or tending the people he has created.
This past week we have gotten a chance to visit with some older people in my church who are now home bound. They are not able to attend church any more because they can not get around well and do not have a lot of visitors. We got to go and talk with them and sing some hymns with them one day this week. It was really cool to talk with them about where they have come from and what they have learned in this life. Our team had a good conversation about how we sometimes over look those people who have gone before us that really helped to set up the church. We realize how times have changed and we have to prepare and plan for different times but we also realize that the people who started everything should be given credit and listened to and be loved. We also got a chance to do a worship service at the nursing home where my great-grandma is at (she is 102!). Granny Reid was having a "good day" when we went and she even got to sit out and worship with us! Some of the people were not alert enough but others were. We had a couple of people talk to their hair dresser about what we did for them that day and they told her how much they loved us just taking time to come and worship with them and visit a little afterward. There was one lady that I talked to and she told me "I know that Jesus you were talking about!". She also shared a little bit of her story with me. It is so wonderful to hear about people and where they have come from and how Jesus has helped to bring them through life! We also noticed that not only people that were staying in the nursing home were listening to us but their visitors, nurses and even the maintenance men stopped by to listen for a little bit. I pray that the people that were there understood what we were saying about the love of God and will seek and find Him.
Today we went to the "Caring Hearts Free Clinic" clinic in VA. This is a free clinic for those without medical insurance. We helped them move some furniture and update their files and do anything else that they needed us to do. There were two boys that were helping the clinic while we were there today. They were juniors in high school, and seemed to be really interested in what we were doing this summer. They wanted to know why we were there and what we normally did and things like that. They were some pretty cool guys themselves, we enjoyed getting to know them. Anyway like I said we got to help out with their filing and stuff. It is crazy how many people that they are serving, I do not remember the exact number of people that they have served already this year but it was a very large one. We did get to visit with some of the patients that were coming there, however they did not tell us a lot about their lives, they just wanted to know about why were there.
This week we have also been helping out with VBS every night at my church. We were able to talk with the youth the first three nights about what we are doing all summer and how they will have chances to do the same thing when they are in college and how they can be a missionary right here at home. We talked with them about our ministry that we do through drama, interpretive movement, and music. They were all really interested in all of the summer missionary opportunities that are provided through the Baptist State Convention. :) I am excited that the youth of our church are starting to dream big about their own ministry opportunities!
Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers as we go throughout the summer. Some things specifically that you could be praying for are the older people in our church who are overlooked. Pray that they will be remembered for the things that they once did and that their voice will be heard. Pray for the people that we served and served with today in the clinic. Pray for the youth of the church here and around the world that they would start dreaming big about the missionary opportunities that they have everyday. Please pray for our team to minister to the people around us everyday; people in our hosts homes, people who provide us food, and anyone and everyone that we come into contact with. Thanks again for your prays they mean so much to us all! God is working and you are a part of what he is doing around us when you pray!
This past week we have gotten a chance to visit with some older people in my church who are now home bound. They are not able to attend church any more because they can not get around well and do not have a lot of visitors. We got to go and talk with them and sing some hymns with them one day this week. It was really cool to talk with them about where they have come from and what they have learned in this life. Our team had a good conversation about how we sometimes over look those people who have gone before us that really helped to set up the church. We realize how times have changed and we have to prepare and plan for different times but we also realize that the people who started everything should be given credit and listened to and be loved. We also got a chance to do a worship service at the nursing home where my great-grandma is at (she is 102!). Granny Reid was having a "good day" when we went and she even got to sit out and worship with us! Some of the people were not alert enough but others were. We had a couple of people talk to their hair dresser about what we did for them that day and they told her how much they loved us just taking time to come and worship with them and visit a little afterward. There was one lady that I talked to and she told me "I know that Jesus you were talking about!". She also shared a little bit of her story with me. It is so wonderful to hear about people and where they have come from and how Jesus has helped to bring them through life! We also noticed that not only people that were staying in the nursing home were listening to us but their visitors, nurses and even the maintenance men stopped by to listen for a little bit. I pray that the people that were there understood what we were saying about the love of God and will seek and find Him.
Today we went to the "Caring Hearts Free Clinic" clinic in VA. This is a free clinic for those without medical insurance. We helped them move some furniture and update their files and do anything else that they needed us to do. There were two boys that were helping the clinic while we were there today. They were juniors in high school, and seemed to be really interested in what we were doing this summer. They wanted to know why we were there and what we normally did and things like that. They were some pretty cool guys themselves, we enjoyed getting to know them. Anyway like I said we got to help out with their filing and stuff. It is crazy how many people that they are serving, I do not remember the exact number of people that they have served already this year but it was a very large one. We did get to visit with some of the patients that were coming there, however they did not tell us a lot about their lives, they just wanted to know about why were there.
This week we have also been helping out with VBS every night at my church. We were able to talk with the youth the first three nights about what we are doing all summer and how they will have chances to do the same thing when they are in college and how they can be a missionary right here at home. We talked with them about our ministry that we do through drama, interpretive movement, and music. They were all really interested in all of the summer missionary opportunities that are provided through the Baptist State Convention. :) I am excited that the youth of our church are starting to dream big about their own ministry opportunities!
Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers as we go throughout the summer. Some things specifically that you could be praying for are the older people in our church who are overlooked. Pray that they will be remembered for the things that they once did and that their voice will be heard. Pray for the people that we served and served with today in the clinic. Pray for the youth of the church here and around the world that they would start dreaming big about the missionary opportunities that they have everyday. Please pray for our team to minister to the people around us everyday; people in our hosts homes, people who provide us food, and anyone and everyone that we come into contact with. Thanks again for your prays they mean so much to us all! God is working and you are a part of what he is doing around us when you pray!
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