Friday, July 21, 2017

Norfolk Team Update #2 - 7.21.17

This morning, the Norfolk team woke up after a great night's sleep here at Spring Branch and ate breakfast. After breakfast, we headed down the road to Union Mission Ministries. Union Mission is a Christian based homeless shelter that serves the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. We dropped off the donations that our team had brought for Union, and then got to work in their warehouse. We split into teams in different sections of their main warehouse sorting area and spent the morning sorting, organizing, hanging, and moving some of the clothing donations that they had. When we had finished with all the clothes in our section, we went to a meeting room and got to talk with a staff member about what homelessness looks like in the Hampton Roads area and how the donations we brought and the ones that we had just organized are going to help the over 300 men and women that spend the night in the shelter each night. We left Union and headed to a park nearby to have some lunch as well as some team bonding time where the kids (and leaders!) enjoyed the park! Our lunch spot was conveniently located near our afternoon site, Consulate Health Care. Consulate is an elderly health care facility with many residents who have either outlived their family or are not visited very often. Albeit a somewhat sad reality, they absolutely love when they get to have visitors and were elated to spend their afternoon with our team talking about their lives and asking about ours. We socialized with some of the residents and also settled in for what has become our annual Consulate bingo battle and as usual, our team could not hang with these seasoned veterans. We left Consulate in great spirits and headed to the beach for what was supposed to be a hour or two of fun in the sun. However, the weather had plans of its own. This did not deter the high spirits that our team had, as we headed back to Spring Branch and enjoyed our free time in their Student Ministry area enjoying quality team bonding opportunities as well as the added bonus of beating the heat! We ate dinner here at Spring Branch and then gathered together for Porch Time. The team shared fun stories from the day during "Remember That Time" and we also had great participation during "I Saw Jesus;" it was exciting and encouraging to see so many members of our team share where they had seen Jesus at work in the places and people we encountered today. After singing a few worship songs, Nick gave the second talk of the trip which focused on our encounters with God or "Mountain Top Experiences" and how we should revel in them while on these trips and seek to create ways to remember and carry them with us as we head back into our everyday lives. After porch time, we split into small groups to discuss this further and then began to wind down for bed time. We had a great day and are excited to finish well tomorrow as we clean up here at Spring Branch and head to Park Place Child Life Center to spend our remaining time on the trip with the kids there before heading home. Your prayers are appreciated and we are excited to continue to see God at work here in Norfolk!

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Norfolk Update #1 - 7.20.17

This won't be too long of a post, as today was mainly a travel/set up day for us. The team left the Chapel and traveled (slower than hoped) down I64, making it to Spring Branch Community Church. Spring Branch has graciously allowed us to stay in their Student Ministry Area for our time down here. When we arrived, we unloaded the vans and settled down for some dinner. We ate and had an opportunity to explore and settle into our home for the next two nights. We then all came together for this class's very first Porch Time! Porch Time is a staple on all of our Student Ministry Mission Trips. Tonight we set up what the "Remember That Time" and "I Saw Jesus" portions of Porch Time are so that they would be prepared for tomorrow night. For those of you who don't know, each of these are opportunities to share with the whole team both funny moments from the day, as well as times where anyone had seen Jesus at work in the people we interact with, at the sites we work at, or in their fellow team members. We then were led in a time of worship, where we joined our voices together to sing praise to our God. When the singing had ended, Nick gave the first of three talks of the trip. Tonight we spoke about the idea of "opportunity."  Everyone on this trip had the opportunity to not come, to do something else with their time and yet here we all are. Just as God acted in Paul's life on the road to Damascus, which led to Paul's conversion and actions for Christ, so too has God acted and will God act in our lives. In response to this action, we are called to be "ambassadors of Christ" as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:20. Part of being an ambassador of Christ is doing the work that we are called to do, as well as reflecting Christ in all that we say and do. After the talk, the team split up into small groups to continue to discuss this further. As small groups wound down, so too did the night and the team got ready for a good night's sleep in preparation for a full day tomorrow. For those who want further updates throughout the day, please text "NORFOLKPARENT" to 41411 and as always, prayers for God to move on this trip are appreciated!

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Nashville Day #6 - 7.14.17

Today was our final day in Nashville as we closed out our week at all of our ministry sites.  So, we began our day eager to see all of our ministry sites one more time.

Group 1 went to Project C.U.R.E. in the morning where they continued to help the organization take inventory on all of their supplies.  It has been years since they have had a true inventory of everything and so the group helped provide the manpower to sort all of the medical supplies, scan them into the computer, and stack them on the shelves.  It was a huge step for the organization to be able to track the supplies they give and receive to better meet the needs of the city.  In the afternoon, group 1 went to a ministry called Operation Stand Down that seeks to serve veterans.  They provide counseling, clothing, job help, and other services to veterans that are in need of help.  The main project for the group was to paint a huge storage shed that contains a lot of the supplies and donations that the organization gives to and uses for veterans.  It was eye-opening for the group to see and hear about all of the challenges that face veterans after they get back from war.

Group 2 spent their morning at a new ministry site called Matthew 25 which is a shelter for men.  It specifically targets men who are a significant portion of the homeless population in Nashville.  In addition to learning about the struggles that homeless men face in the city the group served lunch, sorted clothing donations, and cleaned up.  This was a great opportunity for the group to see an organization that targets a specific population which allows them to focus how they do things to see the specific needs of needy men.  During the afternoon, group 2 went back to Magnus Potter boys and girls club to have a final afternoon with the kids that they have gotten to know throughout the week.  It was exciting to see the kids again, but it was also sad to have to say goodbye to all of the kids that have become special to the group.

Group 3 had a great morning with the Andrew Jackson boys and girl club that they have been serving all week.  The group has established some deep bonds with the kids that they have been serving and getting to know all week.  Although it was sad to say goodbye the group was confident that they left the kids motivated to continue working hard in school and in life.  After lunch the group headed downtown to participate in "Beat the Heat".  This was an exercise that pushed the group to interact with local people in Nashville by handing out waters to those that look like they could need it.  It was interesting to see where the homeless congregate on a hot day and how grateful they were for the water.  The group sought not only to handout water but to also have conversations with the people they meet and hear their stories which is always a great opportunity to hear why they ended up on the streets and how they hope to get off.

Group 4 spent their entire day at one of the local soup kitchens called Loaves and Fishes.  The soup kitchen was not actually serving food today because they only serve food on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.  So, the group spent the day cleaning, organizing, and packaging.  They cleaned the kitchen, floors, bathrooms, and even some yard work to make the outside look nice.  In addition to cleaning the building the group sorted clothing donations and packaged them up to be handed out later in the week.  The day of service was a huge gift for loaves and fishes so that the staff would not have to take time doing it themselves and it really allows them to provide a clean place for all of the homeless men and women to congregate.

After breakfast Group 5 just stayed at the housing site to write letters of encouragement to all of the people we partnered with.  All of the sites we went to partner with so many volunteers throughout the year that they rarely get feedback from the volunteers on their experience.  So, this was a great opportunity to give some kind and encouraging words to these wonderful people who have sacrificed their lives to serve the city of Nashville.  After lunch group 5 went to a new ministry site called Open Table that has multiple homeless shelters around the city and also advocates heavily for the rights of and housing for homeless men and women.  They work hard to provide food and temporary housing, but their main goal is to establish long-term housing for as many people as possible.  Our group setup all of the beds and tables for the homeless men and women that would be staying overnight.  We finished the setup early and so wanted to provide an special gift to the residents, and so the group ran to Walmart to buy some chess/checkers boards to provide entertainment for the men and women who were coming that night.

It has been a great week and we are excited to head back and see everyone tomorrow.  If you would like to receive text updates with our eta throughout our trip then please text NASHPARENT to 41411.


Friday, July 14, 2017

Nashville Day #5 - 7.13.17

Today was one of the only days where all of the groups did the same thing for part of the day.  We all partook in something that CSM (Center for Student Missions) calls the Urban Plunge.  This is an opportunity for everyone to engage with the city to learn about different perspectives on the city, pray for it, and think through how each of us would engage with homelessness if we ran the city.  Everyone split into smaller groups with a leader and tried to speak to a homeless person, a local police officer, a visitor to Nashville, and a native to get their perspective on the city and how it is run.  This was a special opportunity to hear about the city from different angles as each of us starts to figure out how we feel about the problems the city faces.  In addition to these conversations the small groups each went to the top of a parking garage to look out over the city and pray for the different needs and perspectives of the city and that God would give clear guidance for and care over the city.

In addition to the urban plunge, group 1 continued its work at N.I.C.E. where they continued to engage with the kids and help them grow in their educational studies.  At this point the group has become very comfortable with the kids and how things work so they are able to immediately jump in and pick right back up where they left off.  The opportunity to serve at the same location everyday has given group 1 a unique opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the kids that they have poured into everyday.

Group 2 went to a new location to start there day called Isaiah 58, which is a local soup kitchen in Nashville.  The unique thing about Isaiah 58 is that they not only have a main building to serve food, but they also have a food truck that travels around the city to deliver food to the needy in multiple locations.  Group 2 was able to help serve the food as well as spend some quality time with everyone who came to the truck for food.  The group was impressed and inspired by the creative approach to feeding the hungry through the food truck.

Like group 1, group 3 went back to their usual boys and girls club site tp spend another morning playing games, doing crafts, and educational exercises.  Everyone in the group has worked hard to develop an individual relationship with 2-3 kids.  The kids look forward to their arrival and our group has created some great bonds with everyone at the boys and girls club.

Group 4 also went back to the Project Transformation day camp that they have been going to throughout the week.  This was a bittersweet day for the group because they were excited to see all of the kids again, but this was going to be their last day at Project Transformation which was a little sad.    It has been a really fun and educational week for the group and the kids at the program have left a lasting impression that the group will take back with them to Williamsburg.

Group 5 spend the morning at Project C.U.R.E. which is a huge warehouse filled with medical supplies that the staff distributes throughout the city to ministries and care facilities that need it.  The group spent the morning helping update the inventory list at the warehouse because they haven't had a fully updated inventory list for years.  They scanned equipment, packaged it up, and placed it on the shelves which led to a very productive morning.

After a full day of serving the team headed back for Taco Dinner at the housing site followed by our third Porch Time.  Tonight, the team headed to a local park called the Bicentennial park because it has a large amphitheater that provides great outdoor seating for all of our evening activities during porch time.  We shared memories, sang some worship songs, and then listened to a talk by Luke out of Romans 1.  Luke used Romans 1:18-25 to describe why suffering and hurt exist in the world.  He said that selfishness always leads to suffering because our selfish tendencies lead us to only think/care for ourselves rather than focusing on the needs around us or our relationship with God.  We closed out the evening with some great small group discussion to continue processing our time and the realities of suffering in the world that stem from our selfishness.

Tomorrow is our final day of service so please continue to pray for all that we do and all that God continues to teach each one of us.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Nashville Day #4 - 7.12.17

Once again our team started the morning by eating breakfast here at the housing site and then packing our lunch to bring with us to eat later.  Our morning routine has become second nature now as everyone knows the things they need to do to get ready for the day.  Every group heads out at a little bit different time and so our mornings are filled with people at different stages of preparation for the day.

Serving group 1 began the day at Loaves and Fishes, a program that provides bi weekly meals to the homeless and working poor populations of Nashville. The kids had the opportunity to cook, clean, and serve meals, as well spend time engaging the guests and hearing their stories. We even had a chance to reconnect with some friends that were at our serving site across town the previous morning, which was encouraging evidence of fostering continuing relationships in a community that needs consistent love and support.
After lunch, group 1 once again went back to the N.I.C.E. camp. The program's commitment to loving and educating refugee children has been a humbling experience for our kids. The organization truly lives out Jesus's compassion on the lost and lonely, and our kids have been able to experience that compassion in a very tangible way.

Serving Group 2 started their day at Operation Stand Down Tennessee, which is a non profit organization that helps veterans in the Nashville area. Part of the group painted a storage trailer they had that they use to supply their thrift store, and another part of the group put together invitations for a fundraiser they will be having that will benefit veterans without homes. They spent the afternoon at the Magness Potter Boys and Girls club. Students get to build relationships with kids, playing all sorts of games and modeling what it looks like to listen and respect the authority figures in charge. Albeit simple tasks, you can tell the kids appreciate the new faces each week and it's clear the staff appreciate the extra help, too!

Serving Group 3 spent the morning at the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club again. The students played games with, helped prepare meals for, and painted with the kids. The students spent their afternoon at a Catholic Charities satellite location that had never been visited by service groups before, which was very beneficial to them as they are getting themselves started. The students helped with planting flowers and picking weeds as well as sort, organize, and repackage clothing, books, and dishwater donations for the refugee population that the ministry serves. It's amazing how many different services and organizations exist in the area, and exciting to see continued growth and support for those in need.

Serving Group 4 had a similar morning routine as they had the previous two days. They served at Project Transformation, primarily reading with kids one on one. If our volunteers outnumbered the students who were reading, a few would go downstairs to assist with "Moving Minutes," where they play games that reinforce the theme of the week (in this case, "self control"). It's been cool to see them read with students in the sanctuary of the church they're serving at, because you don't know what God is sowing today to be reaped later on. I know there are many memories of church growing up that I didn't think would stick or impact me the way they have, so it's cool to imagine how kids might get to look back on this church as the place they were loved, taught, disciplined, and encouraged. After Project Transformation, Group 4 went to Loaves and Fishes to help clean up the facility after their lunch. Loaves and Fishes is a feeding center that serves meals three times a week. While we didn't get to engage with any guests who had eaten there, it was still a privilege to clean and hear from Mr. Jim, who oversees the operation.

Serving Group 5 went to Second Harvest Food bank which is a huge warehouse filled with food that they distribute to about half of the state of Tennessee for people that are food insecure, or unsure where each meal is going to come from.  Our group was given the task of unloading and re-packaging over 5,000 pounds of frozen meat.  Each team member was assigned one of five different roles: sorters, inspectors, packers, recyclers, and disposers.  The inspectors checked each frozen package to see if it was spoiled or had any holes in the packaging so that the sorters could then split the meat up by type (poultry, pork, beef, and bison).  Next, the packers boxed up the meat and placed it on pallets to be hauled away later.  Finally, the recyclers and disposers took all of the boxes and trash out to their respective dumpsters outside to be crushed.  The group was a well-oiled machine as they went through all of the packages of meat.

After eating lunch along the local river called the Cumberland river our group took a few cases of water and distributed them to local construction workers and homeless individuals.  It was a hot day and so this was a chance to not only provide a little hydration, but also give us the opportunity to start a conversation with some of these men and women and hear about their lives.  These conversations helped humanize these men and women that we often just try to avoid.  It was inspiring to watch the group boldly ask if people wanted water and then strike up a conversation with them.

Instead of our normal porch time, our team was able to have a night off to go and experience a piece of the entertainment side of Nashville.  We headed downtown to a famous restaurant called the Wildhorse Saloon which has a family friendly atmosphere before 9pm. As we serve in different vans throughout the day, this was a fun opportunity for everyone to be together and either learn how to line dance, play pool or foosball, or just hang out while enjoying the live music and Nashville atmosphere. We're back now and settling in, ready for another day tomorrow!

Nashville Days #3 - 7.11.17

Today our team woke up excited for another day to go out into the city and serve those who are in need here in Nashville.  Everyone went through our morning routine of showers, making breakfast, packing a bagged lunch, and loading up the vans to head out to all of our ministry sites.  It is exciting to watch a group of teenagers wake-up excited to go and sacrifice their days for others.

Serving group 1 started their day off by visiting a local soup kitchen for the homeless men and women of East Nashville.  They helped prepare food, serve it to everyone in attendance, mingle with the homeless men and women, and then clean up everything.  It is an eye-opening experience to see the lives of homeless people and hear their stories.  The group realized how we take for granted something as simple as the choice to eat what we want on a daily basis because everyone that attends the soup kitchen only gets to eat whatever is prepared that day.

After eating their own packed lunches, group 1 headed back to the day camp called N.I.C.E. that they had participated in yesterday.  It was fun to have kids excited to see them back after building relationships the previous day.  The group continued to help them in their math, english, science, and art lessons throughout the afternoon.  They have helped provide encouragement for these kids who struggle to find the motivation to work hard in school sometimes.

Serving group 2 headed to a brand new ministry site to start their day as they partnered with Warner Parks which is the organization that oversees the local park system.  The group specifically went to Percy Warner park where they walked through 4 miles of horse and hiking trails to clear brush and debris off of the trails.  It was a tiring project that pushed the team physically, but ended with a satisfying and beautiful overview of the city skyline once they made it to the top of the mountain.  The gorgeous scenery reminded them of the gift that their effort to clear the trails will provide for countless people that hike the trails to enjoy the same natural view.

After finishing at the park and eating lunch, group 2 headed back to the Magnus Potter boys and girls club in the afternoon where they reconnected with the kids they had met yesterday.  The entire group was excited to have another afternoon with all the precious kids they had gotten to know yesterday and the long morning hike didn't keep them from joyfully playing and other games or crafts with all of the kids.  The group considered it a huge blessing to have the opportunity to continue building meaningful relationships with all of the kids at the program

Serving group 3 began their day by going back to the boys and girls club that they visited yesterday.  Like some of the other groups, they felt a huge rush of excitement as the kids faces lit up in seeing them again.  The group all had kids who they knew and were eager to talk to and play games with throughout the morning.  The day camp that the boys and girls club runs throughout the summer provides great structure for these kids so that they are consistently in positive environments that promote healthy learning and safe fun.  Group 3 felt privileged to help be a part of this great service to the community.

In the afternoon, serving group 3 ate their packed lunches and headed to a ministry called Project C.U.R.E. that helps supply medical supplies to lower income and homeless communities.  After a morning filled with relationships the group was ready for a physical labor project.  So they unloaded pallets and took inventory on all of the supplies so that the organization knew exactly how much they had to distribute.  The team worked so well together that they were able to unload over 25 completely filled pallets of medical supplies, sort them, document them, and get them ready to be distributed.  The group showed a great work ethic and desire to set this organization up for success so that the staff could just focus on getting the medical supplies to the places that really needed them.

Serving group 4 left the housing site and headed back to Project Transformation where they once again spent time helping develop the literacy skills of some local children by reading to them and helping the kids read on their own.  Without this organization these kids would be falling behind in school and so the encouragement to improve their reading skills was a huge gift that will help these kids tremendously in the future.

In the afternoon serving group four went out to a local park to participate in an activity that CSM calls "Beat the Heat" where everyone take a water bottle to hand out to whomever needs one on the hot day.  The team split up into small group and walked around a given area to handout the bottles and get to know the people they were helping.  It was inspiring to see how something as simple as a water bottle can break down the barriers between the people living on the street and our group so that they could hear each other's stories and learn from each other.

Serving group 5 ended up going to the same site for the entire day with a lunch break in between the morning and afternoon.  The group went to help at a local branch of the organization Catholic Charities.  In Nashville, Catholic Charities provides a transition plan for refugees that need to get out of their country in Africa or the Middle East.  They pick up the refugees from the airport and then drop them off at a fully furnished apartment so that they feel welcomed and cared for.  It was sad to hear about how these individuals had to be displaced from their original homes, but hopeful to know that their are people in Nashville who have devoted their lives to serving this population.  The group helped with the jobs of the refugees who were working in the building as well as any other odd jobs that the director needed help with.  It was amazing to watch the group be willing to serve in the same jobs for five hours so that they could leave the warehouse in a much better situation than it began.

Everyone left their job sites in the afternoon, ate some dinner, and headed back to our housing site for Porch Time.  Luke had everyone look at Matthew 25 and Colossians 1:27 to think through the idea of what it means to see and be Jesus.  He talked about the fact that in Matthew 25 Jesus says that whenever we serve the "least of these" in our communities that we are actually serving Jesus who is present in those people.  In addition, the Colossians verse tells us that Jesus is not only present in the least of these but Jesus can also be present in each of us as well.  Representing Christ to others comes with a huge responsibility, but also can be filled with great satisfaction as we start to view the world through the lens of Christ in us rather than our own wants and desires.  To close out the night everyone had some great small group discussions to continue processing the day and everything that Luke discussed in his talk.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Nashville Day #2 - 7.10.17

Today, was our team's first opportunity to split up into our different serving groups to spread out around Nashville.  It is inspiring to think about how the seventy people in our group are able to accomplish so many different things in one day.  Every group went on a prayer tour around Nashville in which our CSM hosts gave us a guided trip around the city of Nashville to learn about its history, needs, and main industries.  It gave everyone an amazing overview of the city, a glimpse into the rich/poor dynamics of the city, and the different ways that the city is trying to engage with issues of homelessness, job opportunities, and economic inequality.  Along the prayer tour each group would stop at different spots in the city to pray for the specific needs and opportunities of each part of the city.  In addition to the prayer tour every group served at a local ministry site in Nashville.

Serving Group 1 served at a local ministry called N.I.C.E. that has built a community for immigrants rthat have made it to Nashville.  This organization holds a summer camp every year to help children of immigrants catch up in school or simply have some extra tutoring.  Group 1 helped children in the subjects of math, science, and reading to encourage their growth and excitement for learning.  It was great to watch our team develop relationships with these kids and do whatever they could to help them gain an education so that they can have bright futures.

Serving Group 2 went to a local Boys and Girls Club that holds summer programming for lower income kids. Group 2 played games with the kids and helped them do arts and crafts.  Our group started a little tentative because they didn't know any of the kids, but quickly warmed up to the kids and jumped right in.  It has been impressive to see how willing they are to move out of their comfort zones in order to meet the needs of others

Serving Group 3 went to the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls Club which is a different club from the one that serving group 2 went to, but had a real similar feel in serving the kids.  Group 3 played games with the kids and helped with the activities that the staff had planned for the kids.  The group was excited to hear that they will get to return to this site throughout the week and continue to develop relationships with the kids.

Serving Group 4 went to a location called Project Transformation that helps little kids with literacy.  Some of group 4 sat and read books with the kids to encourage them about the importance of being able to read and develop their reading skills.  The rest of the group played games with the other kids who had finished reading or were on a break from practicing to read.  Group 4 was impacted by the difference between their own school experience growing up compared to the experiences of these kids.

Serving Group 5 served at a local soup kitchen called loaves & fishes that serves a hot breakfast and lunch to homeless men and women every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.  Group 5 helped get the room setup for lunch, served lunch, spent time meeting the guests while everyone ate lunch together, and then cleaned up everything after lunch.  It was inspiring to watch the group be so eager to hand out drinks, mop floors, and hold conversations with homeless men and women.  The staff were extremely grateful for our help and everyone had the opportunity to make a new friend with someone that was there to eat lunch.

After serving, every group went to eat at some sort of ethnic restaurant ranging from Indian to Turkish food.  Following dinner the whole team gathered in the Chapel for our evening porch time.  Porch time is our nightly time to process what we have been seeing and hearing each day on the trip.  After sharing memories from the day and singing songs, Luke gave a talk entitled "Leave it all behind" where he looked at Luke 10 as a model for how to get the most out of our week.  Jesus challenged his 72 followers and us to leave behind insecurities, fears, and distractions that might cause us to miss the whispers of God in our lives.  He challenged the team to be present here in Nashville and jump right into whatever God asks us to do each day.  In Luke 10:17 the 72 followers returned with joy and Luke encouraged the team to look for the God-given joy that comes when we are willing to make life about serving God and others.  Finally, we finished our evening with our first small group time to discuss the things that Luke introduced in his talk and the things that everyone experienced during our first service day in Nashville.

It has been a great day and we look forward to sharing with you what day 2 brings tomorrow.

Monday, July 10, 2017

Nashville Day #1 - 7.9.17

Today began with a lot of energy and excitement for the trip ahead of us as we departed from the Chapel.  We traveled for about 5 hours to Marion, VA where we had the opportunity to take a pit stop at James Austin's family farm (James is one of our summer interns).  They own a beautiful piece of land in the hills of Western Virginia and graciously provided snacks and drinks for everyone.  In addition, we had the special treat of getting to feed and pet their herd of alpacas.  It was a fun experience that broke up our travel nicely.

After our quick stop at the alpaca farm we loaded back up for the second leg of our journey to Nashville, TN.  We arrived at our housing site here in East Nashville where we were greeted with friendly faces and hot pizza.  Everyone enjoyed the delicious dinner before we unloaded all of our stuff inside.  Once we all picked out our beds we gathered to meet our CSM hosts, take a tour of our housing site, and hear about what we had in store for our week.

Finally, we got settled into our beds for a good night sleep in preparation for our first day of serving tomorrow.  Check back tomorrow for details on all of the places and people we will be serving to begin our week.  Please continue to pray for God to challenge and guide us throughout our week.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

NC Update Day #5 - 7.7.17

Our last full day here in North Carolina! We woke up early and had breakfast, but no morning worship today. Instead, we gathered with the other group that is staying here with us and prayed for the clients who's houses we are working on, the staff here at ReCreation, and each of our respective teams. After our prayer, we headed to the work site and got after it! The team worked so hard to finish up the final two projects that we had; digging the septic trenches and painting the house. We finished up the trenches before lunch and began laying in the piping. Once that was set in place, we buried the pipes and leveled out the yard so that the homeowner can reseed the yard. We braked for lunch and were thankful that Cody, the homeowner, came out and shared his testimony with the team. It was great for us to get to hear about how Cody came to know Jesus and to get a chance to talk with him about his life! After lunch, we all hit the painting hard and ended up finishing painting the house before our time was up at the work site. Because we finished early, we had a little extra free time before dinner. The ReCreation staff put on worship tonight as a part of the end of the week celebration that they put on. This celebration included a slideshow that they had put together from the week and one final talk from Dave Torbit, which really challenged our kids as our minds are beginning to turn towards heading back home to Williamsburg. After the ReCreation worship, we went straight into our final Porch Time of the trip where Nick talked about Paul, the feature of our character study leading into this trip. We talked about things that hold us back from reaching what we called "The Beautiful Struggle" which is when God takes a struggle in your life and turns it into something beautiful. Porch Time ended with each student receiving a card that they had filled out at Missions Night or at one of the pre-trip meetings, on which they had written a fear they have that is holding them back from a relationship with Jesus. The team broke into small groups and continued to discuss further until it was time for lights out. Tomorrow we are having breakfast, cleaning up the housing site and then hitting the road. If you aren't already, please sign up for our text list "NCPARENT" to 41411 to receive updates as we travel home!

Thursday, July 6, 2017

NC Update Day #4 - 7.6.17

The pattern continued with our new normal morning routine of early wake-up, breakfast, and worship! It was great to see the team continue to dive into opportunities to worship, even early in the morning! After worship, we heard from Dave (the ReCreation Director) talking about the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet and how this act of humility and service was shown to all of the disciples, even Judas. He challenged us to lean into forgiveness through humility and seek opportunities through the day to serve each other. With that charge on our hearts, the team headed out to our work site for our third day on the job. The team worked tirelessly to get to a great stopping point going into our final day tomorrow. We finished the roofing project and with those hands freed up tomorrow, should finish the septic trenches and get the new coat of paint on the house. After leaving the work site, we headed back to ReCreation to shower and have dinner. We have been grateful for the ReCreation Staff for not only working with us all day on the job site, but they have been serving us breakfasts and dinners here at the housing site. We had some free time after dinner and then gathered for our second to last porch time of the trip. We had a great time during an extended rendition of "Remember That Time" and "I Saw Jesus," as well as an awesome time of worship! After worship, Nick spoke from John 11 and used Mary and Martha as the two examples of the paths that we can take as we start to think about heading back home to Williamsburg. We can be hesitant and doubt what we've seen or we can rise swiftly and seek out Jesus, falling humbly before Him. Porch Time gave way to small groups, where we split up and discussed these ideas further! Once small groups had subsided, we wrapped up the night and headed to bed to prepare for our final full day here in Weaverville. It is bittersweet to acknowledge that our time here in Weaverville is drawing to a close, but we are excited to take on our last day head on. Thank you to everyone who came to the parent prayer meeting! Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated! 

NC Parent Meeting Video Link

Here is the link to the video we showed at the Parent Meeting.

NC Video

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

NC Update Day #3 - 7.5.17

Today began with our normal routine at ReCreation. We had an early wake-up call, ate breakfast, and had a great time beginning the day worshiping our God! After worship, we headed into downtown Weaverville to the Brian Center for Health and Rehabilitation. We have had a partnership with the Brian Center for several years and our kids love getting to go and spend some time there. We split up into groups upon arrival, with one group helping with some cleanup projects, one getting to spend time in the Alzheimer's wing, and the third group went around and visited with some of the residents who had just finished up eating breakfast.  Once they had completed their tasks, the cleanup group came and joined the others and enjoyed getting time to get to know some of the residents. It is a beautiful thing to see Middle School students jump into an uncomfortable situation and share about their lives and ask about the lives of the elderly residents they were speaking with. After a full morning of relationship building, our team was generously provided lunch by the Brian Center staff who were very appreciative that we had come to visit the residents, many of whom do not receive visitors at all. After we finished eating, we left the Brian Center and headed into the Pisgah National Forest to spend some time at Sliding Rock and Looking Glass Falls. Sliding Rock is a natural water slide and Looking Glass Falls is a waterfall that flows into a lagoon where visitors can swim and take in the view. It was incredible to be able to have an afternoon of fun with the team while at the same time being able to take in the majesty of God's creation. From Sliding Rock we headed to the May Family Farm, which was the special location for tonight's dinner and Porch Time. Megan May was an intern a few years and we have been blessed to be able to go to her family's farm and use their barn on our day off. At Porch Time we heard from Brady Wilhide, one of this year's summer interns, who spoke on "comparison vs. compassion." He spoke out of Acts 9, looking at Paul's interactions with the disciples right after his conversion on the road to Damascus. We talked about how so often we are like the disciples and compare people to who they were or what they have done and not who they are now.  And each time we are comparing ourselves to others in this way, whether it be here on the trip or at home in Williamsburg, we are not taking an opportunity to show compassion towards that person or situation. After Brady's talk, we loaded up the buses and headed back to ReCreation, and had some great conversations about that topic on the drive home. Once back at the housing site, we had a little bit of free time before winding down for the night and heading to bed. We were grateful for our day off, but the team is excited to get back to work these next two days!
As a reminder, we are sending out text updates when we move throughout the day and to get those you just need to text "NCPARENT" to 41411. Not only do we send out updates while here in NC, that will be the main way we update parents about our eta on the way home on Saturday!
Also, tomorrow (Thursday, July 6th) there will be a prayer meeting in room 211 at 7 pm for all who would like to come!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

NC Update Day #2 - 7.4.17

Today began with an early morning wake up call and breakfast at ReCreation. Even though the team was a little sleepy-eyed during breakfast, we woke right up once worship began! We danced, we sang and we worshiped.  Beginning the day focusing on Jesus, the one who gives us the strength we need for the day, is a great way to have our team focused as we head to the worksite. After worship, we heard a short talk from Dave Torbit who dove deeper into the idea of storms and that while we need Jesus as our anchor during the storms of our life, we need Him as an anchor during the calm times as well.  We then set out for our second day at our work site where we made some great progress to match the great start we had on Monday. The septic trenches are ahead of where we were expecting them to be, the house has been completely primed and the back half of the roof has been stripped and re-shingled. The kids have been working with great purpose and are eager to get back to work and finish the job! We left the worksite after a great day and headed back to ReCreation for some free time and dinner. After dinner, we then went into Porch Time and recounted the good times of the day during "Remember That Time" and the places where we saw God at work during "I Saw Jesus." Houston led us in a time of worship and Nick gave the second porch time talk of the week. On Monday we spoke on the idea that we were sent here and tonight we looked at what it is that we were sent here to do. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, doing the work that He sent us to do. We read from John 15 where Jesus says, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you," and talked about how that love is a sacrificial love. We are called to "be Jesus" as we love each other as humbly and sacrificially as Jesus loved us. After Porch Time we broke into small groups to continue discussing this idea. There were many great conversations had about the sacrificial love that Jesus asks us to show to each other. As a special treat for 2 awesome days at the work site, the whole team drove 5 minutes down the road to a clearing and we were able to catch the local fireworks display to celebrate the 4th! Once the final firework had faded into the night sky, we headed back to ReCreation and settled in for a good night's sleep. Thank you for your continued prayers and we are looking forward to our day tomorrow and cannot wait to see how God will work in and through this team!

Monday, July 3, 2017

NC Day #1 Update - 7.3.17

We had a great first day here in North Carolina! It began as all our mornings will from here on out, with an early wake-up call, breakfast, and morning worship. Worship is put on by the ReCreation staff and is a bit more up-tempo than we see at the Chapel, but the team embraced the difference and sang/danced the whole time! When worship ended we heard a brief message from Dave Torbit, the director here at ReCreation, who spoke on "In the eye of the storm", their theme for the summer. Dave spoke on having Jesus be our anchor in the storms of life and that when the anchor is strong, no matter how bad the storm rocks the boat, the boat remains. We then set out for our work site, which is about 40 minutes from the ReCreation building. We are working at a home where the family has fallen on some hard times and a few work projects are needed to allow them to remain in their home. We are putting on a new roof, repainting, and digging a new septic line for them. While this sounds like a lot of work, our team was enthusiastic and accepted the challenge head on. They tore into the three projects from the get-go and we finished the day at a great place to set us up for success to finish them all on schedule. After a great day of work, we headed back to ReCreation to clean up and have some dinner. The team got some down time after dinner and then we gathered together for Porch Time. Porch Time is a Chapel Mission Trip staple that consists of a few key elements. We start off with "Remember That Time" where students have the opportunity to share funny stories from the day that not everyone was likely a part of. This is followed by "I Saw Jesus" where the team shares stories of where they saw Jesus at work through the team and throughout the day. We were then led in a time of worship by Houston and ended porch time with our first talk of the week. Nick spoke from Luke 10 and tied the story of the 72 being sent out by Jesus, the story of Paul being sent in Acts 9,  and connected it with our team being sent here to Weaverville, NC. We studied Paul in our pre-trip meetings and throughout the week we will revisit Paul's encounter with God as we work through our own. We discussed how in Luke 10, it does not say what happened when they were sent, just that they returned with joy and that as we work through this week, regardless of how well it goes "according to plan" God is behind it and God is with us! After Porch Time we split up into small groups to further discuss this idea and then began to wind down the night as we headed to bed to rest up for another great day! Thank you all for your continued prayers and we are so excited to continue to see and feel Jesus at work!

Sunday, July 2, 2017

NC Team Update - Sunday 7.2.17

Not too much to report on today, as it was predominantly a travel day and the team made the drive effortlessly. We only stopped twice during the trip for a restroom break and a dinner/gas stop (which may be a record for fewest stops ever for this trip!) We arrived at ReCreation Experiences, our home for the week, to a welcoming committee comprised of the 3 ReCreation Staffers that will be with our group for the week and two of the directors of the organization. After an orientation talk from the staff, our team unloaded the trailer and spent the remainder of our time, before lights out, settling into our new home. We are heading to bed with great anticipation and excitement for how we can both experience God through our service and through our team members! Tomorrow we will have our first day on the job site and will update you on our travels throughout the day via the text list ("NCPARENT" to 41411) Keep us in your prayers as we serve in Weaverville this week!

NC Team Leaves Today! 7.2.17

We are leaving today after the 11 o'clock student service! Please bring a lunch or eat lunch before as we are not stopping for food until dinner. Check in will begin a few minutes after the service ends, so if you need to turn in any forms or money that would be a good time to do it. We are hoping to get everyone's stuff packed and loaded up to leave by 1 pm and are excited for the week. We will see you soon!

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Nicaragua Travel Update

the Nicaragua team has all arrived back to the Chapel safely!

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Nicaragua travel update

We have landed safely in DC!  We are going to load up onto the bus and head back to Williamsburg shortly.  Text Nicaparent to 41411 for eta text updates

Nicaragua travel update

we have boarded the plane in Houston and leaving the terminal.  Everything is on time and looking great!  We will let you know when we arrive in DC.

Nicaragua Trip Update

We have landed safely in Houston and everything still looks on time for the next flight.

Nicaragua Flight Update

The Nicaragua team is awaiting their flight at the Managua Airport.  The first leg of the trip home has been delayed about 35 minutes due to late inbound aircraft arrival coming into Nicaragua.  We will let you know when the team boards their flight to Houston!

Nicaragua Day #8 - 6.27.17

Today we had a full day at our debrief site (Apoyo Resort) in order to take a lot of quality time to process our experiences and continue to connect as a team.  Our day began with a team breakfast overlooking the lagoon which was a picturesque way to get things rolling.  We followed breakfast with our first small group time of the day in which we continued to re-visit our character Paul.  In Acts 9:4-9 we see how God forces Paul to struggle in the unknown after his encounter which has been a good model for our own struggle on this trip.  Our ideas of the world, God, and ourselves have been challenged throughout this trip and at times we had to live in the unknown of what this means for us and our lives.  Following our small groups the entire group took 45 minutes of alone time to just be still, pray, journal, and process on your own with God.  Since we do so many things together on this trip we found that some alone time was extremely valuable in understanding what God was teaching us individually.

After our morning of processing things we ate lunch down at the lagoon before getting to spend a few hours enjoying the refreshing and beautiful lagoon.  The resort has a floating dock which was a fun location for the team to play in the lagoon together.  It was encouraging to watch our team all hangout together and to see everyone feel included.  Serving together throughout this week has helped develop friendships throughout our team that will hopefully carry back into Williamsburg.  The entire afternoon was devoted to free time up until we had dinner at 6pm.

Following dinner we grabbed our bibles, trip booklets, and flashlights to walk to our location for Porch Time. It's a beautiful overlook that a friend we have gotten to know over the years let's us use. His name is Armando and he'll turn 70 this October, and his joy to see us and serve us is always humbling. At Porch Time we dove right in to singing some songs of praise and Luke shared about how Paul was told to get up and be baptized and wash away his sins and call on the name of the Lord in Acts 22. He was asked, "What are you waiting for?" and similarly, Jesus is asking us that question. What are we waiting for when we hesitate to give our lives to Jesus, when He gave His life for us? Small groups wrestled with this question and many others tonight. We entered Nicaragua with a "struggle" to leave behind our lives in America, but we will now enter America with a similar struggle to see and seek God as much as we have this past week. There will be temptations to return to our old lives, distractions to prevent us from spending quality time with Jesus, and a limited accountability/motivation from not having 30 of your friends around all the time. As we head to bed, please keep this team in your prayers both for safe travel tomorrow and for the true and ultimate safety we have in Jesus, that we would always be with Him, knowing He is always near us.

Our flight tomorrow is still scheduled for 12:20pm (Nicaragua time) and so we will keep you updated with our progress throughout the day tomorrow.  If you aren't on the text list and would like to receive updated ETA texts then just text the word NICAPARENT to 41411.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Nicaragua Day #7 - 6.26.17

Today was our final day in Leon and so we were able to go do a little sight-seeing in the morning after breakfast.  We visited the local cathedral in Leon to get a little taste of the history of the city.  It is a huge stone building that is open for tours inside and on the roof.  We chose to go up on the roof so that we could see out over the whole city and get a top-down view of the surrounding area.  It was a gorgeous view with the mountains in the background as we looked out over the city.  After the tour, our group visited the market located right in front of the cathedral to look for some local souvenirs and experience a little taste of Nicaragua culture in these open air market shops.

After our quick tour, the team loaded up the bus with all of our stuff, said goodbye to our hotel, and headed to the church in Leon for one last chance to help at the feeding center.  It was inspiring to watch our team just jump immediately into all of the duties needed to feed the kids: washing hands, serving plates, scooping rice, washing dishes, and drying dishes.  It is hard to believe that a group of teenagers are joyfully washing dishes!  Only God could instill that in them.  After we finished serving it was time to say our goodbyes and load up the bus.  It was hard to say goodbye to these kids that we had developed relationships with over the past week knowing that we may never get to see them again, but we will be forever grateful for how they have changed our lives.

Next, we had a long bus ride to our debrief site located at Laguna de Apoyo, which is south of Managua.  It is a local resort that we use as an opportunity to take a lot of intentional time to ask questions, remember moments, and wrestle with the lessons God has been teaching us.  Once we arrived it was time for dinner and our first debrief small group time.  We re-visited the character we studied leading up to the trip, Paul, as a guide to think through the change in perspective that our time here has brought to us.  It is wonderful to watch everyone talk about not just what they gave to Nicaragua, but also what Nicaragua gave to them.

Please continue to pray for our time here over the next day as we continue to process our experience!

Nicaragua Day #6 - 6.25.17

We spent a little extra time at the hotel this morning because the church service at the church in Leon did not start until 10am.  After putting on our church clothes we headed to Leon to worship together with our friends in Nicaragua.  We were impressed by the idea that people in Williamsburg and people in Nicaragua could be worshipping the same God at the same time in different languages.  In addition, our team noticed how the lack of projectors, fancy lights, or comfortable chairs did not impact the authenticity of the worship and praise to God one bit.  The spiritual fervor and passion of the pastor were a true testament to the work of God in this place and it was an honor to be a part of it.  After church we loaded up our bus to head to Posaltega for lunch and another soccer tournament.

There were three Posaltega teams, one Leon team, and one American team in the guys division.  In the girls division there was just one American team and one Posaltega team.  Everyone was excited for another opportunity to try and get our first American win ever in a Nicaraguan soccer tournament. Our guys put in a great effort with many great opportunities to score, but were unable to get on the board losing 2-0 in their opening match.  However, it was a special moment to watch one of the Posaltega teams win the tournament with matching Jamestown high school jerseys that were donated a few years ago.  In the girls division we had the most exciting match ever played here in Nicaragua.  After going down 2-0 in the first half our girls made a huge come back to tie it up 2-2 in the second half.  Since it was a tie the game went into PK's in which the Nicaraguan team ended up winning on their last shot.  This was by far the greatest showing any of our American teams have ever had down here in Nicaragua and so our team walked away excited and proud of their effort.  However, beyond the excitement of the games it was our final day in Posaltega and so our team took advantage of every opportunity to spend time with the kids that we have gotten to know over the week.

After the soccer tournament we all headed back to Leon for dinner before heading to our hotel for porch time.  Tonight, Luke introduced the idea of the "secret of the poor" from Luke 12:13-21 in which Jesus says that our life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions.  We have seen that although the Nicaraguan people lack a lot of possessions, they are extremely rich in relationships.  Since they have very few possessions to focus on they are forced to focus on each other.  This ends up leading to a deep concern for each other and a joy every time they are together.  In addition, the Nicaragua people are very rich in their relationship with God because they have a deep trust that God will provide for their needs and that God is worthy of praise no matter what their circumstances are.  This was a great topic to dig into in small groups and begin to unpack what it looks like to embrace this secret in our own lives that are filled with lots of possessions.

Tomorrow is our final day at the feeding center and so check back tomorrow for another update.

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Video from Nicaragua

For those interested in a less choppy version of the video we showed this morning at the prayer meeting, here is the link!  Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/223030060

Nicaragua Day #5 - 06.24.17

We've enjoyed our stay here so far at Hotel Europa, and have really enjoyed their hospitality in serving breakfast. Mornings have proven a great time for fellowship and devotionals; it's been great to have that time to get ready for our day. After applying sunscreen, we made our way for Leon to pick up the church staff and leaders on our way to the beach (we also had the Posoltega church staff and leaders following behind us in a separate truck)! We wanted to celebrate and thank them for their service and faithfulness to their communities, so it was wonderful to be able to spend that time together and give them a mini "vacation" away from work. At the beach we had a few team building games - a round of charades, a relay race where you had to sweep a ball down the beach with a broom, and a race to fill a bucket with water from the ocean using articles of clothing to soak up and squeeze out the water. There were three teams, and each team ended up winning a round. Despite the language barrier, everyone's face was excited and enthusiastic to win!

After the games, we split up in to some time of leisure. Some swam and enjoyed the refreshing water, others played soccer, some passed a frisbee, and even some grabbed a ball, a bat, and some gloves and had a little batting/fielding practice on the beach - turns out our bus driver down here has a mean curve ball! We were able to eat lunch together, provided once more by our wonderful friend in Leon, Gabriel, and his team. His service has been filled with joy and an eagerness to please us which have been a humbling model of both gratitude and faithfulness.

Following our time at the beach, we had just a few minutes at the hotel to get changed and head back to Leon for our first soccer tournament. Different from our previous time spent in Leon where we've served and played with younger kids at the church, this was an opportunity to engage some of the older kids in the community, and some who probably don't actively attend Verbo Leon or know Jesus Christ. There were five teams in the tournament, and while our team effectively claimed last place, the championship game featured a tying goal in the closing minutes, and it came down to penalty kicks to determine the winner! At our attempt of a "closing ceremony," Luke shared a little about who we are, where we're from, and why we're here - and more importantly, he invited everyone to come to church tomorrow morning to worship with us as we celebrate who Jesus is, where He's from, and why He came here. We're hopeful to see some of our competitors in the morning, and maybe they'll be wearing their championship medals!

After the tournament, we ate dinner in Leon and came back to the hotel for Porch Time. Luke spoke from Romans and addressed why there is suffering in the world and we learned that selfishness always leads to suffering. Fortunately, we know sacrifice leads to hope, and we see that in Jesus' sacrifice for us. Small groups discussed what it means to be made in the image of God, what it means to govern the world as humans who are selfish at times, and how we've seen that selfishness lead to suffering, both in Nicaragua on this trip and in our own lives. They're really engaging these big questions, and we would value your prayer as our week comes closer and closer to its end. With all there is to process, we know who to look to as our Guide. Pray God continues to guide us and move in and through us throughout this week!

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Nicaragua Day #4 - 6.23.17

Today was the final day that our team split up into two groups between Posaltega and Leon.  After another delicious breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit the Leon team got dropped off first and then the Posaltega group headed out to their site.

In Leon, the team split into two groups to walk around the community with the Pastor and his wife to visit homes and talk to them about God.  Both groups were deeply moved by the stories they heard from the families and the opportunities they had to pray for them and hand out bibles.  It truly was only the presence of Jesus in the two groups that gave them the courage to share their faith with strangers and ask them about their own faith in Jesus.  After the walks around the community the Leon team once again gave the church's lunch team a nice break by washing dishes, cooking, and plating food.  This has been a true blessing for the women who normally serve the food because they spend so much time every day preparing the same foods and washing the same dishes for all of the kids.  After lunch the Leon team prepared for an afternoon of fun.  It started with an exciting balloon pop game where every kid tied an inflated balloon to their ankle and tried to pop everyone else's balloon before their own got popped.  After the fun balloon game the Leon team finished the afternoon with every kids' favorite thing, a pinata.  There was a pinata for the little kids and one for the older kids with lots of candy for all.

The Posaltega team began there morning by just taking some time to relationally connect with some of the older kids at the church.  They circled up with the Nicaraguan kids and everyone went around and shared some things about who they are and what they are hoping to do in the future.  It was a great moment for our team to help instill the idea that there is hope for the future for all of the Nicaraguan kids as they talked about their dreams.  After getting to know the Posaltega kids the team helped prepare lunch for all of the kids and then served it to them.  It truly has been a blessing to watch the team think first about others and their needs before thinking about their own hunger or desires.  After lunch the Posaltega team did the VBS day #2 lesson that the Leon team had done the previous day.  Tommy finished the study of Noah and the kids were given half a coffee filter to draw on them with different colors to represent the rainbow that God created after he helped Noah get off the ark and re-establish himself in the Earth.  The hope is that the kids would take the rainbow home and look at it as a reminder that God remembers them and cares for them.  Similar to Leon, the Posaltega team ended their time with pinatas that provided a great celebration to a great couple of days of VBS lessons.  It truly was a great day filled with joy-filled moments that the team will hopefully remember forever.

Once our team joined back together we freshened up and went back to the church for dinner.  Since today is Father's Day in Nicaragua we prepared a surprise party for the Pastor of the church who is a father of three kids and a spiritual father for many more in the community.  We had a mariachi band that came to play and cake/ice cream for the pastor and the other Nicaraguans that joined to celebrate from the community.  It was such a beautiful site seeing our team and members of the Nicaraguan team mingle together and celebrate.  To close our evening we all gathered back at the hotel for porch time.  Tommy spoke about the importance of faithfulness and how it is more important to focus on our own faithfulness than it is to let a desire for some specific fruitfulness drive our actions. Following Tommy's talk we finished our evening in small groups where we had the opportunity to start thinking about the impact this trip is having on us and what true faithfulness in God looks like.

Tomorrow we are headed to the beach and so check back for another update tomorrow!

Friday, June 23, 2017

Nicaragua Day #3 - 6.22.17

After another delicious breakfast at our hotel, our team split into two groups to serve in Leon and another community called Posaltega.  Both places have churches that run feeding centers for the local kids in the community and are connected through a Pastor named Chepe that has served in both churches.

The group that stayed in Leon spent the morning doing a cleaning project at the local school that is right next to the church.  They spent a couple hours picking up trash, cutting back some long grass, and sweeping all of the floors.  Pastor Jose Luis at Verbo Leon would love to see a stronger connection develop between the church and school, so this was a great way to start building the relationship between the two of them.  After cleaning the school, the group headed back to the church to help prepare lunch for the kids that come each day to be fed.  The group was cutting melons, cleaning plates, and making rice to serve to the kids.  It was inspirational to watch the Leon group not care about how hot the kitchen felt or how tight the space was, but instead do whatever it took to serve the kids that came that day.  After eating their own lunch, the team transitioned to part two of the Noah vbs lesson they had started the previous day.  Luke talked about how in the midst of all the rain that covered the Earth, God remembered Noah and the animals.  God stopped the rain and provided for them so that they could carry God's vision into the world once again.  After the brief lesson all of the kids participated in a rainbow craft (since God established the rainbow in the Noah story) so that each of them could take home a rainbow that will hopefully remind them that God wants to help us when we are willing to cry out to him in the midst of struggles in our life.  Finally, the team finished their day at Leon by playing soccer with the kids and pouring out a lot of love and care to those kids.

The Posaltega team was greeted very warmly upon their arrival this morning. The pastor there was so grateful for our coming and encouraged us multiple times to make ourselves at home. We then split up in to three small groups to walk through the community there. Moving from house to house, students were encouraged to share how they met Jesus, as well as offer a bible to the individual they were addressing. It was humbling to hear the prayer requests of the people we met. Despite their poverty, their prayers were not for physical luxuries or conveniences, but rather for family, unity, health, and work. Afterwards we came back to the church and played with the kids for a little bit before lunch. We assisted in serving lunch, carrying the children's cups and bowls on trays from their tables to the kitchen and back. The team mentioned being inspired by the kitchen workers, who cooked food for all of those kids and then still prepared a meal for us following. After lunch the kids participated in a classroom activity practicing math, and then we had the chance to share about Noah and the ark. Much like the lesson we gave in Leon yesterday, we shared about how our choices have consequences and how God does desire what is best for us. We'll get to finish the story tomorrow! After the lesson, we handed out snacks to the kids while they went home for the day, and then we boarded the bus and made our way back to Leon to pick up the rest of our team there.

After both groups finished we all met back up for dinner and an evening porch time gathering where we had some great laughs and worshipful moments.  Luke talked about the meaning of incarnational ministry and what it really means to see Jesus in the flesh.  He used Matthew 25 to talk about the reality that when we serve "the least of these" in the world that we are actually serving Jesus and then he used Colossians 1:27 to talk about the mysterious truth that Jesus can live in us.  Following the talk the groups split up into their small groups to continue to process the idea of encountering Jesus in the flesh and actually being Jesus to other people.

We will be splitting up between the two feeding centers again tomorrow so check back for another update tomorrow.


Thursday, June 22, 2017

Nicaragua Day #2 - 06.21.17

The team caught up on much needed rest and woke up to an excellent breakfast at Hotel Europa this morning. After applying sunscreen and bugspray and filling up our water bottles, we headed out for Verbo Leon, the site we'll be spending most of our time this week. Once there, Pastor Jose Louis walked us around the community. We learned that their community is called "The Poets" because each neighborhood is named after one. Following our walking tour, we played soccer in the neighboring field, tossed frisbees and gave piggy back rides until lunch.

It was amazing to see how many kids this feeding center serves. Throughout the walking tour, it didn't appear that very many kids lived in the area, but well over 100 kids were fed lunch. It was great to see our Chapel students assisting them in washing their hands and serving meals from the kitchen.
We ate lunch after the kids and were impressed and blessed by the hospitality of our hosts.

After lunch we had the opportunity to teach a bible lesson. Luke shared the story of Noah's ark, with the lesson that God does care about our actions, and that they do have consequences. Following the lesson we crafted an origami ark that would help us remember the story and God's faithfulness to us. We distributed a snack and made our way back to the field for some relay races in two-by-two fashion, just like how the animals arrived at Noah's ark. Not long after that we came back to the hotel for showers and a little rest, and then had dinner back at Verbo Leon before our first Porch Time.

Porch Time is our nightly gathering to reflect on the day which we kicked off by sharing funny moments under the header "Remember That Time...," and identifying Christ in moments under the header "I Saw Jesus..." Many of the funny moments featured some embarrassing defeats on the soccer field, but there were also many moments where kids saw Jesus at work in each other. Then we sang a few songs of worship to our Lord and then Luke shared from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out the 72. Jesus instructed them to "leave it all behind," to take nothing with them as they go from town to town. We were challenged to process what we've left behind, and encouraged to engage what's directly before us while we're here.

Breaking in to small groups afterwards, we asked what has surprised students most about Nicaragua, and what stood out as the greatest need. Many answered with a surprise to the amount of trash, road conditions, and wild animals. Still, others were surprised to see how grateful the kids we played with were. They mentioned how little complaining they heard and how resilient they were despite having so little. It's exciting to see how these kids in Nicaragua may be giving us a glimpse of what joy looks like, and helping us identify where it comes from. Please be in continued prayer that this time is intentional and that Jesus opens our eyes to what He wants show us.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Nicaragua Day #1 - 6.20.17

After a smooth morning of travel from DC to Houston to Nicaragua, the team was able to take in their first sights, sounds, and smells of this new place.  Upon arrival, we immediately visited a local church in Managua for lunch where we sat in their outside cafe for a delicious lunch of rice, chicken, plantains, and beef stew.  One of our translators, Josias, gave us the history of Orphanetwork and its connection to the church we were eating at.  It was great to hear how God's faithfulness over the years through ONET and its partners, like the Chapel, had developed and expanded to feeding centers and orphanages all over Nicaragua.

After lunch we loaded up on our bus and headed North to Leon and our hotel called Hotel Europa.  It is going to be a comfortable place for us to come back and relax each night.  We divided up our rooms and then headed over to the church here in Leon called Verbo Leon where we will be spending a lot of time helping their feeding center and teaching the kids some bible lessons.  We had the opportunity to meet the pastor and eat dinner with some of the older kids from the community.  It was really amazing to see our team immediately dive into playing with the kids, introducing themselves to anyone they could meet, and enjoying the local food.

Since we had a long day of travel our team went back to the hotel after dinner and relaxed before heading to bed early to get some extra rest in preparation for the full day tomorrow. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us the rest of this week and thank you for all your prayers throughout this week!

Nicaragua Update 6.20.17

The SM team has just landed safely at the Managua Airport (current time is 12 p.m. in Managua)!  They will be heading to eat some lunch and then to the Orphan Network offices.

Nicaragua flight update 6.20.17

We have taken off from houston and headed to Managua! We will let you know when we land. Check the blog for updates during the trip at wccsmtrips.blogspot.com

Nicaragua trip update 6.20.17

We have landed at the Houston airport safely and everything appears to be on time.  We will let you when we are about to depart for Nicaragua.

Nicaragua flight update 6.20.17

we have left D.C. On our way to Houston.  Everything is on time and looking great.  We will update you when we arrive in Houston.

Nicaragua Departure 6.20.17

Our team has left the Chapel and is headed to Reagan National for our flight.  Just a reminder for parents to sign-up for text updates by texting NICAPARENT to 41411.  Also, if you need to get a hold of Luke in Nicaragua then please contact Madeline on her cell phone at 757-645-7842.  Below is our flight information if you want to check our flight status online.  We are flying United Airlines.

-          Depart: Meet at the Chapel at 12:00am on Tuesday, June 20th
o   Depart Reagan National (DCA) at 5:45am on Tuesday, June 20th  on flight UA 551, arrive Houston (IAH) at 7:50am;
o   Depart Houston (IAH) at 9:20am on flight UA 1432, arrive Managua   at 11:35am

-          Return: Pick up at the Chapel at approx. 2:30am on Thursday, June 29th.
o   Depart Managua at 12:20pm on flight UA 1433, arrive Houston (IAH) at 4:45pm
o   Depart Houston (IAH) at 7:20pm on flight UA 1955, arrive at Regan National (DCA) at 11:26pm


Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Norfolk Parent Meeting 6.13.17

The first half of our meeting was the parent meeting portion where Luke went over the vision for the trip and all of the logistics involved in it.  The team will be staying at Spring Branch in Virginia Beach and serving three organizations in the Norfolk/VA Beach area: Union Mission Ministries, Consulate Health Care, and Park Place Child Life Center.  In addition, Luke asked for everyone to sign-up for text updates by texting NORFOLKPARENT to 41411.  For additional information you can review the PowerPoint slides that Luke used below.

Slides coming soon (power outage delayed the posting of these)


During the second half of our meeting the Norfolk team continued to study the character of Saul in Acts 9.  Our theme phrase this year is "the beautiful struggle" which we took out of the transformative encounter that Saul had with God.  God turned Saul's life into something beautiful, but God also forced Saul to struggle through a process of discovery before becoming the person God wanted him to be.  So, we discussed how God may have us go through a process where we will struggle through some questions about who we are as we engage with some of the needs that people are facing down in Norfolk.  

Our final team meeting will be on Thursday, July 13th from 6:30-8:30pm in Woodward Hall

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Nashville Meeting #1 - 5/10/17

The first half of our meeting was for parents and students.  We went over the key details for our trip and gave some vision for how our sm mission trips fit into the discipleship process here at the Chapel.  Below are the slides we went over if you'd like to review them:

Parent Meeting Slides

In addition, we handed out folders that had a checklist to make sure you know upcoming deadlines and dates, Chapel parental consent form, support letter writing information, a packing list, and some literature on CSM (the organization we partner with).  If you missed the meeting or lost any of the forms then just click on the links below.  The literature on CSM will be available next meeting to handout because we don't have an electronic version of it.

Checklist

Packing List

Support Letter Information

Parental Consent Form

The second half of the meeting was just for your kids as we began our study of the character Paul in Acts 9.  We study a character each year and look at the character's encounter with God as a model for our own encounters with God while on our trip to Nashville.  We have found that this has been a great way to prepare our hearts and minds for what will take place on this trip.  If you missed the meeting then you can read Acts 9:1-4 and review the questions below that we talked about in our small groups.

Small Group Questions

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Nicaragua Meeting #2 - 5/10/17

This was our first meeting together as a team where we had the opportunity to start building relationships among the team, getting to know the leaders, and studying our character Paul in Acts 9.  Every year we study a particular character's encounter with God as a model for how we will encounter God on our trip to Nicaragua.  We began by looking at the first four verse in Acts 9 where we just get a glimpse into Saul's encounter with God.  Saul was a highly religious person who thought he was actually doing God's will until this moment where God exposed his blind spot to the truth about Jesus.  After taking a look together at this passage our team broke up into two smaller groups where we started sharing with each other some of the things we are looking forward to on this trip and what gets in the way of us recognizing God's guiding hand in our own lives.

If your child missed the meeting then here are the questions we went over in our small groups if you would like to have them review them on their own and read Acts 9:1-4.


Also, below are the forms we handed out at the meeting.  The packing list is actually an updated version from the one we handed out last night because the links to the airline guidelines were incorrect.  They were the ones from last year and we are flying on a different airline this year.




Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Nicaragua Parents Meeting.4.11.17

Thank you to everyone for a great meeting! I hope everyone got all of the information they needed and questions answered, but please don't hesitate to contact Luke Kincaid by phone at 757-570-0292 or by email at lkincaid@wcchapel.org if you have any additional questions.  Below are all the forms and PowerPoint slides we went over at the meeting in case you lost one or needed to look something up.

Nicaragua Parent Meeting Slides

Support Letter Instructions

OrphaNetwork Forms

Nicaragua Meeting #1 Checklist