Another day, and another day of
Gods beautiful plan playing out exactly as He constructs it. Day four provided
some great opportunities for our serving groups to once again live out
scripture in awesome ways. We started off with a devotional from Luke 21:1-4
titled Giving. The focus was on what sacrifices we could make during the day to
further serve the communities we’re encountering in Nashville.
Serving Group 1:
After morning devotionals, Group 1 headed
back to the to YCAP for another fun-filled day with the kids that they have
been getting to know all week. The team
spent the first part of the morning with free time where they played a lot of
basketball as well as cards, soccer, and ping-pong. Then they went into their
family groups where they had rotated each day this week. The kids have begun to really connect with
our students and relationships have formed. After leaving YCAP and having
lunch, the group went to Nashville Cares, an organization dedicated to the
education and treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Middle Tennessee area. The group
learned about the diseases and about the women whom they will be helping serve
tomorrow through the Nashville Cares Community Outreach Program. Group 1 next went downtown to participate in
“Beat the Heat,” an activity which involved searching for
those in need and handing out ice-cold water to them. They carried the hope of starting
conversations and hearing stories of those with whom they shared the water.
After leaving downtown, Group 1 went to Sitar Indian Cuisine for dinner before
returning to the housing site for porch time.
Serving Group 2:
Group 2 also began their day with
devotionals and then went to serve at the Isaiah 58 Feeding Center. The food center is a soup kitchen where Group
2 helped with food prep and cleaning tasks while partnering with another
visiting team. After serving some of
the guests at the feeding center, the group helped load a food truck going to a
nearby neighborhood. When they were
finished loading the truck, several students in the group helped lead worship
with the feeding center’s worship leader for a little post-breakfast
entertainment. The group continued to meet and get to know some of the guests
at the feeding center and then cleaned up from breakfast and headed to Magnus
Potter Boys and Girls Club. At Magnus
Potter, Group 2 had a blast playing in the gym with the kids. After gym time, they all went to an ice cream
social with Front Porch Ministries and then headed back to Magus Potter and watched
a movie with the kids. After leaving Magnus Potter, Group 2 went to Istanbul
Restaurant where they ate Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean
foods. After a delicious meal, Group 2 headed back to the housing site
for Porch Time.
Serving Group 3:
Group 3 started their day off at
the Andrew Jackson Boys and Girls club once again. Both the group and the kids
at the center have really enjoyed starting their days together this week. Throughout
the week, Group 3 has exhibited an amazing amount of flexibility during their
service, and today was no exception. Kick ball, pool, ping-pong, computer
games, dance offs and X Box kept everyone busy. Our group also humbly and
joyfully volunteered for the dirtier jobs of cleaning bathrooms and mopping the
gym floor. After lunch, Group
3 left Andrew Jackson and went to End Slavery Tennessee, where they heard a
message on modern day slavery that goes on in the United States, specifically
right here in Nashville. Group 3 then went to a local neighborhood to help
the End Slavery Tennessee organization spread awareness by hanging door tags
and talking to people about what is going on.
End Slavery Tennessee’s mission is to empower people through raising
awareness, and so our kids participated in carrying this out. The hope is that it contributes to stopping
human trafficking altogether.
Group 3 also finished
the day with “Beat the Heat,” which involved the simple act of walking around
downtown and handing out ice-cold water. It was fun to find people working in
the heat of the day, the homeless, and others in downtown Nashville who were
all refreshed by what the group had to offer. After dinner at Sitar Indian
Cuisine with Group 1, Group 3 closed with porch time and small group
discussions.
Serving Group 4:
Group 4 dove into the day with
devotionals with a passage from Luke 19 and then traveled to Catholic Charity
Ministries to serve for the morning. The CCM leader-Wendi, who is an amazing
servant of The Lord-explained that the purpose of the warehouse they work out
of is to serve international refugees seeking America and what the country has
to offer. The goal at CCM was to provide job skills, financial training,
English literacy, and other workforce related tasks. The group met with some of
the refugees before lunch and then headed to Shelby Park for a quick lunch. The
group then traveled to Trinity Lane Baptist Church for the second to last day
of kids’ camp. Upon arrival, Allyson, the camp coordinator, informed us that a
long time community member had passed away earlier in the week. The funeral
costs for the family were more than expected, so the camp quickly turned into a
fundraising operation to help cover some of the costs. The camp set up a car
wash and sold bracelets to those who showed up/passed by. By the end of the
day, just under $300 dollars was raised for the cherished congregation member.
For a church that receives just $1,500 a month in tithes, $300 in one day was
an amazing testament to Gods faithfulness to his kingdom in times of great
need. The group left the ministry site and ate at Sweet's-a southern soul food
restaurant. The night ended with a fantastic porch time and extended small
groups.
Serving Group 5:
Group 5 had
the opportunity to go to Lexington Garden this morning. The team helped re-stake
parts of the garden, as well as put up new stakes on many plants. Your children
also watered the entire garden, cleaned up all the extra materials, took out
the trash, and sorted them into different categories/areas (wire/metal fencing,
wood, bamboo, plastic, etc.). Several of
the boys in the group were able to help a resident build and put up a fence to
border the garden. The team’s final task this morning was to pick up debris
piles around the apartment complex using wheel barrows. It was certainly a
morning filled with lots of manual labor, and the team was committed 100% to
the tasks at hand. There was another missions team at Lexington Gardens today
(this group was from Austin, Texas), and it was neat to see the students sharing
jobs and space with other teens who are also committed to living out their
faith. Everyone collaborated well, and it was good to see such a huge impact in
such a small space.
After lunch,
Group 5 again returned to the N.I.C.E. camp for refugee children, which was the
same place the group visited on Tuesday afternoon. Since our team had already
established relationships with the kids from N.I.C.E earlier in the week, the
group found the children more willing to open up. Not only that, but our
students also found that their familiarity helped them understand their roles
better, which then allowed them to engage in even more effective ways with the
kids. The afternoon at N.I.C.E ended with an exciting game of soccer outside in
the beautiful weather. For dinner, Group 5 headed to Swett’s for some southern
soul food!
After dinner,
each team met back at the housing site to get ready for our final Porch Time.
Because we have a fun activity planned for Friday night, this (Thursday)
evening was our culminating experience for the trip. After a call to worship
from Psalm 100, we dove right into an extended song set, praising God for all
the He has done in us and through us this week. After worship, Hawley brought
us the evening’s message from 1 Kings 19, reminding us of our pre-trip studies
of Elijah’s encounter with God, and finishing the story with God’s call to
Elijah to “go back the way you came.” God also told Elijah to anoint two kings
and another prophet to partner with him as he lived out God’s call back home.
After the message, we had a chance to respond by burning cards on which we had
written (during the overnight training meeting) things that have been holding
us back from living out God’s call on our lives. After burning the cards, each
person wrote out the names of three people whom they hope will support them and
walk with them (like Kings and Prophets) as they return to Williamsburg. It was
a beautiful evening, and God’s presence could be felt in a tangible way.
After Porch
Time, everyone went to their separate small groups to continue the great
conversation before bed.
Thank you
again for all of your prayers throughout the week.
***Because we
have a fun night out planned for tomorrow, AND because the staff/leaders want
to get the most rest possible before our drive back on Saturday, we will only
post a very short blog entry tomorrow (Friday) night for you to read on
Saturday. We look forward to sharing most of the stories from Friday when we
get home on Saturday night!
