The Norfolk team started their trip this afternoon by having a great trip down to VA Beach. It was great to watch as the team immediately began to bond on our car ride down I-64. There was no complaining about the traffic, but instead the extra time in the cars was used to play car games and have great conversations. As a result, spirits were high as we made it to our housing site, Spring Branch Community Church, and settled into our home for the next two nights. Spring Branch is led by Travis Simone's father Pastor Michael Simone, and we have had a wonderful partnership with them for many years. One of our favorite things about the church is their youth room where they have a pool table, foosball table, and a brand new octagon ball court setup. Octagon ball is a great game played in a walled arena where you attempt to hit the other players below the knee with a soft ball. The whole team was super excited to see all the fun things Spring Branch has to offer.
After dinner and some free time playing games we began what was for most of the team their first ever "Porch Time." Porch Time comes from the Nicaragua trip where the teams would spend the evening on an actual porch and talk about where they had seen God at work during the day and we use the same title for all of the nightly meetings on every Student Ministry mission trip. Tonight, Nick spoke from Matthew 25 where Jesus says that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." He spoke about the idea that we can look around us and see God at work in the situations that God has placed us in and in the people around us as well. The team was challenged to look for God at work tomorrow as we engage and serve the people God has placed in our paths. After Porch Time, the team split up into small groups and continued the conversation about how we can see Jesus at work on the trip and in our daily lives at home. After small groups, the Norfolk headed to bed excited for the opportunity to serve tomorrow!
