Friday...

It's Jeremy's birthday

We were challenged this morning by Pastor John Meyers during devotion time

to embrace the hardships and thorns of life and allow them to shape us into 

vehicles that God can use for His glory.  

He spoke of 

Humility

and 

God's grace

of His goodness towards those who will depend on His strength.

The kids listened intently as he spoke of his heart for the people of the City of Hammtramck

and saw the desire he has to transform the whole community.

We've been blessed to be loved on by both John and his wife, Janell...

 There's a reason for these orange Crocks.  John wears them EVERY day and they are a tool he uses to talk to those he meets about God's love. He wears orange ones because it represents the mix of red and yellow.

Red= God's blood

Yellow= humanity

 ...and their son, Seth

As I type the students and leaders are spending the morning 

cleaning 

the church

the church vans

and the church property

I have WiFi and time to download the videos and pictures that I've not had time to the last few days.

So here's a quick glance of 

our week 

and 

our kids...

{Kali's lament}

{A view of the workshop where we've been building a wheelchair ramp}

{attempts...and fails}

{A trip to the ice cream shop...and thievery}

The plan is to finish up our cleaning and packing and be back on the road by 3pm.

We'll head back to Toledo where we will be attending 

a Toledo Mudhen's game and fireworks.

We'll then head back to the Helton's house for the night 

and be back on the road tomorrow morning around 9...

If we're lucky, we'll have a little of this to look forward to:

Thanks for your continued prayers on our behalf...
there's more fun to be had and we're going to soak it all in until the last minute!

A little of yesterday and today...

It's mid-afternoon and I've finally been able to check for a wifi connection.  It's been on-again, off-again all week and I decided to take advantage of it while I can!  Thanks for those of you who've been leaving messages for your kids...if I can keep the connection, I'll make sure I have them sit down and read them.

Yesterday was a busy day for our kids.  The older kids spent another long day building the deck, but we were blessed with a cool breeze and no humidity, so they returned with more energy than they had the day before.  They ended their day with a cook-out for the Acts 29 youth group.  

The 9th and 10th graders split up their day with construction of a ramp, Bible clubs, ESL and ended their day in the park with some of the middle school kids from the community.  The local kids were full of energy and had seemingly endless amount of room for food.  They had a great time playing games with our kids and putting together banks that they will use to save $30 to attend the Acts 29 summer camp.  Our kids were surprised at how eager the local kids were to play and interact.  

We all hit our beds with about as much eagerness after such a long day.  Before we knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to start again.  

{The girls enjoyed the "Broadway" rendition of "Rise and Shine" performed by Wendy.}
  

After a breakfast of pancakes and sausage, we were split back up into our groups to  continue on with the different projects we'd been working on.  

Parents, I think you would be really proud of the way your students have worked hard and conducted themselves.  They are having a BLAST working alongside each other!

Each day we have been led in devotions by one or two students.  We've been working through the Fruit of the Spirit and the kids have done a great job researching their assigned "Fruit" and sharing with the rest of the group.  We've also gathered for a time of prayer over the students, two at a time...they are sweet times of circling together in one accord.

.............................................................................

It's evening now...as it is, it seems I get about five minutes at a time to sit here...and then the moment is gone.

SO...now it's dinner time and we're headed out to a Middle Eastern Restaurant-having absolutely no idea what to expect, except FLEXIBILITY.

We're getting good at it...seriously, just ask your kids.  

From now until FOREVER, they will be flexible to do 

ANYthing and EVERYthing 

you want them to do-

 I promise.

Because I'm pretty sure my five minutes is about to end,

 I'll post a bunch of random pics of the last two days...

Enjoy!

......................................

Yep...as I suspected...I've just been called away...

This is only about 1/3 of the pictures I wanted to post.

there's always tomorrow...

Good morning...

I had trouble sending a post last night....no matter what I tried, I could not connect to wifi.

After a good night's rest 

we are all gathered together at the church...

The smell of bacon has drifted to every floor of the church

as we all wait in anticipation of breakfast and a new day of work.

{Chef Kim and Chef Renee}

We've been split into three groups.

Today,

 Team one {All 11th-12th graders} will continue to build a deck

Team two will begin constructing a wheelchair ramp for one of the church members

and later will do an event for Middle Schoolers

{Kierstin, Emma, Kali, Drew and Jason}

Team three will put on a Kids Camp for a nearby neighborhood

{Kelly, Courtney, Emily, Faith, Wendy and Terri}

We'd appreciate your prayers throughout the day.  

We've had no major injuries 

{Kierstin's big, bad blister injury}

{SOMEone must be praying, 

we have power tools!!!}

All is well...

No pictures tonight...I have about 21 seconds to write and push send before we are loaded up 

and sent over to the apartment where we will be staying for the next few nights. 

 The boys will be going in one direction, and the girls in the other.

It's been a very hot day, but the kids have worked hard through every minute.

This evening we sat through a class with the church that was very interesting and the kids were challenged to know what they believe and how to share their faith with those around them. We just returned from a tour of a Mosque down the street where we sat through the call to worship and the prayer time.

Your kids have a lot of things to share, I'm sure!  

I'll try to get a few minutes to update tomorrow with some pictures...

until then, please continue to pray for health and safety tomorrow.

*A group of kids will continue to work on a deck nearby

*Another group of kids will take part in a children's day camp

*The last team will do an event for Middle Schooler's in the park

Thanks so much for checking in on us...

leave your kids some comments, they love checking to see who's reading!

Day 1...

Just a quick update to let you all know we've made it safely to Toledo.

We met this morning bright and early...

Packed up the vans and the trailer

were covered over in prayer by Pastor Doug

endured enjoyed hugs from friends and family

And finally we were on our way...

{with only one mishap}

we napped a little

ate a little

played a little

laughed a little

 posed a little

 {and a lot}

all in all it was a fantastic day...

We're staying in the home of Renee's friends.

They've been generous enough to open every floor to us...

and we are sprawled out EVERYwhere!

They fed us...

and allowed us to enjoy their beautiful yard

I'm sitting alone at a booth in the local Burger King

{"stealing" a little WiFi}

while Renee does a little grocery shopping next door.

Just wanted you parents to know 

we're here...

we're having fun...

and we're ready to do it all over again tomorrow!

{The plan is to be back on the road at 8:30am and, as I understand it, 

we are about two hours away from Hamtramack}

Thanks for your prayers throughout the day,

we covet them greatly throughout the next few days.

Oh, note to Pastor Carl...

you should probably know that Jason may need some disciplinary action 

based on the depth of his competitiveness 

 and his scare tactics...

just saying...

teamwork...

We've been making lists and piles

our bags are packed up and waiting to be loaded...

We're sleeping one last time in the comfort of our air conditioned homes...

Tomorrow at 9am we'll be packed into two vans and a trailer...

waving our last 

goodbyes

and 

see ya later's

.....

We're ready for whatever lies ahead.

 "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, 

you must clothe yourselves with

 tenderhearted mercy, 

kindness, 

humility, 

gentleness, 

and patience.  

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. 

Remember, the Lord forgave you,

 so you must forgive others. 

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, 

which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

 For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

 And always be thankful.

  Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. 

Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. 

Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 

And...

whatever you do or say,

 do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks through him to God the Father."

Colossians 3:12-17

We're looking forward to traveling and serving together this week!

In union there is strength.  ~Aesop

{google images}

Be intentional....

FOR US:

"Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention...."

FOR THEM:

"Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand..."

Philippians 2