6th Grade Backyard Mission

Today was the start of the 6th Grade Back Yard Mission! The 6th graders and a few volunteers arrived this morning at 9:00am, not sure what to expect with this crazy weather. We loaded up the kiddos in the church bus, and headed up to Mullendore Elementary! When we arrived, about 35 kids began to tackle the landscaping project at Mullendore. We raised gardens around trees with new stones, trimmed huge trees, replaced edging, dug deep trenches in order to reset old trimming, loaded dumpsters, demolished unwanted bushes and plants, and decorated gardens with stones. Thank you Jesus for the cool air! It started to rain around 11:00, so we took an early lunch. When we got back, it began to rain some more, but we persevered! The teens worked so well together, and even though it was way humid and wet, they ALL had smiles on their faces, and worked hard without any complaints! Not only were they great gardeners and landscapers, they were able to build relationships with new and existing friends! To top it all of, we stopped by Quick Trip for some Slurpee's and headed back to 24:7 for some dodge ball and a sleepover! So needless to say, this Mission has begun with a BANG!!! Stay tuned for more updates!

Meghan Rinestine

Neighborhood Connections Intern

Latest from Rio

The Rio Team must have come across an internet connection! Here is the latest news from Susan:

Yesterday was a great day for the Rio team in Brazil. We spent the morning seeing the town. We went to the Christ the Redeemer statue and had a great view of the city. It was very cloudy and the clouds continued to roll in but it was a great time in spite of the weather. We spent the afternoon preparing a meal of potato soup for the church. We attended service and then served 129 bowls of potato soup. Their mid week service is on Thursday. We are at the church building now getting ready for the retreat. We will leave here about 8 pm and drive two hours into the mountains. It is very cold and rainy. They say it will be cold on the retreat. We are all looking forward to spending time with our new brazillian friends. We will return to the church Sunday evening. Everyone is doing well and staying healthy. We send our love. See you soon.

The team returns early Wednesday morning (July 29). We can't wait to see (and post) more news and pictures!

Mission Nashville

It's a strange feeling - to be in such a huge city, doing such good work, but being hindered by internet connections (once again - sounds like Pine Springs!). We have received word and pictures from the Nashville team (thanks Terry Spurgin!) and are excited to share their news.

This email arrived late Wednesday night:

It's been another very good day in Nashville. We had rain overnight and drizzle on and off, so some of our outdoor activities were curtailed, but we put in a full day of service. Some of us served at a women's shelter, some packed bags and delivered necessities to homeless people. Some did more painting and room decoration at the Woodbine church building, all participated in worship, games, and crafts with the Y.E.S. kids. God found many opportunities for us to "do unto others".

In the evening we went to a camp that Y.E.S. opperates for a dinner and devo. The campfire had to be skipped due to wet firewood, but we had much fun with the kids and a great testimony from Michael Peters.

Because He rose...

News from RIO

Good Morning from Brazil! Internet access is limited for our group in Rio, but this just came in by email from Susan. I know you are as anxious to hear from them as we are! :) Sounds like they are doing what we all thought they would - meeting teens, having fun and serving! Here they are...

It's a beautiful day in Rio. The sun is shining and the group is ready for every opportunity that may come their way. Yesterday was our first day in the Reynolds's neighborhood. The weather was cold, about 62 and raining. Because of the rain the neighborhood kids did not come out to play. The youth minister, Jefferson brought about 20 teens from the church. We spend the day playing indoor and outdoor games. Most everyone got wet, but it was a great time. The language barrier is difficult but everyone is finding ways to work around it. Gestures and a lot of laughing. Several of us went to the grocery store to do the daily shopping. After our evening meal we heard several children outside and our teens rushed out to meet with them. Today looks as if it will be a fine day for the neighborhood kids to meet our teens. The youth from the church will be back to work with us. Everyone is so excited to serve where ever they can.

Ecamp Returns today

And I thought being in the mountains of New Mexico was hard to get information out, but Hawkins Texas seems to be held hostage by the communication airwaves. (or by some extraterresterial.)

Next week - we WILL have more pictures and stories, but until then, come join us today at 4:30 as the campers and staff return. Awards will be presented and the video will be shown. The buses are alittle ahead of schedule, so see you early!

E-Camp - News from the Galaxy

Ecamp 2009 update:
Stardate: Monday, July 13...We have entered into the Brookhaven galaxy of East Texas. The 126 campers and 36 staff members of the Starship Encounter have embarked on a journey to seek out how Jesus has encountered others from His word, in our lives and us this week at camp.
Sunday, we got off to a great start to this mission as we all have a better understanding of how Jesus had and still has "Close Encounters" with people on a daily basis.
Today (Monday), we are discovering Jesus' presence here on earth on in our lives.
Jeremy and the Ecamp band has been leading us all into the presence of God with some incredible worship experiences.
So far the pool & swim pond was warm, but a welcome refreshing time this afternoon.
This evening Hoss Ridgeway (comedian) will entertain us with imitations of Chris Farley and funny stories from his "husky"past.
Captain Hollingsworth & Fraze

Patrick Mead at SYS

Tonight was Richland Hill's opportunity to host the area teens at Summer Youth Series (SYS). Patrick Mead (from Scotland, via Detroit) was our speaker following Thomas Aduddell's leading of some mighty worship songs. Yep - just like we remembered SYS - so neat to be with so many people who all love the Lord.



Patrick spoke on "Community" - seems like we are really trying to be just that - a community. The one thing teens want to see is acceptance - where walls (between schools, skin color, economic status, age, looks, etc) all come down and they can be themselves - who God made them to be. This is what community really is - accepting others, loving others, not judging others and forgiving others. Thank you Patrick for helping us remember that. I'll especially remember the $15 principle every time I go to a car wash. :)