Day Three
What a day!! We started off in the morning at Old St. Paul. We had about 8 kids today, and we played games, sang songs, learned a Bible story, and did crafts with them. They were all very active and excited to see us. Some of the team stayed at the church and worked with the kids, while the others went out into the neighborhood and passed out flyers for the summer program. Hopefully the word will continue to spread so more kids can share in the experience. A brief word on what exactly that experience is: Old St. Paul is sponsoring a program for kids with the goal of teaching them respect for themselves and others, basic Bible stories, and other skills that will let them know that they have other options and that they have the potential to truly be somebody and make a difference in their community. This program is run by several church members and will last throughout the summer. Back to our day, though. The whole team did an amazing job and really did make the church proud. We left Old St. Paul around 2:00 and made our way to Uptown Baptist Church where we helped them with their Soup Kitchen ministry. Our jobs included showing the guests to their seats, serving the meals, pouring lemonade, cleaning dishes, and just talking to the guests. It was an eye-opening experiene for everyone involved. For me personally, speaking to the guests and leaning some of their histories helped me embrace the scripture that speaks of God looking past outward appearances and looking at the heart. I was truly blessed by the folks that I spoke to, and I know others were as well. Once again, the whole team did a great job and made the church proud. They worked hard and did whatever was asked of them, even if it was a little bit out of their comfort zone. We also enjoyed some ice cream at a famous Chicago ice cream parlor called Margie’s. Tomorrow we will be back at Old St. Paul working with the kids. The pictures I included are of Rev. Jakes right after we gave them the communion table, and of the kids at VBS today. Hopefully more will come later in the week. A note to all concerned parties: Everyone is safe, healthy, and doing well!! I’m going to head to bed now, I’m really exhausted from all the day’s work! More to come tomorrow.
Day Two
Hey everybody! Today was our first day in the city, and we attended Sunday School and church at the Old St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, where we will be working this week. My dad taught an impromptu Sunday School lesson, which worked out great. He also preached the Sunday service, and did an AMAZING job!!! The highlight for most of us, however, was when we gave the church the communion table that John built. The appreciation that Pastor Jakes and the congregation showed was absolutely amazing. It was so humbling and amazing to be able to see the reactions of the congregation. They were overjoyed and so grateful. We stayed after services for a lunch of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, salad, and desserts. Then, we were given a brief orientation of what we’re going to be doing this week, and what we learned is that we’ll probably figure it all out tomorrow. Also, tomorrow night, we will be working in a soup kitchen at Uptown Baptist Church. We did have one interesting detour down what started out a road and ended up an alley on our way back to the hotel, but we were all safe and sound, as were the vans. Tonight we enjoyed a dinner of Chicago style pizza and met with the Youth on Mission representatives. Well, I think I’ve gone on long enough for one evening, I’m going to go join everyone else by the pool!! I’ll put some pictures of tomorrow, hopefully!! A note for all the parents, grandparents, and other concerned parties: everyone is safe and sound! More to come!
Day One
Hello everybody! We’ve had a great first day, and arrived at our hotel safely at about 9:30. We pulled out of church at about 9:30 this morning, and stopped in Pacific, MO (just outside St. Louis) for lunch. The trip was smooth, and we stopped again at a town in Illinois (can’t remember the name) for dinner. Another stop along the way was Springfield, IL at Lincoln’s Tomb. We got to stretch our legs and experienced a great historical sight, all in one stop! We’re all crashing at the hotel now, and resting from a long day on the road. Tomorrow, we’re getting started at about 8:30 and going to church at Old St. Paul (the church we’ll be working with this week). Well, I’m pretty tired, so I’m going to call it a night. A note for all the parents, grandparents, and other concerned parties: everyone is safe and sound! More to come throughout the week!
Autumn
Convoy of Hope-Make a Difference Day
The Ash Grove Ministerial Alliance and the Tri-County Social Ministry is colloborating with Convoy of Hope for an outreach event. This event will be held on October 27, from 10:00 AM til 2:00 PM at the Ash Grove City Park. With this event, we are hoping to reach out to northwest Greene, east Dade, east Lawrence, and southern polk county. This even will reach the communities of, but not limited to Ash Grove, Walnut Grove, Willard, Bois D’ Arc, Dadveville, Everton, and Halltown. Below are some of the services and opportunities that will be available.
KIDS ZONE: Enternainment, object lessons, prizes and a play area with large inflatable games. HEALTH FAIR: Citizens Memorial Hospital will be providing a basic services such as blood pressure, hearing and vision tests. FOOD: Lunch, free of charge, will be provided to all who attend. GORCERIES: Every adult that attends will be given a bag of groceries. ENTERTAINMENT: There will be a stage for local entertainment. COMMUNITY SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: There will be a number of service organizations available for questions and information. EXIT TENT: As each family leaves the event, they will have the opportunity to have a volunteer pray for any needs they may have. MORE: We are still working on services and opportunities.
HOW CAN YOU HELP? We will need around 200 volunteers to make this event a success! Prayer is vital. Please pray for lives to be touched by the grace and mercy of God. Set Up: We will be setting up tents and equipment on Thursday, October 25, and Friday October 26. For exact times and locations please call the numbers at the bottom of this note, or e-mail mitch@centerbaptistchurch.org.
Above All Else: Please pray for this event and for all for this four county region who will attend and participate!
If you have any questions please call Pastor Mitch Fisher at 751-3490 or Pastor Don Miller at 751-3490. You can also e-mail Pastor Mitch at mitch@centerbaptistchurch.org.
Back Home
Three days have now passed since we completed the 700 mile trip home from New Orleans. There are still a few details to take care of, but for the most part, everything is done. With that said, I would like to spend a little time reflecting on lessons I learned and thoughts I have concerning the trip.
1. First, I want to thank each person who gave up a week of their time to go and help the Legaux family. I was honored to work beside each of you.
2. Friendships are one of God’s blessings for which I am very grateful. This was evident in two areas. First, for those of us who traveled, we share experiences that no one else will have, and that will give us a bond. You really get to know one another traveling together over the period of a week, and I am thankful for the opportunity. Second, we were able to further develop our relationship with the Legaux family as well as the elderly lady who lives across the street from Robin and Karen. We may not see them again, but we are forever connected because of the two weeks over the last two years we spent with them.
3. When everyone works together, you can accomplish a lot. We were able to help this family in the process of being able to get back into their home. It is an amazing site to see so much damage two years after the hurricane, and I am thankful we were able to make a difference.
4. Doing something ‘little’ is significant. In the total picture of the damage left by Katrina, one house may not seem like lot, but in God’s eyes, and for the one neighborhood, our work was significant.
5. God does provide for our needs. Taking 26 people 700 miles away for seven days is costly. I never fully relax until everyone is home and the bills are all paid. As always, God provided enough and more to meet our needs and to see us home safely.
6. Needing some help is something everyone can relate to. Whether it be Katrina, an ice storm, a fire, or something else, we all need one another. Let us never underestimate the blessing of helping our ‘neighbor’, or receiving help from our ‘neighbor.’ It could be the start of a long friendship.
7. Doing something like going to New Orleans, 700 miles from home, to help a family with their home, opens our eyes to the needs in our our neighborhood. What we did for the Legauxs we can do for many in our are community. I am thankful we continually seek ways to reach our own neighborhood.
Well, I need to close this out, even though there is much more I could say. I close by thanking Autumn for writing most of the daily entries. She is better at making sense late at night. I also thank the church for your support. Without it we would not have been able to go.
Thanks again to all who went and may God bless each of you.
Mitch
Center Baptist Church
5124 N. Farm Road 43
Ash Grove, MO 65604
Office (417)-751-3490
Pastor Mitch Fisher
