Good Morning!
Our team would like to thank you for your prayers yesterday as we traveled to Joplin yesterday. The drive went well and we arrived safely. The students were great! The journey took 13 hours and they were amazing.
It is great to see how we are getting to know each other already and gelling as a team. Thank you Lord for your plan! For bringing us together. The reason we are here is because of you! You saw fit to choose us to be here, to work together and to be here for each other.
Last evening after we arrived at the Abundant Life Volunteer Village we watched a National Geographic video of what it was like on May 22, 2011. How moving it was to hear from the different people, to hear from their perspective.
The gentleman who showed us the video explained how it was for him that day. Where he and his wife were and how painful it was. He said it took a year and a half before he could watch the video. How painful it still must be. But in his voice I heard hope. Even on the day as he and his wife prayed while the tornado was around them. God did provide for them. Many lost their lives and many lost their homes. Some would ask where was God that day. But we know He was here, He was crying with them, He was sending their friends and neighbors who were affected to help each other. His Spirit was here.
I never believe in coincidence. I believe in God's plan. We are staying at the Abundant Life Volunteer Village. The devotional that I have been reading this year is titled "Abundant Life Day Book". My devotional yesterday was titled "I Am Worthy of Your Trust in the Worst Times."
What a reminder for me and for our team as we minister to Joplin. Part of our reason for coming to Joplin is to help with the physical needs of the people we will serve but also we are hear to listen to them and their stories.
Hopefully we will be able to give them hope? God has not forgotten them, He has sent so many before us and He has sent us. We would not be here if it was not for the Lord working in our lives. We are here to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
In the devotional for yesterday the author reminded me that "My great blessing to you is that no matter what happens, even when the worst happens, you have the knowledge and confidence that you belong to a God who can be trusted with even this. Eventhough you don't know what I am doing, you can believe that I know what I'm doing. Even though you may not understand how anything good can come out of what your're experiencing, you can believe that I understand how I am using all of this for your good.
This is a good reminder for each of us as we journey through life.
As a team our devotional for today is focusing on "Worship Only God".
Please pray for us as we learn more about why we should Worship Only God, and as we Woship this morning with the Abundant Life Church Family, as we go out with the lead construction manager to find out how and where we will serve. Pray for the families that we will be serving that we may be a blessing to them.
Thank you for your prayers!
If you have any questions about World Renew please visit the World Renew - Disaster Response Service web page from the link on my web page. Servingdrs.blogspot.com
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Crossroads -- Joplin, MO
Good Afternoon!
For the next week I will have the privilege of serving along side the Crossroads youth group, their leaders and several adults from Corinth Reformed Church. This will be the first joint mission trip for Corinth with World Renew in Grand Rapids. World Renew and Abundant Life located in Joplin, MO have been partners sending mission trips before.
Our missions pastor and youth leaders began to talk about the possibility of coordinating a trip about a year ago. It is so exciting to be able to join the 14 crossroad youth and the 9 adults to serve along side the Joplin Community.
Five years ago this past May 22nd an EF5 tornado struck Joplin. There were 158 lives lost, 1150 people were injured, winds were over 200 mile per hour, and as of this year about 2.95 billion in damages have been spent. With such a catastrophic tornado there are still many people who are still not back in their home. It takes a long time to rebuild a community.
Saturday morning we will begin our journey to Joplin, MO. Please pray for us as we travel that all will go well, that we will have time to get to know each other, that we will be safe.
Our prayer guide for the first few days Bible reading is from Phillippians 2: 2 - 5. "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."
Please pray for us as we travel: that we will gel as a team, that we will see His purpose for our trip. That we will be able to share encouragement, unity, comfort, love, tenderness, compassion, joy, and purpose to the families we serve and to each other.
May we remember that Christ is the reason we are going to serve and that we are going to lift up the families and the community leaders who have been working for the last five years. Please pray that each person we come in contact with with see the love of Christ through our words and our actions.
If you feel so inclined please check our the World Renew - Disaster Response Link on the side of my blog or go to: http://www.worldrenew.net/domestic-disaster-0
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
For the next week I will have the privilege of serving along side the Crossroads youth group, their leaders and several adults from Corinth Reformed Church. This will be the first joint mission trip for Corinth with World Renew in Grand Rapids. World Renew and Abundant Life located in Joplin, MO have been partners sending mission trips before.
Our missions pastor and youth leaders began to talk about the possibility of coordinating a trip about a year ago. It is so exciting to be able to join the 14 crossroad youth and the 9 adults to serve along side the Joplin Community.
Five years ago this past May 22nd an EF5 tornado struck Joplin. There were 158 lives lost, 1150 people were injured, winds were over 200 mile per hour, and as of this year about 2.95 billion in damages have been spent. With such a catastrophic tornado there are still many people who are still not back in their home. It takes a long time to rebuild a community.
Saturday morning we will begin our journey to Joplin, MO. Please pray for us as we travel that all will go well, that we will have time to get to know each other, that we will be safe.
Our prayer guide for the first few days Bible reading is from Phillippians 2: 2 - 5. "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."
Please pray for us as we travel: that we will gel as a team, that we will see His purpose for our trip. That we will be able to share encouragement, unity, comfort, love, tenderness, compassion, joy, and purpose to the families we serve and to each other.
May we remember that Christ is the reason we are going to serve and that we are going to lift up the families and the community leaders who have been working for the last five years. Please pray that each person we come in contact with with see the love of Christ through our words and our actions.
If you feel so inclined please check our the World Renew - Disaster Response Link on the side of my blog or go to: http://www.worldrenew.net/domestic-disaster-0
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
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