 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
So as I sit here this early, early Saturday morning, after just an amazing time of communion and feet washing last night with Pastor Rob and Michelle, I feel I need to just make one thing clear in case it hasn't been obvious enough in the rest of our blog. This trip has been truly awesome. And I'm not just saying that in the cliche sense of "oh yea, it was awesome, God did awesome things, woo hoo." No, I truly mea that God has shown up and impacted our lives in ways that even I couldn't have imagined this week. Praise God for the miracle He worked in this town, through this team, and pray that this impact is rooted deep inside everyone involved, whether from Seattle or Vinton! Thank you so much for all your prayers. If I don't get a chance to post in Dallas, we'll see some of you Sunday night.
Love and God Bless,
Nathan
What a day, what a day. Here we are after the last evening on the last full day here in Vinton. God has worked so amazing this week. I type this just humbly amazed at how awesome He is, and how much He has blessed our ministry this week. I praise Him for the way He has touched our team and touched so many hearts in Vinton!
Our team finished so well today. VBS was just full of excitement and fun, praising God for the decisions yesterday, and even a special dance featuring Daniel, myself, Pastor Rob, Peter, and Andrew (local guy, twin of Thomas). Ha, like I said, it was a lot of fun. We were treated to Little Caesar's pizza for lunch (we have been so blessed and spoiled this week!). Then, we ended up having the afternoon to just hang out with the Crossroads youth and relax, which was really needed I believe to prepare for this evening. Michelle and the crew made a huge slip and slide outside the church, which provided a lot of entertainment for some, while others sat in here, read, and even slept.
This evening came, and first we had a VBS celebration for parents. We had half the team leave a little early to be at the park, and the others joined soon. It was pretty sweet because we had about 8 students who had attended both, so we saw them at the church, and then soon at the park. It was amazing to see, as the park was filled again (maybe slightly less, but still at least 45ish local people there). We didn't have any big organized games as we have had all week long. Instead, people seemed content just sort of hangin out, talking, kicking a soccer ball around or shooting baskets, but yea, just enjoying the fellowship.
Every member of our team really went after it and finished well tonight! So many more conversations were had, praise God! Thomas and Morgan shared their testimonies and did amazing jobs as well. It's been awesome seeing the Crossroads students slowly become more and more a part of our team and catching the vision for reaching others for Christ! Praise God, and pray that God would speak to the hearts of all of the Crossroads students, so that they might be changed forever!
We're closing our family time tonight with communion led by Pastor Rob. We probably have around 8 students from Crossroads staying with us tonight. Just pray that God would really keep this from being just an experience to students. Pray that it would be a turning point in their lives that changes them forever, both Seattle and Vinton students alike! Finally, pray for travel tomorrow, as we're leaving at 7:30 in the morning. Pray for Tracy and I and that we are able to stay alert and everyone stays safe.
Thank you so much for praying! God bless!
Nathan
Hey Prayer Warriors,
Wow, so here we are Friday morning. I continue to be amazed with how our students wake up feeling so tired (we've had to get up at 7 every morning due to the start of VBS), but as soon as the kids start showing up, they start going after it! Pray for us today, as we look to finish strong!
Also, please be in prayer for Morgan and Thomas! I talked with Thomas this morning about sharing his testimony tonight. At first, he had a 'no way' attitude and said he'd be too nervous and speaking isn't his thing. I just challenged him with what he thought was more important...5 minutes of being uncomfortable or his friends going to hell for eternity? He had that look like "dang...you're right", and said he's think about it. 30 minutes later I asked him again and he said he'd do it! Praise God, as Thomas is known by his Crossroads friends in youth group as a 'follower' and never really having stood up for his faith. Well tonight will be his night, and we all need to be praying for him!!!
I also want to take this time to update you on some of the other students on the team who I haven't mentioned much, as they are so vital to this team, and everyone needs to know that.
Claire - She has probably done a little bit of everything on this trip. She's helped with the little kids at VBS, done outreach at the pool and park, and sang at worship every day. She's had the opportunity to talk with a local teen named Tre a few times along with Hannah and Alec. Pray for her tonight that she will finish strong despite feeling tired like the rest of us.
Peter - Peter has shined with Daniel this week at VBS during all the different skits and personalities that he's taken on. He's been a great source of up front leadership when asked, but has also been able to be a great encourager in support of others from the background when appropriate. Last night he had a great conversation with a local Crossroads student named Sara and was able to encourage her greatly.
Talia - I think Talia's testimony has lingered with a lot of people this week from Tuesday. She kept saying that she knew God is real in her life because of how she's been able to carry on through all the events in her life. And it's evident that God is really working through her as she continues to just love and care for the kids and students of Vinton.
Tim - Tim came into this trip really praying that God would point him to a person to just connect with, pray for, and develop a friendship that would last beyond this week. Well, I'm pretty sure he's developed a few of those as he's bonded and been a great encouragement to a few of the Crossroads students like Kat and Morgan. His confidence in playing worship continues to grow every night, and I'm so excited to see how God uses this trip in Tim's life in the year ahead.
Ally - I continue to be impressed with Ally's wide range of skills. You put a power tool in this guy's hands, and he just lights up. He was a great help to Pastor Rob and Doc as they put the deck together at Michelle's. However, not only has he had a great servant attitude this week, he's also been bold in sharing with the kids and teens here in Vinton. He had a conversation with Eric, a teenage basketball player, on Wednesday, which ended with Eric putting his faith in Christ. Ally's not afraid to just go for it, pray that he continues to walk in his faith with boldness!
Holly - I believe last night was a critical moment in Holly's life. She shared her testimony with everyone, and then had three very significant conversations with Vinton teens afterwards. She was able to be a great source of encouragement and a witness for Christ. Last night at family time she shared her excitement to go home and once again share Christ with her friends. Pray that God keeps that fire alive in her following this trip.
Carson - I've appreciated everyone praying for Carson this week. The sickness he felt the one day really knocked him back for the week, making the every day tiredness seem even worse. However, he has still been willing to serve and do work throughout the days here. Pray for him as he's struggled to really connect with any of the teens here in Vinton and reach out to them. However, last night he did get bold and go talk to a few of the teens skating in the skate park. It wasn't a 'lot of talking' as he put it, but it was still more effort than he felt he had put towards outreach than the rest of the week. Pray that Carson would feel and respond to God's call tonight to talk with some of the teens in Vinton.
Tiffany - This young lady has just been able to show her passion for God and Christ this entire week. It started at church on Sunday and just hasn't stopped. Last night at family time, she made me laugh with how gleeful she was in response to God's work last night through her and the entire team! She has spoken with several kids and teens the last few days throughout the day, and God has used her to bring new people into His Kingdom!
Jenni - Jenni has been so great and such a servant working with the pre-K's during VBS. She has been another one who has just done a great job looking to connect with the Crossroads students who might not enjoy playing all the games at the park each night. Continue to pray for her that she might seek out conversations with those students and challenge them to be more bold in their faith as she seeks to do the same!
Thanks for all your prayers! We really appreciate it. The two big things to pray for today in addition to finishing strong is first, we have a few feeling the effects of sore throats and possibly small colds. Second, pray for Morgan and Thomas and their testimonies tonight!
God Bless,
Nathan
Hey y'all!
Tonight I want to share what happened at the field, VBS, and what's been going on in my own life. Just so you all know where I come from, my mom is a christian and my dad isn't. I accepted Christ at the age of 13, but didn't start living out my faith until I turned 15. Since then God has brought me a long way, but this past year has been the hardest year of my life. With school, friends, family, and living in a new town, God really challenged me and I felt completely lost. I felt that God wasn't there, that he wasn't working in me, and that he wasn't working through me. Tonight that all changed.
My day started out rough. I woke up tired with allergy problems, and then we had VBS where I was overloaded with 11 kids in our group. During VBS, Peter, Tiffany, Daniel, and Pastor Rob shared the gospel story with each student, and I had three girls come talk to me about it, along with two guys. God worked through Daniel to speak to those guys, and every single one of them accepted Christ as their Lord and personal Savior.
Throughout the rest of the day, i just felt kind of lousy, and when we got to the feild i felt completely useless. If you know me, you'll know I'm a terrible basketball player, and we had almost twenty kids just playing basketball. There was also kickball that we had going, but I didn't feel like running. I hung around, prayed silently in my head for Ally, Micah, Daniel, Holly and Tiffany, who were all used on the feild tonight. I got to talk a little with Pastor Rob, but mainly just handed out waters.
For the past four days I have been praying for a boy named EJ who's about 11. I first met him at the field, but then he started coming to VBS. I noticed that he was always trying to act hard and wouldn't give anyone his respect. Tonight that changed. During worship at the field EJ started crying. Tiffany asked him if he wanted to talk and he said yes. He told her that his daddy doesn't care about him, and she explained that we have a heavenly father who loves and cares about him. He started to cry more, and we found out that he had accepted Christ as his personal savior during VBS today, but wouldn't tell anyone. Ally also got to talk to him, and after worship I told him I was praying for him, and he started to cry again.
After that I went to Tiffany and she told me everything that had happened and i just started crying. God truly worked in my heart, and I felt his presence out on the field tonight for the first time in a year. I saw more kids get excited about Christ tonight just for playing some games with them, then i ever have. I'm so thankful for all your prayers, and God is doing amazing things, not only in my life, but in the lives of the people we have met, and the lives of every person on our team. Praise God tonight for the amazing work he has done, and I ask that you would pray for our team to finish out strong and that God would continue to work in the hearts of these kids.
God bless,
Stephanie Schlieps
Wow! That's all I really can say in the presence of a God who is so amazing and so present with this team right now. If you thought Stephanie's story was amazing, just think..there are probably close to 10 more stories out there right now amidst the team just as impactful! I'd have them all write them out on here...but that would take too much time and this team so needs sleep! Besides...this way it puts it all on you, our loyal, prayer supporters to ask the kids themselves for their stories when we return (don't worry, I'll be giving them a talk about the need to share their stories back home...even with parents!)!
Today I was a little worried about the energy of the team. We had a few that were dragging during certain times of the day...but something I've learned through this week is I have a pretty high standard for our students, so I tend to notice those things more. The truth is they still did all the work they were asked, and the very little complaining that ever happened occurred in private, not in front of the people we have been witnessing to.
And as Stephanie reported, God has used this team so much today despite its occassional tiredness. VBS was truly amazing, and several young kids came to know Christ. Peter and Daniel did a great job working with Pastor Rob during the "Bible Bayou" lessons each grade attends separately. Several kids came to know Christ during that. Later, during the closing rally, Tiffany did an awesome job presenting the Gospel again with some visual help from Micah. A few more students met with leaders and accepted Christ as a result from that! Praise God for displaying His glory this morning!
We have finished the deck and the yard at Michelle's! The students worked hard (despite some being tired as I said) and the place looks so night and day compared to where it was on Monday. Michelle is so excited and it's awesome that we were able to bless someone who is so selfless with how she and her husband serve others! The rest of the afternoon saw the other half get naps, while the first half went to the pool. It was great hanging out with some familiar faces there at the pool, something that has become another routine and avenue for outreach this week!
Then (after another amazing dinner by the way...we've been so spoiled), we went to the park where God just displayed His power to all of us. It started a little slow, as while games were going on, it was real spread out (as spread out as 60ish people can be). The first attempt to reign people in with popsicles was pretty unsuccessful, something I hadn't really been faced with before. So...we decided to try again in a half hour when it was darker. This time, we had more success. However, pray for the basketball players who Daniel has been able to play with, as they showed no interest to want to really talk to any of us at all tonight. Just pray that God would still just use our love and actions speak to them even if we don't verbally the rest of the week.
Anyways, when we did gather, Holly shared her testimony, and did a fantastic job. She even had three people come to her separately afterwards to talk with her about it. Pray for those conversations that occurred and that God would seal the work of Holly tonight. We enjoyed some worship, where other conversations took place during as well (see Stephanie's EJ story above). It's just so amazing to think about how so many people have been presented the Gospel this week, and that our students have led several to a relationship with Christ! People like EJ, Chris, Eric, Asia, and many others I can't name, have verbally expressed to us their new faith in Christ. Pray that God seals all of those!
Please pray for us tomorrow as we look to finish strong as a team tomorrow, our last full day in Vinton. Pray for conversations that still need to take place. Pray against Satan taking any foothold whatsoever in this team! Finally, pray for the Crossroads kids, as we're going to challenge them tomorrow to do much of the leading tomorrow at the park. Pray for Morgan, who will be sharing her testimony. I also want Thomas to, but still need to talk to him. He's very self-conscious about his 'image', so this would be a huge step if he decided to do it. Pray that God would truly touch his heart and convince him to do it!
Thank you so much for your prayers. This truly couldn't happen without them, so don't stop!
God Bless,
Nathan
Hey Everyone! Don't forget to read Hannah's blog from last night below if you haven't already.
One of the problems with blogging at night is it often seems like I can't say all I wish I could. There are so many things I could mention and details I could give about the job that all these students are doing. Well, I ended up with some time during VBS this morning, so I figured I might give some more details for everyone to know and be praying about.
Micah - So yesterday we were worried that Micah might be coming down with a case of pink eye. However, praise God that he woke up today with them a lot less red! Per his mom instructions, he's wearing his glasses this morning, and I bought him a bottole of Clear Eyes to hopefully help some, but keep praying. On a ministry side, Micah has been serving almost non-stop through this trip. He's helped out with little kids at VBS, helped build the deck at Michelle's, and been doing a great job with Jonathan, one of the local kids here that we're really investing in!
Sean - I think it's truly amazing how God has used Sean on this trip. A few months back I told Sean I wanted him to be my main worship guy for this week. At first and for quite a while, he was real nervous. However, through some encouraging, he stepped up and decided to do it. And God has rewarded that effort! Not only is Sean doing a great job leading worship, but Sean has also been able to talk and hang out a lot with some of the younger kids of Vinton who love having Sean 'teach them' guitar. It's awesome how God has used Sean's guitar gifts to impact this town.
Stephanie - This young lady has done an amazing job this week with her positive spirit. Last night, she sought out a conversation with Thomas, who's a guy in this Crossroads youth group that I believe could have an amazing impact if he just caught on fire for Christ! Keep praying for Thomas and for however God might use Stephanie in this.
Hannah - Not much more I can say about this girl, as you all already know she's told her testimony twice this week, and continues to just go after it each and every day at every moment. Last night I was literally driving back to the park with the ice cream, thinking "dang, I haven't asked anyone to tell their testimony tonight". Then I thought, I think God would like someone full of joy to speak on this day that had been not so joyful, and instantly, God put Hannah in my mind. She only had two minutes to prepare and only needed a little coaxing before stepping up and doing it!
Brian - Brian just looks all the time for ways to step up. He's sought out a few of the Vinton students to have a pretty purposeful relationship with. He's also worked on Jonathan quite a bit as Micah has. He has also been able to speak with Victoria, another Crossroads girl who's young and pretty new in her faith. Continue to pray for him as this trip has put him way out of his comfort zone, but he's doing it!
Daniel - Yesterday, Daniel met a local African American teen named Don, who loves basketball. In fact, most of the African American teens that we've had come to the park have done nothing but play basketball during 'game time'. Daniel noted how it took a while (aka, showing he has skills) before they really warmed up to him. But now he has several of the guys laughing and joking with him. Don is the one guy that has been placed on Daniel's heart, so pray for Daniel that his conversations with Don today and tomorrow would truly make an amazing difference in the name of God!
Alec - Alec has also been able to warm up some with the basketball players. The one guy that he is desiring to be intentional with is Gerard. He talked a little with him yesterday, but it didn't go too far (too interested in basketball). So pray for Alec and Gerard, that they might have opportunities to truly talk today and tomorrow. Pray for God to continue to give Alec confidence and boldness as this is also challenging him to be out of his element!
Kat - I know, most of you Seattle people are like "Who?" Katherine (Kat) is Pastor Rob's oldest daughter. She's going to be a junior this year. She has been with us non-stop nearly this entire week, spending the night with us each night since Monday. Kat is super solid in her faith, but this week has really opened her up to desiring to share that faith (much of the Crossroads group tends to hang out with just one another). Last night, Kat went up on her own to talk to a guy from town who was by himself. She noticed that at first it was somewhat awkward, but after a little bit he opened up and they were able to have a good conversation. Praise God for the way He has worked through us to influence this Crossroads youth group, and praise God for Kat's responding to His Spirit. Pray that she continues to do His work even after this week is over (although, the Crossroads youth have told us we're forbidden to talk about leaving this Saturday...it has to happen).
Well, I know that's not everybody, so we'll have to update more later. Thanks for your prayers. Please continue to pray for all of us. I'm so proud of this team...I can't even express how much so!
God bless,
Nathan
Hey Ya'll! [everyone's teaching us how to say this]
Well today was sure eventful. Last night Schlaud warned us about how the "high point" of the week and how it would be the hardest part of the week because of our lack of sleep and the off-guardness that comes from our buillt up confidence.
As some of you read, today after lunch we were informed of a suicide of MIchelle's neighbor. He left a wife and 2 kids in this world. I was one of the kids Schlaud mentioned who was in complete shock. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the troubled man. I pray that through all this grief and confusion that God will be seen. I don't believe it was a coincidence that we were here at the same time as the death of this man and I just hope that somehow we'll be able to help his mourning family.
Since there was going to be a lot of commotion in the neighborhood, we decided that it would be best to skip Michelle's backyard and go to the local pool to invite kids to the field later. Daniel, Ally, Alec, Sean, Micah, Tali, Holly, Stephanie, and I [along with a local kid named "Jonathan"] went to the pool. The girls, Sean, and Micah swam in the pool while the others played basketball in the inside (un-air conditioned) basketball court. We flipped [i can back flip] and dove in teh water but more importantly we were able to talk to some more local kids and invite them to the pool [they all came!!].
Tonight, after our delicious lasagna dinner [mom i'm bringing back the recipe!], we returned to teh field to find that the Vinton kids had already started a game of softball. We were very encouraged by this. the skate park was also turned into a basketball court as we were able to bring basketball hoops to it so that the local ballers could be entertained. It was an overall great night. I am very much encouraged by Daniel sharing his faith with a guy he was playing basketball with and all the kids that came to play with us. During snacks, Schlaud told me to come onto the bleachers and then he announced to everyone else that I would be sharing my testimony.
Thanks ya'll for reading my blurb but I have to go now cuz Schlaud's giving me t he stink eye haahaaa!
Serving HIm,
Hannah Sasaki 
Hey Everyone!
I wasn't giving Hannah the stink eye, but we are about to start family time. She did a great job summarizing our day though (and a great job sharing her testimony with only a two minute notice), so I'll be brief. God is simply amazing. That's all I can say. We had at least 50 locals at the park tonight! Our students were everywhere seeking relationships with the people, initiating conversations, and I can't wait for this family time report we're about to hear! God is so moving in our team, please keep praying. Pray for God to continue to use us for His glory. Pray for those conversations that took place today, that God would water seeds that were planted and seal any decisions that may have been made. Pray for conversations yet to be had in the next few days. Our kids are allowing God to use them, pray for stamina and endurance and that we keep our eyes set firmly on Him!!
And btw, we are so blessed for everyone who prayed for us today. Please continue to pray for that family. I'm not sure how much direct influence we'll have on the family, but we just pray that God would continue to use us to love and encourage anyone who will! It is so awesome to know the way the Church of Christ rallies around each other! Thank you all so much!
God Bless
Nathan
Prayer Partners...our morning came with high energy and great attitudes throughout VBS. However, as our afternoon has began, our world has been rocked. Just after lunch, while we were going over the details to possibly head over to Michelle's, Pastor Rob called to say that one of Michelle's neighbors, a young father of two in his 30's, was found dead. He committed suicide.
We have prayed as a team (including Vinton youth group members of course). We aren't going to do any work at Michelle's today, but instead we will spend an hour here 'hanging out'. Some students are coping well, others are turning it to focus even greater on God's work ahead, and others are just quiet. I ask you to pray for the town of Vinton. Pray for this family, that went from knowing they were having their house foreclosed today to now losing the father. Pray for Pastor Rob and Michelle, who while these people aren't Crossroads attenders, they do have an influence as everyone knows everyone in this small town. Finally, pray for our team...pray that God's Spirit will fill all of us so that we might do the work He desires us to do coming out of this, whatever that looks like!
God is our strength, our refuge, and He will carry us onward! Thanks for your prayers!
God Bless, Nathan
Hey Prayer Team! Sorry about the lateness of tonight's post. I had been finding time between showers and family time to post, but tonight ended up having a great conversation with Pastor Rob Tibbits. So this post is now coming at you after family time and actually after lights out, but I figured prayer was too important to not post just because the youth pastor is a little tired.
Today was truly amazing. I can't express enough how proud I am of our team of students that we have here. Their love, caring, and kindness has been evident to everyone we've met. We've slowly grown into our roles for VBS. Today, Peter was a star as he dressed up as Pharoah (imagine golden aluminum foil wrapped all around him, riding in a wheelchair with his slave Daniel pushing him everywhere). I'd post pictures, but we may have forgotten the appropriate cords, and haven't remembered to ask around as of yet. Anyways, so VBS was great, and we had a few of our students form great connections with a few kids in particular. Alec befriended one of the young boys who came, originally very quiet and non-participatory, but eventually started coming out of his shell.
We continue to do a great job at Michelle's. It's so great that we get to bless her and her husband after all the hospitality they've shown us. Micah and Ally went with Tracy and the Doc, as we call him (a close friend to Pastor Rob's), during VBS to work on the new deck after the old one was torn out yesterday. The rest of us went for just over an hour after lunch to continue to work on the yard around the deck, which had turned into a fern forest! Tomorrow we should finish the new deck...something that has been needed for five years! After the service project time, we all went to the pool. It was an interesting opportunity. We met several kids and played with them some. Invitations to the park later were also given, but none really seemed that interested. Still, it was both a blessing to us since we were so hot, and also a great chance for us to be outreaching at yet another place!
After an amazing dinner (fried catfish), we went to the park, expecting a similar night as last. However, God had something totally different and much more amazing in store. Many of the younger kids returned, but we ended up having several teens show up as well (including Covan). It was totally a God send (plus Pastor David had his share of influence as well), as many of the people who showed up we had never once ran into or invited. They had simply just heard about us being there. Totaly we probably had around 35 people besides our team down at the park tonight. Not all of them were playing any of the games we played, but we had our team spread out and I'm pretty sure we met everyone that was there. With our biggest crowd there to date, we had one of our youngest team members share as Talia shared her story with everyone. She talked about how real God has been to her for the past few years, as He has totally carried her through everything. She did an amazing job and had everyone's attention! Praise God!
Our family time was great tonight. Everyone shared some of the names they are praying for, and the total list was huge (again proof that our team is doing great at meeting people). We talked about the need to be bold and have spiritual conversations with the people we're outreaching to these next few days, as we only have 3 left! Please pray for us! Pray for boldness, God's hand through all of the conversations, and for the people of Vinton. Specifically, pray for these (there are several more, but it's dark, and I can't find my list) people:
VBS - Chris, Trinity, Destiny, EJ, Michael, Asia
Park - Covan, Gerard, Johnny, Thomas, Morgan, Leah, Tre
God is so amazing. We have three girls (Kat, Sara, and Lindsay) from the Crossroads youth group spending the night with us tonight. They have truly become part of our team. Praise God as Kat mentioned tonight at our family time that she has learned from our group this week to be more bold and reach out to the people from her town for Jesus now, rather than just avoid them. Tomorrow, we'll likely have a few more students stay with us, including Johnny (from above).
Along with all the stuff above to pray and praise God about, I ask for a few more things to pray for. Continue to pray for Carson. Praise God that he's feeling better, but I think being out of it periodically throughout the day was a discouragement/disconnect for him, however praise God that he still went out at the park tonight (which part of the park is a skate park) and met/talked with a few guys from the skate park, who later joined us.
Other side notes: Praise God that Sean, Tim, and Kat are doing a great job leading worship on guitar, with Holly and Claire often singing. Continue to pray for their confidence. Continue to pray that as our team is united, we would also look to challenge one another to new levels of boldness and relationship with Christ, at the same time we're challenging the people of Vinton. Finally, pray for rest for the whole team (including for this crazy guy writing this to y'all at 12:45 local time, just because I want you all to have something to read and pray for in the morning). We'll likely have part of the team come back to the church tomorrow afternoon after the service project for some mandatory nap time, but pray that students discpline themselves to rest properly.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers. They are so evident in the way God has been working. Pray that we continue to strive to serve Him better as we go into the second half of this trip!
God Bless,
Nathan
Hey prayer team! No comments on Daniel's post last night. If you haven't read it yet, make sure you scroll down and read it as well after this one. This morning, Carson woke up not feeling well. Actually, he woke up several times last night not feeling well (no throwing up, just needing water). He drank plenty of water through the night, but still is feeling down. I found a storage room with a futon in it to put him in during VBS. Our prayer is that after a few hours of resting he'll feel better. Please pray for him. He did a great job at the park last night teaching a few young boys how to shoot the caps off their water bottles :), so he would be missed if he had to sit out more parts of today.
Post more later. God Bless!
Nathan
Hey y'all this is Daniel
This trip has been an amazing experience and it's only been our first day canvasing the town. Even though my group talked to about 20 kids and only one showed up the other Pastor in the town, Pastor David showed up with his kids. David is such a cool man. He reaches out to the hood kids in Vinton and preaches to them about Jesus. I talked to him for about 30 minutes during worship today and I'm excited to get to know him further. He's on fire for God.
The people here are a blessing. Their hospitality is truely a gift. Pray for the kids that I talked to today that didn't show up and that more and more kids would show today. Pray that the testimony I shared today would touch the lives of those kids. Please also pray for strength and energy for us. Thank you for your support and prayers. I cannot explain to you guys the excitement I have right now. God is amazing.
God bless, Daniel
Hey Everyone! God is awesome and God has a plan. Those are the two thoughts I have running in my head right now as we prepare to have family time and end our night. Tonight at the park, we didn't have more than 2 or 3 teenagers come outside of the Crossroads youth group. However, we had about 9 or 10 younger kids come that Pastor David brought. It's truly awesome, because while that's not what we thought our nights at the park would look like, our students were totally ready to welcome those kids in with open arms and play games with them. Rather than be discouraged because the 'teen' outreach at the park hasn't been 'booming', we are so excited about the souls we do have the chance to minister to!
The other thought I had is our biggest opportunity for teen outreach could very well be the pool, rather than the park at night. So while we'll still be at the park every night, we will be turning the pool into another outreach opportunity in the afternoons. Whether that looks like all of us down there, or some of us each day, we shall see. Tomorrow we will all be going swimming at the pool after our service project time. The important thing for our team to remember and for everyone to pray for is that our team treats it truly as outreach, and not just 'playing' in a pool by ourselves.
Please continue to be in prayer for us. Praise God for the team's morale and excitement right now. Pray for those 9-10 young kids that Pastor David brought...that we might have an awesome influence on them this week. Pray for Covan, who didn't show up tonight as he had said earlier he would. Hopefully our ministry with him isn't done, but pray that no matter what, God would use the seed that has been planted in him last night.
Thank you so much for your prayers! They are so evident as God is truly working in the town of Vinton and through this team!
God Bless,
Nathan