Chattanooga Team Presentation

Please join us Sunday 7/19/14 at 5:30 pm as we report back at Calvary PCA church in Raleigh, about the mighty things God did while we were in Chattanooga.  We once again want to thank everyone for their support, and we look forward to testifying to God's amazing works tomorrow night.

Saturday: Safely Home

We arrived back in Raleigh this evening around 7:45.  God has been good and provided us a safe and uneventful trip home!  We are thankful for the opportunity we have had to serve the people of Chattanooga.  We will have a presentation at Calvary PCA in Raleigh towards the end of July, and we will post that information here on the blog when that date has been decided on.  Your prayers and support have been much appreciated!  You are just as important as the team that was sent!

Friday: Fun In the Park

It's Friday!  This morning we had a good old southern breakfast. We have a team here this week from Ireland, so one of the interns decided they needed to experience grits.  Quite an experience it was, and we can't wait to tell you all about it when we get home.

After breakfast, all of the teams came over to First Presbyterian Church, where we have been sleeping, to have the last poverty lesson led by the people from Covenant.  We had a time of worship together, and then split into our individual teams to discuss how we can relate what we've learned with what we've done this week.  We have all enjoyed this series and it was great to be able to tie what we did this week into these lessons.  One thing that we have learned is to not go into a community looking for what we can fix, but to look for the gifts and resources that are present.

Before lunch, we all drove to a park and our team vehicles drove to the neighborhood, where we have had BBC, to pick up the kids.  We had four kids from this week come to the picnic.  They arrived at our park, and we had an opportunity to play with them before lunch.  After lunch, we had the opportunity to hold one last Bible lesson with the kids.  We sang some songs, reviewed their Bible verse for the week, and the gospel was presented one more time.  The kids were much more involved today and seemed to be attentive to the lesson.  Please pray that God will continue to nurture the message that has been shared this week.  After the lesson we played kickball with the kids and drip, drip, dunk (like duck, duck, goose, but with water).  The kids all had a blast and made new friends with kids from other BBCs.  We were also thankful for the amazing weather that God granted us today.

Here is what Austin wanted to share about today, and how God has been working in the kids:
"Today at the park all the teams, the one from Alabama, the one from Ireland, and ours, we played a friendly game of kickball with the kids from the Bible camps. The kids had a lot of fun playing with all the big kids; running around the bases while we all clapped and running into home plate. It was strange to think that just a few days earlier, some of these very same kids were too shy to do something as simple as sit on a tarp with us. This change in behavior really showed me how much God can change the comfort level in children, especially those who were raised in an environment that poses a constant threat."

This evening we had the night out on the town, which was a fun evening for all.  We had a wonderful dinner at The Terminal and then went for ice cream at Clumpies.  Coolidge park is right behind Clumpies, so we walked to the park where we had fun riding the carousel and walking the pedestrian bridge across the Tennessee river.

Tomorrow morning we will be aiming to leave here between 8-9 am.  Please pray for safety and good traveling conditions as we drive back to Raleigh tomorrow.  We are excited to see everyone when we get back, and tell more of how God has been working in Chattanooga this week!

Thursday: Checking off the To-do List

Look at that organization!

Thursday has come to an end, and we have painted the chapel and hallway, built bookshelves, organized a tool shed, installed more baseboards, and built a frame for a closet.  God has been good to us this week as He has allowed us to complete the projects given to us, smoothly.  The head of construction has said that he is thankful for the skilled labor and our attention to detail.  We are thankful that we have been able to be a blessing to him.

Lisa and Mike with AJ our construction leader

Nate W and Sarah worked hard all day to get the bookshelves installed, and they look great!  We finally finished sanding in the chapel and everyone pitched in to help paint.  In no time the walls were painted (Carolina blue, I must sadly admit), and they had us paint the hallway outside of the dental clinic as well.  Emily and Ashley Ha. worked hard at installing more baseboards for most of the morning.  Ashley Ho. and Megan were given the task of organizing the tool shed, and they did an amazing job!  At they end of the day they even stayed in the shed to receive incoming tools so their system would not be messed up on the first afternoon.  At the end of the day, Emily and Ashley Ha were a blessing as they stayed at the sink and wash paint supplies as different groups finished painting.

This evening we had a great time at BBC.  God was good and 13 kids attended!  We were convicted last night that we had not had a small group praying for God to send kids, like we had done the first day.  Today we organized a prayer group, and God answered many prayers throughout the evening.  Throughout the week we have presented the stories of creation and the fall.  Tonight the story was Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  Nate and Dr. Mike worked out a pH titration kit so some water would change from red to clear as an example of Christ cleansing our sins.  This analogy was well received by kids, and seemed to have been a good way to emphasize how Jesus sacrifice is enough to forgive all of our sins.

Crafts were held after the lesson where they painted a sunset on a plate and a cut-out of the three crosses was stapled to the plate.  Crafts this week have been one of the favorite things for the kids, and it has been a great time for us to interact more with them and get to know them.  Please pray for tomorrow, as we will be bringing the kids to a park to have lunch, games, and one more Bible lesson.  Pray that God will give us the words to say and that the children will be receptive.

After BBC some of the team went down town to watch the fireworks over the river.  God was good as he provided a great parking spot and a great place to sit and watch.  It was a perfect end to the day.

Thank you so much for the comments!  We love to hear from you and appreciate all the prayers and support!  Please continue to pray for our day with the kids tomorrow, and our preparations to return to Raleigh on Saturday.  We are also praying for those back in North Carolina, that God will keep you safe through the storm.

Wednesday: The To-do List is Multiplying

Morning worship

It's hump day, and tomorrow is our last day of construction, but our list of to-do's continues to grow.  Once again, we were able to start the day with worship with the kids from the camp, and from there we set right in to our projects.  The waiting room in the dentist clinic received a last coat of paint and baseboards were installed.  It is beginning to look like a waiting room!  All that's needed are plates for the sockets and a door to be installed.

Mudding and Sanding

The chapel was mudded and sanded some more, and should hopefully be ready to paint tomorrow.  We will finish sanding the spots that were re-mudded in the morning, and then hopefully put on a fresh coat of paint as soon as we can.  Dr. Mike helped install wood framing for a closet, and Nate W., Nate G., and Sarah worked on beginning to install bookshelves.

We also had the privilege of having visitors today!  Nate W's family, Bethany, the kids, Fran (Bethany's mother), and Sarah (Bethany's grandmother), came and ate lunch with us today.  Sarah had made the best pound cake, and they also brought cookies and chips to share!  We all enjoyed getting to see everybody.

Measuring for bookshelves

The list of possible jobs for tomorrow entail sanding and mudding, painting, building a bookcase, building a desk, building a closet, installing more baseboards, mowing, and stump removal.  Please pray that God will multiply our time, and that the most important jobs will become apparent.

This afternoon we finished our 4th lesson on poverty which has been led by a group from Covenant College.  We discussed how important it is to go into a community looking for assets, not needs.  It is more important to empower the community than just donate what they need.  All of the team members have agreed that this has been a very beneficial session to go through and has been one of the favorite things we have done all week.  If you are interested in learning more, feel free to check out the organization's website (http://www.chalmers.org/media/category/whh-small-group-experience).

Contraption to get the baseboard corners to stick

This evening we held our BBC again in the Hispanic neighborhood, and we had 4 children attend.  Three of them are from the same family who is invested in a church in the area.  Please pray for the kids that their knowledge of Christ becomes more than just mental knowledge of the facts and answers to the questions.  Please also pray that we reach more kids in the neighborhood tomorrow.

Tonight, Ashley Ha. and Emily wanted to let you know what they have learned so far this week, and how God has been speaking to them.

Delivering the Bible story

Ashley: "Today I learned the wonderful skill of base boarding, through this, the Lord has taught me to fight my OCD attitude.. haha. After much hard work and meeting new interns, I've noticed that the Lord has placed so many servant leaders in the Hope Building. I see it is very important to connect with fellow workers.  They definitely keep me encouraged, and have kept me energized through the long day. After work was done and we arrived at East Lake, the Lord started working in my heart. I was able to connect with the three kids there, especially the cutest little boy with the biggest smile. We sang Spanish songs together and it was so great to be able to break the communication boundary with just a simple song. Praise the Lord for Music!"

Emily: "Wednesday is the middle of the week, and therefore I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past few days. The past few days I have learned some skills about new types of indoor construction. This was super exciting as I am always wanting to learn about building things! This trip is super different than the past couple trips I have been on, but hey, God is using this special experience to teach each and every one of us something new. I am learning patience with children, supplies, baseboarding (oh goodness...the fun in this job). I am happy to say that while reflecting on this week so far, I am excited that I have learned new skills as well as seen a brand new college I did not know existed!! God has given me opportunities to learn construction, school, future, and even a couple really interesting lectures on poverty and history as well. There are so many things on this trip I did not expect, but I can see that it is a good learning experience. I was one of the last people to decide to go on this trip, but I really felt God pulling at my heart to come along. So far, I am really glad I trusted Him and am having this wonderful experience. :)"

Crafts

Thank you for all your prayers back home!  You are just as important as the team that has gone.  Please pray for joyful attitudes (even though we are lacking on some sleep), and pray that we will be a blessing to those we work with.  We also love reading any comments that you may have!

Tuesday: Learning to Build Toothpick Houses

Mudding and taping

We began this morning worshiping with some of the HFIC camp kids.  This has been a good way to start each day before construction begins, and a great way to start the day focused on God.  After worship we started in on our constructions projects.  We continued to mud and sand the chapel, where Nate G., Ashley Ha., Anna, and Ginger have become quite proficient at mudding uneven surfaces.  Hopefully, that room will be ready to paint by tomorrow afternoon.

Many hands make light work!

The dental office waiting room was sanded this morning and received a fresh coat of paint after lunch.  Austin, Ashley Ho., and Sarah have particularly put a lot of effort into this room, and it will receive a 2nd coat of paint in the morning.  Megan and Emily also had the opportunity to learn how to install base boards, and are now the official baseboard installing team.

Tom and Mike helped head up different projects today while Lisa and Nate W. worked on getting needed supplies for the projects.  Through all of our work this week, we are learning to build "toothpick houses" (an analogy from our poverty lesson yesterday, to be explained when we hold our report at Calvary in late July).

Installing baseboards

After construction, we had the opportunity to visit the gardens behind the HFIC facility.  Joel, who is in charge, gave us a history of American food production.  Three days a week, kids from the camp come and help him tend the garden.  The garden contains flowers, vegetables, and herbs, as well as chickens and goats.  Some of the kids in the community also come every Saturday and they cook bean soup to provide to the local neighborhood.

HFIC garden entrance

After supper, we drove to a Hispanic neighborhood to hold our BBC.  When we arrived, there were no children, but by the end we had around 8 kids.  We sang some songs, helped them learn a Bible verse, taught them the story of creation (which Nate G. did a wonderful job of presenting), and then did crafts and had cookies and lemonade.  Nate W. also organized a prayer group at the beginning to pray for the kids and families in the neighborhood.

It has been wonderful to see how God plans things perfectly and today's BBC was no exception.  Tom, who grew up in Guatemala, had the opportunity to talk to the parents of some of the kids:

Crafts at BBC

"God orchestrated some unique circumstances in today's BBC. He also answered many of our prayers. Three or four Hispanic families attended our BBC today. All of them were from Guatemala where I grew up. This made it easy for me to invite two of these families to the BBC when we were walking through East Lake Park looking for children and families to invite. It also made them more comfortable interacting with our team. Note: all four families come from the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala which is in the highlands of Guatemala where they grow a lot of coffee and the average high temperature is in the 70's most of the year. It never gets in the 90's. Many of these families said they would come back tomorrow."

Please pray for the kids and that they will return tomorrow, and that their parents will come with them.  BBC today was a good opportunity to minister to not only the kids, but the parents as well.  Please also pray for safety and patience for the team as we minister through construction and BBC.

Monday's Theme: Mud, Tape, Sand, Repeat

Today we spent most of the day working on construction projects.  We are currently working at the Hope For the Inner City (HFIC) facilities mudding, taping, and sanding the walls of the chapel and dentist office waiting room.  The ministry hosts a dentist clinic for the public through a sliding scale system for anyone in the area without dental insurance.  The executive director shared a story of a woman who was missing her front teeth, and she was not able to find a job because of her appearance.  They were able to provide her with dental repair and dentures, and soon after the dental work she found full time employment.  This is a great service to the community, and they are hoping to have the clinic back open by July 11th.  Several team members also worked on removing a door frame, as well.

During the week, there is a camp that is hosted at the facility for kids in the community.  Megan and another girl had the opportunity to help prepare and serve food for the kids.  We also enjoyed getting to worship with them this morning before we started working.

Tomorrow we hope to sand what we mudded today and hopefully finish painting in the waiting area.  The dry-walling work in the chapel has been more involved, but we hope to be ready to paint by the end of tomorrow.  We have also start working on installing book shelves in an office.

This week there have been some young teenagers that have hung out with the groups and they helped us with our construction projects today.  Dr. Mike had the chance to work directly with some of these kids and this is what he had to say about one of them:
"Today we had the opportunity to work with some of the young men from the local community on our job site.  My team was assigned drywall in the chapel of HFIC headquarters.  The 2 primary guys helping us were KD and Trey (around 14 years of age) and have been given the opportunity to work with the teams at HFIC.  KD worked directly with me and went with us to Ace hardware to pick up necessary materials.  As we chatted, we asked him why he was involved with the ministry.  He said he wanted to be a better leader, because he was the middle brother in his family.  He volunteered the information that many of his brothers have been, or currently are, incarcerated.  He clearly demonstrates great potential for leadership as he matures, and the mentoring that he is able to get from men through the missions teams and staff at HFIC are a positive influence for him.  I look forward to seeing what God has in store for him down the road and appreciate the assistance he has given to our team."

After work, we went to the community where we will be hosting a BBC.  We spread out across the neighborhood and went door to door to invite kids to the BBC tomorrow evening.  Please be praying for the kids that we will be ministering to, and for us as we prepare to share God's love.

This evening, we visited Covenant College where we ate dinner, had our 3rd lesson on poverty, and had a short tour of the campus.  Covenant College has given us 4 short lessons and videos on poverty to discuss as a group.  This has been a very enlightening study that has shown us that material goods do not solve poverty, and that there are different times and ways to approach community needs based on the current situation of that community.

For tomorrow, please pray for safety for the team at worksites and in the neighborhood BBC.  Please also pray for understanding as how best to minister to the people we will come in contact with tomorrow.  Finally, pray for clarity and unity of directions from HFIC leaders as they direct us in construction and BBCs.

Sunday: Humble Servants and Changing Expectations

Our Sunday school teacher with Dr. Mike

This morning we had the opportunity to learn about the history of Hope for the Inner City ministry and New City Fellowship.  We learned about their cross-cultural mission and how they strive to reach their community.  This week we will be participating in this ministry through construction projects and back yard Bible clubs (BBC).

We worshiped at New City Fellowship, a cross-cultural church, which was a new experience for most of us.  We started off with a Sunday School service taught by a deacon in the church.  He spoke with the missions teams.  His message was about addressing the heart, not only of those we are serving, but also our own hearts as we serve.  For serving others, the solution may appear external while the root of the issue is about the condition and attitude of the heart.  While we are serving others, we can also put on the facade that we are diligent Christians serving the needy, while on the inside we are spiritually stagnant.

Coffee, food, and fellowship before the service

The worship service then started at 11am. The pastor reminded us that we cannot hide from God and we should not pretend that our sins are manageable. God often deals with our heart issues when we confess our sins and learn to hide ourselves in God, clinging to Him for help.

In the afternoon we had 2 sessions to prepare us for the week ahead:  one spiritual and one logistical.  In the logistical session we performed our day 1 BBC routine and was critiqued by one of the interns.  We were pleased to hear that he was impressed and felt that we were very well prepared for our BBC.  We then learned about our construction opportunities for the week.  Some of the opportunities for the week include landscaping, dry-walling, and potentially a handicap ramp.

The spiritual session allowed us to talk about what we want to see as end goals, what are barriers to those goals, and what is our current mindset.  The leader used the passage Romans 12:1-2 to provide a scriptural guide as to how we should be approaching this week.  Some of the goals that we set for the week was team unity, submission and contentment in the Lord, and applying what we learn so that we may improve outreach to the community around Calvary.  Some of the barriers we listed were to not be too high task oriented, that previous experience doesn't blind us from fully seeing our current ministry, and that we are not distracted by current personal issues.  Please be praying for us to achieve our goals and not be hindered by any barriers.

Throughout the week, we will be having a team member give their insight on the blog.  Here is a way that God has been working in Nate G. so far this week:
"This afternoon the head of the kitchen, William, came and talked to me. He asked for any prayer requests I might have, and my last one was for strength in the Jesus. He told me that he won't pray for that, and that he will instead pray for me to be submissive and content. That blew me away and changed my perspective on my relationship with the Lord and how I'm living my life as a Christian. God has a plan, and instead of preparing for any future battles I should be submitting to his will and following the path he has laid out for me."

Please continue to pray for us.  Tomorrow we be starting construction, and we will be canvasing the neighborhood that we will start BBC in on Tuesday.  Please pray for God to allow us to be a light in the community, and for Him to already be working in the hearts of everyone we come in contact with this week.

We've arrived!

We safely arrived in Chattanooga around 6pm tonight after having a quiet and uneventful trip.  We met some of the interns that will be in charge of different events this week and have settled into the church for the night.  Dinner involved a night on the town at Five Guys and Lupi's pizza.  Some then walked down to the Tennessee River, and we all enjoyed the sights around the Chattanooga Aquarium.  Tomorrow will involve worship at New City Fellowship and lots of training and preparation for our upcoming week.

Please pray for flexibility and cheerful attitudes as we embark on a week of some uncertainty, and pray for rest for the team so we will be fresh for the week ahead.  We look forward to telling you about what God is doing in Chattanooga, and we would love to hear from you in the comments!

Hope For the Inner City: Chattanooga, TN

This year our team is headed to Chattanooga, TN.  We will be working with the PCA church New City Fellowship and their outreach ministry:  Hope for the Inner City (http://hope4theinnercity.org/).  Our team will be serving the community by being involved in construction projects during the day and leading a backyard Bible club (BBC) in the evenings.  Since we have several team members fluent in Spanish, we will be holding our BBC in a Hispanic community.

Please be praying for us as we tie up last minute details, gather supplies, and prepare our hearts to show God's love to the people of Chattanooga.  Also, please pray for safe travels on Saturday while we drive to Chattanooga.

We thank you for your support, and we will try to keep this blog updated every night.  As always, we love to hear from you in the comments section of the blog.