We're Home

We arrived home this morning about 4AM! Happy July 4th to everyone. Thanks to Danny and no thanks to the GPS we arrived safe and sound.
God is amazing. We all have grown closer together and to God. Just wanted to check in and tell you we are home and thank you for praying and traveling with us! I will blog about our last day and post some more pics later tonight!
We love you guys!

Hard Work and Good Food

Today was another LONG, HOT work day at Ms. Jones' house. We conquered more painting, both inside and out, today. Outside we painted: some of the high spots on the house, the awnings, and the front porch. Inside we finished hanging up all the new wood-paneling and primed it so that it is ready to paint for tomorrow. We were also able to hang a few pieces of the new ceiling, which we found to be quite challenging. But we heard that we might get a nail gun to use tomorrow (the good Lord provides!), which should help speed things up a little. There was a lot of sweat lost on the job site today and all the kiddos did an outstanding job!! They continue to work hard for Ms. Jones and, of course, have a lot of fun in the process.
The highlight of today came after the work day was over. Tonight we were invited to go to Ebenezer Baptist Church for a Pot-Luck dinner and talent show!!! Talk about a good, southern FEAST!!! We had fried chicken, burgers, macaroni & cheese, jambalaya, and gumbo (my personal favorite). While we ate we were entertained by the amazing voices of some of the church members. We wish you could have been there with us to enjoy the Gospel music and Good cookin'!! Our group also contributed to some of the entertainment. Ashlyn, Clarissa, and Holly impressed everyone with their tumbling skills, Sarah and Claire performed a wonderful rendition of "Little Green Frog", Adam amazed everyone with his contortionist act (legs behind head & 180 degree leg turn), and Joel wowed everyone by doing the worm!! Harrsion wanted to participate, but unfortunately Abott & Costello's "Who's on First?" routine is not as funny with only one person (nobody else knew either part). We ended the evening by watching the churches choir practice. And let us tell you, those folks can SING! They were amazing to listen to and have such passion when they worship the Lord. It was such a great experience and a wonderful end to the day.
Thanks so much for your prayers and support; we love and miss you all! Please pray that we would have the strength to finish well, that we would get the projects at Ms. Jones' house finished, and that God would keep us safe as we travel home. We will see you all soon!!
(Danny)

On the River

We had a great time on the river today! We traveled seven miles down river and had an awesome time. God is sooo good that He provided a rope for us to swing out into the river. Ms. Carol and I even took a turn. We all turned over at least once, except Ashlyn. The girls learned that canoes sometimes have a mind of their own. The boys came to our rescue more than once! What gentlemen we have among us!
Tonight, we joined the Ebeneezer Baptist Church for Wednesday Night Bible Study, followed by an ice cream social! The kids were introduced to a new culture and how they do church. We had a great discussion in the car on the way over and God opened our eyes to our own thoughts about how we worship God.
Thank you again for traveling this journey with us! We head back out to Ms. Jones house tomorrow.
Some Prayer Requests:
1. That we would finish well.
2. The temperature would not be as hot as they are expecting.
3. We would make LOTS of progress on our goals.
4. We would be encouraging and inclusive to all of those around us.

Quotes for the day:
"I haaaate canoooooeing"- Ashlyn
"Has anyone ever told you, you look like those models?"- Pastor Carlos Wilson to Danny in front of everyone at the church service.
"Don't go down the rapids without a boat." Danny, Carol and Andi
"I just got attacked by a tree." Clarissa
"Why are you going backwards (in your canoe)?" Berek to Ms. Carol and Ms. Andi
Girls:
"Danny will you stay with us?"
Adam:
"NO, he's coming with us to do guy stuff!"
"Are there snakes in here? Do you think this is safe?" Claire about 1000 times

Servin' Tuesday

Servin’ Tuesday
Today was much like yesterday afternoon. We got up about 6AM, the boys about 6:50(God and I really are going to talk about this!), and ate some breakfast. Then we loaded up and headed out. Carol and I took the girls to meet Ms. Shirley and minister at a local nursing home. Danny took the boys back to Ms. Jones house to keep moving toward our goals there.
The girls were challenged this morning and moved way out of their comfort zone. We met Ms. Shirley at church and she helped us plan a short program for the patients at the nursing home. We were asked to sing, share scripture, our testimony, and love on people that we didn’t know. To be completely honest I was uncomfortable, but in the midst of how we were feeling God gave us a place to serve his people. We sang 4-5 songs together and some of the patients even requested some old hymns for us to sing. The girls did the best they could and were great sports about singing songs they weren’t comfortable with. Then Clarissa read from I Corinthians 13 and Holly prayed. Ashlyn shared a testimony about how God has worked in her family. Then we talked to the residents about their families. The amazing thing was that we slammed two generations together in one room and God showed up! The girls were so overwhelmed with emotion they were crying. They walked into the room scared and left the room hugging the people they ministered. It was awesome.

(From Danny)
The boys got off to a good start this morning at Ms. Jones' house. Joel, Harrison, and Berek did a whole lot of painting. If you could have seen them you might have wondered if they got any paint on the walls; I think they are still picking paint off of themselves right now! In all seriousness, they did an amazing job and got most of the painting outside finished today. Adam helped me with a whole lot of clean up from yesterday's ceiling demolition. He karate-chopped all of the big pieces down smaller ones and then helped me bag it all up. All of the guys are such hard workers and I can really tell they have hearts that truly want to make a difference. It has been great getting to know all of the kids and establishing relationships that will carry on for many years to come! Thanks for sharing your kids with us, they are AMAZING (but I am sure you know that already)!!!

After a break and some lunch with our entire team, we headed back to Ms. Jones’ house.
The guys had made great progress and painted most of the outside of the house. We hung some paneling and finished working on the flower beds. Ms. Carol and Ashlyn painted the bench on the porch. We also got to hang out with Ms. Jones' extended family. Her grandkids joined us in and blended well with the team. The kids are learning lots about culture and how we're not all the same and that's ok. We have had lots of life lessons already.
We are looking forward to a well deserved day off tomorrow. We will let you know how our trip down the river goes. Thanks for servin' with us.

Quotes:
"Old people don't care if your ugly." - Holly
When talking to an elderly woman at the nursing home,"So is your family nice?"-Ashlyn
"The walls aren't square?" - Kasii (our team leader)

Training to Serve and Then Serving

We rolled out of bed this morning about 6AM in the girls cabin about 6:50 in the boys cabin. Life is so unfair, but anyway. We spent the morning with our amazing trip leader, Kasii May. Kasii led us in some team building activities and helped us gain perspective for the experiences that lay ahead of us. Kasii is passionate about serving and helping others learn to serve. She did a great job keeping all of us engaged and learning.
After our learning morning, we helped pick up around the camp where we are staying. We challenged the California group, to see which group could pick up more pinecones. We were, of course, the winners and the first to eat lunch.
After a quick lunch we met with Josh our other awesome team leader for some instructions. Then we headed out to serve. We arrived at the home of Ms. Jones. She is a 69 year old woman who survived the devastation of Katrina with her home largely intact. This sweet woman told us about the storm and how she will never stay through another storm as long as she lives. She told us about the water that came through the roof and how the house shook.
Our task is big but the kids are going to make it happen. These are our goals:
∗ Clean the entire outside of the home and prep for painting
∗ Clean out flower beds and till them up by hand
∗ Remove damaged parts of walls and ceiling (haul it outside)
∗ Paint the entire outside of the home
∗ Replant flower beds with shrubs and flowers
∗ Hang new paneling on the walls and thin plywood on the ceiling
∗ Paint all new paneling and ceilings
∗ Clean up brush and yard outside of the home.
We accomplished the first three in three hours this afternoon. The kids worked really hard today. They were motivated and encouraging to each other and those around them. You would have been proud. We are enjoying some free time tonight and then we are turning in early!
Prayer requests:
1. The kids would stay motivated.
2. They would bond even more as a team.
3. We would love each other, with our words and actions, even when we are tired (because we are tired)!
4. We would love those we come into contact with unconditionally.
Thanks for joining us on this journey. We love and miss you all.
Andi

Quotes for the day:
Me: “ Adam, can you get the crow bar and demo this wall?”
Adam: “YES MAM!!”
“I have never been so tried of eatin’ eggs off a grill in all my life.” –Ms. Jones
“Mrs. Andi, the reason my foots hurts is because I have a nail in my shoe.” – Claire
“ I want to go to Walmart, I still have money to spend.”-Joel

Getting Started

We have unloaded and I have changed beds three times, just to make sure the sleeping arrangements are perfect in the girl’s cabin. The boys were ready to go five minutes after they chunked their bags into their cabin. The girls had to make a run to Dollar General to make a pick up because I forgot some things, as is par. We met the other church from California. The kids and leaders “meshed” well and some friendships are being formed.
We had a great dinner and jumped right into team building activities. Then we were given some free time. We all headed to the pool, of course. Danny and the kids were having a great time in the pool and Ms. Carol and I were having a lovely discussion until the little monsters attacked. The kids drenched me and pulled me into the pool, with all my clothes. After I tried to drown most of them, we played a great game of water football.
It was a great day of travel and introductions! Thanks for checking in!

Travelin’

We had a great day of traveling to Hattiesburg. The kids were more than fantastic. We only stopped twice, once for lunch and once to get gas. There was no complaining or fighting! We played games, I tortured them with Oldies music and they discovered that Danny is definitely cooler than me (which I am so ok with).
Lunch was a lesson in patience for all of us. Robbie, the older Subway employee, was having a bad morning and she was the only person at Subway and making sandwiches. The kids were gracious while we waited for at least 30 minutes to get our lunch. I know some of you parents may be shocked but your kids were great examples of patience to those around them. Robbie, we pray that you have a much better day to day! Thanks for working hard to serve us!
We rolled into camp about 4:30 PM. The kids jumped out and our adventure begins
Thanks for praying and supporting us!
Enjoy some quotes from the ride:
“It’s really loud in here” – Carol Dalton
“ What time does the GPS say we will get there?” – Adam
“Can I see your IPOD?” Clarissa (at least 5 times)
“Ms. Andi can Danny choose the music from his IPOD?” – Ashlyn

How YOU can help!

We are so excited to see what God has in store for us as we serve the people of Hattiesburg, Mississippi next week. There are THREE things that you can do to help us.

First and foremost, please join us in prayer as we set off on this adventure together. These are some of the things that you can pray for:
1. Safety in traveling and while we are serving in Hattiesburg.
2. God would give each of us a person to minister to everyday.
3. We would grow in our understanding of God's mission for us to serve others.
4. Lives would be radically changed for Christ.
5. We would have fun and bond as a team.
6. Endurance and great attitudes even when we are tired!

Second, this Thursday Night, June 25th, is PARENTS NIGHT OUT from 6-9PM at Grace. The cost is $10 per child ($30 for families with more than three children) and all the proceeds go toward funding our mission trip. We will accept kids from birth through fourth grade. We will have a night full of games, crafts, and snacks for your kids while you enjoy a bit of relaxation from your already hectic summer schedules.

Last but not least, we are having a GARAGE SALE at Grace Saturday, June 27, from 7AM - Noon. We would love for you to come browse but we could especially use all those items that you want to get rid of in your house. If you would like to donate any items, please bring them to Henderson Hall no later than this Friday, June 26, by 6PM. It would be extremely helpful if the items were already garage-sale priced, but it is certainly not mandatory.

Thank you in advance for joining with us and being a part of our "team"! A week of serving others will be a great experience for our kids and prayerfully the first step to a life-long commitment of serving Christ.

Serving with You,
Andi Howell

Our Team

Please join us in prayer, as we minister to the people of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Our team members are:
Danny Combs
Carol Dalton
Andi Howell
Ashlyn Parkhurst
Clarissa Tusa
Sarah Pearson
Holly DeBardelaben
Claire Johnson
Adam Neese
Harrison Perkins
Berek Dalton
Joel Badders

We would very much appreciate your prayers before we go and while we are gone. We believe that you are an important part of our team as well.
Thank you for praying.

Things that you can pray for:
1. Safety in traveling and while we are serving in Hattiesburg.
2. God would give each of us a person to minister to everyday.
3. We would grow in our understanding of God's mission for us to serve others.
4. Lives would be radically changed for Christ.
5. We would have fun and bond as a team.
6. Endurance and great attitudes even when we are tired!

The Details

Our mission trip is set! We leave June 28-July 4 for Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
This community was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina 3 years ago and has still not recovered. We will be working along side Pastor Carlos Wilson and the congregation of Ebenezer Baptist Church. This pastor and his congregation have reached out to the poor section of Hattiesburg known as The Goula. They have reroofed houses and helped each other rebuild as much as possible.
Our team will help with building projects, cleanup and other outreach activities in the community. We are looking forward to a great week of hard work and serving this community.

You want to do What?!!

Every year for the past 4 years, I have taken the sixth graders on a trip to end their time in children's ministry. A fun trip to hang out and enjoy each other one more time before they move on to youth ministry.
This year things have changed! When I approached the sixth graders with the options for their trip, they said they didn't want to go on just any trip. I looked at them dumbfounded and asked, "What kind of trip would you like to go on?". They answered,"We want you to take us on a mission trip."
As a minister, this is the answer that you wait all of your life to hear. After carefully explaining to my young friends the hardships that they would encounter on a mission trip, I asked once again if they wanted to go. The answer was still yes. It is still hard to put into words how proud I am of these kids. They completely understand that they are giving up hanging out on a vacation to go and serve in the name of Christ.
Many people look at the younger generations, shake their heads and say, "they are the most hopeless, selfish group of people the world has ever known." While that may be true about some children, it is not the truth about the majority. They have hearts of gold and many dream of changing the world. The kids here at Grace are no exception. They constantly astound me with their Biblical knowledge and passion for living Godly lives. But more importantly, they understand the value of others. I believe that they have the unique gift of seeing others through God's eyes. I pray that they never lose that ability and this is only the first step in a life long commitment to serving Christ.