Greenville 7/18/12

Hey Everyone,

         We had an awesome Tuesday night seeing a beautiful sunset at the spillway. We also found out that Meryl Wiratmo has a beautiful singing voice (check out the video). We also split up into small groups to reflect on what God has been teaching us thus far. After a hard day we got some much needed sleep. 

         Today we had a very annoying wake up call from the fire alarm. I guess some vacuum released a bunch of dust and it set off the alarm. Let's just say many people woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Other than that we had a very eventful day. Most groups got the opportunity to serve in a different way. Groups 1 and 3 went to the park and sports complex to paint, while group 2 went to the nursing home to build in relationships with the residents there. It has been awesome to see God working through us as we serve this community. He has placed people in our paths that we can have a huge impact on. Everyone is very sad that they only have one more day to serve.

         After a hot day we ate dinner and celebrated Jamara White's birthday! The students loved the surprise of birthday cake. After dinner and the session we took the students to Pymatuning Lake (Pictures will be in the next blog). There we played frisbee, wrestled, and swam. Everyone had an awesome time and it was great to cool off in the water. Well one more day of serving then we pack up and leave. We are excited to see how God impacts our students the rest of the trip. Once again continue to pray for us!

Meryl got a huge crowd to stop and listen at the spillway.

We found out Meryl has a beautiful voice. She got up to sing during lunch at the nursing home!

We got spoiled!

She can play the piano too!

These middle schoolers thing they can take Joe.

Greenville 7-17-12

Hey Everyone, 

        After a great night of games and fun at the park we have been working at, we took some much needed time to reflect on the first day of work. Some of the kids sat quietly while others answered questions such as: What made you come on this trip? What are some of the difficulties you have already seen on the trip? What do you expect to gain from this trip? But one of the questions from the daily devotional stood out to the group that night: What small act of servanthood do you do on a regular basis? Much of the kids said chores, yard work, serving at church, and more. 

         After reflection we showered and had a good night sleep. Day 2 at the job sites were great! All three of our groups got the opportunity to finish what they started on the previous day. Group 1 got the opportunity to go to the park and touch up some rough-looking poles. Of course we were messy, but we got the job done really fast. After lunch, Group 1 left the work site and went to a nursing home to hang out and get to know the residents there. They got to sing, play bingo, and got to know many people. We really enjoyed getting the opportunity to serve in many different ways the past 2 days. 

          Group 2 had a little different day than the previous one. The picnic tables were finished so we got the opportunity to stain a bridge on the nature trail. Teamwork was much needed to get this task done and the students were phenomenal. They took charge and split up into 3 groups and took a section of the bridge to get it done. Teamwork was the theme of the devotional for the day and it was really cool to see what they studied in God's word play out in their actions. The bridge got done in record time and they went out into the park and helped finish some posts that Group 1 didn't get to. It was an awesome day as we grew stronger in our relationships. 

          Group 3 had a GREAT time as they returned to their site from Monday. They finished their set up for the big picnic for their residents and spent time with some residents who were confined to wheel chairs and took them down to an area where they have a big model train display. Here they helped clean the tracks of the display and got to talk to different people who were working on the display itself. One of their management staff was personally impacted by their visit and servanthood. The students were glad to go back and grow in their relationships that they started on Monday.

           After a hard day's work, we got some time to relax with dinner, worship, and an evening out in the community around Greenville. We went to a popular spot on Pymatuning Lake called Linesville Spillway. There we got to see hundreds and hundreds of carp eating anything that was thrown into the water (use your imagination :-) ) We also saw everyone laughing and having a great time and saw a lot of students coming out of their shells and starting to get more comfortable. It has been great to see everyone interacting and having a great time. I am looking forward to what God brings tomorrow!

Continue to pray for the trip and don't forget to pray for the Quito trip as they leave Wednesday morning at 8 am. 

Greenville 7-16-12: Evening

Hey Everyone,

       I hope you enjoyed the first blog. I wanted to write again to tell you that we had an awesome night. We got the opportunity to worship again and hear some missionaries from Lebanon talk about serving the Lord. After we worshiped we went to the park and had a massive game of kickball. It was great to grow in our relationships with each other and students from other churches. After kickball we got together as a church to talk about our first day. I am glad to be able to write that on day 1 we see God doing some great things already. 

       At the meeting we heard some students talk about what really impacted them so far. Group 3 had an awesome experience at the Nursing home. It started off being a casual day and were asked to put together banners for a family picnic using a baseball theme. They broke into 2 teams and created banners in the morning and when we showed some of our work to one of the patients and it had a huge impact on one of the residents there. A lot of the students saw their serving have a real impact. They said even though it wasn't a big deal to make banners to them it meant a lot to the residents. This is was the big lesson that we learned the first day about serving: even though it might not be a big deal to us, it can have a huge impact on others. It was awesome to hear them talk about how they realized their serving made a big difference in the community. 

         We asked the students what they wanted to change from today to tomorrow and here are some of the things they said:

1. Take more time thinking about what they are doing and the reason they are here.

2. Caring more about the people they are serving and the projects they are doing.

3. Not complaining as much about the heat, people they may be annoyed with, or food they may not like.

4. Finally, going in to tomorrow with a better and more enthusiastic attitude. 

We will post again tomorrow. Please continue to pray for us and the SMO trip to Quito as they leave Wednesday morning. 

         

Greenville 7-16-12: Day 1

Hello Everyone,

           The SMO trip to Greenville has been great so far! We arrived in Greenville yesterday around 4pm. The drive was very easy, other than hitting heavy rain for about 15 minutes. All of the middle schoolers are getting their first taste of what college dorm life is all about; small rooms, no A/C, and waiting in line for a shower. We had a great time last night playing games, eating pizza, worshipping, and hearing a great message from the speaker about serving this community. The theme verse for all of the SMO trips is Micah 6:8 and the theme verse for Greenville is 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 

            We have split up into 3 work groups doing all kinds of different projects. The first 2 work groups are painting picnic tables at a sports complex and community park. The 3rd group got the opportunity to spend time with the elderly in a nursing home. Even though the first 2 groups got messy, they had a ton of fun. The first two groups had to clean the tables, then pull out all of the staples, then finally paint them. Also the painting crews were really fast, they finished all the tables before the day was over. The 3rd group had a great time spending time at the nursing home and got a great opportunity to make crafts for some of the residents and pray with the staff there. Each group had a blast and are excited to go back tomorrow for more. Each group also was able to meet some other students from Grove City Alliance Church and Greenville Alliance Church. Each work site has one ACAC group with another group from a different church. We are going to let some students express how their first day went!

Group 1-Mia Belgie- Team Teen Titans (Tripple T)

        "I liked going to the sports complex painting in the pavilions. It took a lot of energy and physical labor to get the staples out of the tables and it was really hot out. I got a lot of green paint all over me. I also liked getting to know some of the other students from the other church. My favorite animal is a Giraffe."

Group 2- Jack McCarthy- Team Kookies

        "I liked going because we got the opportunity to fix up the park. The tables were pretty bad before we got their. They were really dirty, they had staples all through them, and the paint was all chipped. We got the opportunity to meet someone from the town who thanked us for everything we were doing. My favorite part of the day was doing the dirty work and painting all of the tables. My favorite animal is a dog."

Group 3- Josh Thomas- Team White Lighting

        "I liked going because we got to the opportunity to decorate for their picnic that they are having. We also had a great opportunity praying with the staff. We made banners with signs that were welcoming everyone in. It was nice to be there because it had air conditioning while the other groups were in the heat. We also were able to talk to some people who were lonely and get to know a little about who they are, their story, and their families. My favorite animal is the Mandra." 

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures so far.

We will be updating the blog daily sometime between 3-5. 

We ask you to continue to pray for us as we serve the community and God.