Delta Christian Church

We woke up to an epic theme song as we prepared to traverse downstairs to indulge in breakfast (egg sandwiches and cereal). Then we prepared for a worship service to remember.  

Worship was interactive and uplifting. As service ended, we met some new faces then got pizza. We went to tour the service sites that we will be working at for the remainder of the week. The amount of destruction the natural disasters leave behind is depressing, but the mood was soon lifted when we went crab fishing (pictured). The number of crabs caught was numerous whereas the amount gathered and put in a bucket was less than numerous (Eric).

As we celebrated a newfound hobby we pursued an ice cream shop. Once we found the ice cream shop spirits were once again lifted as we went back to our temporary home to eat one of the most mouth-watering spaghetti dinners. 

Sleep came easily to all of us after a full day!

Today, like many others, was not what we expected.  Yesterday we visited a few work sites, anticipating a day of community clean-up, and today we had to switch plans because of a rainstorm.  

The theme of the week is "be flexible," and today was another opportunity to practice that.  Even though we didn't get to do exactly what we thought we would get to do, we still were able to serve and help... and that is the point!

 We had the opportunity today to serve the church where we are staying.  We were able to clean up parts of the main sanctuary and start some painting in the church offices.  It is heartbreaking to see the destruction from hurricanes, not just in this church, but throughout the community.  It is also strange to see one house without a roof, while the next house looks just fine, and the next one might have a big hole in the wall.  The destruction is random, and yet still complete.  

There is no portion of the community that is untouched by the storm.  Hearing the process for getting help with rebuilding is amazing... and not in a good way.  There are so many hoops to jump through that many people are just living in unsafe houses.  They can't afford to fix it, insurance companies are fighting against them, and the government is making it difficult.  We pray for this community.

On a more positive note, all the students have had positive attitudes towards the work regardless of what it is.  While we waited for Plan B this morning, the kids danced and played in the rain.  They had a great time and it was a blessing to many who watched them enjoy the rain that so many here dread every day.

 We also were able to play in a park this evening and enjoy the city lights shining on the other side of the lake.  It was a great end to the day.  Tomorrow, we hope for Plan A, but are being flexible for Plan B... or C.  We'll do whatever God wants us to do.  

Please be praying for the community, continued positive attitudes for all of us, and this church as they try to rebuild.

We woke up at the crack of dawn to the freezing temperatures of the girl's room.   As we started to wake up, we could immediately feel the humidity. The group met downstairs for the daily devotional and made our lunches for later in the day.

While the main group went to clean up a fallen tree, a few students stayed behind to help finish painting the church's offices. Eric ran the chainsaw and the students retrieved the pieces. Some of the high schoolers found friends within the trees. Things like frogs, lizards, three poisonous caterpillars, and Connor the Centipede.

One person enjoyed the heat too much, where others were dying in the humidity. Meanwhile, back at the church, the painting crew was working in cooler conditions. One of the neighbors came over to thank the workers for cleaning out the elderly man's property, which had started to become a safety hazard for local children playing in the area.

When the van group finished, they left to get snow cones, while waiting in the rain. Once the group reunited as one, most of us played a game called "Psychiatrist."

The Colorado and Austin, TX groups ventured to the park to play ultimate frisbee. Rockies vs. Astros!!!!! As the light turned into dark, we were eaten alive by mosquitos during our devotionals!

On the drive to and from the park, we were rocking the van like crazy while we were listening to our jams. Some of us were going to sleep so... #cliffhanger 

Today was a great day for our group kids, or rather young adults.  The day started off with finishing the painting project in the church office.  The highlight of that project was not the painting, but the six people taking a moment to stop and pray for the other groups working out in the community that were struggling with the extreme heat.

Later tonight, a group of kids also played frisbee with two little kids and their grandmother. When it was time to be done, Ethan asked if they could pray for them.  It was a really special moment.  

Another great thing was seeing our kids join in the fun and play with the Austin, TX team for an evening of fun and games at the park.  It is great to see God at work in both groups.    

Katie working hard getting the Mount Olive offices painted!

Today was exhausting. We woke up, at least the girls did, at about 6 o'clock (which is way too early for me) and got ready. After we stumbled out of bed and down to the dining area we had an amazing devotion on Jesus' Death and Resurrection. We prayed and talked about the significance of Jesus' death on the cross.

We had some BOMB breakfast which was waffles and cereal and granola with yogurt. 8 o'clock we were on the road towards our respected work sites. My team went to the worksite that we all worked at yesterday and finished up there.

Our other team went to a work site that none of us had ever been to.  After we had finished, which was right before lunch, we met them at their site and helped for a little while before we got rained out. Both job sites included scrapes and mud as well as laughs and jokes.

We cleaned out trees, bushes, vines, metal, and a variety of other things that got us dirty and scrapped. There were many findings of baby snakes, little frogs, and a toad named Gary all of whom were adopted (by Alyssa, Cady, and myself) into our family.

We headed back to the church for some MUCH needed showers and relaxed for a while before helping out at VBS. We ate dinner with the kids and learned about our feelings, at least my group did, then proceeded to dancing, singing, and coloring.

We finished out today talking about our Devo from this morning and praying for people in our group, who we had been assigned to pray for at the beginning of our trip.

After our beautiful, long, and hopefully loving prayer we went to bed and dreamt about what adventures we would experience the next day.