Mission Valley Christian Academy

We started our first day of work with breakfast and a devotional time together. The other two teams who are serving with us this week from Arizona and Pennsylvania joined us before we headed out to our service project sites.

Today, we helped a retired pastor build a carport onto his outbuilding.  He had been trying for two years to hire a contractor to help him.  We finished the carport in one day and also were able to install a window, fix a door, and begin preparing his ramp for painting! 

This pastor and his wife are deeply respected in the community and have been battling health issues.  Having accomplished so much in one day greatly encouraged the pastor and his family!

Another thing we got to do for Gene and Bobbye today was clean and scrape their ramp. It is all prepared for a fresh coat of paint tomorrow.

Several of us spent our morning cleaning out the storage space at the local teen center ministry. This week we will be helping build walls and showers so they can host camps for their kids and mission teams for Praying Pelican Missions.

Today we were blessed to help a family who lost all but two of their trees in the tornado, including a huge one that fell on their shed. Before we started work, they took the time to share their story with us. It's hard to hear, but it also helps motivate us to serve them with all our hearts.

Today we helped a homeowner remove debris from the tornadic storms that affected the area. Several trees were blown down and we began cutting them down to size.  Jodi fulfilled her dream of using a chainsaw!  There is a lot to do, but we made a difference!

What a blessing it was to have an opportunity to lift this sweet family up in prayer! They have been through so much. It is humbling to be able to serve them in this way.

The local Teen Center is upgrading its facilities so that it can host future PPM teams and have overnight events. They used to have a free camp for children and teens at a nearby camping area. Unfortunately, the camp became unusable after neglect.  Today, we helped frame up walls for shower/bathrooms and bunk rooms.  It is exciting to think the work we did could help teens and mission teams in the future!

Today we built the big wall to separate the boys and girls rooms upstairs in the teen center. Tomorrow we'll lift the top half up and finish the framing.

Wednesday night or host church, First Baptist Russellville, provided an amazing dinner for us. What a blessing it was to fellowship and worship together with them!

Before we took a half day of recreation on Thursday, several of us got to serve at a pregnancy resource center. The director shared their story, we cleaned and organized their warehouse and brought a load of diapers and summer clothes to the center. While there we had the privilege of praying for a client who came in for a pregnancy test. What a blessing to be a small part of a ministry dedicated to the value of every life!

Today, we helped finish framing walls at the Center of the Mark Teen Center.  The framing we did today will soon become bunk rooms and showers for the center to host mission teams and to host local teens for camps and other overnight events! 

One of the highlights of the day was framing in the high wall that will make separate rooms for men and women.  It was hard work, but by working together we finished it!