Mission Serve Blog

Latest Updates from Mission Serve
 

Marion – Friday

Hey, hey. It is finally FRIDAY, and boy are we excited. We have done everything possible to set ourselves up for a successful day, and that we did. We are excited to announce that all 9 of our homes were completed this week! How awesome is that? We are so proud of each and every squad this week and the hard work they but in to see each job to completion. A few sites were more difficult than others and it was so incredible to see squads come together to finish out strong.

After completing their jobs several teams were able to have a break this afternoon and spend time with their new friends from their squad just hanging out. Some even had enough time left over to grab some ice cream.

This evening we had our Closing Celebration and it was spectacular. We started off with a BANG by watching the MissionCam from this week. Everyone was so excited and cheered as they saw their squad and church on the screen. We loved it!

Our PC, Amy Washburn, has done a fantastic job facilitating everyone’s needs while also making the week fun! Additionally, our CC, Phil Harbolt, has been phenomenal in guiding our construction projects in a God-honoring way. We are so grateful for their superb leadership and their humbleness in serving.

During this time we were also able to recognize the amazing Squad Leaders and Construction Captains that we have had leading us this week. They have all been very flexible and easy to work with which is fantastic.

We also took time to highlight our spectacular speaker, Heath Holly, and his graceful wife, Denise Holly. The two have traveled all the way from Georgia to serve here in Marion! Likewise, we were able to recognize our terrific band, Safekept, who led worship each evening. They are an awesome group!

There are so many more that were vital parts of this project who we also took time to recognize. It was a fun and vibrant time of recognition and we were so glad to even have a few homeowners from the week in attendance.

Finally, in our final worship service, Heath gave us our final dare of the week: I dare you to take this home. And what is this? Everything that we have been fortunate enough to experience this week is what we need to carry with us and share as we return to our own communities.. Making new friends, serving in the community, and worshiping our Mighty God.

As you can see, it has been an incredible week here in Marion. Please pray for our churches as they return home and as they return to their churches to share what all God has done here. Thank you for following along with what has been going on at this project, we appreciate you! We hope to see you and all of your friends and family at another Mission Serve project soon.

Signing off, your Summer Staffers,

Jackson & Alexis

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Houston – Thursday

It’s thankful Thursday here in Texas because almost all of our squads are finished with their homes! Our squads were back, bright and early this morning after a fun half day off with their youth groups. Everyone got a lot accomplished and tomorrow, the rest of our squads should finish up their homes in the afternoon. We so extremely proud of all our participants, they are all doing such amazing work and we cannot wait to celebrate tomorrow at our closing celebration.

Tonight, our speaker, talked about serving others before ourselves. He referenced Philippians 2:3. We have served this whole week but now we know why it is important to and who our serving is truly for. We serve together for God as the body of Christ.

It has been a great day but I feel that tomorrow will be even better. As we are wrapping up this awesome week in Houston, please continue to pray for our participants. We want their final day on the work site to be the best yet. Also, don’t forget to send some ServeMail to show your support!

Hope everyone had a terrific Thursday!

Your Summer Staff,
Jack & Jordan

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Marion – Thursday

Happy Thursday, friends! We are now putting the finishing touches on homes and all of our projects are on track to finish right on time. Several reached completion today and will be relocated tomorrow to assist with more difficult projects. We are so THANKFUL for all of the hard work and dedication we have seen this week.

Per usual, our amazing host churches provided another delicious work break treat to each squad: Watermelon! Around 2 o’clock each squad was blessed with fresh watermelons. Several of the students commented on how great it was getting to know these local church members and even said how they made them feel as if they were at home, here in Marion. How cool is that?

We have also really enjoyed getting to hear about our homeowners and the relationships that students are making with them. Our prayer as they say their goodbyes tomorrow to these special individuals is that the impact that they have had will last a lifetime.

This evening we held our Concert of Prayer, and wow was it a great one! Heath and the band did a phenomenal job of creating an atmosphere of praise but also of surrender. The progression of the service was anchored by the opportunity that was given several times to pray aloud. To acknowledge who God is, to thank him, and to come before Him and cast our cares on Him. Thank you for your prayers over this service. It was truly a time filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Can you believe tomorrow is Friday? It is a bittersweet occasion. Seeing all you have accomplished over the course of the week, but also having to part ways from all the incredible people that each participant has made friends with. It is a definite paradox, but one thing is for sure: the relationships made here will last a lifetime. Please continue to pray as we step into this final day.

This is your last chance to send ServeMail. Thank you for doing so faithfully all week!

Serving you one last time this summer,
Jackson & Alexis

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Houston – Wednesday

HUMP Daaaaaaaaaay

It’s humpday here in Texas & guess what that means? HALF DAY! Today our participants will spend half the day on the work sites and then the other half they get to spend with their youth group doing something fun! After lots of hard work was put in this morning, our participants headed out around lunch time for some activities at the water park, the pier and the mall.

After returning to the facility tonight, our participants were ready to rest up for a great day of hard work tomorrow! Please continue to pray for everyone here at the project, that we have a wonderful ending to our awesome week. Keep sending ServeMail, we love hearing from you! Check back in tomorrow for some more updates!

Your Summer Staff,
Jack & Jordan

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Houston – Tuesday

Hellllllllooooo from Houston

Today is Tuesday and we got a lot of work done today! Our participants headed out early this morning for a GREAT day on the job sites. Many accomplishments were made and we finished out our day strong!

Tonight after dinner, we had our Concert of Prayer. This is a great opportunity for our participants to profess their faith and grow closer to God. We had so many blessed moments in the midst of the word of God. He is a father of grace and love in which we are undeserving but grateful. This night of worship was a wonderful reminder of the reason we are here.

And that’s a wrap for day two! Thank you so much to those at home who are supporting our participants through prayer. We are so thankful for you. Don’t forget to send us some ServeMail. Keep in touch!

Your Summer Staff,
Jack & Jordan

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Marion – Wednesday

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means. We get a half day off. But, hey, that doesn’t mean we don’t work hard in the morning. Upon visiting sites today, it was clear that these squads have their eyes on the prize and are dedicated to seeing their projects to completion on Friday.

After having lunch with our squads and saving time for worksite devotions, each team was instructed to head back around 1pm to get ready for a fun afternoon activity with their church group. We had churches that went to the pool, the movies, and a few even decided to go to the Ohio state fair. All had lots of fun and really appreciated the extra time off. We look forward to seeing everyone fully rejuvenated tomorrow and excited about the work that they are doing.

Obviously we did not have service tonight because everyone was out and about, but we do ask that you take time to pray for our Concert of Prayer service tomorrow evening. Our speaker and band have put in a lot of time and consideration and are expecting the Holy Spirit to make himself very evident. We are all very excited for this special time of worship.

We are half way there everyone! Keep up the encouragement by continuing to send the ServeMail. And as always, check back in tomorrow for another action packed update!

Stay cool out there,
Jackson & Alexis

 

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Marion – Tuesday

Welcome to Tuesday here in Marion! It has been another great day. After seeing multiple job sites, it is clear that we have our work cut out for us! The weather yesterday caused a few set backs. However today everyone was ready to make up for it. We look forward to getting completely back on track tomorrow!

Despite yesterday’s conditions, today was absolutely delightful! The temperatures were low and there was a slight breeze all day. Perfect for a day of big progress.

We were all so blessed by the generosity of the local churches. Today they brought us specialty popcorns from a local business. They had fun flavors such as Birthday Cake, Tutti Frutti, and Cookies and Cream. It was delicious and the perfect snack for a short break.

This evening during worship, we collected the offering which goes to support our three hurricane relief projects. Thank you all for your generosity and willingness to serve by giving.

Tonight Health addressed the dare of I Dare you to trust God. He gave an all-encompassing message that highlights the fact that no matter what we can trust our God. Even through our trying circumstances, we can still intentionally put our trust in him.

What a fantastic day it has been! Tomorrow we will have a half day of work and the other half of rest and fun. Please continue praying and sending ServeMail.

Check back in tomorrow for an update!

In Christ,
Jackson & Alexis

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Houston – Monday

MONNNNNNDAYYYYYYYY!

Happy Monday from Houston, Texas! Today was our first day on the worksites and it was a GREAT day! We began our morning with the great sendoff, complete with water guns, bubbles and fun all around!

Today we had a squad that finished up their project and they are heading to a new one in the morning! We also have multiple squads talking about the potential of finishing their houses within the next day or two! How awesome! These participants have already worked so hard this week and it’s easy to see their determination for the glory of Jesus!

Tonight, Toby challenged us to embrace those who were different than us by reading the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19. During the message, he reminded us that just because others appear to be different from us on the outside, we are all God’s creation and looking for love. This dare was especially impactful tonight as our participants have started to encounter neighbors on their worksite, and this challenge spurred them on to share Jesus with them.

We start again tomorrow, bright and early so please be sure to keep all of our students and leaders in your prayers! Don’t forget, you can always send us ServeMail. We love hearing from you!

Your Summer Staff,
Jack & Jordan

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Marion – Monday

Today is Monday, and you know what that means! It is our first day of our early wake ups and hard work! We sent out our 9 squads today into the community to serve and share the love of Christ. Please pray for strength and boldness as they say so.

We battled some difficult weather this morning with on and off storms for the first half of the day. Despite these conditions, several squads were able to make some great progress on their home. The rain was also a blessing because it allowed the students to be able to spend time getting to know their homeowners a bit.

An exciting aspect of this of this week is that each of homes is sponsored! We have several generous individuals who have decided to donate to help with the renovations in this area. On behalf of Mission Serve, the participants here in Marion, and the homeowners, Thank You for your kindness! We look forward to sharing the details from the sites with you over the course of the week.

This afternoon, upon arriving back from a long aa workday, participants were greeted and given ice cream. We are thankful for the generosity of the facility. What a sweet treat!

This evening in worship, Heath announced his next challenge which is the dare you to serve others. What a perfect opportunity to do so this week. Jesus was the perfect example of this and Heath indicated this by highlighting the parable of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10.

We have thoroughly enjoyed today and it is shaping up too be a spectacular week or fun, work, and worship.  Keep praying for us as we serve as the hands and feet of Jesus within this community. Please continue sending ServeMail, we look forward to hearing from you.

Serving together,
Jackson & Alexis

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

Marion – Sunday

Howdy! It is Sunday and it has been a great one! After a restful evening, we were ready for an eventful day.

This morning we had a cool opportunity to attend a service held by The Healing Wall – Vietnam Veteran Memorial. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this organization, they travel from location to location with a replicated wall, very similar to the one that identifies fallen soldiers in Washington D.C.. It was an incredible experience for our participants.

Next, we left the school with our squad to attend local churches within the community. There we worshipped and also spent time with the people of the churches during lunch time. We are so thankful for their kindness and sacrifice in serving us all this week!

Upon returning to the facility, we took our church group photos in our green Mission Serve t-shirts!  We also had a time of evangelism training where we were each challenged to be daring and make it a priority to share the gospel. Additionally, our volunteers from each squad were trained for their specific squad positions. We had students agreeing to be Break Masters, Chaplains, Medics, and Reporters! Thanks you to everyone who has stepped up to help!

During worship this evening, Heath highlighted tonight’s focal point: I dare you to the God-sized task he created for you. His message was centered around Ephesians 2:10. That says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We were then asked to come forward to write prayer requests and hopes for the week. It was a great time to think about why we are here and what we want to achieve.

This project is off to a great start and we are beyond thrilled to see and hear what God is going to do here in Marion. We ask that as the real work starts tomorrow that you pray for safety and guidance as we carry out the tasks that we have been given.

Please, also, don’t forget that you have the opportunity to support the participants here by sending ServeMail.

Tomorrow is a big day, we look forward to sharing it with you later on!

Blessings,
Jackson & Alexis

Thank you so much for following along with us! Make sure you’re following us on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest Mission Serve news.

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