Mission Serve Blog
Latest Updates from Mission ServeWashington, D.C. – Sunday
SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!
Happy Sunday from everyone here in Washington D.C.!
We started off our day with a GREAT breakfast, cooked by our AMAZING kitchen staff. Then, everyone departed with their squads, to their local churches that hosted our participants with worship and lunch. We are so very thankful for the community and their help with our project. These churches will also be delivering lunches to the squads throughout the week. After lunch, squads stopped by to check out their worksites and to meet their homeowners. We LOVE watching our students create new relationships while serving.
After our squads returned from a fun-filled morning, we took our group pictures and large group photo! During evangelism training, students were encouraged to share their faith this week on their worksites and in the community. Next on the list, squad position training! Each squad assigned positions such as a Break master, Chaplain, Reporter and Medic. Students were very excited to take on these roles.
This evening, our speaker, centered his message around Galatians 5:13-15 and hit the main points from these verses: Being called to freedom, use freedom as an opportunity to serve one another and love your neighbor. He ended the night by reading from Philippians 2:3-4 and daring us to start putting ourselves last this week, as we serve here in Washington D.C.
Please continue to pray for our project and for our participants as they head out to their first day of work tomorrow! Also, don’t forget to show your support by sending ServeMail.
Your Summer Staff,
Jack & Jordan
Puerto Rico Week 1 – Saturday
Hello from Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico!
We are so happy to report that everyone has arrived in Puerto Rico safely. All of our groups are ready to get some sleep but excited to get this week of missions and fellowship started!
Today we all joined in sharing our first meal together. After dinner, we headed to our local church Iglesia Bautista el Mesias. We are so grateful that they are lending us their church for worship this week.
Tonight, our rocking band lead us in worship. Jared, our speaker, then spoke on surrendering everything to God and being willing to do His will. He read from Mathew 4 and 14 about Jesus calling the three fishermen to be fishers of men. He pointed out that they dropped their nets without question and followed Him. Jared asked us, “what net do we need to let go of in order to be all in with Jesus?” This was a great message to get us to think about over this week as we become more daring in our faith.
Tomorrow, our youth groups will head off to four different host churches. These awesome and welcoming churches will also provide their lunches! Our students will also get to meet their squads tomorrow and get to know one another better. It is going to be such a great day of making new friends!
Please pray for our students and leaders as they take on this week. Also, show them your love and support by sending ServeMail which will go into their Mission Serve mailboxes.
Hope you all had a great Saturday!
Your Summer Staff,
Olivia and Justin
Rockingham Co. – Saturday
IT’S REGISTRATION DAY and everyone here in Rockingham County, NC is more than ready for a fantastic week. As early 1:30pm churches were arriving at Rockingham Co. High School and excited for a week of serving. We had churches from as far as New Jersey to as local as a mile away from the facility showing up with smiles on their faces. We are thankful for the safety and provision that God has provided as everyone traveled.
After a successful time of registration, all of the participants were able to settle into their rooms and explore their new home for the week. Shortly following, we all joined together for the Opening Celebration. Then, adults went to their meeting and students were able to have fun and play games. We then had a delicious, classic North Carolina dinner of BBQ that was accompanied by much fellowship and enthusiasm.
During worship this evening, our speaker for the week, Brandon Roney, spoke on the cost of both following Jesus as well as the cost of not following Jesus. He challenged each participant to be bold and daring by sharing their story with at least one person this week. We are really excited to hear how God is going to use each person who chooses to do so.
It has been a long day of travel and preparation. Tomorrow morning we hit the ground running as we work towards starting jobs on Monday! We meet our squads first thing and look forward to making new relationships with the people that we will be serving along side of. We are also very eager to be attending local churches and forming relationships with people who live here in Rockingham County. What an sensational day that lies ahead!
Please be in prayer as we embark on a busy, fun, and hopefully impactful week. Also, don’t forget to encourage each of our participants by sending ServeMail.
We can’t wait to fill you in on another incredible day tomorrow evening.
Serving you this summer,
Jackson & Alexis
Washington, D.C. – Saturday
HELLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO Washington, D.C.!
Today was registration day and all of our church groups arrived safe and sound this afternoon! Coming from Florida and North Carolina, all groups are super excited to start the week off.
After everyone settled in, we had our opening celebration that was an exciting start for the amazing week ahead. As adults headed to the leadership meeting, the students stayed back to play some games and get to know each other. We love seeing our students meeting new people and creating new relationships!
Our speaker, Rich Ratts, spoke about relying on God and obeying what he has called us to do, beginning the week off by daring us to follow out a God-sized task: to follow Jesus. Following our time of worship, each church group met for devotional time. Later, all participants were able to meet and get to know their squads. Tomorrow, each squad will go to church together and have a chance to visit their worksites!
Check in here, every day for an update on how all your friends and family are doing in Washington. Also, be sure to encourage them by sending lots of Servemail.
We look forward to sharing a fantastic week with you!
Your Summer Staff,
Jordan & Jack
Walterboro – Saturday
It’s Start Day and Super Saturday in Walterboro!
We are so excited to be here in Walterboro, SC serving this week! Today, we had over 200 participants from 7 different churches, ranging across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. They were each bursting with energy and joy for the week ahead.
During orientation, the students played several amusing games with the band and speaker. It was so exciting to see everyone laughing and having fun while also meeting new people.
During worship, our speaker, Trey Shealy, gave a great first message about following Christ and giving our all for him. He also reminded participants of their role here, to serve others and to share Christ.
Today was full of preparation and eagerness from students and leaders alike. We look forward to having a fantastic week and ask that you pray for safety and diligence throughout this project.
Check in here, every day, for an update on how all your friends and family are doing in Walterboro. Also, be sure to encourage your participants by sending lots of ServeMail.
We look forward to sharing a great week with you!
Your Summer Staffers,
Jenna and Sam
Knoxville – Friday
Its Finally Friday in Knoxville!!!
All of our squads finished up their projects today!! Everyone has had a great week and we are so proud of the students for working so hard this week.
Once everyone was back from their worksites, we had another great dinner (thanks Tony G and team). We kicked off the nights activities with our closing celebration. We recognized our coordinators, construction captains, squad leaders, the cooking team, the band, and the speaker. Everyone pulled together as a team and it showed, as we had a great week in Knoxville.
We finished with our last night of worship with several homeowners joining us. One homeowner that joined us tonight came to know Christ this week and we were so excited to have him join the family of believers.
God is so many amazing things this week in the lives of our participants and leaders. Also, thanks to you our folks back home for the support, ServeMail, and prayers this week.
We wish all safe travels home.
Summer Staff signing off,
Jenna and Sam
Fort Wayne – Friday
Fabulous Friday from Fort Wayne!
Today was the last day of our work week. All of our worksites were completed today. We are so proud of the hard work that each of our participants were able to accomplish this week!
This evening a majority of our homeowners joined us for supper and worship. It was so nice seeing them off of the worksite and each squad was super excited to be able to break bread and worship the Lord with their new friends.
Tonight, we recognized all of the people who helped make this project happen. We are so very appreciative to our Coordinators, Volunteers, Construction Captains, Squad Leaders, Runners, Speaker, and Band! After recognize our awesome team, Brandon spoke about carrying our love and service home with us. He wanted us to remember to constantly keep God in our hearts and actions. It was a great message!
We said our goodbyes and tears tonight as we pack up to leave tomorrow. We pray that each youth group had a great time and safe travels.
Thank you so much for keeping our participants in your prayers this week. We truly could not have done this without all of your support!
Have a blessed summer!
Your Summer Staffers,
Olivia and Jackson
Knoxville – Thursday
Happy, happy Thursday!
Today, our squads headed back out to sites after a restful and fun afternoon off. The weather was pretty hot today with the sun shining down, but everyone drank water, stayed hydrated, and kept up a positive attitude.
For dinner, Pastor Tony made burgers and tater tots, which were AMAZING! We cannot thank the cooking staff enough this week for the delicious food and even better service.
Tonight, the band and speaker lead a powerful and emotional Concert of Prayer. This service is a time of prayer, worship, and inward reflection of the week and one’s walk with Christ. This service is a beautiful time where God’s presence is truly felt and the atmosphere is totally focused on God. It’s amazing to what God has put on the hearts and minds of participants during this time.
Tomorrow, the squads head out for their last day of work and to finish up their projects. It’s amazing to see the work that God has done this week! Be sure to send a final word of encouragement to your participants through ServeMail!
With Love,
Jenna and Sam
Fair Bluff – Friday
Welcome, welcome. It is the last day of the week and we are feeling Friday!
Waking up was a little more difficult today, but participants were excited to see their project through to completion! The morning wake up was especially hype this morning and everyone was up dancing and singing.
After loading up, a few of the squads planned a sneak attack and had silly string and water balloons ready to attack. The staff was ready for this however, and Joe our PC even had a water hose, ready to defend himself. It was a fun and crazy time!!
Each squad was fortunate to finish and a few squads who finished early came together to complete three additional projects. We are so grateful for the provision that God has provided regarding our job sites this week. Also, special shout out to all the construction captains who worked so well with the students as well as our Construction Coordinators, Billy Rodgers and Ben Honeycutt!
In the afternoon we were blessed with a visit from Kona Ice of Columbus County. Each participant was fortunate enough to get a FREE Sno Cone after a hot day in the sun. Thank you so much to DeLynn and Kristin for this sweet gift, we all greatly appreciate it!
In the afternoon all of the individuals who decided to give their lives to Christ were given the opportunity to be baptized in Fair Bluff, beside the river walk. 10 people professed their faith and were baptized in front of a large sum of the people from our project. It was a fantastic time of celebration and excitement.
After dinner, we jumped right into the Closing Celebration. Mark and Carlton from the band sang a Mission Serve Remix of the popular song, Old Town Road. It was hilarious and everyone loved it. We then recognized our team behind the mission. The cooking staff, band, speaker, facility director, coordinators, squad leaders, construction captains, and most importantly, the group leaders were recognized.
The most exciting part of the evening was being able to see the Mission Cam. It Is always so fun seeing your face on the big screen as well as seeing the hard work that everyone has been putting in on the job site.
We said goodbye to our band and speaker with a phenomenal last night of worship. Thomas dared the students to go back and share what they’ve done and also live it out. We are beyond excited to hear how God moves as the participants head by to their own communities.
For friends and family at home this week, thank you for your ongoing love and support of your participants. It has been an extremely amazing week and we are so thankful for everyone that was a part of it. We hope to see you at another Mission Serve project soon.
Signing off- Your Summer Staffers,
Jack & Alexis
Fort Wayne – Thursday
Happy Thursday from Fort Wayne, Indiana!
Our squads headed out for their fourth day on sites today. One of our squads finished a second project and are heading to a third tomorrow! We are making such great progress.
On one of our ramp sites today Isaac, a young boy from the home who is in a wheelchair, rode down his new ramp for the first time. This was such an amazing moment for Isaac, his family, and the squad. God is so good and so present!
Tonight Brandon spoke about loving those who aren’t always like you. It is so great that our students have bonded with people this week who aren’t exactly like them. Like Isaac, for example, has made great friends with our participants. He will be attending our service tomorrow night as well as other homeowners from this week. We cannot wait to worship with our new friends!
Tomorrow, our squads head out for their last days on their projects. They have worked so hard this week and we are so proud of all they have done. We can’t wait to finish off our work week with our closing celebration and bittersweet goodbyes! These friendships are forever and we are so grateful for meeting each and every person.
Please continue to support your students through prayer and sending ServeMail! Thank you for all of your encouragement this week and we hope you all had a great Thursday!
Your Summer Staffers,
Olivia and Jackson
