Happy Friday to all!

Wow! We cannot believe this project has already come to a close. It is incredible what the Lord has accomplished through our participants. Out of the eight squads, the majority of them were able to finish their roof. Even the squads that weren’t able to quite finish have accomplished a great deal of work on the homes. We would like to thank our participants for getting out of their comfort zone this week to help with all roofing sites. Many of these homes needed new roofs in order to buy insurance, and after this week, all the homeowners are able to receive their necessary household coverage!

Tonight’s worship was a tad different from the rest of the week. Our speaker, Toby, had to travel to Washington, DC for another Mission Serve project and left two gentlemen from his church, Harrison and Calen, to lead our message tonight. The team worked together to remind the participants that a relationship with Jesus is so much more than going on a missionary project for a week. It is the daily walk with Christ that leads to greater responsibilities within His kingdom. We must learn to dive into Jesus wholeheartedly rather than choosing when He will use and/or provide for us. Harrison and Calen challenged everyone to take their learnings home to spread to their friends, family and anyone else who needs it.

We have had a wonderful time getting to know the locals and participants, and could not have been more blessed with a better team. Please pray for safe travels for all churches going home tomorrow.

We love you West Frankfort,

Lauren and Sam

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Wishing everyone a happy Thursday!

The rain will not stop us! Participants departed for their fourth day on the worksites this morning to finish out their roof. Over half of our squads have finished their homes and will be going to a different home tomorrow to help out! The homeowners and locals of the West Frankfort are ecstatic to see the impact our participants have on the community. Please check out Mission Serve’s interview with WSIL 3 abc to hear about the awesome work our participants are completing this week.

Tonight, Toby spoke of walking with Jesus in our daily lives. Toby challenged participants to stray from their natural tendencies and guide ourselves using prayer and His teachings. We must preach Jesus with our lives rather than follow our prayers with sinful actions.

As we begin to walk away from this week, we ask you keep your participant in your prayers and of course, keep sending them words of encouragement through Servemail.

Best Blessings,

Lauren and Sam

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

Hello from West Frankfort on this lovely Tuesday!

Today was a wonderful second day on worksites! Our squads are making incredible progress and impressing everyone with their faithful work.

Today one of our sites was treated to a refreshment by an anonymous buyer who recognized the Mission Serve hat the squad leader was wearing. The buyer knew of our ministry and construction within his neighborhood, and paid for twelve slushes for the squad leader to bring back to the group. God is everywhere and God is good.

Tonight’s worship was a very special experience for participants known as the concert of prayer. This time is used for participants to lead themselves with self guided worship and can be a very spiritual experience. Within this time, worship songs are sung by the band and images and scripture are used to inspire prayer. God’s presence was moving through us as he impacted many participants lives. We are blessed to have witnessed a worship as powerful as this one. During the concert, participants were asked to write their sins on a piece of paper and place them at the foot of the Cross to represent their salvation through His sacrifice. This active imagery goes along with Mission Serve’s theme: Restore.

We ask you pray for everyone at this project and their spiritual relationship with Him, and of course, if you’d like them to know you are praying for them, Servemail is a wonderful resource.

Sending good vibes,

Lauren and Sam

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

Hope you had a spectacular Monday because we sure did!

Today, we were blessed with no rain as our squads began work on the roofs of West Frankfort homes. Eight squads arrived at their assigned homes and started work bright and early. We are excited to report that many sites are already halfway done and will be able to help other sites as the week goes on.

God’s presence is already prevalent here.  The squad “Bravo” had the opportunity to share the gospel with their homeowner’s neighbor, TJ. When TJ saw the Mission Serve squad working at the house next door, he grabbed a hammer and decided to join in on the construction. Shortly after talking with the leaders of the squad, the conversation led to discipleship. TJ confessed that he used to belong to a church, but he had stopped attending and his faith had suffered. The squad took this opportunity to share the gospel with TJ, and he has rededicated himself to the kingdom of Christ.

Tonight, Toby spoke of the empowering strength of God possible within us. Toby reminded us that God does his best work when setbacks and struggles are placed in our way. This leaves our heart vulnerable to his words and will. Please pray for participants to open their hearts and mind to Jesus as He delivers his words to them especially tomorrow during our concert of prayer.

During worship, the offering was taken to support future Mission Serve hurricane relief projects in Puerto Rico and Texas. Mission Serve would like to thank everyone for donating to support the rebuilding of homes, towns, and lives.

We ask that you continue to pray for friends, family, volunteers, staff and more. If you have a loved one on the West Frankfort project, a fun way to let them know you are thinking about them is Servemail.

Sending Love,

Lauren and Sam

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

Happy Sunday!

Today, we completed our first full day in West Frankfort! What a blessing it was this morning for our participants to had the opportunity to attend and eat at local churches. After church, every group ventured into the neighborhoods and looked at their homes as well as meet their homeowners. We are looking forward to relationships that will be made through this week’s service.

After participants and leaders returned to our host church, the participants completed their squad position training in which they learned skills to apply this week at their worksites. Positions include Chaplain, Medic, Break Master, Reporter. These positions allow students the opportunity to serve their groups in various ways at their worksites.

As previously mentioned in yesterday’s post, we all have the privilege of listening to Student Pastor at FBC West Frankfort, Toby Robinson. Tonight, we had a very powerful worship service and message. The Holy Spirit’s presence was evident in our midst tonight as Never 2 Late led tonight’s worship and Toby brought the message. Toby is leading a series this week that correlates to our theme: Restore. This evening, he spoke from Acts 9, in which Saul is radically transformed by the grace of our Savior to Paul. Toby continued to highlight his own testimony and journey to becoming a Christ-follower. We were all encouraged throughout this time of worship of how Christ is willing to use anyone and everyone who obeys his call on our lives.

After worship, our participants went to church group devotions, and then had time to prepare for the first day of work tomorrow. We are excited for our groups to head out tomorrow and have the direct opportunity to impact someone’s home, but more importantly, show and share the love of Christ with their homeowner and surrounding neighbors.

Please remember to send ServeMail to your family and friends at this week’s project. This is such a great encouragement and uplifting to the Mission Serve community.

In Christ,

Lauren and Sam

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Happy Saturday!

We have had a wonderful start to our week! Today, five churches coming from Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi arrived at First Baptist Church in West Frankfort and we could not be happier to get the week started. Groups quickly bonded over basketball and card games, and fast friends were made.

Following orientation and dinner, our speaker for the week, Toby Robinson, lead the message about finding our light in Jesus Christ. Toby started off with an American restoration video to go along with Acts 9:7-16. He used this to speak about Jesus knowing all we are, but accepting our faults regardless. In order to be a follower of Christ, we must first come to accept him as our sole provider. Toby highlighted our key verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17, which states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old is gone, the new is here”. Toby explained that Christ doesn’t accept our works for His perfect salvation for us. Instead of critiquing ourselves for the work we feel is inadequate or imperfect, we need to allow Him to critique us, because at the end of the week, it is His work. Toby challenged participants and leaders to allow Christ to change any part of themselves this week.

After Worship, squad leaders, construction captains and participants met with their groups to get to know each other. Eight squads will be working on roofs this week. Please pray for each squad’s safety and remind your participant to drink lots and lots of water

God is present with us in West Frankfort, and we cannot wait to see the awesome work He will do around and through us. We ask you pray for the safety and health of the homeowners, participants, volunteers, leaders and everyone in-between as they work faithfully. As always, Servemail is a fun way to encourage a loved one during this week.

Best Blessings,

Lauren and Sam

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