Archive for June 2009
Does All Mean All?
30. June 2009 by admin.
6.30.09 / 1:25 p.m.
Colossians 2.23-24
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Our family theme for this week is Submission. In today’s scripture we are reminded that whatever we do we should do it “heartily.” This is difficult at times to apply to every part of our lives. As mentioned today, we have a tendency to compartmentalize our lives, but verse 23 tells us that whatever we do, do heartily. Simply put, ALL that we do we should do it heartily to God. I pray that today you are giving heartily to all the endeavours of your day.
Mark
Mission LA: Day 9-10
14. June 2009 by admin.
6.14.09 / 6:12 a.m.
Good Sunday morning! We are in Gadsden, AL where we spent the night. We look forward to getting home. Due to being away from the computer let me catch you up on V.B.S. Friday night we were a bit down with a total of 38, but they knew several of the children would be unable to attend on Friday. There were, however, a couple of families at the cookout which is good. Tim and Madeline were very upbeat about the whole experience. They have a good list of children/families in which to contact. Friday nights’ V.B.S. went very good. Afterwards we packed up everything except the things we needed for overnight and the kids enjoyed a time of games with Madeline.
Yesterday we just simply drove. As soon as we finished our breakfast, cooked by Tim and Madeline, we loaded the bus. It didn’t take long for everyone to be asleep, except for Dennis and me. We drove and here we are in Gadsden, AL. We enjoyed a good meal together and then it was off for one more trip to Wally World. After we returned from Walmart, we had our devotion time and a time of debriefing. Thanks for your prayer for our team. God has been faithful to us, as always. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Mark for the group
Mission LA: Day 8
12. June 2009 by admin.
6.12.09 / 1:28 p.m.
Good Friday afternoon! It is hard to believe that our time here in Monroe is almost up, but here it is Friday. We are here at Moore Fitness Center getting a much needed shower. Tonight is the final night of V.B.S. Last night we were up two from Wednesday night for a total of 52. All went very good last night. The children are very excited with all that we are doing. There are mostly smaller children and the love Cooper! I asked on little boy if he wanted to talk to Cooper and he went up to him and gave him the biggest hug. It was so sweet. Our students continue to work hard and do an excellent job. Tonight we start with a cookout at 5:00 and V.B.S. afterwards. We have invited family and friends of the children to come and eat. We hope that this will be an opportunity for the families to be exposed to Landmark Chruch.
Our plans as of now are to pack up what we can tonight and pull out some time in the morning. We will travel part of the way and arrive back home on Sunday afternoon. Continue to pray for our time here and our safety on the highway. I believe that God is going to do a great work here after we leave. Pray for the people of Landmark and Tim and Madeline as they lead them. They have a wonderful group of people who have simply treated us like family! I hope to make one more post before we get back home, but it may be later tomorrow. I hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with us as we have been here in Monroe.
Mark your calendar for June 21 at 6:00 p.m. We will share about our trip on that Sunday evening. I hope that you have a great rest of your day.
Mark for the group
Mission LA: Day 7
11. June 2009 by admin.
6.11.09 / 2:24 p.m.
Good Thursday afternoon! First let me say that last nights’ V.B.S. surpassed what we expected. We had a total of 50 in attendance. We had 25 students, 16 of us, and the rest was Landmark workers. Tim and Madeline were very excited, as they only had 3 students last year. Our students worked very hard and did a superb job! The students enjoyed the games and classes. When “Wade Winalot” would ask “Coach Zack” and “Professor Cathy” questions the children would yell out the answers, and the correct ones! God was good to us. We all continue to do good. We got up early this morning and worked on skits, games, etc… Madeline made home made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I hope I don’t come home 10 pounds heavier. We went out to a State Park called Black Bayou and saw the sights. We then ate lunch and here we are getting a bath. We will be having chili for supper that is being prepared by a church family. They are spoiling us! Continue to pray for us as we continue the work.
Have a great rest of your day.
Mark for the group
Mission LA: Day 6
10. June 2009 by admin.
6.10.09 / 1:43 p.m.
Good Wednesday afternoon! We are here at Moore’s Fitness to get our daily bath. YEAH! We have had a good day. We started our day at the laundry mat doing towels and our (Belindia and my) laundry. We had an episode with ants so we had to wash most of our clothes. The students went back out to the road to wave and invite people to V.B.S. during rush hour (7:00 a.m.). We finalized our V.B.S. program for tonight and the Landmark Church bought our lunch, PIZZA! Yesterday afternoon another lady brought us a box full of fresh peaches. Tonight we plan to eat them with Cool Whip. YUM!
V.B.S. begins tonight at 6:00. Pray for the success of tonight’s program. Also, pray for our students as they are the do-it-all to the success of this Bible School. Dennis and Sherry have things running smoothly. Continue to pray for the people of Landmark Church. Also, pray for the encouragement of Tim and Madeline. I will update tomorrow when it’s bath-time. Have a great rest of your day.
Mark for the group
Mission LA: Day 5
9. June 2009 by admin.
6.9.09 / 3:02 p.m.
Good Tuesday afternoon! Our group hopes that you are having a great day. We slept, they slept, in this morning till about 7:45 a.m. and had donuts made by Madeline. After breakfast the students continued to work on decorating and preparing for V.B.S. While we were working a lady stopped by the church and wanted information about V.B.S. She had seen us out in front of the church waving and holding our signs and just wanted to learn more. She told Dennis we’d see her and kids tomorrow.
Today for lunch a couple fixed gumbo for us. It was good. It had chicken, craw-fish, squirrel, sausage, and dove in it. The students were a bit apprehensive, but ate it and really enjoyed it. I have pictures of the gumbo that I will share when we get home. We are getting cleaned up right now and plan to have dinner with Tim, Madeline and the family. The weather is nice here. It is hot, but not unbearable. Everyone continues to be doing good. Continue to pray for us as we prepare to conduct V.B.S. and be an encouragement to the folks here. Have a great rest of your afternoon.
Mark for the group
Mission LA: Day 4
8. June 2009 by admin.
6.8.09 / 5:15 p.m.
Good Monday afternoon. We are back at Moore Fitness for our daily shower. We have had an eventful day. We started our day out in front of the church on Hwy. 139 waving at people as the pass by with posters, signs, and in costume hoping to invite people to V.B.S. We started this at 7:00 a.m. and waved during rush hour. We then ate breakfast and then we worked to prepare classrooms and the sanctuary for Studio GO! The students worked hard. We have a small bit of decorating left to complete, but most of the work is done. We ate lunch and then took a few minutes to relax. We made a Walmart run and here we are getting our shower. We plan to have dinner with the McDaniel family. Most likely we will have Mexican as Madeline said that is their favorite.
We continue to have a great time. Everyone is doing good. Again, this is our only internet access so I cannot send pictures. Rest assured we are taking pictures, but just can’t send them as I am using the fitness center’s computer. Continue to pray for us as we prepare for V.B.S. Pray for the Lighthouse people that have volunteered to help. They are very hesitant so our students will actually be teaching with their adult assisting them. Pray that children’s lives will be touched, but also God will impress upon the hearts of the people here to step up and get out of their box.
I hope you have a great rest of your evening and a great day tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow.
Mark for the Group
Mission LA: Day 2 And 3
7. June 2009 by admin.
6.7.09 / 3:30 p.m.
Good Sunday afternoon. As you can tell we do not have internet access at the church. Now is the first time since yesterday morning that we have been able to post. Yesterday morning we left Meridian, MS after a good nigh of rest. We left Meridian about 8:00 a.m. and arrived shortly after lunch. We arrived at the Lighthouse church and greeted Tim, Madeline, Jordan and Noah. After unpacking, we took the students to the mall and Tim and Madeline to hang out while we went to Sam’s and Walmart. Later last night we ate at CiCi’s pizza. We got to bed about midnight. We were so lucky to have the students sing us to sleep. ha ha
This morning, after a good night of rest, we got up and got ready for church. We didn’t have a shower, but did brush our teeth. We enjoyed Sunday School and Worship with the Lighthouse congregation. Though small, we enjoyed a good Sunday School lesson and a good time of worship. The church provided a potluck lunch for us, YUM! Now, we are at Moore’s Health and Fitness taking a long deserved shower. Continue to pray for us as we start V.B.S. preparations. Things are going good and all the students are doing great too. I’ll post another entry as I can and try to add a pic when I can. Have a great day!
Mark, for the Group
Mission LA: Day 1
5. June 2009 by admin.
mission-la-day-1-012.JPG6.5.09 / 8:46 p.m.
Today is our first official day of our jouney to Monroe, LA. We left limestone after a wonderful breakfast prepared by Harvey and Madge, and James Brown. We traveled to Meridian, MS today and are spending the night here before we travel to Monroe tomorrow morning. We made great time with no problems. We did encountered an accident that involved a cattle truck that blocked the interstate for some time. We exited the interstate and bypassed the wreck. Thanks for your prayer for us. Dennis and Sherry and Belindia and I have survived day 1. The students are going great also. I will update as soon as I can. Continue to watch the blog for our travel updates. Have a great night.
And We’re Off! Well, Almost
4. June 2009 by admin.
6.4.09 / 8:46 p.m.
Time has rolled around again for our annual teen mission trip. This year our trip is being lead by our new, well not so new now, youth director’s Dennis and Sherry Ledford. Belindia and I are privileged to have opportunity to go along also. We will actually be leaving Limestone tomorrow, Friday, morning. We will be working at the Lighthouse Free Will Baptist Church in Monroe, LA with Tim and Madeline McDaniel family. We will be doing several things, but our major job will be to help conduct Vacation Bible School, Studio GO! style. We wish to thank our Director, Alisha Ricker for all the assistance she has given us with material, games, etc… I will do my best to keep this BLOG updated as much as internet access will allow. We will leave tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. and drive to Meridian, MS for a wonderful night in a motel before sleeping on the floor on air mattresses for the next 8 nights. Well, I’d better make sure I’m packed, write a check or two, and get to bed. Four a.m. comes early for an old man. Good night!
