Hey there... This post is bittersweet because MOVE13 is almost over and today was so FANTASTIC!!
Today was slightly different than the rest because the high school team and the middle school team split to two different places.
First for the high school team. Before lunch, they started at Harmon Glass Building, right next to MC3, cleaning the floors and painting the walls. This building is going to be used for Carpenters Hands. Also, before lunch, half of the high school group worked on a house that has been vacant for years. Zion Chirch bought this house to rent out to one of this missionaries and we were blessed to help them clean it out. I wasn't with that group today but I heard that they got to use a jackhammer and "sledge" apart an old piano. Sounds like a lot of fun to me.
Second for the middle school group. We have had the privliledge to work with the Center for the Homeless. Today's tasks were to separate and tidy up the donation room. The blessing was so many clothes and things were donated that they almost didn't have room for all of it. Another group served lunch to the Veterans and to the residents in e cafeteria. I heard they were able to actually eat lunch with a few of the older ladies and were blessed by the ladies conversation. The third group, which was a big group, worked out on the garden. There was a lot of ground to cover, a lot of weeds to pull, and a few flowers to plant. It was a hot one today but the kids did such an amazing job.
After lunch both the middle and high school groups switched places. High school went to the Center for the Homeless and did the exact same thing the middle school group did, sorting in the donation room and weeding in the garden. There was a ton of work to do there!! The middle school group went to MC3 and worked with Alfreida and Ana Marie in the community garden. Again, a lot of weeds to pull and a lot of vegetables and fruits to plant. We also got to use our creativity and painted and set up a few signs to name the garden "Helping Hands Children's Garden." The coolest part in my opinion is before the work started, we circled up, read a blessing lead by LeRoy King and prayed ove the garden for provision, protection, and unity.
The Community Garden was started a few years ago in order to help the community be able to afford good produce. Alfreida's vision was to bring the community together, serving together, loving one another, and helping fill some tummies. I would say that vision is well on its way, they now have three different gardens and the kids of the community enjoy being a part of something so huge!
Parents, you would be proud of how well your kids did today, and this week...we covered a lot of ground... LITERALLY!
After all the hard work from the past three days, we all went to Hackers to end with some fun and friendly competition. So blessed to be able to use the gifts God gave us to serve our community.
God's Peace,
Huffy
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Friday Recap!
Hello again! We have had another great day here on MOVE13, and what amazing, hard working group of young students you all have! I (Gessica Hufnagle or "Huffy") and the rest of the GSM staff are so blessed to serve with you and your awesome kids!
Today we were blessed to do something no other MOVE trip has ever done. We ALL walked around the city of South Bend praying over the buildings and for the people in, out and around those buildings! As awkward as it can seem laying hands on buildings around lunch time in a city...it's actually pretty amazing what God does in and through all of us.
A few short stories from the prayer walk...
A group of leaders and students were praying for a gas station and they saw a man from inside the building counting them. Not knowing what he was doing they continued to pray hoping he wasn't irritated, which they soon found out he wasn't. He was actually counting to see how many water bottles to bring out. He thanked them and extended his appreciation for praying.
Another group shared they were actually in one of the South Bend Orthopedics buildings and shared with the nurses how they were praying for the people of South Bend. Then nurses asked if they would pray for them. They did of course right then and there!!
And LOTS of other amazing stories (don't forget to ask your students to share with you).
Along with the prayer walk, about half of the entire MOVE13 team blessed the Monroe Circle Community Center (MC3) by cleaning the entire building. I mean, they not only did your typical clean the counters and sweep the floors, but they scrapped gum off of furniture, dusted, cleaned out cabinets, washed walls, painted, and much much more. We were told later that what was accomplished by our wonderful MOVE13 team in a few hours would have actually taken days to do. LeRoy King, GCC staff member who runs point on everything involving MC3, thanked us tremendously and reminded us of how the work done today communicates how loved the people of MC3 are and how grateful they are of the work done.
After cleaning and prayer walking, the entire group had a chance to love on the families, mostly rhe kids, of the MC3 community. There was face paint, sidewalk chalk, crafts and sports which did not take long to rally up the kids, such a blessing to show them they matter to God and to us! The trip to MC3 ended in an ALL-OUT Tickle War!! The kids were on the backs or shoulders of someone from the MOVE13 team and literally ran around for an hour just tickling. It was FANTASTIC! There is nothing quite like the sound of a child laughing, you cannot help but put a smile on your face when you hear. Actually, a group of moms were standing around the outside just watching, one of them called me over and said, "What you and your church do for us is amazing. Thank you, you don't have to do what you do, but you continue to bless us and we love it. Thank you again."
Lastly, to top off the night, we got to enjoy some MOVE13 team time at Silver Beach and had a cookout. The water was just shy of freezing and the sand was wet but it didn't stop us from diving in head first and having a blast - celebrating what God can do when we all work together as one for His Name.
Until tomorrow...
-Huffy
Today we were blessed to do something no other MOVE trip has ever done. We ALL walked around the city of South Bend praying over the buildings and for the people in, out and around those buildings! As awkward as it can seem laying hands on buildings around lunch time in a city...it's actually pretty amazing what God does in and through all of us.
A few short stories from the prayer walk...
A group of leaders and students were praying for a gas station and they saw a man from inside the building counting them. Not knowing what he was doing they continued to pray hoping he wasn't irritated, which they soon found out he wasn't. He was actually counting to see how many water bottles to bring out. He thanked them and extended his appreciation for praying.
Another group shared they were actually in one of the South Bend Orthopedics buildings and shared with the nurses how they were praying for the people of South Bend. Then nurses asked if they would pray for them. They did of course right then and there!!
And LOTS of other amazing stories (don't forget to ask your students to share with you).
Along with the prayer walk, about half of the entire MOVE13 team blessed the Monroe Circle Community Center (MC3) by cleaning the entire building. I mean, they not only did your typical clean the counters and sweep the floors, but they scrapped gum off of furniture, dusted, cleaned out cabinets, washed walls, painted, and much much more. We were told later that what was accomplished by our wonderful MOVE13 team in a few hours would have actually taken days to do. LeRoy King, GCC staff member who runs point on everything involving MC3, thanked us tremendously and reminded us of how the work done today communicates how loved the people of MC3 are and how grateful they are of the work done.
After cleaning and prayer walking, the entire group had a chance to love on the families, mostly rhe kids, of the MC3 community. There was face paint, sidewalk chalk, crafts and sports which did not take long to rally up the kids, such a blessing to show them they matter to God and to us! The trip to MC3 ended in an ALL-OUT Tickle War!! The kids were on the backs or shoulders of someone from the MOVE13 team and literally ran around for an hour just tickling. It was FANTASTIC! There is nothing quite like the sound of a child laughing, you cannot help but put a smile on your face when you hear. Actually, a group of moms were standing around the outside just watching, one of them called me over and said, "What you and your church do for us is amazing. Thank you, you don't have to do what you do, but you continue to bless us and we love it. Thank you again."
Lastly, to top off the night, we got to enjoy some MOVE13 team time at Silver Beach and had a cookout. The water was just shy of freezing and the sand was wet but it didn't stop us from diving in head first and having a blast - celebrating what God can do when we all work together as one for His Name.
Until tomorrow...
-Huffy
Thursday Recap
Hey everyone, Johnny here and wanted to let you know that MOVE 13 is underway and what a great start we've had! I apologize for the delay in getting a post up, we've had some internet issues.
The team gathered on Wednesday night at the hotel and went through final preparations for the trip and even had a little time leftover for fun in the pool.
Thursday the whole team headed down to Crooked Creek Ranch in Wakarusa. Cindy Shuder owns and operates the ranch that will serve over 400 at-risk and underprivileged children throughout Michiana. Organizations like Center for the Homeless, ADEC and Son City Kids bring groups out for a chance to experience the woods, horses and nature. The Ranch is maintained purely through volunteer efforts and donations so the project list was massive and the team jumped right in!
Groups tackled projects like rebuilding horse pen fences, offloading over 600 bales of hay and lifting them up to the loft of a barn, installing a new volleyball court, mucking horse stalls and lots of woods property management like chainsawing, weed eating and clearing paths.
The students served so well and the leaders led admirably. It was a phenomenal first day and there was some great relaxing together as a team after dinner at the pool, playing cards and just hanging out!
Feel free to leave some comments, we'd love to share your encouragement and prayers with the team!
We'll get a Friday post up tonight and hopefully some pictures as well!
-john keim
The team gathered on Wednesday night at the hotel and went through final preparations for the trip and even had a little time leftover for fun in the pool.
Thursday the whole team headed down to Crooked Creek Ranch in Wakarusa. Cindy Shuder owns and operates the ranch that will serve over 400 at-risk and underprivileged children throughout Michiana. Organizations like Center for the Homeless, ADEC and Son City Kids bring groups out for a chance to experience the woods, horses and nature. The Ranch is maintained purely through volunteer efforts and donations so the project list was massive and the team jumped right in!
Groups tackled projects like rebuilding horse pen fences, offloading over 600 bales of hay and lifting them up to the loft of a barn, installing a new volleyball court, mucking horse stalls and lots of woods property management like chainsawing, weed eating and clearing paths.
The students served so well and the leaders led admirably. It was a phenomenal first day and there was some great relaxing together as a team after dinner at the pool, playing cards and just hanging out!
Feel free to leave some comments, we'd love to share your encouragement and prayers with the team!
We'll get a Friday post up tonight and hopefully some pictures as well!
-john keim
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