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After a little rain shower this afternoon, all of the projects wrapped up quite nicely. All eighteen homes were finished today and there were eighteen very happy homeowners. The community has been very supportive of the work that the participants have done here in Daytona. The news article that was written by Mark Harper can be found at:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/evlEAST05072909.htm
Worship and Closing Celebration were especially special tonight because many of the homeowners were able to come and join their crews for the worship service, and it was very heart warming to see one homeowner in particular who is wheelchair bound and reliant on the public transportation of the city to get around. She was able to work it out with the transportation system to make it to service so she could see her kids one last time. On her phone is a picture of the crew that worked on her house and she said “they will always be close to my heart and a wonderful memory!”
We pray for travel mercies for everyone going home as it will be a bitter sweet day tomorrow. Its sad that the summer is over but looking back we know how many lives were changed and that in itself is enough to bring a smile to anyones face!
You have now been challenged to find a better place to make friends other than World Changers… Seriously!!! This week participants have been surrounded by 180 other students their age who are also living their life for Christ. They have had the opportunity to seperate out of their youth groups a little and meet new people, doing hard labor together and building strong bonds that will last longer than just this week.
All of the sites are getting along so well that they will be finished early tomorrow and have the opportunity to go around the community and share Jesus Christ.
The whole friendship theme continued into worship tonight when Scott talked about a friend that God doesn’t like, the friend engulfed in worldly pleasures. These worldly desires are what seperate us from Jesus Christ and by giving them up and letting go of those sins we are able to walk hand in hand with Christ.
Its only Tuesday and three crews are done with their jobs… can you say WOW??? The participants here are all very hard working and have proven themselves worthy of being praised, and not only for their physical labor. They have been out in the community evangelizing and passing out tracts, sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those that they meet.
Not only was today an amazing day in the physical sense but God moved tonight in worship. We had a different service tonight called the Concert of Prayer and the students had all distractions taken away from them so that they could fully focus on what God was saying to them. The service opened up with about 20 of the adult leaders sharing their testimonies on a piece of cardboard and not only did this set the tone for the rest of the evening, it opened doors for students to talk to the leaders. God tugged heart strings tonight and a participant asked Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior tonight.
Keep praying that God continues to bless this community and the participants here and that he keeps them safe physically, and spiritually.
Round ‘em up, and move ‘em out, to work that is! We all gathered in a massive circle in the FBC parking lot today to pray before starting our first day of work at the 18 different job sites. We have quite a combination of roofing and painting going on here in Daytona, South Daytona, and Port Orange.
Three of the crews had the joy of sharing their story with a reporter from the local news. Debbie, the journalist, was so sweet and enthusiastic about the service being done in her community from the 180 youth here.
The weather here was perfect with a slight over cast, no rain, and a pleasant ocean breeze. The participants were able to knock out a good portion of work on their first day due to the nice weather, and we should all be praying that we are blessed with the same weather tomorrow.
Tonight Scott spoke about the seeds we sow and how we need to be a fruit inspector because what we plant will eventually come to harvest over time. Good fruit does not come from bad seeds. His challenging message brought quite a few students to the alter tonight, setting the stage for Concert of Prayer tomorrow.
Continue to pray for safety here in Daytona and that God will move in this community because His love is desperately needed. Your students are a part of something amazing… they are changing lives left and right so let them know how much you appreciate and love them by sending them an E-Couragram
If you walked into the commons area this morning you would have thought that all 200 participants would have known one another for years! Each of the crews had already broken off without instruction from the staff and were chatting away without any care in the world.
We as a staff had the pleasure of splitting off to eat with some of the crews today, and through this we were able to connect even more with the participants. The Wrecking Crew had some great laughs with their host church and the laughs are bound to keep coming with that bunch!
Laughs are especially liked here at World Changers but one of the favorite parts about each day are the evening worship services, and tonight was extra special. We are staying here in Daytona Beach at First Baptist Church of Daytona Beach and had the blessing of worshiping with the FBC Daytona congregation tonight, showing them how World Changers does worship.
Scott talked tonight about what, how and why we serve and how all of these things matter to God. You cannot serve God through sin and he challenged us to ask ourselves how what we are currently doing is an advancement in His Kingdom.
Tomorrow is the first day of work so be praying that rain stays away, that there is a nice ocean breeze, and most of all that God moves in miraculous ways!
Today was the first day here at World Changers Daytona Beach and what an amazing day it has been! The excitement started early this morning when the summer staff woke up and started rushing around trying to get the last minute details in order and then things became real when the shower trailers pulled into the parking lot. After all we all know it would not be World Changers without shower trailers, right???
The eleven churches arrived around 2:00 pm from six different states. Some churches drove over fifteen hours and some were just a few miles up the road, but all have a passion for sharing the love of Jesus Christ and are anxiously awaiting tomorrow morning when they find out what crew they are on, what they will be doing, and who their homeowner is for the week.
Tonight in service Scott Pace, our worship speaker for the week, shook up the worship service tonight when he shattered a glass on the floor to make a point. He talked about how we as children of Christ have been purchased by His perfect blood, we have a specific purpose, and that He must purge us in order to carry out His plan. In order for Him to purge us He often times has to shatter our world as we know it, just like Scott shattered the glass. After shattering us, God makes us whole again, a beautiful vessel for His use. Be praying that God breaks us this week and molds us into what He wants us to be so that we can glorify Him.
The summer has been full of numerous sleepless nights staying up late talking to new friends, eating yummy cafeteria food, and enjoying all the new tan lines at the end of the week. We as a summer staff have been looking forward to World Changers Daytona Beach since the day we knew we had been assigned as the summer staff team here. Seeing as this is a new project we are all very excited to see what God does here, and of course the smell of that sweet ocean air doesn’t hurt anything. We are not the only ones who are excited… the community of Daytona Beach, Florida is anxiously awaiting your arrival. We as a staff are ready to get the projects underway and experience God’s glory as He shines in and through us in the weeks to come. Be sure to come visit us in the office whenever you get a chance because we can’t wait to hear all of the amazing things that God does on your site throughout the day. Jessica Best is our Team Leader/Office Manager and she would love a nice sweaty hug when you arrive back form your site. Our AV this summer is Nathan Edwards, so be sure to watch for his appearance throughout the week on your site! Jared Fincher is our Music Leader and he is going platinum after this summer, we see it now! The Missions Communication Specialist for the summer is Meg Mendell, make sure to come see her on Thursday at the Missions Round Table to find out what other missions opportunities are available to you. We hope that you are just as excited as we are, and we ask you to join us in continuing to pray for the homeowners, community, and churches in the weeks leading up to the project. So like we said… we can’t wait for your arrival so hurry up, but be safe!
