The Greenville Gazette: Wrapping Up.
Wow, it has been quite a week here in Greenville. We have experienced so many “WOW” moments; the LORD really moved.
Our pariticpants worked on a total of 10 homes and four trailers this week, completing every thing that was needed. Our students and adults were able to leave the worksites with filled hearts, knowing that the LORD did a work. They truly learned the meaning of Psalm 127:1 that UNLESS the LORD builds the house the labors labor in vain.
Our crews worked hard to finish their houses. Here are our crews from this week:
Tonight we finished strong in our worship and Closing Celebration.
We had a phenomenal week and are excited to see where the students go from here. Many have given their life to serve Christ as a missionary and have heard a call on their life from the LORD.
Make sure to become a fan of World Changers on Facebook. We give out tons of prizes throughout the year and you can stay up to date on details related to World Changers as well as hear what God is doing in and through the lives of other World Changers!
The Greenville Gazette: Video.
Some of out students rendition of a Disney song, World Changers edition.
The Greenville Gazette: UNLESS We Pray.
Students and adults are finishing houses as the week slowly begins to close.
Youth groups travel far and wide to get to this point in the week, to see completed and a finished work. Students traveled here not only to work on houses but to experience the LORD in great ways.
This past Tuesday we took up an offering which will go to church plants across North America through PowerPlant, our sister projects. We prayed over this moment, asking participants to give sacrificially. At our most recent count, we raised $1,318 dollars. PRAISE GOD! He is good, is He not?
Tonight we participated in a Concert of Prayer where students were challenged to pray for their crews, residents, cities, states, church’s, schools and the Nations.
Prayer is such a beautiful thing. We pray and He hears us. Students gathered around and prayed with each other and for each other. We ask that you would continue to pray that the participants would finish strong, that they would keep up their energy and most importantly saturate themselves with the presence of God. He has moved mightily this week and we know that He will continue to move as such even when we leave this place.
The Greenville Gazette: Stormy Skies.
God is mighty and powerful, is He not?
Our students went out to their sites earlier than expected in order to finish the days work ahead of schedule in order to make time for our Community Night.
Here are some of our students hard at work today:
We had planned to spend time after dinner doing worship and student testimonies at Falls Park in Downtown Greenville. As soon as some of us left for downtown, the skies stormed with thunder and lightning, sending down a great rain. It was apparent that we were no longer able to do this event outside, so we headed back to the church and did our worship service in our Student Chapel. Despite the weather, we were able to worship with full hearts and joyful spirits.
It was such a testament to God’s power as well as God’s plans. This reinforced the theme that God is completely in control of this week; His ways are not our ways. UNLESS we surrender to His plans, no matter what that entails, we will end up frustrated and seeking empty things.
We have two full days of work left. Please pray that the students would be able to not only get enough rest to work but be able to rest in the LORD this week, that they would experience God anew and learn new things about themselves and our Almighty God.
The Greenville Gazette: The Great Send Off.
This morning we sent our excited (and slightly sleepy) participants out to their worksites for the very first time.
Our crews loaded up into their vehicles, excited and ready to go out into their mission field. Our Summer Staff team saw them out of the church parking lot, pumping them up for their days. We reminded them that they are working for Jesus and that UNLESS the LORD builds the house, their labor is in vain.
We had students do Chinese Fire Drills around their cars, crews role up in their car “asleep” and then “awaken” in full excitement, students jump out of the back trailer and run back to their seats in the car, and the most creative, we had a crew jump out of their car and “push” the car for a few feet. Needless to say, our students were ready to get to their sites.
Here are some of our students at The Great Send Off:
The weather was cool for most of the day, a blessing to the students. A local news station came out and covered one of our sites, giving us a greater and wider spectrum for sharing the Gospel. We ended out our night with a great session of worship, including taking up our Missions Offering. As of right now our participants have raised over $1,300 dollars for church plants across North America. Praise the LORD!
We are excited to see the LORD continue to move this week here in Greenville!
The Greenville Gazette: Marvelous Monday.
Greetings from Greenville!
All of our churches have arrived safely and students are ready to experience God this week. Our students have traveled from five different states including Knoxville, Tennessee, Dahlonega, Georgia, Slidell, Louisiana, Greenville, North Carolina and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, including one local body of volunteers from Greer, South Carolina.
Here are some of our teams getting to Greenville:
Our Project Coordinator, Eric Wooten, shared with us the theme for this week: UNLESS. Unless God works this Summer, everything we do (painting, roofing, eating, sleeping) is all for nothing. The LORD is going to work mightily this Summer, and we are praying with expectation, knowing that God has gone before us.
We ask that you would pray for the students that they would begin their first day with positive, Christ-like attitudes. We also pray that hearts would be prepared for the LORD to work, for the students, our Summer Staff, the coordinators and the homeowners.
We are excited for this week and what is to come. Check back for an update tomorrow!
The Greenville Gazette: Get Ready!
Hello from Greenville, South Carolina! We are so excited to be here and begin this week serving the people of Greenville and most importantly serving the LORD. As the Summer Staff, we anticipate great things from God and expecting Him to move mightily in the students as well as in our own hearts.
Here is a quick intro of your Summer Staff…
(From left to right…)
Quinton Soronen, Audio Visual Technician and Team Leader
From Meridian, Mississippi, Quinton, the Tech Ninja and Team Leader, is leading our Summer Staff team. He will never say no to a tall, cold glass of sweet tea when presented. A lover of movies, Quinton refers to himself as a professional movie quoter, which is an understatement. Quinton is most excited to form relationships with students this summer as well as to see how the LORD will use him as a Team Leader.
Allie Raithel, Office Manager
Allie, from Russellville, Missouri, loves drinking sweet tea during hot days in the South. A woman of many talents, she can touch her tongue to her nose. Allie is a competitive person by nature. From card games to basketball, she sees a win as her only outcome. This summer, Allie is most excited to grow together as a team and form relationships with students.
Kristi Howell, Missions Communications Specialist
Coming to you all the way from Sacramento, California, Kristi is excited to be in the South, the land of sweet tea and history. If you want to become Kristi’s best friend, you can bring her Starbucks, preferably sweetened black tea lemonade, during her time in the office. She is obsessed with Harry Potter and Orbit mint gum. Kristi possesses the great talent of creating many facial expressions; she speaks more with her face rather than her words. This summer, Kristi is most excited to see students lives change as many will begin to hear their call to the mission field as missions opportunities are presented to students this summer as well as to begin to see God’s heart for the Nations cultivate within students hearts.
Ricky Kennedy, Music Leader
Ricky a.k.a. Richard is from Ridgeland, Mississippi. He prefers to drink water at any meal, passing the ever-popular sweet tea aside. Ricky commonly makes a face referred to as “The Ugly Face”, his hidden talent. This summer, Ricky is most excited to see how the LORD works in the Sumer Staff team and in the students at Greenville. Not only does he love the outdoors, he is intrigued by outer space and all that it encompasses.
The coordinators of this project are just as excited as we are to begin this week here in Greenville. The Project Coordinator and Speaker is Eric Wooten, Student Ministries and Missions Pastor. The Associational Coordinator for this project is Joel Thrasher. And last but not least our Construction Coordinators David Boutwell.
Throughout this project, we will be staying in Edwards Road Baptist Church. The facility is a beautiful brick church surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful neighboring houses. The Student Center will serve as our Worship Center, which just added a 17-inch screen. The church is beautiful and we cannot wait for our students to make it there home for the next week.
We are beyond excited to start this summer with y’all! We hope that you are as equally excited and that you pray for mighty things to happen during our stay in Greenville!
“Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain, Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.” Psalm 127:1 (HCSB)
