Final meal prep

Fifth: Season to taste. On Wednesday night the students, on their own, were sitting around talking and God started working. As one student said "You are going to get a new youth group because of what is going on in there" and they were right they bonded through their own willingness to be open and transparent about the things they struggled with the most. It was all coming together.

Sixth: stir it all together. VBS continued, and as far as our programming went it was far from perfect, But God showed us that His blessing is not upon programming but rather He blesses the obedience of His children. This was made evident in how our students lovingly connected with the children from the neighborhood. It was hard to tell who was enjoying the time together more us or them. Maybe it was hard to tell because it just simply became one big us. Our students blended their obedience with His love and power. The results were moving.

Ready to serve: This turned into quite the dish. The trip prepared students to minister in ways they they had never thought possible. They found the value of leaving their treasured comfort zone and ministering through the power of the Holy Spirit, they embraced the fact that God has something planned for them both now and in the future and they became more aware of the Body of Christ, both in their local body as well as the Body abroad, and they experienced its power in a special way. It was a great meal and I have a sneaking suspicion that it will not be  their last missions meal. It was a delicious blessing that God whipped-up.

Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 

A recipe for blessing

Well it was quite the scenario. A bunch of middle school students from northwest Indiana were to come on their very first mission trip. Their destination was inner city St. Louis, and everything that possibly could go wrong before the trip was going wrong. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, and it could have been, but...... God had a different dish He was cooking up.
We arrived safely with a van load of excited, but admittedly nervous, middle school students on Sunday eager to be a part of something but they had very little idea what, then God started adding the ingredients to His dish. First we met the amazing team from BUMP and some of the staff from Jubilee Church and we started finding out about the dynamics of the community that we would be serving. This information added to both the excitement and the fear that they had but they pressed on.

Second, God added the "block party" into the mix. This gave the students their first interaction with people from the community and it went great! They jumped in with both feet. They did everything from playing with kids to praying with adults who were struggling. They were shaking off some of the rookie jitters.

Third, God added our first pinch of a work project. We worked with a ministry that does so much in this community to meet needs both practically and spiritually. Our project was to clean-up two apartments that had recently been condemned and cleared of the squatters that were living in it. To say this was something that got them out of their comfort zone would be an understatement. They were so far from their comfort zone they could not see it with binoculars. But they came through again and cleaned like champs! Only two of them threw-up (If you could have seen this place you would be shocked it was only two).

Fourth, God added our first taste of VBS. The kids had been working hard on learning lines, songs and decorating but now it was time to put it into play. Did things go perfect? No. Did God still move? YES! The students loved those kids with Gods love and by the end of the night the kids that were unsure of us from the neighborhood and our kids that were unsure of the kids from the neighborhood were hugging, laughing and playing like old friends. It was great to watch.

What could have been a recipe for disaster, though it is not done cooking, is staring to smell like Gods blessing being poored out here in St. Lois. Keep praying!

Get your hearts ready!

BUMP students will be beginning their 3-week devotional with the week 1 theme: Prep Your Heart - Enter as Followers.

Pray for them as they pray, study, prepare and travel to St. Louis!

Praise God with us and ask for favor during BUMP week!

VBS/BUMP - Final Day

After breakfast, everyone was assigned areas of the church grounds - indoors and out - to clean and tidy up.  Even the smallest task like dusting the window sills is a blessing to the members of this church and all efforts are greatly appreciated.  We had some VBS prep time after lunch.

About 2:00, we all walked around the block to a nursing home.  We sang about 4 songs in a group area, then greeted the residents there.  A few people stayed there while the rest went upstairs to sing to more residents in the group area there.  Kevin and Noah Bittner played the piano.  We went out to meet the residents then added How Great Thou Art to the music.  We headed back down to get the other BUMP folks and to sing the final song before leaving to walk back down the block to the church.

We had some free time before supper to start consolidating our belongings or to just hang out.  The last night of VBS went well and the kids made racing flags for the craft for the night. There seemed to be a few less children there, but we knew ahead of time that some of them had things to do and wouldn't be there. Believe it or not, most of us still had a good energy level to keep up with the kids on this last day. We had told the kids to bring swimsuits for today since we planned games with water balloons and other water-filled games.

We then started a more thorough cleaning of the inside of the church and Fellowship Hall areas.  Dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning restrooms and more. Everyone pitched in. Craft supplies were gathered up and leftovers were saved to be donated to  another BUMP group this summer.

Then it was time for our final rally.  We sang songs, hear testimonies from Kenny and Cara and then watched a slide show of the activities from the week. Bedtime was pushed back to allow everyone to hang out, sign each other's t-shirts and just chill.  Tomorrow morning, we will be saying goodbye to our new friends and heading to our sight-seeing expeditions, then home.

This has been a long, hard, fun, rewarding week and we are all blessed to have been given this opportunity to serve and to grow.

Our group picture from Saturday morning:

VBS - Day 3

Today was a very busy day! After breakfast, we broke into groups and went into the areas surrounding the church to pick up trash and other items. Some hit the streets and neighborhoods and some hit the trail up the hill behind the church.

After lunch was VBS prep time.  Another truck from the Food Bank showed up and the kids help unload crates and crates of food.  We had cabbages (some were bigger than our heads), fresh corn in the husks, bags of broccoli florets, squash, zuccini, cucumbers, 2 large pallets of green beans, diced carrots,carrot sticks, baby carrots, diced celery, onions (whole and sliced) and a variety of breads. Both teams worked together to bag up the individual vegetables and get ready for the people to come. There was also donated clothing to be distributed.

People had to register and get a number and we called in 20 people at a time.  We served over 85 people today.  The bigger boys and team leaders helped box up the produce and some even carried it to residents' home or offered a ride.  The whole process took over 3 hours of work.  Then we had to get the room back in shape for our supper and then rearrange for VBS. After bagging up all the corn, some of us said we didn't want to even see corn for a while. Guess what was part of supper???

VBS is growing. We had over 51 kids today plus grown ups plus our BUMP groups and a few church members.  The energy is flowing.  We started the day with Stupid Human Tricks with some of our BUMP kids to get it started and some of the VBS kids, too.  The kids made Pit Passes today for the craft.  The Fellowship Hall is filling up and we are getting many positive comments from church members and even residents that don't go to this church. Lots of smiles are happening.  Can you believe we only have one day to go?!

VBS - Day 2

Wednesday started off as a "Free Day" for BUMP participants.  Most of the Texas team headed to Washington DC for a few hours. They got to ride the Metro and took pictures by the Capitol and Washington Monument. They also visited an American Indian Museum.  The New Jersey team went to the Baltimore Harbor area, had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and then hit the Aquarium.

After arriving back at the church, final preparations were made for VBS and a quick supper was had. VBS started at 6:30 pm and we followed the same format as Day 1, but with songs that we all know instead of the ones that actually came with the HisScars VBS pack. There was a lot of energy in the whole group today. David, one of the New Jersey team leaders, can exactly imitate Elmo's voice and the kids loved it!  The kids made steering wheels as the day's craft and they really seemed to enjoy it since many of them carried them around with them all night instead of leaving them on the craft pick-up table.  There were over 45 kids in attendance.  Some weren't able to come back, but others brought friends with them and we had more parents and grandparents here tonight.

After VBS, we had our daily debriefing and asked for volunteers to tell how they could see God working in the lives of these children and neighborhood residents. Several of the students had good observations to share.  After the close of the debriefing, everyone enjoys some free time (and it's some of the guys' shower time) by talking in groups, playing cards, etc.  It's all one big group and Texas is mixed in with Jersey and vice versa.

Two weeks to go!

We are down to the final two weeks before BUMP St. Louis! This week's prayer focuses on the teams and their leaders - that they would be READY!

        Ready to: receive all that God has planned for them.
        Ready to: sacrifice all of themselves to God's work in and through them.
        Ready to: learn the lessons God desires them to know.
        Ready to: stretch as God pushes them outside their comfort zone.
        Ready to: grow as their faith is invigorated
        Ready to: transform beyond BUMP week
        Ready to: return home and change their world!

Pray with us for those dedicating this week to serve!

Vacation Bible School (VBS) - Day 1

BUMP participants spent the morning passing out food to neighbors who had lost power during recent storms. Folks came by the church to get food and paper goods. Some of our BUMP adults and kids even walked home with some of the residents to help carry the groceries. A few of the Team Leaders made a run to several stores to pick up more supplies for VBS. After lunch, they broke up into teams of 5 or more and hit the sidewalks of the local neighborhoods to pass out more VBS flyers and to pray for the people and the needs in the area.  Some teams would walk one block, stop and pray for all the families and homes they had passed by on that block and continue the pattern as they walked another block. Then there was the final prep work for the first day of VBS.

After the kids were registered, we started the day with our theme song for the week - Drive! which was followed by a skit .  Then the kids broke into groups according to age and went through a rotation of lessons in the sanctuary, crafts, snacks in the Fellowship Hall and games outside.  After that everyone gathered back in the Fellowship Hall for another round of songs.  The New Jersey group led the singing and the Texans joined right in with some fun motions to the songs. The day ended with prayer.  We had 37 kids registered and we even had a few adults come along with them. Not bad for the first day from what we've been told.  Our them is HisScars - Pressing On.

Block Party!

Both the Texas team and New Jersey teams have been working side-by-side all day making preparations and creating games and carnival activities. We got ready for neighborhood kids to join us. Several had been stopping by this afternoon as we were going through our set up. Music, bubbles, games, hot dogs and more. Several of the girls handled the face painting, which everyone seemed to enjoy.  There were games throughout the parking lot much like the games we play at our Harvest Festival.

Part of our morning activities included receiving a big load of food from the Maryland Food Bank. We will be handing out food and paper goods to those in the neighborhood who were without power during the recent storms. We went into the local neighborhood in small groups and passed out VBS flyers and talked with a few residents after the food was put in the church's pantry. One of the groups talked to a little girl who was just about ready to accept Christ. She was so glad to get the flyer and is excited about coming to VBS!

Most of the kids and leaders seem to be working well together, as if we had always been one large group. It's so nice to see God at work in all our lives!

Reaching into Stillmeadow's neighborhood...

The Baltimore Sun reported today would be the 11th straight day of temperatures "hovering near 100 degrees." Adding insult to injury, the blazing heat follows on the heels of a "historic storm" on June 29th, which left 748,000 customers without power. Stillmeadow EFC was one of those customers.

Initial reports came back that the church may not have power in time for the start of BUMP today. BUMP site leaders and many others from across the country prayed together and on July 4th, days ahead of the expected timeframe, the power returned!

Trials in this area have been great - despite being uncomfortable, those without power lost all their food. Stillmeadow operates a food pantry and God is providing them a way to reach out to their neighborhood. One of the ways BUMP students serve at Stillmeadow is by completing work projects needed on the church. In light of the difficulties of the last week and a half, Stillmeadow is foregoing their work projects so the funds can instead be used to purchase food from a pantry to share with those who have lost much.

Today's story also reported the region's "reward for making it through 11 straight days...is a full week in the 80s." and Baltimore Gas and Electric Company announced today all customer's power is restored!

Praising God for the relief on the way - from the heat, from the lack of electricity and from the lack of food! "Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!"

BUMP Sunday

We woke up this morning about 7:00 am to start our day. We got dressed and went down for a light breakfast and then a little quiet time.  Then we started consolidating our things to try to make room for 19 more people who would be coming from Randolph, NJ.  Then we moved stuff again to clear the rooms for Sunday school classes.  Church services started downstairs at 10:15 and opened with some praise music.  The sanctuary is not air conditioned, so they just have chairs set up in the Fellowship Hall.  There was a meet and greet time after church with the locals.  We then headed back upstairs to move our things back to the classrooms.  We had a Team Leader meeting with our on-site BUMP coordinator, Evette and started working on plans for the week.

We started working on decorations for the VBS that we will be conducting this week.  The NJ group arrived a little after 5:00 pm and we all sat down together for supper and then our Orientation.  Everyone received 2 different BUMP shirts to wear this week at all of our activities at the church and in the community.  After a Team Leader meeting, we started grabbing kids to work on decorations and start getting games figured out for our Block Party that we will be hosting tomorrow.  Everyone has their area of expertise and many were all to happy to jump in and help.  This is going to be a fun and rewarding week.

Did I mention that there is ONE shower to accommodate 37 people?  A shower schedule has been made along with a K.P. schedule. It's been hot and humid (just like home), but in a day or so, the temps should be coming down to the 80's. Internet connections are very slow, so we'll add pictures later as connections allow. Keep us all in your prayers!

"We're in Balmer!"

At least that's how some of the locals say it.  There's no T and the sounds kind of run together.

We left Chattanooga around 7:00 am and headed east.  We made a couple more stops today and took a little extra time to stop and eat instead of eating on the road.  We went over 600 miles today through tree-covered mountains.  We got into Virginia at 11:30 am. West Virginia at 5:30 pm. At about 5:45, we hit Harper's Ferry where we went from West Virginia to Virginia (for about a minute or so) and then over to Maryland.  We got to Stillmeadow Evangelical Free Church at about 6:45 pm.

There was a wedding going on, so we got in touch with the King's (Mike & Cara's old neighbors) who live about 20 minutes south.  They invited us (all 17 of us) to come to their house for a brief visit and to eat hamburgers that they grilled on their deck.  It was nice to see Bernadette and King again and she even whipped up a Texas sheet cake for us.  We love you Bern!

We went back to the church and unloaded everything upstairs in a couple of the classrooms.  We're all sleeping on the floors this time.  The church was built in the 1950s.  Very pretty, but the structure and electrical outlets show its age.

BUMP with Hope

The group from Hope EFC in College Station, TX will be heading out on our 1500-mile trip at 5:00 am on Friday morning.  Yes, FIVE O'CLOCK A.M.!!!  We will have 4 vehicles, 6 adults and 11 kids in tow along with luggage, sleeping bags, pillows, computers, VBS supplies and more.  We look forward to a week of serving God and the Baltimore community around Stillmeadow EFC along with a group of folks from Bethlehem Church in Randolph, NJ.  Prayers for a safe and speedy trip will be gladly appreciated.

You can see our route and some plans at our Hope Happenings blog at http://hope-efc.blogspot.com/.

Pictures from our fundraising activities and the trip itself can be seen at https://picasaweb.google.com/116786154730092285926/BUMPActivities2012?noredirect=1#

Countdown to BUMP Baltimore!

Teams will hit the road to BUMP Baltimore in just a few days! Pray this week for logistics - from travel to weather to the last minute things that need completed.

Be sure to follow this blog so you get email alerts everytime the BUMP teams post! We are believing God will do great things through and in those coming to serve!