Mission Work #10

Gabcast! Mission Work #10

A Study in Patience and Flexibility

Good Morning. Today we leave NYC for Fargo. It's been an interesting week and has not gone as planned at all. Due to incredibly bad weather and unforeseen issues with two of the locations we were lined up at serve, we ended up missing out on much of the mission work we came to do. This has been frustrating for me, because we came to serve God and many of those opportunities have been lost... But - we didn't lose anyone, or end up in the hospital, so we do have that to be thankful for.

However, I believe that has been a lesson for me. I struggle with situations when things don't go right. This week, I have been challenged to think on my feet. While I will absolutely spend the next months worried that we didn't do enough, and that the mission of this trip was lost, I hope that some of the students were touched nonetheless.

Planning and organizing a mission trip like this is taxing. Executing the plan is difficult in the best case scenario - and we certainly haven't had the best case at all. But despite the challenges and struggles we've faced, I do think (and hope and pray) that each person on this trip was touched in some way. I know that a few of our kids were rocked and changed - and I thank God for it. The best part of a mission trip for me is not the work. It's the opportunity to get to know each of these kids better. It's the opportunity to see a change in their faith - a deepening of their relationship with Christ. I thank Jesus for the chance to serve these kids - and ask that he continue to bless me with their presence, love, excitement and understanding.

Seth and Brandon

Gabcast! Mission Work #8

Kirsten

Gabcast! Mission Work #7

Sadie and Jessica

Gabcast! Mission Work #6

Some Pictures...

There are tons of pictures on Photobucket. www.photobucket.com

But here's one to start :)

Andrew Okland's DAY

well i woke up at 8:23 am this morning. It was FANTASTIC. I had a dream that my dad's arm fell off and he beat me with it.....haha dad u wouldnt ever do that right.....(also excuse my text lingo). Anywho we prayed for people it was really cool and eye opening we also went to a mets game it was also very cool. Amen.

I HAVE A NEW YORK MOM NOW....
Shes short too

Jamie Newberger (:

Hey all;
the update for today is we went to go help out of meals on heels which is were we brought food to elderly citizens houses that couldn't go out to get out and get food. It felt good knowing that we had helped them out. After that we then made our way to vbs. were we all did an art project with the kids of a burning bush, we also did skits, singing and played with the kids on the play ground. Working with the kids is fun and also rewarding helping teaching about the bible.
we also got tickets to go to a Mets baseball game, so a lot of us went to that its been fun. this is kinda an overview of the day, hope all is well in Fargo.

God bless,

Jamie Newberger

First Day -

Good morning! We are having trouble with Internet so we'll be posting from the blackberry. We'll keep trying to get on because we have some good pics! We arrived in the NYC area at about 1 pm but getting to our destination took a while. After quicky unloading the bus, we headed out to Central Park and Times Square. Central park was a bit surreal and Times Sqaure is nuts! The group loved it though. Everyone enjoyed our meal and was very happy to go to sleep. This morning we have a group at the soup kitchen and a group will be doing street ministry... More to come!

Morning

5:45 a.m. And we made it through the night (and Ohio). The sun is just rising in
Pennsylvania. The drive overnight was good - though it is not easy getting comfy on a bus! So far, so good! We have to kill some time, so we'll have a long breakfast :)

12 Hours In

We've been on the road for twelve hourds now. Stopped in Hudson, WI for lunch and just outside of Gary, IN for dinner at 8:00 or so.Back on the road again and it's going well.The kids are having a great time and I so enjoy that I know them this year! I am having a blast so far - and we haven't left the midwest yet!!! :)

Our devotion tonight is based on 1 Peter 1:13 - Therefore prepare yourself for action.We challenged the group to consider what they expect in NYC. Can't wait to see what they experience in less than 24 hours!

On our way!

Thanks to all the families for seeing us off this morning! We're near Sauk Centre and everyone is settled in and enjoying the movie "Cars." Stay tuned...

New York State of Mind...

Hello Families -

Well, it's 10:15 on Friday night and we are ready to go. Can't believe that we leave tomorrow.

Just wanted to take a minute to let you know we will do our best to post. Again, not sure what will happen once we get to NYC (in terms of wireless capabilities.) However, if, for some reason, we can't get on - we'll try to upload the podcasts to the other Atonement site - those upload directly to the site.

Thanks for all your support and prayers as we head out on another mission trip :)

Left to Right:
Ian B., Brandon F., Eric S., Jordan I., Josh K., Juanita H., Katie A., Summer H., Ashley B., Adam S., Kelsie L., Cody H., (Stefanie Anderson took the picture!)

Youthworks Recap!

The Junior High Youth recently returned from their first ever mission trip! It was a great experience - with many highlights. During the week, they worked on some demolition, served the hungry, and more! They also had a great opportunity to get to know some kids from around the country as well as bond with some of the kids from our group. We will try to have pictures up in a couple of days - you can view them on photobucket. (The Link and password info is in the right sidebar).

Thanks for all your prayers and support for the kids, chaperones and families last week!

Gabcast! Mission Work #1

Sandbag 2009

I guess a 100 year flood is actually only 12. In 1997, the Fargo Moorhead community faced a tremendous flood. This week, we are racing against the waters again. Our kids are working together to fight the flood. Check out the pictures. More coming soon...