Lynch Mission

Today is the first day of our mission trip to Lynch, Kentucky. Curfew is just past and I actually have wireless here so I thought I would share an update.

Tomorrow we begin our soccer camp and Vacation Bible School. We have excellent leaders, and I think the day is going to be great. One of the reasons we chose to do a soccer camp is that we have several Middle School girls who can play soccer. I look forward to seeing these girls use their skills for God in this way!

Just as we went to distributer flyers tonight, promoting the event, the rain began to pour down. We're reminding ourselves that He's got the whole world in His hands.

After the rain stopped, we had a planning meeting at a local park. A few local youth were there, and our kids did a good job of trying to talk to them. Kevin and Sky ducked out of our meeting to play basketball with them! I'll chastise them later. ;-) While we planned our drills and VBS, the kids would ride their bikes right through our meetings! They set off firecrackers near us... imagine having a meeting with Middle Schoolers with firecrackers going off left and right! Right!

In the course of a few minutes playing at the park, the local kids began throwing firecrackers at our kids, along with cursing and other name-calling. We hit the road pretty quick, and some of our girls were pretty flustered.

One the bus ride home, I shared with them the story of Jim Elliot, his friends, and his family. Although their firecracker experience was a world apart from the encounter with the Huaorani, I wanted our kids to see just the same that our Christ, when he was speared, did not spear back.

Our kids shared tonight how they are seeing God working and at work in the midst of our trip. It was an encouraging time, and I hope that it continues throughout the week.

Remember us and pray for us.

Praises

• Our kids are encouraging each other when prompted to


• Some of our students are volunteering for extra jobs like sweeping and mopping
  Before we even arrived, flyers were distributed in the schools, and announcements were made in the newspaper, radio, and television.


• We have great adult leaders on the trip

Prayer Requests

• We have already had hurt feelings within our team. Pray that our students would forgive, and not do things to hurt their teammates.

Many of our students are very focused on their needs/wants/desires. We want them to see past this during our mission trip -- their convenience is not the top priority

• That our students would have a very clear understanding of the Gospel, so that they can share it very clearly and authentically


• That we can make several good relational bridges with kids tomorrow


• That God will let us reach people even though we weren't able to distribute many flyers today!