What an awesome day....we saw 8 more students come to know Christ today...for a total of 9. 9 more people added to the Kingdom today and we are rejoicing at what God did. Also, we "finished" the basement today. We completed everything we set out to do...and I have no idea how but God was good. Billy Cathey has been an AMAZING leader on that part of the project and all with me staying on him about the money we had to work with. I can't wait to post pictures of the before and after...but I don't know they will really show how bad the basement was or how huge the changes were.

The block party was incredible. I think that we had about 300 people there from the community. They were getting their faces painted, free food, jump on a bounce house....it was incredible to share Jesus through balloons and through the bracelets that we made this week.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Keep praying for Lincoln. And pray for Anthony Terry as his grandmother has been diagnosed with a mass in her chest and is going to have a biopsy in the morning. He got the call she was really sick yesterday. Pray for that family.

Tomorrow we will do a free day in Philly and then we will head to the airport. Pray for a our travel....we are ready to be home and clean!

Join us to hear what God did on August 6th in the Attic at 6:30. We will have the video ready for you guys and pictures to see.

And can I just say that Pastor Mark has been awesome this week...it has been great to have him here ministering with our kids. Ask him how he was able to plan this great trip in such a short time at Lakeside. ha!

Mission Philadelphia Day 5

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Thank you all for your prayers today. Vacation Bible School went off without a hitch and I really think the kids took the message of the gospel to heart. Please pray that God would continue to grow the seeds that were planted today.

Tomorrow is our last work day. The kids and adults are exhausted and it will be a tough one. I am sad to say that I will not be able to be with them tomorrow. As you may have read earlier, my grandmother died earlier this week and I am returning home early to be with my family. Please pray that God would give our kids and adults the strength to be peppy and energetic for the kids one last time and that our construction crew can power through the work that is left.

Some of the adults will be e-mailing me pictures and stories from tomorrow, so check back to see what went on. Good night.

Mission Philadelphia Day 4

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VBS was great this morning. We had more kids come to participate than yesterday, which was an answer to prayer and we even had a few decisions at each site. Please pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of those who made those decisions after we leave.

Tomorrow is the most important day for Vacation Bible School. We will be teaching the story of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. Please pray that God would soften the hearts of the people and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would fall on fertile soil.

Construction is moving right along and the crew is getting a lot done. I have to say that I am floored by the work ethic of our kids. We have to pull them out of that basement kicking and screaming just so they will get some fresh air or get a bite to eat for dinner.

At the house of prayer we are moving right along with the computer room. The crew there has been diligently scraping the wallpaper off the walls and filling the cracks in the drywall so we can paint the room and get it ready for computers to be installed.

Wednesday will be a difficult day. We are all tired and the smallest things can set someone off and ruin someone's day. Please pray that nerves would be calm and that tempers would be long so that we might show the love of God to those around us by our love for each other.

Mission Philadelphia Day 3



Hello again everyone. Today has been an incredible and a rough day. The kids worked their tails off at Vacation Bible School

handing out flyers and picking up trash

and working construction.

We also got to spend some time at the Gather the People House of Prayer with Pastor Yvonne C. Yates. As the kids will read in their quiet times on Thursday, the House of Prayer was the place where I saw my first miracle. We had planned on having a block party at the church when the bottom fell out of the dark clouds overhead. We were not ready to give up, so while our youth minister went to strategize with Pastor Yates we gathered together and prayed that God would stop the rain long enough for us to minister to the people in this community. As if some faucet had been shut off, the rain stopped and the sun came out. After our block party we packed up our equipment and loaded up the bus. The second the last person stepped on the bus the bottom fell out of the sky once more and it rained all night. We would later find out that from across the city you could see a small patch of blue sky above the House of Prayer in the midst of a dark and heavy storm.

It was good to see Pastor Yates again and I look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and good night.

And one other addition...please be praying for Lincoln. His grandmother passed away today. The funeral will be on Friday...so he will be going home early.

Well, today was one of those days were nothing goes as planned and yet you know that God is doing something in the midst of it. From missing crafts, to wrong VBS times, to Home Depot being not the "you can do it...we can help motto" that they boast about. Both VBS sites were really small today and at first the kids were disappointed but then they jumped in and did a great job. Our kids are learning there is great value in ministering in small groups. Also, we got to learn we are on a different culture and kids were showing up at least an hour late to VBS today.

After VBS both groups went out and did flyer handouts about our VBS...so we are praying for more children to show up tomorrow.

We did a lot of demo on the basement today aand it is in much worse shape than we realized! Billy and I were there for almost 5 hours trying to get all of teh supplies we need for this project...and it is very overwhelming....but we trust God will provide.

Hang on for pictures a little later from Lincoln. We love you guys! Thanks for the emails! Keep praying!

Mission Philadelphia Day 1 & 2



Well, I hope Mitchell and I could give you a small glimpse of our first few days of this trip. I have to say that there is no one I would rather be lost with than Mitchell George. It has been mentally and physically trying but I think it has taught every one all the more that in these situations we must rely on God as our source of strength, not on our own abilities or understanding.



We loaded up the bus Saturday morning and made our way to DFW with no complications. Check-in and security were quick and smooth and the staff at the air port were friendly and helpful. We made our connecting flight with plenty of time to spare and before we knew it we were making our landing in New York. We saw everything from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty and Time Square to boot. We took a short nap Saturday night and woke up at 3:30a.m. to head to the Subway to get to the Train to get to Philadelphia.



Shelley and the rest of the adults picked up the vans and we all headed to our respective churches. All in all everyone else found their churches with no complications and all the kids (including our group) got to experience worship in a way that they will remember for the rest of their lives.



Its bed time here in New Jersey and I can't wait to hit the sack. See you next time!

Well....we have made it. At least physically...but we are soooo tired!

We literally have gotten up at 2:45 am the first day and 3:45 am today. We have been on a boat, 2 planes, multiple subways, a bus, a train, a van....and the list might continue to grow. Your students have been troopers as we ran them all through NYC. The students got to see Central Park and the Statue of Liberty...and eat NYC pizza. We finished the evening in Times Square or should I say morning.....we got to bed at 1:30 am. So we are living on less than 2 hours of sleep. Needless to say I am beat....church was a struggle this morning.

Tonight we are going to have our final prep for tomorrow for VBS. Our goal is to have the kids in bed no later than 9pm tonight.

Be praying for us...I hope to have pictures on later tonight. WE love you guys!

Love,
Shelley

P.S. Your students should be in better shape after this week after I made them run with luggage for a bus and then a train so we did not miss our connection. The girls are so glad they packed light ad wore tennis shoes! Donna even told them I was training them for a triathlon....maybe that isn't such a bad idea.

HERE WE GO!

I am sitting in my office putting the finishing touches on our prayer partners. In an hour the fellowship hall will be full of missionaries...some will be traveling with us and others will be the prayer warriors behind our mission trip. Both are vital to God doing great things in the lives of our students and the people we meet through Ezekiel, House of Prayer and Open Door Baptist Church.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am that you are praying for us as we travel and minister. God has been working in Philadelphia long before we got there and He will continue to work long after we leave. We just pray we would be faithful to do what He has called us to do during the next 8 days.

I can't wait to see all that the Lord is going to do through our students. Be praying. And we will update as soon as we can...but you may not see anything until we land at the hotel in Philadelphia Sunday night.

Love you guys!

You are awesome!
Shelley