Friday 6/5/2009 11:19 PM
Dustin Nelson
We made it to Nashville, Tennessee right on time. We went to the Nashville Sounds baseball game. They were playing the Iowa Cubs, so at least we had someone to cheer against! It was also Faith Day at the ballpark, so we saw a couple Christian musicians perform and there was a firework display afterward. Those were the largest fireworks that I have seen up close. We are heading out tomorrow morning at 8 for Greenville. We appreciate the prayers. Look forward to telling you more tomorrow.
Saturday 6/6/2009 10:33 PM
Andrew Tucker
We had a long drive to Greenville, but cards and naps got us through the ride. We arrived at the church in time for the last pizza dinner until we get back. Our worship service was great and it made me very excited for the week. So far everyone has gotten along and we are having a good time. Thanks for all the prayers.
Sunday 6/7/2009 2:04 PM
Dustin Nelson
Today was a day of preparation. This morning we found out what crews we were put in. The name of my crew is "Bone Crushers." There are 11 people on my crew, but only one of them is from FBCE, Katie Hufstedler. Our crew went to church at Pendleton Road Baptist Church. At one point 25 years ago this church was averaging 1500 on a Sunday morning, but due to "white flight" and the loss of businesses in the community it dropped down to around 200 people. In the last 6 years, Greenville has been revitalizing this area of the town. There is now a minor baseball staduim there (Boston's A Team) and several new condo's. The church is now back up to around 500 and is still growing! It was a great Sunday morning service. After church we went to our work site. The family there was real nice and appreciative of what we are going to do this week. Our task this week is to reshingle their roof. The rest of this afternoon is training for the week. Well, the rubber hits the road tomorrow. Should be a great day!
Monday 6/8/2009 5:14 PM
Andrew Tucker
It was a tiring, but great day. We began work on the leaky roof by taking shingles off and putting new ones on. There have already been obstacles that have begun to get in our path, but the Lord has helped us through every situation, whether it is with people walking by or a rotted part of the roof. Rosie Redd, the woman that we are serving, is very appreciative of everything that we do and she is extremely friendly to us. She says that she believes in the Lord and she is trying to raise her daughters and grandsons in a Godly manner. She appears to really appreciate the company and loves to tell us stories about her life. It's awesome that we get to serve such a wonderful lady. Keep praying for us. We can really feel your prayers in every situation that we are faced with. I'm very excited for the rest of the week. It is going to be great.
Tuesday 6/9/2009 5:04 PM
Jonathan Strickland
Satan keeps throwing things at us and it has been very apparent all week but my crew ( Wrecking Crew) hasn't let that slow us any. We have accomplished as much work in the past two days as was expected for us to finish in about 4 days! The lord is working through us in amazing and exciting ways. Although when I wake up I feel like I can't open my eyes the lord helps me to my feet and I find myself overwhelmed and excited about serving and the Lord helps me through another hard day's work. Please keep us in your prayers, for our safety and that our love for the Lord is shown through our daily actions and attitudes!
Wednesday 6/10/2009 10:46 PM
Andrew Tucker
Today was awesome. I can fully see God in the physical and spiritual work that is going on in everyone's lives. Yesterday, one of the boys that we are hanging out with, Phillip, accepted Christ. The story becomes even more awesome because the student that led him to Christ had not been able to do much construction work because of a root canal that had been done on Monday. He was extremely sad that he could not work, but in the end he got to do the greatest work of all. It was truly inspiring. We also were able to complete more of the roof in half a day than we had in a full day earlier this week. God has been providing for us the whole week and its been truly amazing. We also went rafting today. It was a lot of fun because it started raining really hard and we were going fast. I couldn't see very far in front of the raft and the rain was freezing. It was great to be in God's nature at extreme conditions. The view was beautiful and it was a great experience. I can see the group we have here getting closer and bonding a lot. God has really blessed us this week and I am extremely excited for what is to come in the next few days. Please pray for the Rosie and her grandchildren, safety for our crews, and praise God for the amazing work that he is doing in everyone's lives. I hope you have a great week! Thanks for praying for us, we are amazed every day.
Thursday 6/11/2009 5:46 PM
Sharon Strickland
This has been a great week. We are working in a mobile home park. The First Baptist Church of Simpsonville, about 20 miles away, has started a mission in the park. They minister to about 40 children in the park on Monday evenings. We are painting three homes of elderly people that are being discipled by the church. On Monday, a woman was led to the Lord by one of our group members. She stated she did not think the Lord would be willing to save her. I was so shocked to actually know someone believed that! We were so thrilled she accepted Christ. She is married with three girls. Please pray for her to be discipled. FBC Simpsonville is keeping in touch with her and will try to minister and disciple her. Not only does she believe, but she is connected to a body to help her grow in Christ. There are many other people who need Christ in the park. Please put them on your prayer list and pray that they will hear and know there is a God that loves them!
