WCC Student Ministries Mission Trips

Day 2: Serving Begins

2011-07-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

After breakfast, we set out for our first ministry site this morning. Union Mission Ministries is a homeless shelter but we quickly found out that they are much more than just a place that provides a roof for those without one. They have a very extensive and well managed organization that seeks to meet real and felt needs of the homeless in Norfolk, VA. They provide meals, beds, job training, budget training, clothes, and strict guidelines that help move men, women, and families from the street into their own self-sustaining life. Along with that they understand people's real desire for a relationship with their Creator and so they seek to introduce everyone to Jesus and the power that can come from a relationship with Him.

Getting to take a tour was really eye-opening for everyone, but getting to partner with them by donating school supplies was a special way for everyone to feel connected to the work being done in Norfolk. The students were very impressed by the gratitude shown for the donations and excited to help kids that would not have otherwise even gotten new notebooks or pens for school.

After lunch and some competitive soccer at a local park, we headed to a nursing home named Consulate Health Care. It was nothing short of a miracle watching everyone step out of their comfort zone and engage with the residents that may or may not have been very responsive. Through games like wheelchair soccer and wii bowling as well as conversations around a table, God did a great work through everyone as they brought a smile to many residents at the Nursing home through the love they shared.

We ended the day with another porch time where Luke began to answer the question of where we can find God in our everyday lives and not only on a weekend long mission trip. During small group time everyone was able to wrestle with why it can be challenging to find God in Williamsburg and what we can do to reorient our lives toward Him. It has been a great day and we are looking forward to visiting Park Place Child Life Center tomorrow and then coming home.

See you tomorrow!

Day 1: The Norfolk Trip Begins

2011-07-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Our journey began around 5pm as we set out from the Chapel with 3 vehicles filled with excited kids! After getting a small taste of the traffic that always comes with a trip through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, we arrived at Springbranch and enjoyed a wonderful pizza dinner.

After dinner we all gathered together for our first porch time, which is our nightly gathering where we share great moments from the day, sing songs, and have a talk from Luke or Emily to help process our experience on this mission trip. Tonight it was beautiful to watch 24 middle school students sing praises to God and listen intently to Emily as she gave an introductory talk about how to get the most out of this trip. She used Matthew 24 to show us how we are not only serving the people of Norfolk, but we are in fact serving Jesus himself. Along with that, she challenged everyone with the idea that even though we can see Jesus it does not mean we will see Him because we all have spiritual blind spots that can distract us.

Following porch time we split into small groups where everyone began to build relationships by sharing about experiences in their own life where God has shown up. Then we all discussed in our groups what our own personal spiritual blind spots might be and how we can battle against them so that we don't miss out on what Jesus has in store for us.

God has already begun a great work in the students on this trip and we are all very excited to dive right into serving tomorrow as we go to tour a homeless shelter in the morning and visit a nursing home in the afternoon. Thanks for entrusting us with your children for the weekend and check back tomorrow night for more on what God is doing in Norfolk, VA!

Norfolk Mission Trip Final Details

2011-07-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs to meet at the chapel in the SM worship at 4pm on Thursday, July 28th, so that we can get everyone checked in, packed up, and ready to leave by 5:30pm. We are planning to return by 5:30pm on Saturday, July 30th.

Please sign-up for our text reminders by texting the word NORFOLKPARENT to the number 41411 if you have not already. I will send out travel updates as well as daily updates to keep everyone informed. Also, I will update this blog each night to inform you of what we did and where God showed up.

Below is a link to the packing list if you don't already have one. Please don't forget to purchase some school supplies for us to donate to the homeless shelter that we are touring.

Packing List

Contact Luke Kincaid if you have any further questions by phone at 757-941-1572 or by email at lkincaid@wcchapel.org.

NYC Update - Serving Day 5 - July 15th

2011-07-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today was an incredible way to end our time in NYC! Each serving group spent their morning either serving at a ministry site or engaging with a local neighborhood. Today it was group one's turn to participate in the Harlem Plunge. The guys in the group decided to buy a bunch of iced teas and walked around, handing the drinks out to men on the street, and asking if they could pray for those individuals. The ladies in the group had the same game plan, although their beverage of choice to distribute was coffee. Everyone really enjoyed the experience and felt that it capped off their serving time very well. Group two headed to the Yorkville Common Pantry in Harlem to start their day. The group served straight through for hours, handing out hundreds of bags of packaged food and vegetables to the clients. They were extremely impressed with the organizational skills of the Pantry's manager, who made the whole process run like clockwork. Group 3 went to Green Team this morning, a site previously visited by group 5. The group met a woman named Lisa at this site, and the students really enjoyed getting to know this lady and her story. Lisa had been incarcerated but was attempting to gain job skills to help turn her life around. While building their relationship with Lisa and encouraging her, the group also landscaped an area near Columbia University. CAMBA was the site for group 4 to serve this morning. This was the same organization that group 2 visited on Monday, a site that provides food and shelter to 11 homeless men. Today group 4 helped straighten up the housing site by folding sheets and towels for the guys to use. After speaking with one of the upperclassmen in the group, she said that volunteering there and seeing the kinds of linens and towels these guys used really made her appreciate all the luxuries that we so often take for granted back home. Group 5 spent their morning at the Russian Community Life Center, passing out bibles down on Coney Island. This team finished strong and really enjoyed interacting with the people in the area. The students also said that they just appreciated being able to enjoy God's creation on such a beautiful day while simultaneously serving God's Kingdom.

After finishing at all the morning sites, the team re-grouped at Central Park to hear a short devotional thought from Lex and have a final small group time with their leaders. Since our pre-trip training focused on Abraham and our final porch time centered on Abraham putting his trust in God through his near-sacrifice of Isaac, Lex decided to focus on James 2:21-22: "Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." We were reminded that our faith can look complete not just on mission trips, but back at home too when we actually live the way God is calling us to live. After hearing that very brief message, we headed to individual small groups for an hour. Leaders said that they really enjoyed having this one final time to formally connect as a group before heading back to Williamsburg.

When all the groups had wrapped up, our entire team headed to a subway station to ride out to Citi Field for the Mets vs. Phillies baseball game. Despite a big loss for the Mets, our group had an incredible time! The atmosphere was wonderful, and it was just a lot of fun for us to all connect as one large team before heading home. One of the awesome highlights from the game was the wave that several of our students began from our seats in right field. Not only did their wave make it all the way around the stadium several times, but it was such an effective cheer that the players in BOTH dugouts joined in! The wave was just one more reminder of the fact that a few individuals working together really can make big things happen. After the game we stayed in our seats and enjoyed a highly entertaining fireworks display. God blessed us with a quicker-than-expected subway ride back to our housing site, and the kids are finally settles into bed after a great week of hard and fulfilling service.

Our plan for Saturday is to leave the housing site around 9am, stop for an hour for lunch, and return to the Chapel (God and traffic willing) around 6pm. (Please note: although we departed from Jamestown High School, we will return to the Northeast side of the Chapel, outside of the Student Ministries Worship Room.) We will keep you updated during our travel via the 41411 texting program. If you are not on the text list, simply text the word NYCPARENT to the number 41411. You should receive a confirmation text if it works.

Once again we want to thank you for covering this trip in prayer. We have truly felt the effects in the way that God has blessed our efforts this week. Please pray for safe travels and that the lessons we have all learner this week would be sealed into our hearts so that our faith and our actions can continue to work together when we get home. Can't wait to see everyone Saturday evening.

NC Update Day 6- July 15th

2011-07-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Final greetings from Weaverville!

We've spent our final day of serving here in NC and God was incredibly faithful in the work our students accomplished. We had breakfast at ReCreation this morning and then our team was on clean-up duty. They helped the staff clear the dishes, sweep all the floors, and cleaned up the kitchen. Afterwards we ventured out to Paint Rock for the last day in the ditches.

Our students completed the digging and leveling work at the site during the morning. All three trenches had to be completely level and as deep as a shovel head before pipes could be laid in. The lunch crew put our sandwiches together so we could enjoy our last day eating on site together. After lunch the pipe work started and miraculously got finished. The students laid in pipes through all the trenches and then filled back in the dirt. All that is left for the experts to finish is the connecting work between the lines and connecting in the supply line.

Our team was blessed and surprised by two acts of love and kindness from the Paint Rock Church today. When we arrived on site this morning our students found red felt ribbons on the shovels. We learned from our ReCreation staffer that during their service last night, the congregation at Paint Rock prayed over our mission team and the work we were doing. They prayed for safety as we worked and blessings to be present in our lives. After our lunch today, the pastor commuted the 59 mile drive from Knoxville to say 'thank you' to our team. A few church members came with him and our students were finally able to engage with the people they have spent the week serving. We shared many hugs and were so thankful for the vision of Christ they were to our team.

We had a final worship service with the ReCreation staff and other teams. The students were challenged to carry the lessons they learned and the experiences they've shared back to Williamsburg to their families and community. During our last porch time event tonight, the students heard the final message in our mission series on Abraham. Small groups ran long as students spent time engaging with their leaders processing the trip.

We've said it once, but a hundred times wouldn't be enough, so thank you for the opportunity to spend this week with your students. They have been shining Christ's light not only to us as leaders, but also to the ReCreation staff and the community here in Weaverville. It has been a blessed week indeed. We are so excited for our students to return home to you so that they can share their past week with you.

We'll be departing around 9am tomorrow. Our kids will have breakfast and then pack up to head out. Text updates will be sent as we complete the return journey. Sweet dreams!

Love in Christ,

SM Staff Team

NYC Update - Serving Day 4 - July 14th

2011-07-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

We've been so excited to get back tonight to share with all of you about our incredible day. But first, thank you all so much for your participation in the time of corporate prayer this evening. The staff received a text from Travis right before we started Porch Time letting us know that so many of you joined him this evening to pray for us, and we truly felt God honor your prayers with His presence tonight. But, before I describe our awesome debrief time from this evening, here's a brief description of how we spent our time today.

Serving group 1 had a VERY early morning today, waking up at 5am to head to St. Paul's House, which provides a morning meal and worship service to the homeless. The group helped prepare and serve breakfast for about 30 men and women before helping put on the service. Ryland Willis led the group in song, while Brad Turner shared a devotional thought that both encouraged and challenged everyone. After their time at St. Paul's House, group 1 explored Grand Central Station for a little while before participating in their own neighborhood immersion experience in Times Square.

Group 2 spent their morning at Church Alive in Brooklyn, passing out fliers and invitations to a huge, multi-church event happening in a local park next weekend. The group was surprised with how receptive the neighborhood was to receive us and the information. After lunch at the church, this team also participated in a neighborhood immersion around Rockefeller Center. Spending time in this area after our experience in Brooklyn really painted a picture of the huge disparity of resources and wealth that exists in this city.

Today it was group 3's turn to help out at the Love Kitchen, the soup kitchen run by our housing site. Team members handed out food to people in need, as well as organized the donations. After several hours of service time here, these team members got to experience the Harlem Plunge, an opportunity for the group to learn more about the neighborhood and bless someone in need in that area. This group talked to many people about Harlem, and they shared a significant amount of time with a homeless man named Ronnie. The group learned a lot about his life, and got to bless him by purchasing him a water bottle and several snacks.

Group 4 got to do their own version of the Harlem Plunge in the morning today. They spent time with a man named Rick. The group saw Jesus in Rick in the way he cared for the other homeless men and women who lived in the same park as he did. Rick challenged the group to really think about what it means to live on your own without a permanent roof over your head. After their time with Rick, these students served at a World Vision storehouse, fixing shelves and organizing boxes. The whole group really worked as a team this afternoon to accomplish the tasks at hand.

Last but not least, group 5 helped sort and bundle clothing deliveries at the NYC Clothing Bank, an organization that distributes new apparel, toys, and other goods to non-profits and government-based agencies in NYC. The group worked hard and was able to get a great visual in the stacks of clothing they packaged that would go to men, women, and children in need. After this activity, the group helped our at Green Team, a horticultural group that works with people who have been incarcerated and helps them transition into the workforce. The organization provides a 12 week course on landscape and gardening skills. Any individuals who pass the course are offered a job. Group 5 helped with a landscaping project in a local apartment complex, and the team really got to know a man named Mark who runs the program, along with several other staff members and volunteers for Green Team.

After their afternoon activities, all groups met up in Central Park for an incredible Porch Time. Since we will be attending the Mets vs. Phillies baseball game tomorrow (Friday) night, the staff decided to have our culminating debrief experience tonight to help the students process the trip and prepare them for another night of small groups. Our setting was great and, as I mentioned above, we could really feel your prayers being answered as the presence of the Holy Spirit filled the space. Students shared exciting places where they had seen and encountered Jesus, and everyone participated in our first worship set. Craig led us in our final full-length talk, reminding us about Abraham's story of faith and the importance of trusting in God. Weeks ago, on the missions overnight, students wrote down one thing or area of their life where they were trusting themselves instead of trusting God. The staff and leaders returned these cards to the kids, and they were each given the opportunity to burn (on portable grills) these cards, thereby signifying their desire to give that thing/area to God, to "sacrifice" that thing and to trust God, dying to themselves and experiencing the resurrecting power of Christ in their lives. It was an emotional moment for several students as Andrew played the Desert Song during the experience. Students responded with another short time of worship before we headed back to our housing site in silence. After a short subway ride back to Manhattan Bible Church, everyone broke up into their small groups to discuss the things we are learning and how we can bring these lessons with us back to Williamsburg.

The group is excited to have one more morning of service before a fun-filled evening at the baseball game. We look forward to returning on Saturday to share with all of you in-person our stories of transformation. Thanks again for your time of prayer this evening. Please pray that we really will finish strong in our service and that the group would continue to bond at the baseball game.

NC Update Day 5- July 14th

2011-07-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hey there, loyal blog followers!!

NC continues to be a blessing and a challenge for our students and leaders. We are thankful to see our students engaging with their work and each other everyday. After breakfast and our daily bus ride this morning, we got back to work on the septic system at Paint Rock. This was the third day for our students at the site and they are making great progress. All the trenches are done and have mostly gone through the refining process before pipes can be laid.

Even with a project that can easily become boring, we've seen these students fully give themselves over to God's work as they dig, dig, and dig some more. As a staff we are always so thankful for their positive attitudes and unfailing faithfulness in doing whatever is asked of them. The three trenches have reached their desired lengths and depths, and the last part of the day today was spent leveling them off and receiving inspection from the project master. Due to their diligent work, we'll begin laying in the pipes tomorrow. Lord willing, we may even see this septic system near its completion by quitting time tomorrow.

Our team was blessed to get a few visitors from the church today. We had a couple (a deacon) stop by the site today to visit our students and take pictures. He and his wife are so excited to share this work with their congregation on Sunday and we, of course, were thankful to meet a few of our brothers and sisters in Christ from Paint Rock. We also had some drive by visitors that stopped in to say 'hello' and 'thank you' to our kids.

We spent the last part of the day eating dinner and enjoying porch time and small groups. We are eagerly anticipating the students' final porch time tomorrow, which will be the culmination point on the trip for them. Please be praying over our last work day and teaching time tomorrow. We continue in our prayers of thanks to Christ for his faithfulness on this trip and all the ways we've seen him revealed in your children.

Sweet dreams from Weaverville!

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

NYC Update - Serving Day 3 - July 13th

2011-07-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

God continues to show up in many ways in New York City!

Serving group 1 began their day by staying right here at our housing site to serve the local church that has so graciously hosted us this week. The group swept, cleaned the area inside and out, and just generally served wherever needed in the building. In the afternoon, group 1 spent time at Operation Exodus, a local daycare and tutoring program that serves almost 60 kids. Our students were so encouraged by the genuine energy and excitement for learning about and worshiping Jesus that these kids had.

This morning it was now group 2's turn to serve at "God's Love We Deliver" (the site that group 1 helped at on Monday). The kids packaged and delivered food to people with serious illnesses, and it really touched our hearts to hear the thanks of the individuals served. After lunch in a park, the team got to continue painting/restoring a mural with City Arts. The students really enjoyed getting to literally leave a mark on the great city of New York.

Gifted Hands was the starting point today for group 3. Gifted Hands is an art therapy ministry that strives to "reach out to the lost, hurting, and forgotten of the city." The team helped the organization spruce up their building in preparation for a big art show they're hosting in the near future which will sell artwork and jewelry made by homeless men and women to raise money that will go back to the ministry. Bathrooms were cleaned and painted, areas were organized, and the team even made its own mural to be sold at the art show! The team loved learning about a ministry that is really committed to providing training and skills to disadvantaged men and women so that they can break the cycle of poverty. In the afternoon, this group participated in a Neighborhood Emersion experience, where they got to find a homeless man or woman in the West Village and bless that person by sharing a meal and their time with that individual. Although it took a while for the group to find someone to serve, once they finally encountered a woman down on her luck, they really saw Jesus in each other's willingness to reach out and meet a tangible need.

Group 4 got to see for themselves the thriving ministry at St. John's Bread & Life, the site that group 2 served at on our first day in the city. Like group 2, group 4 was so impressed with the professionalism of the organization, their commitment to their "clients," and the sheer volume of committed volunteers that it takes to make the operation run. After their time serving at Bread & Life, Group 4 also participated in a Neighborhood Emersion experience in the West Village and Chelsea. The team interviewed several locals from the area to learn more about the area before encountering Paul, a homeless man whom they purchased a meal for and shared some lively conversation with. Despite his challenging circumstances, the team really saw Jesus in Paul and his genuine interest in the lives of the individual group members. It was a blessing for this group to spend that time with him.

Group 5 began their day at Agape Social Services, a local soup kitchen connected to Beulah Church. The group unloaded a delivery truck of food into their pantry and sorted the new items before preparing the kitchen and hanging out with the organization's incredible staff. After getting to know the staff, half the group went to help with the church's Vacation Bible School, while the other half helped serve food in the soup kitchen. The group felt like this was one of their most relational days, and really enjoyed connecting with the staff and playing with the children. After lunch, Group 5 also enjoyed their Neighborhood Emersion experience in Times Square. They too interviewed some locals and tourists passing through the area about issues of homelessness and poverty in NYC before connecting with a homeless man named Samuel. While not the most talkative individual, the group could tell that Samuel truly appreciated their efforts to serve him.

After eating dinner in their individual groups, all teams returned to the housing site for an abbreviated Porch Time. The team enjoyed worship and a great talk from Craig that challenged us with application points from the book of James, then all students headed to small groups with their leaders to process more deeply the lessons we've learned so far. All leaders brought back positive reports from their small group time, and we look forward to continued small groups on our last two evenings in NYC.

It's hard to believe that the trip is more than half over! God has already shown up in amazing ways, and we look forward to how He will continue to reveal Himself in our last two serving days. Again, we hope that everyone will be able to make it to the time of corporate prayer on Thursday night, July 14th, from 7-8pm in the Student Ministries Worship Room led by Travis Simone. We are so thankful for your prayers!

NC Update Day 4- July 13th

2011-07-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there, family!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our day off today! After two full days of hard work for our kids, we were thankful to simply spend time in fellowship with them at some local venues

After breakfast and a worship session with the ReCreation crew, we loaded up buses and headed out for the day. Our first stop was the Brian Center, which is a retirement community here in Weaverville. Our students split into groups and then spent the morning visiting with residents and joining in the days activities. Some of our eighth graders accompanied their leaders to the dementia wing getting to know a few new friends. Another group recruited a collection of residents to make hats with the Red Hat Society in the activity room. We also had some students that simply took the time to visit a few patients who may not otherwise get visitors. And last but certainly not least, we had a few boys who volunteered to help with some grounds work for the staff.

We were so proud of our students and their willingness to give themselves over to the work of the Lord. Despite being in what most middle schoolers consider awkward and uncomfortable situations, they handled themselves with true servant hearts as they engaged and shared with the new friends they found at Brian Center. Our team was also humbled and thankful for a cookout they received from the Brian Center staff before leaving the site.

The afternoon was spent at two different mountain swimming sites just outside of Asheville. Our seventh graders started out at the much celebrated Sliding Rock. It is part of a National Park where visitors can slide down a run of huge smooth rocks into a swimming hole. The eighth graders began the afternoon at Looking Glass Falls, where there is a large swimming area beneath a huge waterfall. After a while the groups switched locations to spend the rest of their afternoons.

We enjoyed dinner and porch time at a lookout site along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was wonderful for us to see Christ not only in the beautiful landscape, but especially through hearing how much God showed up for our students in their day off. They'll get back to work at Paint Rock Baptist tomorrow as they continue their septic project.

The staff, leaders, and team truly appreciate your prayers. We wanted to take this opportunity to personally invite you to join the in corporate prayer meeting at Chapel tomorrow night from 7-8 in the SM worship room. This prayer service is for parents and friends of both the NC and NYC mission groups. Please consider joining our Associate Pastor, Travis Simone, for this event tomorrow.

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

Prayer Meeting for NC & NYC Mission Teams this Thursday

2011-07-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you, parents, family, and friends, for your faithfulness to pray for our domestic mission teams.

The team values prayer so much that we want to invite you to an evening of prayer for both the high school and middle school teams. We hope that you will join Associate Pastor Travis Simone on Thursday night, July 14th, from 7pm-8pm in the Student Ministries Worship Room for a time of corporate prayer for the New York City and North Carolina Mission Teams.

Again, all are invited to come and pray for the teams, and we would like to extend a special invitation to parents with children on either (or both!) of the trips. This is a great opportunity for loved ones back at home to experience Jesus along with your children and participate in the work they are doing in NC and NYC. Thank you for covering us in prayer!

NYC Update - Serving Day 2 - July 12th

2011-07-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

Despite the consistently warm weather, our New York City mission team continued to focus on serving and loving the people of this incredible area by relying on His power and strength working within us.

So that every group had the opportunity to be exposed to the many boroughs and the diverse needs of the city, serving groups 1 and 2 got to experience their own prayer tours today. Despite hearing a little bit about the tours from their peers in groups 3, 4, and 5 who completed their prayer tours yesterday, groups 1 and 2 approached the day with open eyes and hearts, ready to learn about New York's people, to see where God is already moving in the City, and to see what needs exist in this place. It was interesting to see that while this northern city has many unique issues, there are also many struggles faced by the locals here that even our students from the suburban south could relate to. Towards the end of their tour time, group 1 shared an emotional moment at a church right outside Ground Zero that had a memorial honoring all the firefighters who died in 9/11. Over the course of their prayer tour, Group 2 enjoyed some challenging conversations with local residents on issues of homelessness in the City, and was challenged to think about our roles in the fight against poverty and the unequal distribution of resources. Groups 1 and 2 ate dinner together at an Indian restaurant before heading back to the housing site.

Group 3 began their day at the Russian Community Life Center, distributing bibles to the local Russian community in that area. The group enjoyed immersing themselves in a different culture while simultaneously helping share God's word with people in their own language. Many bible-recipients responded with extreme gratitude for the free gifts handed to them by your children. In the afternoon, the group served at a ministry happening at our own housing site called Operation Exodus, a tutoring program for young kids in the area. The group was truly touched when the teacher asked for a volunteer to pray, and every child's hand shot into the air! One young girl was chosen to pray, and she delivered a heart-felt, passionate prayer that left the entire group in awe. Hanging out with the kids for the afternoon gave us a peek at another small bright spot already at work in this city. Group 3 experienced some incredible Senegalese cuisine to finish out there afternoon.

In the morning, group 4 headed to Yorkville Common Pantry, where they organized and helped store new food deliveries that would go to feed hundreds of needy New Yorkers. During our evening porch time, several leaders commented how they really saw Jesus in the incredible work ethic of the group members. The staff at Yorkville was not expecting group 4 to complete their assigned task; however, not only did they finish the task, they also worked without complaint or quarrel the entire morning. In the afternoon, they participated in a type of neighborhood scavenger hunt at Grand Central Station, engaging with the New Yorkers in that area and getting an even better feel for the City. Leaders again commented that it was nice to have a slower afternoon to really sit down as a group to process the experience in a more intimate and focused setting. Group 4 ate dinner at a dominican restaurant, then returned to the housing site to get ready for porch time.

Group 5 started the morning at We Care Soup Kitchen, preparing food for the clients and helping with the daily set-up and running of the center. At different intervals throughout the morning, small groups of students were able to hang out in the dinning room, talking with residents and getting to put names and faces to the issue of urban poverty. Many of our kids commented on how much they loved interacting with people from the community in this setting. After serving at the Soup Kitchen, the group participated in the Harlem Plunge, an interactive activity where the team finds and attempts to "bless" a person without a house or job by sharing a meal together and purchasing small necessities for him/her, such as socks and toiletries. This experience turned out to be a huge blessing for the group, who encountered two really engaging people in need and were able to not only meet that small tangible need, but to also share some love and light into two dark situations. Group 5 met up with Group 4 for dinner and together returned to Manhattan Bible Church.

When all the groups had assembled back at the housing site, we circled up for an extremely exciting and encouraging porch time. We shared laughs and funny stories, as well as a very encouraging time of "I saw Jesus." Your children are seeing Jesus all over the place - in both the people we're serving and in each other. Lex gave a talk that continued to challenge the students to see Jesus in the faces of the people whom society considered "the least of these" (Matt. 25), and in each other (1 Cor. 3:16). We are really excited about all the great serving opportunities planned for tomorrow, and are so appreciating of your prayers and support.

NC Update Day 3- July 12

2011-07-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, family and friends!

God continues to show up here in North Carolina and we are so thankful. Our students have spent another day serving the local community here with servant hearts that always leave us so encouraged. Thank you for checking in on our team and for all the prayers we know you are covering us in.

Once again we rose early and joined in the morning routine of ReCreation. The students had breakfast and then spent some time in worship with the other teams that have gathered here this week. We continue to be amazed that despite the early hour these middle school students are so willing to jump right into the day. After breakfast we loaded up team supplies for the day and headed back out to our work site.

Back at Paint Rock Baptist Church the kids continued in their work project of digging out trenches for the drainage field of a septic system. The morning brought rain here in Weaverville, so there was plenty of mud to go around. The students didn't hesitate for a second, but rather grabbed shovels and headed straight up the mountain to work. Throughout the morning they moved dirt and cleared out roots and debris in the three different trenches. A few new girls jumped in and made lunch today to help serve their fellow team members.

After lunch most students returned to the hill for work and have now nearly completed all three trenches. Most are completely cleared and are on the final step of leveling the bottoms of the out so that pipes can be laid. They will be beginning that step of the project on Thursday. Following lunch we also had a few small groups that helped clean up our team buses. With everyone working so tirelessly in the mud all day it has been hard to keep them clean, but these groups were a great vision of Christ as they restored them to some semblance of order. :)

We returned to ReCreation to enjoy dinner and free time. Soccer was the game of choice today for a lot of the students and we were encouraged to see many of them use this time for personal devotionals. We had porch time a short while ago to wrap up the day. Two of our rituals at porch time is to let the students remember funny times from the day and also share all the ways they saw God as they worked together. It is always a beautiful moment of seeing Christ in the flesh to watch these middle school students seek out their Savior in each other. We finished tonight with small group time and will be heading to bed soon.

Tomorrow is our day off, so the students will be enjoying different activities. They'll spend the morning visiting with residents at a local retirement community. We'll have lunch there and then we'll take the students to two different swimming sites here in the NC mountains. They'll have porch time together at a park area on the Blue Ridge Parkway before returning to ReCreation tomorrow night.

Thank you again for all the prayers and for letting us share this week of service with your students. We feel so blessed to experience this with them as they grow in their faith. God bless!

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY, LUKE KINCAID!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

NYC Mission Team Update - Serving Day #1

2011-07-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's been an incredible day in New York City! Before we begin with some highlights from the day, we'd like to give a little background information on how our groups are organized. Our partner organization, CSM, does a great job of providing small group experiences in a big city. In order to do that, our group of 48 students and 10 staff/leaders has been divided into 5 separate "serving groups," each consisting of 9-10 students and 2 leaders, plus one CSM host. By dividing into these smaller groups, each individual student is able to really engage at the specific ministry sites and connect with the people we are serving. Whenever possible, separate serving groups will try to connect at meal times to share dinner and stories from the day.

Now that our terminology is clear, we'd like to report on each serving group's activities for the day.

To begin the experience, serving groups 3, 4, and 5 all started their week with a prayer tour of the city. The prayer tour is not just a great way to center our hearts and minds on Jesus, but also gives our groups some wonderful exposure to the entire city and many of the ministry sites we'll be partnering with throughout the week. Several students commented about the incredible diversity they noticed throughout NYC: economic, racial, cultural, and spiritual. The children and leaders in these groups are excited to really engage in these neighborhoods, at these ministry sites, and with these people that they prayed for all day.

Meanwhile, serving group 1 started the day at a site called "God's Love We Deliver," an organization that delivers meals to terminally-ill and disabled individuals. The students spent the morning brining blessings, in the form of food and smiles, to over 15 different people. The group found the experience extremely rewarding to be able to meet this very real and tangible need. After eating lunch in Central Park, the group headed to City Arts, a ministry that seeks to empower youth and foster community involvement by restoring parks and other projects. Your children got to touch up a mural that was in great need of a fresh coat of paint, so that their artistic touches will encourage the youth in that community long after we leave the city. After painting, the group ate dinner at a wonderful Polish restaurant before heading back to the housing site.

Serving group 2 left the earliest this morning to serve at St. John's Bread of Life, a high-tech food pantry and soup kitchen that seeks to "bring food to the poor as they accompany them on their journey to wholeness by providing necessary services." The group was awed by the dedication of a core group of year-round volunteers who really make the organization run. We prepared meals, sorted food, and helped clean dishes and the dining area, while also engaging with the "clients" and learning more about their joys and their struggles. After helping with both breakfast and lunch, the group had a little bit of down time to process their experience before heading to CAMBA, a ministry at Mt. Paran Baptism church that provides a shelter for 11 men. Our group prepared a delicious home-cooked meal for the men, and got to sit down and enjoy it with them, sharing stories and our loves of sports and movies. It was great for group 2 to connect so much with the people we're serving as it helped us remember that we are really not very different at all. Because group 2 was out fairly late, they had a short debrief time on the subway ride back to the housing site.

Groups 1, 3, 4, and 5 all met together this evening for an incredible first Porch Time. ("Porch Time" is our term for our end-of-day team debrief, which consists of four parts: first, "Remember That Time...", an opportunity for students and leaders to share funny or interesting things that happened throughout the day; second, "I Saw Jesus...", a time for the team to discuss where they saw Jesus in the flesh during their serving experiences; third, a time of worship, to give us an opportunity to praise Jesus for all that He's doing in us and through us; fourth, a short talk where the staff gives some more biblical context to what we're doing on this mission trip.) Craig led an awesome Porch Time where many students shared incredible things about our first day out in the field.

We thank you all for your prayers and ask that you would continue to lift us up throughout the day. Tomorrow (Tuesday), groups 1 and 2 will be participating in a prayer tour, while groups 3, 4, and 5 all begin serving at individual ministry sites. Please pray for safety, energy, and focus as we begin day two of serving in New York City.

NC Update Day 2- July 11

2011-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, y'all!

Hooray for our first complete day in NC! We've been blessed to spend the day in fellowship with each other and with Christ as we worked at Paint Rock Baptist Church. Our students were a great vision of Christ to our leaders in the way they devoted themselves so fully to the work before them.

Wake up calls start at 6:15am here in Weaverville, so our first day started early for both students and leaders. We ate breakfast among the other mission teams serving with ReCreation this week before joining in a huge worship service to kick off the day. We sang together and heard a great message on serving Christ fully through our work projects this week. The buses pulled out around 8:30 and we headed for our work site.

Our students spent the day starting a large septic line project at a small church in the mountains of North Carolina called Paint Rock. Currently, the church's only restroom facilities are two small outhouses just up a rustic path from the church building. The project we are helping them to realize this week is to finally provide indoor plumbing. Our students worked tirelessly both this morning and this afternoon to dig a supply line and begin work on the septic drainage field. They cleared and dug trenches like pros and we were so proud to see their willingness to serve the church family at Paint Rock. One of our 8th grade girls small groups prepared sandwiches for lunch, so our students gathered on the hillside to enjoy lunch and break time together. They worked for a few more hours this afternoon on the septic trenches before we headed out for showers.

After getting showered, we had dinner with the other teams and then the kids had free time for about an hour and a half. As you can imagine our students loved having some time to just enjoy fellowship together. They played sports, games together, and time together talking. We gathered after the break for porch time. It was neat to see our students come together and share the experiences they'd had during the day and all the moments they'd seen Christ. We did worship and listened to a talk by Luke before breaking up for small group time.

The kids did great today! We're really proud of them and are thankful for the opportunity God has given us to walk alongside these students as they encounter him this week. We ask that you continue to pray for servant hearts in our students as they face another day of work in the trenches tomorrow. Our prayer is that through this time of service they would grow in their faith and really encounter Christ through fellowship. Thank you for checking in with us and all the prayers you're covering our team in.

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

NC Travel Update

2011-07-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hey there, family and friends tracking our progress to Weaverville, NC!

We arrived safely at our housing site here in the mountains of NC after a long bus ride and short stop for dinner. The students had a short orientation session with our ReCreation leader and then settled into their rooms. They are currently preparing for bed and we'll be turning lights out at 11.

We'll all be getting up with the sun tomorrow for an early breakfast and a worship session before heading out to our work site. The students will be working this week on digging a septic tank for a local church. After work we will be back here for dinner, hang out time, and porch time.

We are already thankful for the safety God provided today and the fellowship time he provided our students and leaders on the bus. We ask for your prayer as we prepare for our first workday tomorrow- that our students will have a good night's rest and a safe and productive workday tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayer you've already poured into this trip and your commitment to follow our journey as we serve Christ here in NC.

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

NYC Mission Team is Settled in

2011-07-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

After a long bus ride up the eastern seaboard we arrived safe and sound at the Manhattan Bible Church. After settling into our accommodations for the week we headed off to dinner with half of the group going to a Dominican restaurant and the other half at a Senegalese restaurant. We are getting ready for a great day serving Jesus in the Big Apple tomorrow! Thanks for your continued prayers and allowing us to partner with you in ministering to your children!

God bless, and good night.

NYC Mission Trip Final Details

2011-07-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

*NEW UPDATES*

Bring some spending money for our fun Friday night activity
The showers are group showers, so bring a bathing suit for showering

Here are the details for leaving, final checklist, and emergency contact information for the New York City mission trip.

We will be meeting at Jamestown High School at 8am. We will check in, load and leave from there.

The packing list has everything that you will need but here are some of the important items (I am assuming clothes, ect. are a given):

Packed lunch for the drive up to NYC
Money for lunch on the drive back
An Air mattress
No Electronics

We will be staying at the Manhattan Bible Church in upper Manhattan. The address for the church is:
401 West 205th Street, New York, NY 10034

Craig Blocher and Alexis Kincaid will be the staff members on the trip. Craig's cell phone number is 614.425.5142, Alexis' cell is 919.260.0719.

Please call if you ave any questions!

MS NC Final Details

2011-07-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Departure Information: We will leave the Chapel right after our 11am worship service around 12:30pm. However, I am asking that everyone get to the Chapel by 10:30am so that we can get everyone checked-in before the 11am service so that we can head out immediately after the service.

Packing List Change: We will now be stopping for one meal on the way down to NC, so each student will need to pack a lunch and have some money for fast food on the way down as well as money for one fast food meal on the way back ($15 plus packed lunch should be plenty).

Packing List

Please call Luke on his cell phone at 757-570-0292 if you have any further questions.

NYC MIssion Trip Final Details

2011-07-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Packed lunch for the drive up to NYC
Money for lunch on the drive back
An Air mattress
No Electronics

Travel Update #5

2011-07-01T04:27:00.000-07:00

Flight #2 has landed in DC! The team will head through customs and board their charter bus for Williamsburg. Our current estimated time of arrival is between 10:30 and 11am. However, the staff on the bus with the team will send a text message out around Fredricksburg to confirm or update the arrival time.

I have talked with several staff and they say that the team is doing well in spite of their long journey. God taught us a great deal in Nicaragua and this long day of travel gave us the chance to practice some of the lessons we learned during our trip. We are grateful for God's grace and provision throughout our journey from Nicaragua to the US today.

This will serve as the final travel update and blog post for the Nicaragua 2011 mission trip. Any updates as the team approaches Williamsburg will be sent out via text (text the word nicaparent to the number 41411 if you would like those updates). We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, support and patience throughout our incredible experience in Nicaragua and on our trip home.

God Bless,
SM Staff Team

Travel Update #4

2011-07-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

We are still tracking flight #2's progress from El Salvador to Washington DC. As of 6am EST the flight was around Columbia, South Carolina. The flight is now estimated to land at 7am and our updated estimated time of arrival at the Chapel in Williamsburg is between 10:30 and 11am.

Again, we thank you for your continued patience. We are tracking this flight very closely and will do our best to keep you up to date with information regarding your child's arrival in Williamsburg.

Travel Update #3

2011-07-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Flight #1 has returned to Williamsburg.

Flight #2 is currently in the air from San Salvador en route to Washington DC. We still expect their arrival in DC at 5:40am and their arrival at the Chapel between 9:30 and 10:00am. The staff on this flight will text out an updated estimated time of arrival when they are on the bus and headed toward Williamsburg.

We will continue to keep you posted on the team's progress home.

Travel Update #2

2011-06-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Flight 1 (sophomore girls, all juniors and Abbey and Mary Carter’s senior girls small group) has landed in DC. We are currently collecting our luggage and heading for our charter bus to head back to Williamsburg. Our estimated time of arrival at the Chapel is right around 3:30am. We will text you from the road if anything changes. Everyone is doing well and is continuing to enjoy the fellowship being on a missions team provides.

Flight 2 (sophomore boys, senior boys and Paige and Sarah Graham’s senior girls small group) is about to leave Nicaragua and is expected to reach DC at 5:40am, approximately 3.5 hours past the original scheduled time. They did not check any luggage and therefore should have a quick transition from the plane to the charter bus to head back to Williamsburg. Our current estimated time of arrival is between 9am and 10am at the Chapel. We will text you from the road to give you a more accurate picture once the bus is on the highway in DC.

Despite the delay the team members on flight 2 have been able to remain positive and also continue to enjoy the deepened friendships within our mission team.

We have been blessed beyond what we could have asked for or even imagined on this trip. Everyone is looking forward to sharing (once they have had a little rest) with you what God accomplished on this trip. Thank you for your support through your prayers and we look forward to our safe arrival in Williamsburg.

God Bless,
SM Staff Team

Travel Update #1

2011-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Flight #1 from Miami is at the gate, ready to board the plane. There have been a few weather challenges in the area, but everything is currently on time and it looks like we should get out without a problem.

Due to the weather problems in Miami, flight #2's plane has not yet arrived in Nicaragua to pick up the second half of the team. We are monitoring the situation very closely with the staff on the ground, and will keep you updated with details as they become available. In spite of this delay, everyone is safe and healthy, and we look forward to returning home as soon as possible.

Nica Update- Day 8- June 28

2011-06-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Friends,

We are currently in the midst of finishing up our work with orphaned and abandoned children around Managua. All grades are hosting good bye parties for the children with whom they have been working all week. The relationships that were built were meaningful and deep. The impact students from the Chapel have had in the lives of these children is beautiful, but it should be duely noted that our team has been impacted deeply through their engagement here. The stories being told and the laughter that is heard around our dinner tables is something that makes me pause and just thank God for the investment He is making in the Chapel students this week.

We now transition our thinking toward helping the students seal the lessons into their hearts and minds, and to helping them apply the lessons back home. We will be leaving for our Debrief site around 4pm this afternoon (6pm in Williamsburg). At the debrief students will spend intentional time in small groups, alone and all together processing all they heard and saw this week. Paul Borthwick (professor of missions at Gordon College) once said, "the short term mission trip that is not examined is the short term mission trip not worth taking." We are committed to helping all our students process their experince in the hope that they will be able carry it with them and apply it to many aspects of their lives back home.

Due to limited internet access at the debrief site, this will be our final blog post before we begin the travel update blog posts on Thursday as we make our way home. The most up to date travel info will be available via text message alert. The blog will also be updated as much as possible. Please text the word nicaparent to the number 41411 to recieve the most up to date travel info for our return trip.

Finally, please consider joining Deacon of Student Ministries, Wrenn Holland, in the SM Worship Room tonight from 7-8pm to pray for the Nicaragua Mission Team. We love that parents and church members are participating with us on this trip through prayer and we wanted to offer an opportunity for even more participation as we request your prayers for the lessons of this trip to sink deeply into the heart of our kids at the Chapel.

It has truly been a wonderful trip everything has been very smooth. We are excited to get home and share with you all that God has done in Nicaragua this week.

God Bless,
SM Staff Team

Nica Update- Day 7- June 27

2011-06-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

What an amazing day that we've spent here with our friends and family in Nica! It has been another day of grace and joy as we've served and been served by these beloved people! Our team is loving life and as we close another day here, we remain so very thankful for our time in Nicaragua.

The Seniors had a big day today as they ventured off for their Senior Experience. After breakfast at Casa today, they loaded up in a bus with lots of our donations and headed for Posoltega just outside of Leon. The team spent the day serving at the community feeding center and then hosting a Midweek for the children at the local church. After Midweek they were blessed to serve the people of Posoltega by setting up a 'thrift store' for them to get clothes and supplies from the donations our team brought down. They remarked that it was like watching Jesus at work right before their eyes as over a hundred children and their families received much needed supplies. They'll be spending the night in Leon and will be returning to Casa tomorrow around lunch time to meet back up with the team.

Team Juniors enjoyed such a wonderful day today! They stuck around Casa after breakfast this morning to finish up a few work projects they had started a couple days ago. All the tables and chairs for Casa's dining area are completed and will be helping to feed children for many years to come. As tables were finished, a group of our juniors served a group of Casa women that are used to being the ones serving. It was a neat experience for their leaders to watch girls and guys alike jump in with the cleaning staff to complete their daily tasks at the team center. Just before lunch they headed out for Nueva Vida to serve at two different feeding centers. They helped feed the kids and then hosted a VBS lesson on joy. Their afternoon was spent taking about forty children from Nueva Vida to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at a local mall in Managua. As a group of leaders sat in the back of the theater Christ's love was almost tangible as our students really engaged with those kids by joining in their laughter over the simple act of being a kid.

Our Sophomores went through probably their biggest day in Nica today. Their morning was spent visiting La Chureca (the Dump) and then volunteering at two of their feeding centers. Many of our students have commented on how much they saw Jesus in the hope and courage of the children in Chureca. As leaders we are thankful to be able to take these steps alongside them as they are really challenged in their faith by their experiences here in Nica. After lunch they returned to El Canyon to throw a goodbye party with the kids. Our sophomores have formed many friendships with the children there as they've worked this week and it meant a lot to those children and our students to share one last afternoon in fellowship together.

Tonight the juniors and sophomores rallied together since the seniors were off on their adventure and enjoyed dinner together and then porch time at Casa. The talk they heard tonight focused on taking these experiences in Nicaragua back into their lives at home and as we head into their final day of service tomorrow we really challenged them to give Nica all they have got! Our students will be doing a few more work projects tomorrow and then throwing some goodbye parties before we all head out for debrief tomorrow night.

We thank you so much for your support and prayers as we've been on this journey in Nicaragua. Our staff and leaders really want you to know that we couldn't do any of this without your help in lifting this trip up to Christ. He's doing amazing things here in Nica and in our students and we can't wait to be back to share it with you in a few days!

Love in Christ,

SM Staff Team

Prayer Meeting Reminder

2011-06-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray and please continue to pray that we might experience Jesus as we serve and that those whom we serve would experience Jesus through our team for the remainder of our time down here.

The team values your prayers so much we want to invite you to a time of corporate prayer for the Nicaragua mission team lead by Deacon of Student Ministries, Wrenn Holland, on Tuesday June 28th from 7pm-8pm in the Student Ministries Worship Room. Please use door East 3 to enter the building.

All are invited to come and pray for the mission trip, and we want to extend a special invitation to parents with children on the trip. This is a great opportunity to participate with your child in the work they are doing in Nicaragua.

Nica Update Day 6 - June 26th

2011-06-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Hola from Nicaragua, friends and family!

What a blessed day we’ve shared in Nica with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sunday in Nica is always such a beautiful experience for our students to share in life alongside the people they are serving, and God proved faithful in that today.

After breakfast at Casa, our seniors and juniors split up to enjoy worship at two different churches. The seniors picked up the children from Casa and accompanied them to their church home of Verbo in Managua. They shared in worship and heard a message through a translator right there with the kids. After the service they returned for lunch at Casa with the juniors before heading out for our afternoon activity.

Team Juniors had the blessing of attending church in the community they have been serving during their time in Nicaragua. The community church in Verbo Sur opened their doors and their hearts to our team as they joined in a worship service and a message from their pastor. After a brief hang out time with the families from Verbo Sur, the juniors returned to Casa for lunch.

The sophomore team attended several different church sites throughout the community of Nueva Vida where our team has been enjoying fellowship through service this week. Some attended main worship services, while others participated in Sunday school classes with the younger kids. They had lunch at their housing site and then headed out to meet the juniors and seniors for our afternoon activity.

Today our team was all back together again with children from Nueva Vida and Casa Bernabe at a local sports complex/park in Managua for the afternoon. They played soccer, enjoyed the playground, and threw a Midweek game session for the kids. It was great to see them so engaged with the children they have been building community with this past week. It was easy to see how God has allowed his grace to form bonds and share joy between the children of Nicaragua and our students.

With only two serving days left before our debrief experience, we ask for your prayers that God would continue to give us strength to finish well and to "leave it all on the field." All the students are excited about the remaining service opportunities, but they're also eager to get back to share their individual stories of transformation with all of you!

Nica Update Day 5- June 25th

2011-06-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hola amigos!

First things first, all students are healthy and well. We praise God for this provision of health and safety.

Nicaragua always seems to stretch our capacity to learn and grow through the unique circumstances it presents and the abundance of opportunities to serve it provides. Today God provided us with many opportunities to stretch our hearts and minds to see what He is doing in the world more clearly.

Today ALL the students on our team met up this afternoon at Hertylandia, a water park about an hour outside of Managua, to grow in their relationships with these precious children Christ has blessed us with.

The Seniors departed Casa this morning to do VBS with kids from El Faro just outside of the dump in Managua. They were able to play some games, sing songs with the kids, and teach them a lesson on joy. We've been delighted during our time here to see students step up and be willing to lead these small teaching times for the kids in Nicaragua-- some with the help of translators, and other stepping out in faith and giving their Spanish class knowledge a try. They loaded up about forty kids from El Faro and headed to Hertylandia to meet up with the juniors and sophomores. After enjoying boxed lunches together with the kids, everyone suited up and headed to the pool for an afternoon of swim lessons and good times. They departed the pool along with the juniors to return to Casa for dinner and a movie night with the kids from Casa.

Our Juniors left Casa this morning after breakfast to teach a VBS lesson to the kids at Verbo Sur. After being on the bus for about 45 minutes they realized that the bus driver was already taking them to Hertylandia... without the kids from Verbo Sur. They turned around and headed back to Managua to pick up the kids and their lunches from the church. The children were eagerly awaiting the team's arrival. The team made up for the missed VBS by singing their hearts out en route to Hertylandia, where they ate lunch together before joining the seniors and sophomores in the pool for the afternoon.

Team Sophomore had breakfast at their housing sites and then went to Nueva Vida to spend some time with the kids before heading out for Hertylandia. They filled a few buses and arrived a little before lunch to enjoy some pool time before the other groups arrived. They enjoyed a lunch of pizza with the Nueva Vida kids, which for some of our pickier eaters was a pleasant surprise. :) After their lunch they rejoined the seniors, juniors, El Faro kids, and Verbo Sur kids for a few more hours in the pool...complete with a few Nicaraguan down pours.

Days like today remind our students that life doesn't always look so similar across the world, but with God's perspective, some things begin to come into focus. For 112 students and leaders from Williamsburg that see the flair and glamour of places like Busch Gardens and WaterCountry on a simple drive down Route 60, their eyes were opened today to children who only dream of the pool. They spent their afternoon engrossed in laughter and games with precious kids that couldn't have wanted of anything bigger in the world. God was everywhere as leaders surveyed the pool to see our students covered in Nicaraguan kids as they enjoyed the slides, played games in the water, and taught some of the children how to swim.

Nicaragua sometimes wins in moments of longer than expected bus rides and rain that comes down in buckets, but thankfully through God's grace it also wins in the moments where a hug and a hand to hold can cure all the pain in the world. Our students are learning...our students are growing...and we couldn't be more thankful.

This evening we set aside time for small groups. All students are currently processing the trip alongside their leaders and friends. They are getting into God's Word by answering questions posed in our porch time Bible studies from the previous 3 nights.

Please continue to be in prayer for our team as we enter into the last half of our trip. Pray that God would continue to seal in the lessons of this trip and give them perspective on how to apply those lessons back in Williamsburg. Also, please consider attending the prayer night for the Nicaragua mission team Tuesday at 7 in the Student Ministries Worship Room (see earlier blog post for details).

We are now look forward to Sunday when we will be attending church at three different Verbo churches (Verbo is our primary ministry partner) around Managua then heading out for a big soccer game day and hang out time with kids from Casa and Nueva Vida at a local sports complex. Dios bendigas! (God bless!)

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

Nica Update Day 4- June 24th

2011-06-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hola friends and family!

We've spent another day being covered in the love and blessings of Christ as we've lived here in Nicaragua. Hearts continue to be changed and lives continue to be filled with hope as we encounter Christ among the people of Nicaragua. Our team is still enjoying good health and we're thankful for all that we've been able to be a part of the past few days.

This morning the Senior Team stayed at Casa Bernabe Orphanage where we are staying to complete work projects started by the juniors yesterday. They painted ceiling tiles, then repainted and repaired the benches and tables from the dining facility. These facilities serve all 65 children that live at Casa and our students were excited to be a part of something that will remain here with them after we leave Nica. They enjoyed lunch at Casa and then continued work projects during the afternoon, as well as teaching English classes alongside Professor Regan. Their leaders have commented to us that today was a great day to see these kids' servant hearts for Christ and their friends here in Nicaragua.

Our Juniors continue to build relationships and serve the children and families of Verbo Sur, a church plant in Managua that houses a feeding center. During the morning the boys completed a work project to build a wall that will protect the church from Nicaragua's legendary downpours during the wet season. The girls enjoyed time teaching the kids songs in English and playing lots and lots of duck-duck-goose as the rains came down outside. They all served lunch at the feeding center before hosting a VBS service for forty of Verbo Sur's children. After VBS they loaded the kids up in buses and they spent the afternoon teaching swim lessons and playing with the kids at a local pool in Managua. The Juniors returned to Casa for dinner and time with the seniors.

The Sophomore Team had a long day of work projects and service at both El Canyon Orphanage and the Nueva Vida community. During the morning half the team served at El Canyon by finished the work projects started yesterday before spending the afternoon teaching English lessons, hosting a VBS, and playing games with the children. The second half of the team served at the feeding centers in Nueva Vida after completing a work project during the morning. For the afternoon they hosted VBS for the Nueva Vida church and then spent their last bit of the afternoon playing games with the kids.

Our Seniors and Juniors enjoyed a special treat tonight as they joined the Casa Bernabe kids for their weekly Friday worship service under the rancho. Older students from Casa lead a time of song worship before an orphanage caretaker gave a message on living out our dreams by serving Christ. This is always such a remarkable opportunity for our team to slow down and simply worship their Lord and Savior right alongside these precious kids that Christ is allowing us to serve. The barriers of language, wealth, and culture kind of fall away as we sing songs of praise to our God.

The Sophomores took another trip to Casa tonight to share porch time with the juniors and seniors after Casa's worship service. Our students continue to have life altering moments of encountering Christ both amongst themselves and through the people of Nicaragua. It is always so encouraging to hear them share all the places they saw God as they worked throughout the day and spent such precious time in fellowship with one another.

Thank you so much for all the prayers that you are covering our team with. We couldn't make a journey like this with any hope if we did not have people like you offering our time up to Christ everyday. We'd ask that you continue to pray for the people of Nicaragua to feel Christ's love through our team, that our students would have hearts of service as we spend another day here in Nica tomorrow, and for our health that we might continue on our journey of meeting Christ in Nica. Blessing to you all!

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

Nicaragua Update - Day 3 (June 23rd)

2011-06-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

We've only been down here for three days and already it's incredible to see the many ways in which God has shown up.

Today the sophomore group served in two different locations. Half the 10th grade team (Steven, Andrew, and Mark's guys plus Christine's girls) spent the day at the El Canyon Orphanage. In the morning, the ladies began painting the inside of the boys' dormitory, while the guys moved furniture and assembled several bunk beds in the facility's brand new dorm. After getting the new rooms in order, some of the guys assisted in completing the painting project, while others played basketball with a few kids from the orphanage. After lunch at the site, the group took a tour of the local village, and returned to the orphanage to play with some of the kids after they got out of school. Meanwhile, the second half of the sophomores (Quinn and John Mark's guys and Lindsey's girls) returned to a church in the refugee community of Nueva Vida to assist with a feeding center, complete a few work projects (such as sanding rust off of bed frames), and host a VBS for tons of kids. Today's VBS topic was about kindness and giving, and the team (along with the Nicaraguan children) made bracelets to give to others to illustrate the concept. After serving all day, the sophomores all returned to their housing sites to clean up, before coming together again for a delicious meal at Pastor Ricardo's house.

The junior class had another exciting day (without even stepping foot outside the Casa Bernabe Orphanage walls!). In the morning, the juniors completed several work projects around the orphanage grounds, including deep cleaning the entire kitchen area. After morning projects, the juniors taught English classes for the students at Casa Bernabe. Knowing English is a huge indicator of success for people in Nicaragua, so we are praying that their efforts to help these kids grow in their language skills will help give them a bright future. In the early evening, the juniors also led a devotional for the kids at Casa.

The senior class's day was filled with adventure. They began the day at Nueva Vida, helping at a local church and preparing to serve food at the lunch-time feeding center. After serving all the children and grabbing a quick bite to eat, the seniors got to take a group of kids from that community on an incredible field trip to the zoo! Amazing animals were seen and, more importantly, loving relationships were developed between our team members and the kids from Nueva Vida. The seniors returned to Casa to have dinner with the junior class.

To end the evening, the sophomore class joined the juniors and seniors at Casa Bernabe for a joint porch time. It was an incredible sight to see more than 120 people joined in a circle under the rancho, preparing to worship God and hear a message from his Word. After some funny memories from our "remember that time . . ." portion of the evening (a way for us to share all the comical moments that might have occurred during the day at the various locations), and a great round of "I saw Jesus . . ." (a more serious time for us to share moments from our days where we encountered the risen Savior), we had a meaningful time of worship, singing praises to God for all He's already done and will continue to do. Finally, Craig brought us a message from the book of James, and urged us to already be thinking about how we can apply some of the lessons we're learning down here to our lives back home. After some fun hang out time all together, the sophomores headed back to their housing sites, and everyone prepared to get some rest in preparation for another full day of serving tomorrow. Even with such a large team, logistics continue to run smoothly. We thank you all for your prayer support, and continue to solicit your prayers for sustained health, safety, and relationship building (with each other, with the Nicaraguan kids/people, and with Jesus Christ).

Corporate Prayer for Nicaragua Team

2011-06-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Nicaragua Mission team is in the midst of its second full day of serving. Everything is going very well and God continues to show up and make Himself known to our team. We feel bolstered and supported by your prayers. Thank you for your faithfulness to pray and please continue to pray that we might experience Jesus as we serve and that those whom we serve would experience Jesus through our team.

The team values your prayers so much we want to invite you to a time of corporate prayer for the Nicaragua mission team lead by Deacon of Student Ministries, Wrenn Holland, on Tuesday June 28th from 7pm-8pm in the Student Ministries Worship Room. Please use door East 3 to enter the building.

All are invited to come and pray for the mission trip, and we want to extend a special invitation to parents with children on the trip. This is a great opportunity to participate with your child in the work they are doing in Nicaragua.

God has been so faithful to our team. We have seen his love and his grace in abundance. Thank you for your continued support.

Nicaragua Update- Day 1

2011-06-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family in the States!

Praise God for this blessed day in Nicaragua! We've enjoyed good health, the best of company, and many moments of knowing that God is in this place.

The Senior Team spent their first full day in Nica serving children and families from La Chureca (the Managua Dump) and then working with the children at Casa Bernabe. They departed Casa this morning to volunteer at Colegio Esperanza, a christian school that has been planted in La Chureca, by playing with the kids as they took their recess breaks. They enjoyed a meal prepared by a local Managuan woman and a site a little ways outside of La Chureca. After our team lunch, the seniors had the opportunity to serve at two different feeding centers within the dump compound. Their afternoon was spent helping teach English classes at Casa Bernabe alongside their teacher, Regan. They are currently leading four different bible studies with the kids at Casa before they head to porch time at the Rancho with the Juniors.

Our Junior Team had quite a fun day today with children from Verbo Sur. Verbo Sur is a new church plant that ORPHANetwork is working with through a feeding center program. Our juniors had the opportunity to serve at this new feeding center and then teach a VBS lesson for the children after lunch. The greater part of their afternoon/evening was spent taking the children from Verbo Sur to the local zoo in Managua and sharing in fellowship with them. They returned for dinner at Casa Bernabe with the seniors and are preparing for our first porch time before we all head to bed.

Team Sophomore was blessed to work in Nueva Vida, an impoverished community just outside of Managua, for the day today. After their ONet orientation this morning they loaded up in buses and headed to Nueva Vida to serve lunch at several of their feeding center sites. After a team lunch at Nueva Vida they taught VBS lessons at the feeding centers before taking the kids to do swim lessons at a local pool in Managua. For many of these children, swim lessons are a valuable life skill that they would not otherwise be taught without mission teams. They returned to their housing site at Quinta Arien for dinner and a porch time tonight before bed.

We appreciate your continued support as we are away from home. Thank you for the prayers and love that you are sending, because we promise that we can feel them. We ask that you continue to pray for the health of our team, for these students' hearts to be open to this encounter with Christ in Nica, and for all the precious Nicaraguans that we are blessed to be sharing life with this week. Praise God for his blessings as we continue to serve here in Nica!

Tomorrow will be spent completing work projects, serving at feeding centers, and teaching various classes here in Nica. Sweet dreams to you all and we'll talk to y'all tomorrow!

Love in Christ,
SM Staff Team

Nicaragua Travel Update #3 (final travel update)

2011-06-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

The third flight and final flight (all sophomore boys) has arrived safely and on time!

THE ENTIRE WCC STUDENT MINISTRIES NICARAGUA MISSION TEAM IS NOW IN NICARAGUA!!!

The sophomore boys will soon depart the airport for their team center where they will enjoy dinner and head to bed.

Tomorrow we will begin serving at several sites throughout Managua. Please continue to pray for the students from the Chapel. The SM Staff's prayer request is that our team would encounter Jesus as they serve and that those whom they are serving encounter Jesus through the team.

We are very grateful for your prayers throughout the day. The day was extremely smooth with ALL flights coming in on time. Praise be to God for his grace for our team on this busy day!

Good Night and God Bless,
SM Staff Team

Nicaragua Travel Update #2

2011-06-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

The second flight (all sophomore girls, all juniors and Abbey and Mary Carter's senior girls small group) has landed safely and on time.

The team has moved through customs and is currently boarding the buses which will take them to the team centers where they will eat dinner and get settled in for a week of serving children in Nicaragua.

Everyone is in good spirits after a long day of travel. The team is very excited about the week in front of them. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

God Bless,
SM Staff Team

Nicaragua Travel Update #1

2011-06-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

The first part of our Nicaragua mission team (All senior boys, Beka, Paige and Sarah Graham's senior girls small group), arrived safely and on time this morning around 9:45am Nicaraguan time (we are two hours behind EST).

Despite their long night of travel, the team was eager to get going. After enjoying some down time they began their trip by taking a group of kids who live near the local garbage dump to a swimming pool. The seniors will be working with this group throughout our time here so it is a great opportunity for them to start building relationships with the kids so early on in the trip.

These seniors will spend the rest of their afternoon resting to regain energy for the remainder of the trip.

Our other two travel groups are still in route to Nicaragua. We will send a text message to all parents when they land safely and will update the blog shortly thereafter.

To subscribe to the text message alerts, text the word nicaparent to the number 41411. You will receive a text back as confirmation that you are signed up to the group.

God Bless,
SM Team

Final North Carolina Meeting Details

2011-06-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have finished our final training meeting and are very excited about our trip. At our meeting we finished our discussion on Abram's encounter with God and what we can learn about his encounter that carries over to our trip. Below you will find the small group questions that we discussed at the meeting, the final checklist, and our packing list. There is one change to the packing list that I want to point out. We actually will be stopping for a meal on the way down to North Carolina, so each students needs to pack a lunch for the bus as well as bring some money for dinner that night. Originally we asked them to only pack a dinner, but now they need to be prepared for two meals on the way down.

Final Checklist

Small Group Questions

Packing List

Luke will be out of the country on the High School Nicaragua trip until July 1st, but if you have any questions please feel free to leave a message on his phone at 941-1572 or send him an email at lkinciad@wcchapel.org

Final New York Meeting Recap

2011-06-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last night was the final meeting for the New York mission trip. I feel blessed that I get to experience this trip with your children, and am very excited about what God is going to teach us in the Big Apple! Below is the checklist, discussion questions, and all important packing list.

Checklist

Packing List

Discussion Questions

The important high lights of the packing list that are different from the trip last year are something to sleep on (air mattress, sleeping pad, or inflatable pool floating raft), and a packed lunch for the drive to New York on Saturday the 10th.

Again if you have any questions please call Craig (941-1225).

Final Nicaragua Meeting Recap

2011-06-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

The SM Staff cannot wait to be in Nicaragua with our team! Here are details from the final training meeting. Parents & students, please make sure you are familiar with ALL the information in this post.

If you have any questions, please call Alexis on her cell phone: 919-260-0719.

Nicaragua Packing List

Final Nicaragua Checklist & Flight Information

FLIGHT INFORMATION

DEPARTURES: (all flights depart from Dulles Airport)

Flight 1: Craig’s Senior Boys & Paige/Sarah-Graham’s Senior Girls (TACA, 20 seats)
**Meet at the Chapel at 11:30pm on Monday, June 20th!

(TACA 591) 21June depart Washington Dulles 4:57am & arrive San Salvador 7:37am
(TACA 396) 21June depart San Salvador 8:42am & arrive Managua 9:37am

Flight 2: All Sophomore Girls, All Juniors, Abby’s Senior Girls (American, 64 seats):
**Meet at Chapel at 5:00am on Tuesday, June 21st (**Note: time is 30 minutes EARLIER than previously published!)

(AA1321) 21JUN depart Washington Dulles (IAD) at 11:25am & arrive MIA 2:05pm
(AA985) 21JUN depart MIA at 6:30pm & arrive MGA 7:00pm

Flight 3: All Sophomore Boys (TACA, 26 seats):
**Meet at Chapel at 9:30am on Tuesday, June 21st

(TACA583) 21JUN depart Washington Dulles 3:50pm & arrive San Salvador 6:30pm
(TACA 315) 21JUN depart San Salvador 7:35pm & arrive Managua 8:30pm

RETURNS: (all flights arrive at Dulles Airport)

*Travel updates will be sent out first via text message and then updated as possible on the blog.

Flight 1: Sophomore Boys, Senior Boys, & Paige/SG’s Senior Girls (TACA, 46 seats)

(TACA 397) 30JUN depart Managua 5:30pm and arrive San Salvador 6:20pm
(TACA 590) 30JUN depart San Salvador 7:34pm & arrive Washington Dulles 1:53am on JUL1
**We expect to return to the Chapel around 5/5:30am on Friday, July 1st

Flight 2: All Sophomore Girls, All Juniors, Abby’s Senior Girls (American, 64 seats):

(AA970) 30JUN depart MGA at 1:00pm and arrive MIA 5:40pm
(AA850) 30JUN depart MIA at 8:50pm and arrive IAD (Dulles) at 11:20p
**We expect to return to the Chapel around 2:30/3am on Friday, July 1st

MS Norfolk Final Training Meeting

2011-06-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Our final meeting continued to excite me about this trip to Norfolk. We have a great team of students and leaders and I look forward to the special lessons God is going to teach us on this trip. Below are all of the documents and slides from last nights meeting including the small group questions we went over in small groups with your children if you would like to look at what we discussed.

Powerpoint Presentation of Trip Details

Final Meeting Checklist

Packing List

Small Group Questions

Please feel free to call Luke Kincaid at 941-1572 or email me at lkincaid@wcchapel.org if you have any further questions or concerns.

Final Meeting Dates and Times

2011-06-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

HS Nicaragua - Tuesday, June 14th from 6:30-8:30pm in the SM Worship Room
Bring all of your donations to pack for the trip
Bring any final money and forms
Call Alexis Kincaid at 941-1241 or email her at akincaid@wcchapel.org with any questions

HS New York - Wednesday, June 15th from 6:30-8:30pm in Woodward Hall
Bring any final money and forms
Call Craig Blocher at 941-1225 or email him at cblocher@wcchapel.org with any questions

MS Norfolk - Tuesday, June 14th from 6:30-8:30pm in the Main Foyer
First hour for parents and students, second hour just for students
Bring any final money and forms
Call Luke Kincaid at 941-1572 or email him at lkincaid@wcchapel.org with any questions

MS North Carolina - Wednesday, June 15th from 6:30-8:30pm in Rm. 221 (Ross Hall)
Bring and final money and forms
Call Luke Kincaid at 941-1572 or email him at lkincaid@wcchapel.org with any questions

Nicaragua Packing List

2011-06-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the packing list for the Nicaragua Mission Team. Students will receive a hard copy at the final team training meeting:

Nicaragua Packing List:

[ ] Undergarments—16+ pairs
[ ] Sneakers
[ ] Sandals or flip flops
[ ] 7-9 pairs of socks
[ ] 10-12 T-shirts
[ ] 6-8 Shorts
[ ] 1 Long-sleeved Item
[ ] 1 or 2 Pairs of Pants
[ ] 1 Set Church Clothes
[ ] Bathing Suit (1 Piece suit for girls)
[ ] Hat w/ Brim
[ ] Wash cloth & Hand towel
[ ] Flashlight
[ ] Sunglasses
[ ] Journal, Bible, & Pen
[ ] Camera (optional)
[ ] Chapstick
[ ] Water bottle
[ ] Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, sunscreen, & bug spray (in 3 oz or less bottles in a 1 liter Ziploc bag—if you have items larger than 3 oz or too many to fit in a 1 liter bag, you can bring it in a gallon Ziploc with you name on it to check under the plane
[ ] optional: No more than $50 cash (for souvenirs and food in airport)

*Bedding and towels are provided at the orphanage, and they do laundry for us once midway through the week.

All your personal belongings must fit into your carry-on luggage. The only bags we check are the ones for donations, extra toiletries, and birthday presents/underwear. See the American Airlines/TACA website for specifics on carry-on size regulations

Please also bring these items the day of departure to put in bags to be checked (see the Checklist for more information):

[ ] 1 package of underwear: to distribute while in Nicaragua (purchase for a child of your sex)
[ ] 1 package of socks: to distribute while in Nicaragua (purchase for a child of your sex)
[ ] Birthday present for orphan (get a present for a child of the same sex as you): $10 gift, unwrapped

HS Nicaragua Overnight Training Recap

2011-06-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend. It's hard to believe that we leave for Nicaragua in two weeks. We still have one more training meeting, so please make sure you are staying informed with all important details and that you are getting your support money and paperwork in asap.

Some items to highlight:
All paperwork (ORPHANetwork Form, Copy of Passport, and WCC Parental Consent Form) was due at the overnight. If you are missing any of these forms, please turn them in by Thursday, June 9th!
Your remaining trip balance is due at the final team meeting on June 14th. If you have questions about your balance, email Alexis at akincaid@wcchapel.org or call her at 941-1241.
Each team member should purchase one package of underwear and one package of socks for a child of your gender and bring it to the last team meeting. The final team meeting will be our packing meeting, so please bring high-quality donations to this meeting as well.

Below you will find the checklist from the overnight, as well as the discussion questions from our teaching time.

If you have any questions, please contact Alexis (akincaid@wcchapel.org; 941-1241 (office); 919-260-0719 (cell).

Our final team meeting is on Tuesday, June 14th from 6:30-8:30pm in the SM Worship Room.

Nicaragua Checklist - June 3, 2011

Pre-Trip Curriculum - Abraham #2 Nicaragua

HS New York Training Overnight Recap

2011-06-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

The overnight was a great success, thanks to all who attended. We had part two of our study of Abraham, we will finish on our last meeting (June 15th). Attached are the questions we discussed in small groups after the teaching as well as the passage. Later Friday night we watched the first hour of the movie Finding Forrester and discussed (questions attached) some of our impressions of the culture of intercity New York and how it relates to our trip and what we will be seeing while serving in the big apple. Saturday morning we had a team building competition all across the College of William and Mary's campus. We broke into teams by mission team and competed in different challenges for points. We capped the overnight with Chik-fil-a for lunch provided by Wren Holland, operator of the Mooretown Road location. All in all it was a great time of fellowship and learning about God showing up in people's lives in life changing ways.

Below are the links to the discussion questions as well as any other relevant forms:

Abraham discussion questions

Finding Forrester movie discussion questions

CSM trip packet (packing list on page 4)

WCC Parental Consent Form

Text nycparent to 41411 for text reminders

Our next (and last) meeting is June 15th in Woodward Hall 6:30-8:30, where final payment is due.

If you have ANY questions please call (941-1225) or email (cblocher@wcchapel.org) Craig Blocher.

MS Norfolk Overnight Training Meeting

2011-06-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

We had a great night and morning this past weekend at the Missions Overnight. Friday night we got together as a team and learned about Abram. After discussing the teaching in our small groups, we headed back to the SM worship room for worship with the other missions teams. After worship, we separated into our missions teams again and the Norfolk team watched the Lion, the Witch of the Wardrobe. The movie highlighted 4 kids working together to serve others. We used the movie as a jumping off point to discuss how we could best serve the people of Norfolk.

After a good night's sleep, we loaded up two charter buses and headed to William and Mary where the SM summer interns had planned a fun "Amazing Race" style game. We separated into our small groups, got fun costumes and headed out to complete different challenges that helped teach us about teamwork. We finished off our time with a debrief at the Matoaka Amphitheater complete with delicious Chick-fil-a and a prize for the winning team before heading back to the Chapel to be picked up. It was a wonderful weekend and we can't wait for the Norfolk missions trip July 28-30!

Checklist #1
Abram Discussion Questions #1
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Discussion Questions

MS North Carolina Training Overnight Recap

2011-06-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful evening and morning of training on Friday and Saturday. We continued studying Abram's encounter with God in Genesis on Friday night as well as watched an episode of Extreme Home Makeover in order to look at another organization that helps meet people's needs through home repair. On Saturday we filled two charter buses and headed over to the campus of W&M where we split into teams for an "Amazing Race" style competition in which teams had to complete 10 different challenges at stations around the campus. We used this competition as a team building exercise since every team was made up of the students that will be in their small group on the trip. We wanted them to understand the challenges and benefits that come from working on a team to complete a common goal.

Below are links to any forms that you may need as well as the questions we looked at during small group time if you would like to ask your son or daughter about them. Thanks for partnering with us as we work to make this mission trip as beneficial as possible for your child.

Extreme Home Makeover Discussion Questions

Small Group Questions after talk on Abram

Checklist of Items to turn in

Packing List

ReCreation Experience Forms

WCC Parental Consent Form

Don't forget to text the word NCPARENT to the number 41411 to get text reminders

Final meeting on Wednesday, June 15th from 6:30-8:30pm in Room 221 (Ross Hall)

Please feel free to contact Luke Kincaid by phone at 941-1572 or by email at lkincaid@wcchapel.org

SM Mission Teams Training Overnight

2011-05-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dates: June 3rd-4th
Begins at 6:30pm on Friday
Ends at 2pm on Saturday

What to bring: toiletries, sleeping bag, pillow, athletic clothes/shoes for Saturday, and any forms and money that are due.

Snacks Friday Night, Breakfast and Lunch Saturday will be provided.

Nicaragua Training Mtg #2 Recap

2011-05-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Below is the information from our second team training meeting. Please note that at the end of the checklist is our flight information. Because there are 3 flights TO Nicaragua and 2 flights HOME from Nicaragua, people need to arrive at the Chapel at different times. Please make sure you understand exactly when you/your child needs to meet at Chapel for departure.

Also, if you would like a Word document of any of these forms/this information send to you, simply email Alexis at akincaid@wcchapel.org, and she will be happy to help.

Nicaragua Mission Team
May 17th Checklist

 Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/

□ Subscribe to updates via text messaging:
o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411
o Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

 Support Letters
o Turn support money into Alexis as it comes in.
o Write thank you notes to the people who send you monetary support immediately.

 Passport
o Bring a copy of your passport by the overnight on June 3rd

 Forms – MUST be turned in by the overnight on June 3rd
o ORPHANetwork form
o Notarized WCC Parental Consent form

 Travel Plans – let your parents know!
o We have three separate flights TO Nicaragua, and two separate flights HOME.
o Please see the back side of this page for flight details and information on when you need to arrive at the Chapel for departure.

 Donations
o If you have donations, bring them to our final team meeting on June 14th. We will post a list of needs from Casa on the blog. Please bring only quality donations and store them at your house until our final meeting.

Team overnight begins on June 3rd at 6:30pm and goes until June 4th at 2pm. Meet at the Chapel. Bring a sleeping bag, toiletries, and athletic clothes/shoes. Please eat dinner beforehand. Breakfast & lunch provided.

Final team meeting is June 14th from 6:30-8:30 pm in the SM Worship Room. This is our packing meeting, so bring donations to this meeting.

FLIGHT INFORMATION

DEPARTURES: (all flights depart from Dulles Airport)

Flight 1: Craig’s Senior Boys & Paige/Sarah-Graham’s Senior Girls (TACA, 20 seats)
**Meet at the Chapel at 11:30pm on Monday, June 20th!

(TACA 591) 21June depart Washington Dulles 4:57am & arrive San Salvador 7:37am
(TACA 396) 21June depart San Salvador 8:42am & arrive Managua 9:37am

Flight 2: All Sophomore Girls, All Juniors, Abby’s Senior Girls (American, 64 seats):
**Meet at Chapel at 5:30am on Tuesday, June 21st

(AA1321) 21JUN depart Washington Dulles (IAD) at 11:25am & arrive MIA 2:05pm
(AA985) 21JUN depart MIA at 6:30pm & arrive MGA 7:00pm

Flight 3: All Sophomore Boys (TACA, 26 seats):
**Meet at Chapel at 9:30am on Tuesday, June 21st

(TACA583) 21JUN depart Washington Dulles 3:50pm & arrive San Salvador 6:30pm
(TACA 315) 21JUN depart San Salvador 7:35pm & arrive Managua 8:30pm

RETURNS: (all flights arrive at Dulles Airport)

Flight 1: Sophomore Boys, Senior Boys, & Paige/SG’s Senior Girls (TACA, 46 seats)

(TACA 397) 30JUN depart Managua 5:30pm and arrive San Salvador 6:20pm
(TACA 590) 30JUN depart San Salvador 7:34pm & arrive Washington Dulles 1:53am on JUL1

**We expect to return to the Chapel around 5/5:30am on Friday, July 1st

Flight 2: All Sophomore Girls, All Juniors, Abby’s Senior Girls (American, 64 seats):

(AA970) 30JUN depart MGA at 1:00pm and arrive MIA 5:40pm
(AA850) 30JUN depart MIA at 8:50pm and arrive IAD (Dulles) at 11:20p

**We expect to return to the Chapel around 2:30/3am on Friday, July 1st

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Genesis 12:1-9

You have no idea where you are going

Discussion Questions
1. Where do you think you’re going?
2. What reasons do you have for going? How did the reason of blessing challenge or confirm your reasons for going?
3. What are 2 key relationships you have on this trip?
4. What else are you taking with you?
5. What do you need to leave behind?
6. What is the function of the altars Abram builds?
7. What strategies can you employ to practice altar building when you are in Nicaragua?

HS NYC Mission Trip Meeting #1 Recap

2011-05-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who showed up! We had a great turn out, this trip is going to be the largest HS domestic trip we have taken!

If you have ANY questions please email (cblocher@wcchapel.org), or call (941-1225) Craig Blocher.

Below is the information and forms that we went over and handed out during the last meeting (5/11)

Links to all of the resources from the meeting:

PowerPoint of the meeting

CSM Pre-Trip Leader Handout

Meeting #1 Checklist

Small Group Questions & Teaching Passage

Our next meeting is the missions overnight June 3rd-4th (6:30 in the SM worship room)

Our final meeting is June 15th in Woodward Hall (6:30-8:30)
(Final Payment Deadline)

MS North Carolina Training Meeting #1 Recap

2011-05-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for committing to coming out to the first training meeting. Meeting with everyone got me even more excited about what God is going to do on this trip.

Below is all the information that we went over at the meeting as well as the forms we handed out and the teaching and training that we went over with the students during the last hour.

Please feel free to contact Luke Kincaid with any questions by phone at 941-1572 or email at lkincaid@wcchapel.org

Links to forms and Resources from the Meeting:

Contents of Folder:

May 11th Checklist

ReCreation Experience Forms - My wife Alexis is a notary here if you need form notarized

Packing List

Reading for Students

Other Forms and Resources:

Curriculum from Small Groups - This would be great to go over with your child to review with them

WCC Parental Consent Form - My wife Alexis is a notary here if you need form notarized

Parent Meeting Powerpoint

Important Dates & Deadlines:

Next Meeting: June 3rd-June 4th (Mission Teams Overnight begins at 6:30pm in SM Worship Room)
Forms and Final Payment Due

Final Meeting: June 15th (6:30-8:30 pm in Ross Hall)

HS Nicaragua Training Mtg #1 Recap

2011-04-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Great first meeting, everyone! Thank you to all the parents who made it out. If anyone has any questions about the information you received, or about anything else trip-related, please feel free to contact me (Alexis) at any time: akincaid@wcchapel.org; 757-941-1241 (office); 919-260-0719 (cell).

Below is the information we passed out at the meeting. At every meeting, students will receive a checklist. This checklist will have updated information about what forms are due, training requirements, travel information, etc. Please look over your checklists or check the blog after each meeting.

Nicaragua Mission Team

April 26th Checklist

□ Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/
o We will post all training information, as well as trip updates, here.

□ Subscribe to updates via text messaging:
o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411
o Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

□ Support Letters
o Turn in your support letters (in addressed, stamped envelopes, w/ self-addressed, stamped envelopes enclosed) by Sun, May 8
o Support Letter Instructions are included in your folders. If you did not receive a folder, please contact Alexis to either stop by the SM office and pick one up, or to have her email you the support letter instructions.

□ Passport
o If you don’t have a passport, begin the application process IMMEDIATELY to ensure that you receive it by June 21st!
o Here are some helpful websites to assist you with the application process:
 http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
 http://www.usps.com/passport/
o If you already have a passport, check the date to make sure that it does not expire on or before July 2011

□ Forms: bring your completed forms to our second Nicaragua Team Meeting

o ORPHANetwork Release Form - this form was in the folder passed out at the meeting. If you did not receive a folder, please contact Alexis to either stop by the SM office and pick one up, or to have her email you the document.

o WCC Parental Consent Form – this form must be notarized (Please check with Alexis if you need your form notarized or want to see if you have a current form on file for the 2010-2011 school year. If you turned in a Parental Consent Form for this year’s ski trip or CBA Day, you do not need another one. Parental Consent Forms from last year’s mission trips are no longer current.)
o Copy of your passport

Next Team Meeting: Tuesday, May 17th from 6:30-8:30pm in the Main Foyer

Only one full day left :(

2011-03-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

T-minus 36 hours left in Nicaragua. Today we had a packed day, we started by doing some work around Casa Bernabe, where we are staying. We split into three groups and split up around the orphanage compound. One group took all of the donations that we had checked onto our airplane in trash bags, sorted and hung everything for the kids. The second group went to the kitchen of the orphanage took down, painted and replaced all of the ceiling tiles. The third group ‘renovated’ a bunch of school desks. Replacing and broken slats and painting the frames (using gasoline to remove the paint from their hands). The orphanage is a huge production, housing, feeding, teaching, and discipling the 65 kids that call Casa Bernabe their home. It was great helping in a small way in that process.

After lunch we headed to a soccer tournament with all of the college groups (us, UVA, Virginia Tech, and James Madison), The kids from ‘Casa’, Nueva Vida, and another orphanage. We had four fields set up and played college groups against the kids and kids against kids, they had a blast. Most of the kids, even the 8 year olds, were more skilled at ‘futbol’ than most of us. I think the kids loved showing up some of us gringos.

Following is a story that illustrates the heart of the Nicaraguan people, told by one of our team members.

When you talk to someone about Nicaragua, its almost cliché; it seems like all everyone says is “the people there are so loving, they are just different,” or “Nicaraguans are so amazing are they are so different,” but for someone who has not been here that answer is certainly less than satisfactory if you ask me. What exactly does that mean? Well, today I got yet another taste of that “difference,” and I think perhaps, in a small way, it can help show what people mean by this. First, it’s important to know that the extent of my Spanish knowledge barely goes beyond “Hola.” So when I say that any and all communication that occurred between me and the ladies that serve us breakfast every morning was limited to smiles and “Gracias,” I mean it. This morning however, I managed to sleep through the morning madness of everyone else getting up for breakfast and it was not until we were ready to leave for our first activity of the day that one of my friends noticed my absence and came to awake me. I promptly got up, and I realized almost immediately I had missed breakfast; I accepted my state hunger and headed over to the rancho. When I got there, however I was greeted by Mary Carter (shout out to her two loving parents, wonderful sister Brittany, and lucky boyfriend John) and a plate full of delicious food. When I moved to thank her however, I was informed that it was not her, nor any of my fellow teammates who had noticed that I was gone, but rather the ladies who serve us every morning and at every meal. Not knowing so much as my name, they noticed, amongst the 60 people they serve every morning (between us and the UVA students staying at Casa Bernabe), that I was not there. They asked everyone where the tall, dirty kid who doesn’t shower was, and made sure that someone saved food for me to eat. I personally, couldn’t tell you everyone who is on our trip, and I not only speak the same language as them, but also have spent everyday of the past week with them, not just meals. These ladies however, cared so much for me and my well being that they not only noticed I was missing but made sure I had a chance to eat. And yet, I was not surprised. This is the fourth time I’ve come to Nicaragua and it didn’t take more than a few days the first time I was here for me to realize that Nicaraguans are no ordinary people. The love that they exert on a regular basis has led me to expect nothing less. And so, it was a great start to a great day, and it was just one of the infinite ways that Nicaraguans have blessed me and continue to bless me so much more, than I, despite my best efforts, can bless them.

Thanks to the two best parents in the world, Jim and Leslie Knicely, who helped me get here this year in so many more ways than one, including helping me pack in the 20 minutes I had before leaving, -- you guys better be reading, I love you.

-Ricky

2011-03-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Ash Wednesday from Nicaragua! This morning we headed back to Nueva Vida to help the church/feeding center we had been going to the last couple days with a work project. We helped them remove their current barbed wire fence, and dig a ditch for the foundation of the new cement block wall. The Sun was out in full force (documented by some of the team’s sun tans) but we got a lot of fence taken down and dirt moved.

We then split into three groups to serve three of the feeding centers in the Nueva Vida area. All of the feeding centers have the same process. The kids sit at tables with their plates and cups that they bring. We then went around and collected their plates and cups by table and took them to the kitchen. After we got them back we would return them to their owners filled with rice and beans with a little meat. The kids would help us and each other out to make sure that everyone got to eat. One member of the team made the observation that it seemed more like a large family sitting down to eat together, than any school cafeteria we might have experienced in elementary school. None of the kids begged for their tables to be the first ones, they waited patiently as the rest of their ‘family’ was served. Following lunch we had time to play with the kids that we have been building relationships with though out the week.

We loaded up with some of the kids from Nueva Vida and headed to a ‘talent show’ with the group from Virginia Tech. The event was fun and the kids seemed to have a great time, there were dance acts and singing acts, and other assorted talents. The act that just made the event was a little girl from Nueva Vida. She went up there in a white dress and ribbons tied to her wrists and danced to a worship song. None of us could understand the words but that didn’t matter at all. It was absolutely the most beautiful picture of worship. The whole room was mesmerized. That little girl showed us all what it means to worship God with all your heart, in such pure and true way.

So many experiences in only 3 days!

2011-03-08T23:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday has now come to a close, it feels like we have been here and experienced far more things than three full days could possibly hold. There is so much to see and experience in this beautiful country. Today we had a real ‘chill’ day. First we toured the Eskimo ice cream factory, and then we cooled off in the pool.

After breakfast we picked up the children of El Farro daycare. This daycare serves the neighborhood of La Chureca also known as the dump. People have been living on a city trash dump for years. Recently the Nicaraguan government has shrunk the amount of land that functions as an active dump, but it is still in use. These are the conditions that the children that were with this morning live in, every day. We took them to the Eskimo ice cream factory, they were so excited for this little field trip. After donning ridiculous booties, a lab coat, and the always stylish neon yellow hair nets, we started our tour. We each had a buddy to go through the factory with. We saw how popsicles, knock off drumsticks, and Sunday cups were made, stored, and shipped. We dropped the kids off and headed to our next stop (after getting to sample some of the goods, yum).

We headed back to Nueva Vida, and today drove past where the houses of the community were. The houses were nothing more than a 20 foot square with a roof made of corrugated metal, and maybe a chain link fence around the yard. The kids make it easy to forget the conditions that they come from because of how joyful and kind hearted they are, but the image of those houses is something no one will forget. We loaded up some of the kids and drove to a pool outside of town. They all were so excited to go jump in the pool. We did our best to give swim lessons to the kids in another language (with some surprising results!); the kids wouldn’t give up which helped a lot. It was so rewarding to be part of something that brought the children so much joy. Praise be to God that he lets us share in the joy of his children in Nicaragua!

P.S. Chris Johnson gives a shout-out to his grandmother (thanks for reading)

Monday Monday Monday!

2011-03-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

We had a great Monday traveling around Nicaragua! We had an early morning to jump on the bus to head up to Posoltega, and a feeding center that a church runs there. They feed the children of the community lunch Monday through Friday. We were the first Orphan network group that went to this particular feeding center, and the kids were super excited to have visitors. Before lunch they all prayed for the food, the kids were thanking God for all of their blessings. We were struck by how genuine the children’s prayer was. There was a real thankfulness in their words.

After we ate lunch with the kids we went out and played with them for hours. The team was hot and covered in dust, but the joy of the children was absolutely contagious. There was not a single fight amongst themselves, they loved on each other and on us ‘gringos,’ all afternoon.

During ‘porch time’ tonight Evan mentioned Luke 6:20-21, “…Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…” This is something that the people of Nicaragua seem to truly have grasped. It has been a great blessing seeing what this verse looks like lived out on earth. We can learn so much from them about trusting that God will do what he promises in these verses. This is a verse that we breeze over when we are engaged in America, but can truly see what Jesus was talking about when he said this words a couple thousand years ago.

Day Two: Another blessed day!

2011-03-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hola from Nicaragua day two! We attended church this morning with the children from Casa Bernabe and it was a beautiful experience. The children were constantly reaching for the hands of the students, sitting on laps, introducing them to sisters, brothers, and cousins. During the service, worship was lively, full of clapping, singing, and rejoicing in the Lord! The hosts are so thoughtful and supplied us with "walkmen" type devices, complete with headphones and a live translator on the other end. After lunch we split the chicos (boys) and chicas (girls) - boys went paintballing with the older ones and the ladies went to Chava Landia. Roller skating was quite a hit...smiling faces all around even when the skates went flyin'! Returning to the orphange, some of us went to play with the children while others reflected on their day. We ended the night by accompanying the other schools at their hotel for our nightly porchtime where we witnessed two inspiring talks. Logan, a student from UVA, spoke about two particular images that reinvented his experience here in Nicaragua as an intern. Tony gave us an impressive history lesson, detailing Nicaragua's past from colonization through civil wars to their upcoming election. Finally, a sweet surprise and a private performance by none other than a Mariachi Band! Some students learned how to salsa from locals while others started a conga line. What a sight (with little dancing talent)!

Aside from the children's breathtaking beauty in all their joy and happiness, this country has much to offer in its nature. The stars seem to shine much brighter here on the grounds of the orphange. The pastor at service today mentioned a significant concept about "light" that we as Christians should strive to, be a lights in the darkness of this world. While this is not an easy task, through Christ, all things are possible. This is a daily challenge He presents to us. By shining our light, we are worshiping our Savior. The pastor also emphasized the importance of worship by saying that worship is an act of obedience, surrending to the Lord by realizing that our human ways are insufficient. His priorities are greatest.

Hasta Luego!

Tribe Fellowship has made it to Nica!

2011-03-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

After a very long day or two (they ran continuous for us) we are safely at Casa Bernabe! The team was pretty beat by lots of miles and little sleep, but we had a great day and got to meet some awesome kids. We headed to Nueva Vida, originally a temporary housing set up for those that were displaced by a hurricane, and were met by lots of little smiling faces. High fives, piggy-back rides, and 'mi amigo's (my friend) were certainly not lacking from the kids, they made us feel right at home in this foreign country.

Just driving through Managua you truely realize how incredibly blessed we are in the States. But even after our short time here you start to realize the paradox of the situation. The people here from the staff at the orphanage to the children we visited today are just so joyful in the way that they live their lives, despite their external circumstances (It really makes you evaluate yourself when you think that you are having a tough day back home). It is truly a living example that true joy comes not from what we have, but how we look at life. You can see the fruit of the spirit, in the people of Nicaragua, and it is beautiful.

Turning in for a relatively early night, to rest up and experience God in new ways tomorrow!

Thanks for all of your prayers!

MS NC Trip Day #5

2010-07-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a wonderful last day!! We hit the road a little bit earlier for our work site because our normal morning worship happens at night on the last day. So we began digging and painting around 9am this morning at Mr. Hughes's house. Over the past couple days the work gradually got more difficult as we hit more and more rocks the deeper we dug. There were even a couple boulders that ended up being impenetrable with our pick axes and so we had to leave them for a jackhammer to come break them up. After working hard in the morning and afternoon we finished our last day of digging and painting at 4pm. Our students showed true determination and hard work this entire week as they put all of their energy into each swing of the pick ax and each dig with a shovel.

Our supervisor, Rich, who is an expert in septic systems, said this was the hardest septic system he has ever had to dig and as a result there was a little work that we were unable to complete that a team of engineers without borders will comlete tomorrow. The great news is that Mr. Hughes will not lose his house! Even though we were unable to complete the entire project our students were extremely excited and joyful by the fact that we got to participate in essentially saving a man's life!

Another neighbor of Mr. Hughes drove by and stopped in amazement of what God was doing through our team. She was a good friend of Mr. Hughes and could not thank us enough for the work we were doing. Our students literally showed God and served an entire community of people down here in North Carolina!

After finishing our work project, our team headed back to home base for an evening of exciting and God-filled worship. First we had a fun and dance-filled worship time with Recreation Experiences followed by a moving talk by the Executive Director, Dave Torbett. Then our team headed to our final evening porch time for the week where Luke challenged the student's definition of love. He showed them that the true definition of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13 and the greatest picture of that love is found in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Finally, we split into our final time of small group where we had our best small group of the week. We saw a group of middle school students come together in love, unity, and fellowship in a way that we have not seen in awhile. God truly was tugging at the hearts of our students and they responded by honestly sharing and opening up to one another.

It truly has been a blessed week and although we will miss being here we are excited to come share our experience with everyone back in Williamsburg! The estimated time of departure from our home base down here is 9am and our estimated time of arrival back at the Chapel is 5pm. Remember to check the hotline at 757-810-4021 for updated times of arrival back to the Chapel. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and we will see you tonight!!

HS DC Trip Day #4 - Our Final Day of Service in DC

2010-07-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

What a way to end our final day of service in Washington, DC! God has really shown up this week in the most amazing and tangible ways, and it has been a privilege to share these moments with you.

Today, it was Group 1's turn to receive the early wake-up call. Like Group 2 did yesterday, Group 1 rose at 5am to be at a local church serving breakfast and handing out clothing to people in need. After their time of service, the group was able to sit down with a man named Paul who runs the outreach operation there. Paul's story of transformation was both an encouragement and a challenge to all the students who served at this location. While Group 1 served at this location yesterday, the team noticed that the facility was running low on summer clothing, especially for men. As a result, our entire group made an impact at this facility by donating some of our own clothing to go to the men and women who visit there for help. It was a blessing to see how quickly our kids were able to apply the lessons they are learning by giving of themselves and their possessions. After serving breakfast and talking with Paul, Group 1 headed to a local library to help them label and bare-code books. It was a nice escape from the heat, and another tangible act of service. Their efforts made what could have been a daunting task for the librarians a very enjoyable end to the morning.

Group 3 also rose early today to serve breakfast at a site called S.O.M.E - So Others Might Eat. Group 3 had a great time serving the morning meal, and really learned a lot by the obvious joy on the faces of the men and women who worked there. After breakfast, the employees at S.O.M.E mentioned that there was no group scheduled to help them serve lunch, so our kids readily volunteered, and actually found even more joy in repeating the process of preparing and serving a meal. This extra time of service cut into their own lunch time, but not a complaint was heard among the group!

Group 2 got some much needed rest this morning, then reported to the same nursing home that another group had visited earlier this week. It was great to meet some of the same residents that the earlier group had talked about at porch time. The students pushed through several potentially awkward moments to give of their time and attention to these often-forgotten people, and Jesus really blessed these efforts by making His presence felt during and after the visit.

After these morning activities, all groups met up at a local outdoor skate park in Anacostia to eat lunch and relax before our final day of VBS. Once at the VBS sites, our students continued to pour out their hearts and love the kids we have been building relationships with all week. We tried to cement the message that "God always wins" into the students' hearts and minds by teaching them that, just like Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, God can bring the "dead" things in our own lives back to life when we put our faith in Him and let Him win over death. One of the most heart-breaking and challenging moments of the week came at the end of VBS. While our teams walked their young friends home, there were several questions such as "When are you coming back?" It was almost as if Jesus Himself were asking us, "Are you going to continue to love me by serving me, no matter where you are in the world?" After lots of hugs, we loaded up the vans and headed for our final adventure of the day.

Group 1 was able to spend the rest of the afternoon doing a little sight-seeing before eating their final DC dinner at Pollo Granjero. Groups 2 and 3 got to spend their early-evenings participating in the Urban Plunge activity that Group 1 had completed earlier in the week. Students and leaders were broken up into groups, and went to several different DC neighborhoods in order to serve homeless men and women by taking them out to a meal. Students were also challenged to ask questions of the men and women they ate to find out more about the issues of poverty and homelessness in urban areas, and these questions led to some very interesting encounters and responses. Overall, the groups really enjoyed "plunging" into one of the city's more difficult issues and seeing how God is working in the midst of it.

Finally, all groups met up at the Basilica for our final Porch Time of the trip. During worship, passersby could tell that we were tired and our voices were strained; nevertheless, we raised our tired voices into the night to praise and worship God for all He has done in us and through us this week. Travis gave a great talk, and asked us to think about the question: "Will you let yourself be used as a result of your experience in DC?" Will we continue to let God use us to carry His message and light into the world, including our own homes? We finished Porch Time with a service of communion, in which the students took the elements, and then served each other as a symbol of what it means to receive God's ultimate expression of love and then share that love with others. We had a short small group session after the closing song in hopes that the great lessons learned on this trip would really start to sink in as we process our experiences together. Praise God for who He is and what He has allowed us to do this week.

We expect to wake up around 8am tomorrow (Friday) and depart our housing site between 9am and 9:30am. We will send out a text when we depart, and then will continue to send texting updates as to our estimated arrival at the Chapel. If you are not on the texting list, please send a text to the number 41411 with the message DCPARENT (all one word). You should receive a confirmation text once you are added to this listserve. Please pray for safe travels and no traffic as we return tomorrow. Your kids can't wait to share with you in-person all that they have learned and experienced.

MS NC Trip Day #4

2010-07-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

We went back to our normal schedule today by waking up at 6:30am for breakfast followed by morning worship to wake everyone up and give some more vision for the day. Afterwards we packed up the buses and headed back to our work site at Mr. Hughes's house where we continued to work on our septic system. It was exciting to see the actual septic tank arrive and be put in place as well as see our team essentially finish digging the two run-off ditches. One more hard day of work tomorrow should allow us to finish up the septic system, which will allow Mr. Hughes to keep his house!!

One really encouraging story from the day happened when one of Mr. Hughes's neighbors, Loretta, drove by and began talking to us. She told us that she has power of attorney for Mr. Hughes since he does not have any family and that she was so amazed by the work we were doing. She obviously cared for Mr. Hughes and it brought joy to her face to see a group of middle school students taking time out of their summer to serve a man that does not have enough money to have proper sanitation. Our students have been touching many lives and some we didn't even know, like Loretta.

We finished the evening with another porch time where Luke gave the second part of his talk from Luke 10. He looked at what happens when people make sacrifices in their life to meet the felt and real needs of people around them. Luke said that when this happens people "Get Electrocuted" and experience real joy from God's love passing through them, like a conductor, into the hurt of the world. After the talk we split into small groups, relaxed, and headed to bed. We have one more day to go, which means one more blog tomorrow night. Goodnight!

HS DC Trip Day #3

2010-07-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

The DC team had an extremely long, but wonderful day serving Jesus in our Nation's capital.

For Group 2 the day began with a wake up at 5:00am in order to leave at 5:30 to go make breakfast at a homeless shelter for men and women near downtown DC. The team was amazed to see how many people lined up for the meal they had prepared. They were also struck by the various reasons people become homeless. They learned that it is not simply a lack of will to work, but often times it has to do with mental illness or lack of education. Their interaction with these men and women forced them into action as they came back and reported to our team that the shelter's clothing closet desperately needed to be replenished. The team responded by giving some of their own clothes to provide for the homeless shelter. They truly lived out God's call in Isaiah 58 to "see the hungry and feed them and to see the naked and clothe them."

Group 1 also served at a homeless shelter. The listened to the testimonies of several of the homeless people who reside in the shelter and as a result came running up to me at our nightly Bible study desperate to share what they learned. The people's steadfast faith in God in the midst of difficult life circumstances impacted our students and challenged them to trust God with their lives.

Group 3 spent the morning cleaning the two the homes of two different elderly women. The women were amazed at how fast the kids went to work and how hard they were willing to work. At one of the houses we needed a step later to clean the tops of some kitchen cabinets. When we could not find a step ladder, one of the students immediately got down on all fours and volunteered to serve as a human ladder in order to get the job done. Our students really have been willing to do anything and everything to serve Jesus this week.

In the afternoon our three serving groups once again merged into two as we continued to serve at our two Vacation Bible School sites. We continued to teach on our theme verse of Luke 1:37 and our overall theme of "God always wins." Today's lesson was about Jonah and the idea that we must let God win over our desires and our emotions. Some of the students were impacted deeply by walking the kids back to their homes. When they saw the neighborhoods from which our VBS participants come, our team members were moved with compassion. Several were very emotional as they processed the eternally important question of why some people have so much and other people have so little.

At our porch time Bible study this evening, Alexis this touched on this idea of moving from why God? to What God and how God? Moving from why does this type of poverty exist, to what is God calling me to do in the midst of it and how is he asking me to change my life as a result of what I have seen.

All is well. We will be back in Williamsburg soon.

MS NC Trip Day #3

2010-07-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today was our team's day off from the work project and so we had the opportunity to experience a couple different parts of the area down here in North Carolina. First, we visited a local health and rehab center called the Brian Center where our students got the opportunity to meet and build relationships with elderly men and women that have injuries or diseases that require medical help. Everyone split into five groups and spread out around the center. Each group took a different wing of the building and spent time visiting each of the patients in the rooms. Some patients wanted to go outside in their wheelchairs, others wanted to hear our kids sing, and still others just wanted to sit and talk. A group of 8th graders got the opportunity to visit with alzheimers patients where many of the patients would forget your name five minutes after you told it to them. They took a guitar and sang lots of songs as well as just spent time being a friend and showing Christ's love to these sometimes forgotten and lonely people. Near the end of our time at the Brian Center we were able to participate in a mini church service with some of the residents. We began the service by joining together as a youth choir to sing three worship songs for the residents and then were followed by a sermon by Pastor Wes. Pastor Wes is a 90 year old man that has been serving in ministry for 65 years. He repeatedly said how much joy and inspiration he found from seeing a group of middle school students coming to serve! It was a really awesome and God-filled service to get to be a part of.

After eating lunch at the Brian Center, we left for an afternoon of experiencing the natural beauty of God's creation. Our first stop was sliding rock where we all got to slide down a 50ft. natural rock slide. Although the water was a little chilly, it was a fun time trying to make the longest chain down the rock slide. Next, we headed to Looking Glass Falls where everyone got to swim underneath the cascading water. We finished the afternoon by heading to a beautiful lookout area on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we ate our dinner and had our evening porch time.

Morgan gave a powerful testimony about a question that challenges all of us, "Are you really ready to see Jesus?" She talked about the discipline of having eyes to see and ears to hear Jesus in our daily lives as well as on this mission trip. She used examples from her own life about how she has seen God orchestrate experiences in her own life. Finally, we ended our porch time out on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway and headed back to home base for some relaxation and a good night's sleep. We head back to our work site tomorrow so check back in tomorrow night for another update on our digging progress. Goodnight and God bless!

HS DC Trip Day #2

2010-07-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

The DC mission team experienced another great day of learning and serving as they engaged in many different forms of mission work throughout the city.

Our team is broken down into three groups for our pre-lunch work. Group 1 went to Food and Friends to prepare and deliver meals to elderly people suffering from various illnesses. This site provides our team with a beautiful picture of the body of Christ at work. The hands of the body prepare and make the meals while the feet of the body carry those meals to those in need. It is an amazing sight to see our team working in concert like this to take care of those who can no longer leave their homes in order to purchase food for themselves.

Group 2 also served the elderly population of DC, but in a much different way than group 1. They worked for an organization which seeks to provide some basic assistance to elderly people who are trying to stay in their own homes as long as practically possible. In order to assist this ministry, group 2 did yard work for several people. To see HS students joyfully doing yard work was a testament to God's power to transform our desires and give us the great joy when we serve someone other than ourselves.

Group 3 went to a rehabilitation home to visit with people who are far away from family and friends and who rarely have an interested person asking them to share in conversation. Our group split up into several different groups and was able to walk down every hallway in the massive facility to offer a visit to anyone who wanted to take us up on the offer. We learned life lessons from many octogenarians and gained valuable perspective on how God can use difficult circumstances to draw us closer to Him.

In the afternoon our three serving groups merged into two and we put on a vacation Bible school for over 100 children. The Student Ministries Summer Interns put together a great program for us before we left for DC. Their hard work paid off as these kids were welcomed into community, loved and taught about the love of God available to them through Christ. Our theme for the week is, "God Always Wins," and our theme verse is Luke 1:37 which states that "nothing is impossible with God." This is the first year we have done the VBS program and I am optimistic that this new addition to our mission trip will give Chapel students a greater relational connection to the work and ministry being done in DC all year long. We will be doing VBS every afternoon on our trip.

Finally, I would like to share one story that really stood out from today's work. There was one woman at the rehabilitation center who upon seeing so many young people serving with such passion said, "I want to go to this Chapel Church Williamsburg Community. What is this place like? Where is it? I would like to be a part of a church that sends people out to serve the world like that Chapel place." It is a joy that many of us reading this blog entry don't have to wonder what a church like that is like. We have the privilege of experiencing it each and every week. Your children are doing amazing things!

MS NC Trip Day #2

2010-07-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

Day number two down in North Carolina began the same way as day number one with a tasty french toast sticks breakfast and some morning worship to wake us up and start the day off praising the God we came down here to serve. The weather was beautiful today with the highs being in the mid-80's and a party cloudy sky that gave us a lot of shade. With the sun came new energy for our students as they continued to dig the trenches in which the septic tank run-off pipes will be placed later in the week. We are digging two trenches with each of them being about 100 feet long, 3 ft wide, and 18 in. deep. Along with digging the trenches, our students began digging another smaller trench that will serve as the trench for the connector pipe between the actual tank and the run-off pipes. A small group of our students continued to paint the inside and outside of Mr. Hughes's house today as well.

The students were given a little more motivation today when we all found out that Mr. Hughes will actually be kicked out of his house if we are not able to finish the septic system for him. He has been living in violation of certain sanitation codes because he did not have proper drainage for his sewage. As a result, he stands to lose his house unless we are able finish it for him. We were continually reminded that God's plan to share himself with the world is through us and it was amazing to see our students get fired up to serve Mr. Hughes and God's kingdom by meeting tangible felt needs like a septic system and real needs like the love of Jesus.

After a day of work we headed back to home base where we took some much needed showers, ate dinner, relaxed and headed to our evening Porch Time. Luke taught from the gospel of Luke, chapter 10, where Jesus sends a group of 72 out on their own mission trip. He talked about how we can use their mission trip as a model for our own and one of the key principles being that we get the chance to leave behind our possessions, people, and the place of Williamsburg. We can get so distracted from God's work in our lives back in Williamsburg that this mission trip is a great opportunity to "Leave it all Behind" for a week and focus on serving, listening to, and learning about God. We finished the evening having some small group time and relaxing! Overall it was a great day and Jesus really is looking great in your kids this week! Goodnight and check back tomorrow night for the update about our day-off from the work site tomorrow.

HS DC Trip Day #1

2010-07-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

The motto the organization the high school team works with in DC is, "Simply Serve." That phrase perfectly describes our first day working in DC, simply put, we served. We served elderly people who can no longer leave their homes through food deliveries, we served teachers in underprivileged schools by building desks for them and their students, we served homeless men and women by eating dinner with them and we prepared to serve over 100 children with the vacation Bible school we will put on for children in the local neighborhood around the Church. Yes all that happened in one day!!! I continue to be amazed by the scope and magnitude of what our God is accomplishing through students at the Chapel.

In the afternoon, our team enjoyed some down time roller skating at a local park while we ate our lunch. We then headed off to our Vacation Bible school orientation. The VBS is coordinated with a group called Kids Connection and the woman who runs kids connection was a real inspiration for our students. She challenged us to forgive our enemies and use our own life experience to understand what God is up to in the world today. We took advantage of the extra time after we ran through our VBS program to engage in some team Bible Study to help the students more fully understand what God is asking them to do with this experience.

This evening the entire team was together for our Porch Time Bible study. I concluded my talk with a challenge from 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 where Paul talks about the type of people God calls to be agents of change in this world. I really believe God has called each and every child and leader on this trip to experience him in a real way. I can already see God changing lives. Keep us in your prayers.

MS NC Trip Day #1

2010-07-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our day began with an early but tasty breakfast followed by some worship through singing and a short talk given by one of the Recreation Experience Directors. Each morning starts with worship in order to get everyone awake, energized, and focused for the work project that we head to each day. After worship, we loaded up the buses and drove to our worksite where we were introduced to Mr. Hughes and his home. Due to throat cancer Mr. Hughes no longer can speak on his own. He has to have a mechanical device that picks up the vibrations in his throat and turns them into audible sounds. Mr. Hughes lives by himself and may seem to have a rough life, but many of the kids talked about how they saw God in the simple fact that amidst all his crazy circumstances Mr. Hughes still smiled at them.

After the introduction, we hiked up a hill in his backyard to the site where we began digging trenches to put a septic system in place for Mr. Hughes. After an hour or so it began to rain which brought a nice cool breeze and cooled us off. However the rain continued on after our lunch break which made the digging a little more difficult, but it was so impressive to see your children pushing through the minor difficulty caused by the rain because they really wanted to serve Mr. Hughes by giving him a septic system. Along with the digging a small team went and began painting the inside of Mr. Hughes kitchen. We ended up leaving the work site early because of the rain and came back to our home base to take warm showers and relax.

After dinner we had our first evening porch time where we gather together as a group to remember the day, listen to a talk, and praise God through music. It was great to hear where students have already begun to see Jesus in each other, Mr. Hughes, and others we work with. Luke gave a talk looking at Matthew 24:31-42 and Colossians 1:27 and challenged the kids to not just see our work project as a simple act of kindness, but rather as a way to literally live out Scripture by being Jesus with skin on to each other and Mr. Hughes. Finally, we split up into small groups and finished the night relaxing in fellowship with each other. It has been an exciting and God-filled first day and we really do appreciate all the prayer and support from back home. Goodnight and check back into tomorrow night!

HS DC Trip Night #1

2010-07-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day! Everything has gone smoothly. We had lots of great fellowship on the bus ride up. This evening we began to broaden our horizons and experience all that the city has to offer in terms of ethnic diversity by eating dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. Ethiopian food is eaten with the hands and our students enjoyed the hands on dinning experience immensely. Following dinner we went on a "prayer tour" as we began to prepare our hearts to serve on Monday morning. We were all over the city praying for the people we will be encounter throughout the week. The experience helped to expose our group to the poverty that exists in DC first hand before we begin to engage in the lives of people who live in that poverty this week. We can be confident that God heard the prayers of our team and has already begun to prepare our hearts to encounter Him this week.

We will update the blog each evening, but the update will often take place after many people have gone to bed. Please check each morning to read about how God is working in the hearts and minds of our Washington DC Mission Team.

MS NC Trip Night #1

2010-07-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

After seven hours of driving and team bonding on our wonderful buses and vans, we made it safely to our home base of operation here at Recreation Experiences. We stay at an old school building that has been turned into a housing location for all the groups that come to work with Recreation Experiences. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the gym has been newly renovated and all of the floors in the guy's rooms have been re-done (the girls rooms were already nice last year). All of the students were so excited to finally get here and check out our surroundings and they were quick to find the basketball courts and soccer fields.

Lights out is at 11pm tonight and then we are off to our first day at the worksite tomorrow morning. Check back tomorrow night for a recap of our day tomorrow. Goodnight and thanks for all your prayers and support!

MS North Carolina Final Pre-Trip Update

2010-07-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

We are only three days away from our trip and here are some final details you need to know:

Departure Time: Sunday July 11th, at 1pm

Return Time: Saturday July 17th, at 5pm

Emergency Contact Number: 757-570-0292

Hotline Number for updated arrival time on July 17th: 757-810-4021

Remember to pack your son or daughter a lunch to eat on the bus on the way down as well as money to stop for dinner on the way down and lunch on the way back.

Please feel free to contact us at 941-1571 if you have questions about your remaining balance or anything else concerning the trip. Below is the final packing list.

Packing List

Work Site

□ Shoes/Boots – Sandals cannot be worn at the worksites

□ Socks

□ Hat

□ Sunglasses

□ T-Shirts

□ Shorts – Not too short

□ Work Pants

□ Water Bottle

□ Work Gloves

□ Rain Jacket

□ Last Name A-J à Hammer and Nail Apron

□ Last Name J-Z à Paint Brush and Plastic Paint Bucket

□ Sunscreen

Housing Facility

□ Comfortable Clothing

□ Sleeping Bag

□ Pillow

□ Sandals (for shower)

□ Athletic shoes

□ Bible and Journal

□ Tooth brush

□ Tooth paste

□ Soap

□ Deodorant

□ Other Toiletries you need

□ Wash Cloth

□ Towel

□ Light Jacket if there is a cool night

□ Swimsuit

□ Flashlight

□ $ for one fast food meal on the way down and one on the way back

□ $ for Concessions (optional)

□ Packed lunch for the trip down

HS Washington DC Team - Final Reminders and Packing List

2010-07-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hi DC Team!

Our group departs in 3 days! We hope you are all feeling prepared and excited. I've copied below the packing list as a final reminder. Remember, the luggage space in the vans is pretty tight, so try not to overpack! Important things not to forget are: sleeping bag and/or twin sheets, toiletries, towel, and long pants.

We will depart from the Chapel after the 11am service (estimated departure time is 1pm). Please bring a bagged lunch for the ride up, as we will NOT be stopping for dinner! Please bring this with you to church, as the parking lot gets very full, and you may not be able to run to Subway or McDonald's after our service and make it back in time for our departure! You will also need money for fast food on the ride home.

If you have any questions before the trip, feel free to contact Alexis on her cell phone at 919-260-0719. We will send text updates on the way home to update you on our estimated arrival at the Chapel. If you have not done so already, please subscribe to these text updates by sending a text to the number "41411" with the word "dcparent" in the message section. You will receive a confirmation text back if you submit your text successfully.

In case of emergency while we are on the trip, please contact Alexis or Travis Simone (757-650-9120).

We can't wait to see what God has in store for us in DC!

~the SM Staff

Washington DC Packing List:

[ ] Sleeping Bag and/or
[ ] Single Bed Sheets (fitted and top sheet)
[ ] Pillow
[ ] Bath Towel
[ ] Hand Towel
[ ] Wash Cloth
[ ] Personal Toiletries (Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, sunscreen, & bug spray)
[ ] Bible
[ ] Journal
[ ] Pens
[ ] 2-3 Pairs long pants or jeans
[ ] 5-7 T-shirts (No shirts that expose your shoulders (aka. No tank tops! Make sure your shirts are long enough to cover your midriff when you raise your arms)
[ ] 3-5 pairs of Knee length or longer shorts
[ ] 1 pair closed toe athletic shoes
[ ] 1 pair flip flops/sandals
[ ] Bathing suit (modest one-piece for girls)
[ ] Water bottle
[ ] Hat
[ ] Flash light
[ ] Sunglasses
[ ] Money for fast food on the drive home
Do not bring:
Cell phones
Ipods/MP3 players
Video games
Hair dryers, straighteners, or curling irons

Travel Update 5

2010-07-02T02:28:00.000-07:00

The entire team has arrived safely in Williamsburg. Our journey lasted only 10 days, but it will take much longer than that to unpack the lessons God taught us this year in Nicaragua.

Thank you for your support and your prayers. The Chapel Family can be very proud of what their kids accomplished by letting God work through them this past week in Nicaragua.

We have two more mission teams leaving on July 11th. Stay close to the blog to follow their journey and hear more stories of transformation.

You are all invited to our the Student Ministries Missions Experience, which is part of the Chapel Summer Nights series on August 8th at 6:30 in the Main Worship Room. Students from all three of our trips will share what God did to transform them when they decided to step up and begin to exercise their faith and engage in Jesus' mission to make disciples.

What a ride,
Travis

Travel Update 4

2010-07-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

The seniors are boarding their plane for DC now. Everything is on time and we should arrive in DC at 12:25am.

The sophomores and juniors are still in the air, but should be landing soon. Look for a text from them when they have landed in DC.

-Travis

Travel Update 3

2010-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

The sophomores and juniors are on the plane and headed to DC. Everything is on time and they should land in DC at 10:25pm.

The seniors are enjoying each others company at the gate for their flight. Everyone is on time as of now.

Estimated times of arrival for both groups will be sent via text message when each group is on the road from DC to Williamsburg. Text "nicaparent" to 41411 to subscribe and receive the updates.

-Travis

Travel Update 2

2010-07-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

The team is back in the USA! Everyone is through customs and waiting for their flights at their respective gates.

The sophomores and juniors depart for DC at 8 and the seniors depart at 10.

The team is currently eating dinner and waiting to board their flights to DC.
-Travis

Travel Update 1

2010-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

The entire team is through the check in process. As with everything on this trip, the Lord was with us and it went faster than I have ever seen before. The team is eating lunch and will then head through security for our 1pm (Nica time) flight to Miami. The entire team is together for this first leg of the trip.

I will update the blog when we get to Miami, but if you would like to receive information throughout the day, the best way to get info from our team is through our text message updates. Simply text the word, "nicaparent" to the number 41411 and you will be signed up.

The sophomores and juniors are expected to arrive at the Chapel at 1:30am. It could be earlier, but that is my best guess as of now.

The seniors are expected to arrive at the Chapel at 3:30am. Again, my hope is that is will be a little earlier, but that is my estimate right now.

We will send out text messages with updated arrival times as we drive from DC to the Chapel.

God was truly gracious to our team throughout this trip. We can't wait to see you all tonight and share with you all of the things God has done in us and through us. To God be the glory. Great things He hath done!

-Travis

Day 8: Goodbye

2010-06-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Lord had a lot more in store for us today, even though it was our last day at Casa before our debriefing session. It was a day that focused on last night's porch-time message; compassion. We had such a joy-filled day and our team truly finished the missions portion of the trip on a high note.

In the morning our team split into returners to Nicaragua and Nicaragua first-timers. The returners went on a prayer tour, visiting all the places that the Lord has impacted through our trip here. We prayed at Casa Bernabe, our gracious hosts for the last 8 days. We also prayed in VeraCruz, the neighboring town that we have really grown such a strong connection to. The team finished the tour by traveling to La Chureca, the city dump, and Nueva Vida, which is the hurricane refugee camp. It was such a strong time of reflection and prayer and there is no doubt that you could feel the presence of Jesus in everything that we did today.

The Nicaragua first-times had the unique experience of participating in the "dia de compasion" or "day of compassion." This is a day in which you take on the life of a Nicaraguan family and put yourself firsthand into their daily activities. As part of the day, we traveled to the marketplace and completed tasks that were set in front of us. These tasks included being given a certain amount of money and buying what was needed for your family. It is such an eye-opening experience to be a part of, and one that I know our kids enjoyed.

After enjoying lunch, we traveled to a local sports park and spent a few hours playing with the children of the El Canyon and Casa Bernabe orphanages before saying our goodbyes. It was a day filled with joy as we had several stations set up around the park including jump rope, soccer, and hula-hoops. The children enjoyed the day and our team loved the opportunity to continue building the relationships they have developed with these kids. To finish the time off, a mariachi band showed up and entertained us for well over 30 minutes. It was such a fun time, and aside from saying our final goodbyes to the children, was a day that everyone enjoyed.

After leaving the park we returned to Casa and packed up to head off to our debrief site; the beautiful El Narome resort. We arrived shortly after 630 and are all checked in and ready for a great day and a half of reflection of this wonderful opportunity that God has placed in front of us. We will be leaving here Thursday morning to head back to the States. There will not be a blog update tomorrow, so expect the next communication to be a text sent once we have arrived and gotten through security at Managua airport on Thursday. Please pray for us these next two days as our kids reflect on the wonderful things God has had them do. It has been my pleasure keeping you updated throughout the duration of this trip. I thank you for following us and praying for us along the way. Your children have done amazing things and everyone should be so proud of what they have accomplished these last 8 days. Again, your continued prayers are encouraged. God bless!

-Daniel Pulley, Student Ministries Summer Intern

Day 7: Blessed are the Poor

2010-06-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Today was another fantastic day full of God's love. Our groups did many wonderful things today before the seniors rejoined the team after a fun-filled two days in Matagulpa. God has truly continued to bless us.

This morning, the juniors were afforded the wonderful opportunity to go to the school in La Chureca, which is the Managua city dump. While there, we participated in the book buddies program where we got to read to the children at the school. To see our team dive headfirst into this was great. After finishing that and a great time of playing with the kids, we had the unique experience of watching the kids put on a presentation they had been working on in appreciation for their teachers. There was several different dance routines performed by the students, some in flamingo skirts. It was truly a sight to behold.

While the juniors were doing their project, the sophomores got to take part in the daycare program that is in place to take care of the young children of La Chureca, which keeps them from having to dig through the trash with their parents. Our team was so excited to play with the kids, and to bring them joy in the smallest was something I know our team took great pride in. It was so hard to say goodbye to these small children, but the experience of sharing time with them and taking care of them is something that I know our group will never forget.

In the afternoon, our groups met back up at the local movie theatre where we had the phenomenal experience of watching "Toy Story 3" with 100 select kids from throughout Nueva Vida, the hurricane refugee site that we have spent much time at over the past week. For some of these children, it was most likely their first time going to a movie, and it was very special for our team to be able to share in that experience with them. More importantly, it was just another great opportunity to share God's love with these wonderful children who have had such an impact on us during the short time we have been here.

The seniors continued their journey in Matagulpa. The Lord did some truly amazing things while our team was there, and this is something that we hope to continue doing in the future. Today, our team spent a lot of time in the neighborhoods throughout Matagulpa developing relationships with the people there, and hopefully laying the groundwork for future trips into this part of Nicaragua. The main point of the trip though was to continue distributing the "School Pax" that we brought down. It was such a joy to see the kids faces light up when they received their packs, fully equipped with a voucher for a school uniform. To give these children the opportunity to attend school is something we are very happy about, and something we thank God for allowing us to do. We can not thank the people of WCC, again, for their amazing contributions to this trip through the "School Pax." After finishing up in Matagulpa, the seniors and their leaders made the three hour trek back to Casa Bernabe.

After another phenomenal dinner, we concluded the night with a great porch time led by our fearless leader, Travis Simone. Travis, through God's word, gave us the true meaning to life through the words found throughout the book of Luke. We learned that the poor are the truly blessed people of the Earth, and this week our team has found that to be so true. Travis concluded with some words on compassion, which is so eloquently summed up in the "Parable of the Good Samaritan." Through these words, it is our prayer that our team can take this experience they have had in Nicaragua and use it to the fullest when we are back in the states.

It is hard to believe that our time here is almost done. It will be very tough leaving the orphanage tomorrow, but we look forward to updating you tomorrow night on what God has in store for us during the day. Once again, we ask for you continued prayers for our team and for the few days that we have remaining. God bless!

Day 6: Joy All Around

2010-06-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

Another glorious day here at Casa Bernabe in Nicaragua. It was another day filled with amazing opportunities to worship in the face of Jesus. Again, everywhere we go, God is always with us and has truly made His presence felt thus far in our trip.

This morning we got the amazing opportunity to worship the Lord at Verbo Church in Managua. We awoke and had a great breakfast before wishing the seniors farewell for the day. They have left Casa for the evening to go to Madagulpa and distribute the last of the "School Pax" that we brought down here for the kids. We wish them the best. The worship service this morning was fantastic!! We started off with worship that was, as always, phenomenal. That led to the service which was made extra special because they had a translator there for us. The students were able to take in the message and enjoy every word that was said.

Following the service, we traveled back to the orphanage for the special opportunity to have lunch with the children of the orphanage. This was a special time to continue building the relationships that we have steadily established over the last week. Getting to know these kids has brought so much joy to the team, and the personal experience to sit down and have lunch with them is amazing. However, the bonding experience did not end there.

This afternoon we had the opportunity to go to a local sports complex run by international missionaries. We had several different activities going on in which the children could participate. There were a couple of basketball courts, a soccer field, and volleyball court. On top of that, there was a bracelet and necklace making station that the children could enjoy, as well as a station for the girls (and some guys) to have their fingernails painted. It was such a joyous day to bring happiness into these kids lives and get them away from the orphanage for an afternoon. Our team did such a great job of helping make this day come together, and if it were not for them this day would not have gone as smoothly as it has.

It has only been 6 days, but with the way our team has adapted and worked together, it feels like we've been here for a month. We have a few days left and I know that God has wonderful things in store for us as we continue on this beautiful journey. Once again, we ask for your continued prayers and support as we finish our trip. Check in tomorrow for an update. God bless!

Senior Trip to Madagulpa - School Packs

2010-06-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today the seniors and their leaders, and part of the staff departed from Casa Bernabe and headed three hours north of Managua to a northern city called Madagulpa. We departed from Casa with one school bus filled with seniors and nearly 350 school packs to distribute when we got there. Today was a monumental day. For the first time ever, the Chapel has forged a partnership with Mira Ministries, of which the Chapel's very own - Steve Hooge - has a special relationship. His sister and brother-in-law run Mira Ministries, which is a ministry that provides school uniform vouchers and packs of school supplies to children not enrolled in school so that they can have the opportunity to attend school.

We left Casa at 9 AM and drove to another orphanage called El Canyon (because it is located at the base of a large canyon) and worshiped with the community there for Sunday service. We were asked, ad hoc, to preform songs at the church and the entire team sang a set of worship songs. After that, we hit the road for Madagulpa. It was a long trip into the mountains and very green part of Nicaragua! We arrived around 3 PM and checked-in to a beautiful hotel on top of a mountain.

We arrived a church to hundreds of Nicaraguans praising the Lord. Again, everything was very spontaneous! We led four songs to the congregation. Travis gave a sermon on the fly. And what we thought would be a 30 minute church service turned into a 2.5 hour worship experience! After the service, 75 children who are not in school were given 2 vouchers. One for them, and one for a friend who also was not in school. 150 kids and their parents received school packs and uniform vouchers. Then we threw a party in their honor. It was an amazing experience. Thank you to all the Chapel families who helped fill school packs! They have been a huge blessing to many children!

We finished the night off with some famous Nicaraguan fast food, called Tip Top! Now we are in the hotel having our nightly porch time processing everything from the day. The team is doing great, feel great, and healthy! Keep praying!

Day 5: Sleeping and Sliding

2010-06-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today was another great day in which the Lord truly blessed the students of WCC. He continues to shower us with His never-ending love, which he hopes we continue pouring out to the children of the orphanage.

This morning, we built in some down time for the students to get some rest. However, there was always stuff going on, and the orphanage had a large screen showing one of the World Cup soccer games, so the students were invited to share that moment with the kids. Those who didn't enjoy that went into VeraCruz where they continued to build relationships with the people there.

This afternoon was something to behold. We took all the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage as well as they El Canyon orphanage to the local water park that featured several slides, play areas, and and children's areas. It was such a blessed time to see the joy on the children's faces as they got to run around the water park. So often we take for granted the fun times to be had in our own backyards, and it was just great to share this experience with the kids.

The night became really special when we welcomed a guest speaker to porch time. Eddy Morales, who is the international director for OrphanNetwork, shared with us tonight. Eddy is so encouraging in everything he does, and his talk tonight really showed us what God has in store for us if we just take his queue and follow. He challenged us not to "have stink" in our lives. He told us that we must pour ourselves out so that Christ may fill us back up again. He encouraged us to not stay stagnant in our walks, but to at all times be looking to grow. My favorite thing he said was that "God wants to use you and make a difference in your life, so that you can make a difference in a kids life!" Speaking from 1 Kings 8:27 and 1 Corinthians 3:16-19, Eddy got his point across.

Another truly wonderful day in the books. We look forward to what Christ has in store for us as we go to church tomorrow. As always, your prayers are encouraged as we continue on this journey. Have a great Sunday, and God bless!

Day 4: A Human Jungle Gym

2010-06-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

We can not stress enough the wonders that God continues to do through our work in Nicaragua. It was another fun-filled day for us in this beautiful country and God has continued to bless each and every one of us.

In the morning, a group of 30-35 went and painted the posada, which is the older boys living quarters. People were climbing on ladders to get the ceiling, getting on their knees to paint the trim, and just painting as high up the wall as their two feet would allow them. It was a great time of bonding for the team, and we were even able to interact with the boys who were there. Around the time we were finishing up, a soccer game broke out so there was another way to have fun besides painting.

After finishing painting we immediately left Nueva Vida as one large group, where Group 2 consisting of the Juniors and Sophomore guys were able share in the wonderful experiences that Group 1 had been encountering each of the previous 2 days. At Nueva Vida we ate a delicious lunch and then headed out to each of the 5 different feeding centers to put on a miniature Vacation Bible School for the children there. Travis stressed that this included 5 steps, which are as follows: hang out/play with the children, a relay-race game (where we blew up balloons for the kids and they ran a certain length and popped the balloon not using their hands or feet and then ran back and tagged the next person), music (we sang and did the motions to the classic "Waves of Mercy"), preach (we had 1 student at each location share what having Jesus in their life meant to them), and, finally, prayer (where we had a different student close the day out in prayer). It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of. Each member of our team turned themselves into a human jungle gym for the kids to play on, and in a lot of cases, several kids to play on. What a beautiful thing to watch this team bring these children joy.

After a tasty shishkabob dinner, several of the kids from Casa came to our Rancho and led us in a time of praise and worship. We were clapping and singing as if there were no language barrier. It was so great to see the band here at the orphanage play for us, and I just hope that our participation brought them as much joy as they did us. They even sang a few songs in English! It was a wonderful time capped off by a talk from the man who runs the orphanage. He spoke from Psalm 119 and from 1 Peter and how we can use those two passages to really advance our lives by just following what the Word has us do.

To finish the night we had another wonderful porch time capped off by Alexis sharing with us from Job and 1 Corinthians. We have had such a joyous time here in Nicaragua and we hope that it only continues to get better. Once again, we ask for your continued prayers as we go on this wonderful journey God has led us on. Check back tomorrow as we update you on our trip to the local water park! God bless!

Day 3: At Your Service

2010-06-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

God has continued to bless this trip by presenting us with another day full of wonderful opportunities to serve Him. We have finished up our second full day of work, and once again you can truly see the face of Jesus in all that we do here.

Once again, our Senior group along with the Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida to continue to serve the needy at the hurricane refugee camp. What made this event so special was that the kids were so ready, eager, and experienced to serve that today they jumped right into the tasks they had ahead of them. Upon arrival, each student willingly threw themselves into service without having to be asked or told what to do. But the most special part was that the students were able to continue building relationships that they had started to build the day before. To be able to go back and continue sharing the love of Christ with these children was such a beautiful thing, and I know each and every kid enjoyed this special day to go back and continue building relationships with this wonderful group of children. To finish off the day, Andrew Cordasco and Nathaniel Darling played an impromptu worship session at the church, with the language barrier being no problem. Once again, you can see the face of Jesus everywhere you look, and the day at Nueva Vida with these great kids and the relationship building time that was had, the present of God was surely felt.

The Juniors and Sophomore guys continued several work projects that were began the day before. One group finished painting one of the rooms at Casa that was in much need of painting. It is in these times that teamwork is a must, and with each person sacrificing themselves to paint one area, you could truly see the team-bonding experience that this trip brings out. Another group went to the El Canyon orphanage and painted there, but the real fun began when they were able to play with the kids there and start building relationships of their own with the children, much like Group 1 has been doing at Nueva Vida. The third group went back into VeraCruz to continue helping the church in their construction efforts. Several of the guys were able to help the people go pick up 400 cinder blocks that will eventually be the walls. Once they got back, they had to move all 400 blocks off the truck and into the storage area that they will be kept in until a later time. Once again, the theme of this task was teamwork, and our team was able to come together like they had been in Nicaragua for a month.

In the afternoon, the day was further brightened by the distribution of 150 "School Pax" to the children in Veracruz. To see the excitement on their face as they opened their box of school supplies is something I wish every person associated with the Chapel could have witnessed. Again, we can not thank you enough for your contributions in terms of the "School Pax." Before the distribution there was fun shared by the breaking of 2 pinatas where the kids had a great time wrestling around for the candy.

Finally, to finish day, we came to Verbo Church to throw the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage a birthday party in honor of all of the children. We gave out toys or backpacks to each kid after enjoying a night of playing in a moonwalk, an inflatable jousting pit, and music that we could all enjoy. This was a special night for the kids, and for us to have a small part in bringing joy to their lives was so special to each person here.

It was a very busy day, but one that was filled with great things and a lot of fun. Once again, to have the smallest impact in these kids lives truly shows the face of Jesus and the work that God is doing down here. We have another special day planned for tomorrow, and we look forward to sharing those experiences with you tomorrow night. We ask for you continued prayers on this journey. Thank you and God bless!

Day 2: The Real Fun Begins

2010-06-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today we started lending a hand to the people of Nicaragua. It was such a wonderful day filled with many exciting tasks. We split our group of 81 students and 17 leaders into two teams with one team comprised of the entire senior class with the sophomore girls and the other team the entire junior class with the sophomore guys.

The Seniors and Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida this morning lend a hand in serving the children lunch. Nueva Vida is a hurricane refugee camp where people were displaced to following a hurricane in the late 1990's. It is a place where God really shows himself daily. There are 5 food distribution centers that a local church operates to feed the hungry children of the camp. Our group was turned into waiters and waitresses for this day and helped meet each and every child's needs as they served them their food. After eating lunch themselves, our group played with several of the kids from the refugee camp at the local church that hosted this morning's events. After leaving the camp, the group came back to Casa and packed up all 450 "School Pax" that our church so graciously donated. We can not thank you enough, again, for these donations as they are such a worthy cause. We are very excited about the upcoming distribution of the "School Pax" to the local children.

The Juniors and Sophomore guys had a very busy, but fulfilling day. This group was separated into three groups so that we could multi-task things that needed to be done. One group helped organize the storage center where all of the donations go. They were able to separate the clothes into different categories in the storage center so that it is much easier to pinpoint exactly what is needed when entering. This will help if a child tears his or her pants or shirt and another one is needed, and they are quickly able to locate exactly where that item is. Another group helped finish painting the computer lab where there had been some lead paint on the walls. We were able to clean it up and really make the room look nice. Greg Mills highlighted the day after painting the ceiling and coming back with paint all over himself; very funny. The last group went into VeraCruz and to the local church to help dig the foundation for the new Sunday School rooms they are planning to install in the back of the church. Also, we started setting up the re-bar that will help stabilize the walls of these new classrooms. Some of the group then went into the city and visited with the families and had a great time playing with the children in the city. It was very hot outside today and we were making sure that each person was staying properly hydrated. All in all, these three groups worked very hard.

Today was such a great day. Many wonderful things were accomplished, and through it all there was no denying the presence of Jesus in all that we did. We ask for your continued prayers as we complete this wonderful journey God has led us all on. We will be back tomorrow night for another update, but until then, God bless!

Day 1: The Adventure Continues

2010-06-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

The Sophomores and Juniors have arrived safely in the Managua airport and are currently on route to the orphanage. Praise God for a day of safe travels and for already showing up in some incredible ways.

While the younger group traveled, the seniors spent the afternoon at a local pool with some kids from the El Canyon orphanage. It was incredible to see our team, even after such a long day of travel, pour their lives and their hearts out to these kids. The seniors also enjoyed a brief time of bible study after dinner before getting some much-needed down time.

Once the sophomores and juniors eat dinner, we will all head to bed for a good night's rest before embarking on tomorrow's adventures. Please pray for continued safety, good health, and that God would continue to reveal Himself in ordinary and extraordinary ways.

Day 1; The adventure begins

2010-06-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

We departed from the chapel at 2 30 in the morning. After a long minibus ride to Washington reagan airport, we left for miami. From miami we headed right for nicaragua. The senior trip made it in one piece to Managua international airport. God has been with us from the start of the trip. We haven't had to endure any obstacles so far. Everyone is very safe. We are headed to the orphanage for food and a little rest after a long morning.

HS Nicaragua Mission Trip - Final Checklist & Packing List

2010-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Nicaragua Team! Below you will see a copy of the last checklist we handed out, as well as the packing list for our upcoming trip. Specific flight numbers and times are included. If you have any questions before the trip, please call or text Alexis on her cell phone (919-260-0719).

We would like you to bring your final balance to church on Sunday (6/20). If you are unable to bring us your balance at this time, please talk to Alexis to make arrangements.

Students, remember to bring your passport! See you all at either 2am or 8am on Tuesday, June 22nd!

Nicaragua Mission Team

June 15th Checklist

 Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/

 Subscribe to updates via text messaging:

o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411; Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

 Support Money - Your balance should be paid TONIGHT! Turn $ into Lex

 Passport – Bring a copy of your passport IMMEDIATELY!

 Forms - make sure you’ve turned them in! (ONet form and WCC Parental Consent) Check with Lex

 Buy Birthday Gift & Underwear

o $10-$15 gift for a child (buy it for your gender, age 5 through 17)

 Buy a gift for a child of your gender. You can choose the age (5 through 17)

 Do NOT wrap your gift. Bring it on the morning of your flight and we will pack them in a suitcase.

o Buy one package of underwear (any gender or size) and bring it with you on the morning of your flight

 Pack your bags! (packing list is on the back)

 Travel Plans

o Sophomores, Juniors, & Leaders – Meet at the Chapel at 8am on Tuesday, June 22:

 Depart:

• -AA Flight 959 out of Washington Reagan on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart 3:10pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:55pm)

• -AA Flight 985 out of Miami on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart Miami at 6:50pm for Managua (arrive in Managua at 7:30pm)

 Return:

• -AA Flight 970 out of Managua on Thursday, July 1st – Depart Managua at 1pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:40pm)

• -AA Flight 868 out of Miami on Thursday, July 1st – Depart Miami at 8pm for Washington Reagan (arrive in Washington at 10:25pm)

o Seniors, Trav, Lex – Meet at the Chapel at 2am on Tuesday, June 22:

 Depart:

• -AA flight 1269 out of Washington Reagan on Tuesday, June 22nd - Depart 7:10am for Miami (arrive in Miami at 9:45am)

• -AA flight 969 out of Miami on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart 11:10am for Managua (arrive in Managua at 11:45am)

 Return:

• -AA flight 970 out of Managua on Thursday, July 1st – Depart 1:00pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:40pm)

• -AA flight 1012 out of Miami on Thursday, July 1st – Depart 10:00pm for Washington Reagan (arrive in Washington at 12:25am).

Next meeting…at the Chapel to go to Nicaragua!!!

Seniors – meet at the Chapel at 2am on Tuesday, June 22

Sophomores & Juniors – meet at the Chapel at 8am on Tuesday, June 22

Nicaragua Packing List:

[ ] Undergarments—16 pairs

[ ] Sneakers

[ ] Sandals or flip flops

[ ] 7 pairs of socks

[ ] 7-9 T-shirts

[ ] 5-7 Shorts

[ ] 1 Long-sleeved Item

[ ] 1 or 2 Pairs of Pants

[ ] 1 Set Church Clothes

[ ] Bathing Suit (1 Piece suit for girls)

[ ] Hat w/ Brim

[ ] Wash cloth & Hand towel

[ ] Flashlight

[ ] Sunglasses

[ ] Journal, Bible, & Pen

[ ] Camera (optional)

[ ] Chapstick

[ ] Water bottle

[ ] Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, sunscreen, & bug spray (in 3 oz or less bottles in a 1 liter Ziploc bag—if you have items larger than 3 oz or too many to fit in a 1 liter bag, you can bring it in a gallon Ziploc with you name on it to check under the plane

[ ] optional: No more than $50 cash (for souvenirs and food in airport)

*Bedding and towels are provided at the orphanage, and they do laundry for us once midway through the week.

All your personal belongings must fit into your carry-on luggage. The only bags we check are the ones for donations, extra toiletries, and birthday presents/underwear. See the American Airlines website for specifics on carry-on size regulations

Please also bring these items the day of departure to put in bags to be checked (see Checklist #4 for more information):

[ ] Birthday present for orphan (get a present for a child of the same sex as you): $10 gift, unwrapped

[ ] 1 package of underwear: to distribute while in Nicaragua (we will need men’s, women’s and children’s of all sizes)

NC Mission Trip Updated Packing List

2010-06-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Updated Packing List

Work Site

□ Shoes/Boots – Sandals cannot be worn at the worksites

□ Socks

□ Hat

□ Sunglasses

□ T-Shirts

□ Shorts – Not too short

□ Work Pants

□ Water Bottle

□ Work Gloves

□ Rain Jacket

□ Last Name A-J à Hammer and Nail Apron

□ Last Name J-Z à Paint Brush and Plastic Paint Bucket

□ Sunscreen

Housing Facility

□ Comfortable Clothing

□ Sleeping Bag

□ Pillow

□ Sandals (for shower)

□ Athletic shoes

□ Bible and Journal

□ Tooth brush

□ Tooth paste

□ Soap

□ Deodorant

□ Other Toiletries you need

□ Wash Cloth

□ Towel

□ Light Jacket if there is a cool night

□ Swimsuit

□ Flashlight

□ $ for one fast food meal on the way up and one on the way back

□ Concessions

HS Nicaragua Team - Meeting Reminder and Information Needed

2010-06-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Our final team meeting with be this Tuesday, June 15th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. We will check-in in the Student Ministries Worship Room, then move to a separate location for the remainder of the meeting. If you have any donations, you should bring them to this meeting and we will pack them as a team.

If you have not done so already, please make sure you bring a copy of your passport to this meeting. Our most recent checklist (from the overnight) is copied below. Please refer to that checklist to make sure you are up-to-date with forms and other items.

Also, your trip balance should be paid at this meeting. If you need a financial update, please contact Alexis (contact information is below).

We will provide one more checklist at the final meeting with a packing list and travel details. This information is also posted below.

If you have any questions, please contact Alexis at 757-941-1241 or akincaid@wcchapel.org

Flight Information:

Sophomores, Juniors, & Leaders – Meet at the Chapel at 8am on Tuesday, June 22:

Depart:
-AA Flight 959 out of Washington Reagan on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart 3:10pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:55pm)

-AA Flight 985 out of Miami on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart Miami at 6:50pm for Managua (arrive in Managua at 7:30pm)
Return:
-AA Flight 970 out of Managua on Thursday, July 1st – Depart Managua at 1pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:40pm)

-AA Flight 868 out of Miami on Thursday, July 1st – Depart Miami at 8pm for Washington Reagan (arrive in Washington at 10:25pm)

Seniors, Trav, Lex – Meet at the Chapel at 2am on Tuesday, June 22:

Depart:
-AA flight 1269 out of Washington Reagan on Tuesday, June 22nd - Depart 7:10am for Miami (arrive in Miami at 9:45am)

-AA flight 969 out of Miami on Tuesday, June 22nd – Depart 11:10am for Managua (arrive in Managua at 11:45am)

Return:
-AA flight 970 out of Managua on Thursday, July 1st – Depart 1:00pm for Miami (arrive in Miami at 5:40pm)

-AA flight 1012 out of Miami on Thursday, July 1st – Depart 10:00pm for Washington Reagan (arrive in Washington at 12:25am).

Nicaragua Packing List:
[ ] Undergarments—16 pairs
[ ] Sneakers
[ ] Sandals or flip flops
[ ] 7 pairs of socks
[ ] 7-9 T-shirts
[ ] 5-7 Shorts
[ ] 1 Long-sleeved Item
[ ] 1 or 2 pairs of Pants
[ ] 1 Set Church Clothes
[ ] Bathing Suit (1 Piece suit for girls)
[ ] Hat w/ Brim
[ ] Wash cloth & Hand towel
[ ] Flashlight
[ ] Sunglasses
[ ] Journal & Pen
[ ] Bible
[ ] Camera (optional)
[ ] Chapstick
[ ] Water bottle
[ ] Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, sunscreen, & bug spray (in 3 oz or less bottles in a 1 liter Ziploc bag—if you have items larger than 3 oz or too many to fit in a 1 liter bag you can bring it in a gallon Ziploc with you name on it to check under the plane
[ ] optional: No more than $50 cash (for souvenirs and food in airport)

This must all fit into your carry-on luggage
(maximum of size of 45” [height+width+length] and 40 lbs)

Bedding and towels are provided at the orphanage, and they do laundry for us once midway through the week.

Please also bring these items the day of departure to put in bags to be checked:
[ ] Birthday present for orphan (get a present for a child of the same sex as you): $10 gift, unwrapped
[ ] 1 package of underwear: to distribute while in Nicaragua (we will need men’s, women’s and children’s of all sizes)

Nicaragua Mission Team
June 4th Checklist

 Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/
 Subscribe to updates via text messaging:

o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411

o Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

 Support Money

o Turn support money into Lex as you get it
o Your balance must be paid by the final team meeting on 6/15
o Write thank you notes to the people who send you monetary support immediately.
 Passport
o Bring a copy of your passport IMMEDIATELY!

 Forms – must be in ASAP
o ORPHANetwork form
o WCC Parental Consent notarized

 Go over travel plans with your parents

o Seniors – your flight departs from Reagan Airport at 7:10am on Tuesday, 6/22. Meet at the Chapel at 2am on Tuesday, 6/22.

o Juniors & Sophomores – your flight departs from Reagan Airport at 3:10pm on Tuesday, 6/22. Meet at the Chapel at 8am on Tuesday, 6/22.

 Collect donations
o Bring any donations to the final team meeting on 6/15. Remember, we only want high-quality donations or items from the “Needs Lists” posted on the blog.
Final team meeting is June 15th from 6:30-8:30 pm in SM Worship Room

HS DC Mission Team - Final Meeting Recap

2010-06-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

Below you will find a packing list for the trip. Please make every effort to keep your bags small, since we do not have a lot of cargo space in our vehicles.

We will depart from the Chapel at 1pm on Sunday, July 11th. Please bring a bagged lunch to eat on our way up to DC. We will not be stopping for food.

For emergencies while on the trip, please call Travis Simone at 757-650-9120. For updates while we are on the trip, please continue to check this blog.

We will return to the Chapel between 3:00pm and 4:00pm on Friday, July 16th. Please call the hotline (919-260-0719) for the exact time of our arrival home.

If you have any questions, please call or email Alexis at 757-941-1241, or akincaid@wcchapel.org

PACKING LIST
-Sleeping Bag and/or Single Bed Sheets (fitted & top sheet)
-Pillow
-Bath Towel
-Hand Towel
-Wash Cloth
-Personal Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, contact stuff, deodorant, face wash, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, feminine products, sunscreen, bug spray)
-Bible
-Journal
-Pen
-2 to 3 pairs of long pants or jeans
-5 to 7 t-shirts (no shirts that expose your shoulders - ie. no tank tops! Make sure your shirt covers your stomach even if you raise your arms)
-3 to 5 pairs of knee-length shorts! (Shorts MUST BE knee length!)
-1 pair of athletic shoes
-1 pair of flip flops or sandals
-1 bathing suit (one-pieces only)
-water bottle
-hat
-flash light
-sunglasses
-money for fast food on the drive home

DO NOT bring
-cell phones
-ipods
-video games
-hair dryers, straighteners, curlers

Final MS North Carolina Meeting Recap

2010-06-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Please bring in any forms that you have not turned in. If you need another form then scroll down to the post below from the first training meeting. The packing list and instructions for signing up for the text reminders and updates can also be found in the post below.

Please bring in any remaining money that you still owe on your balance. The total trip cost is $450, but you only owe $300 if you already paid the $150 deposit.

Our theme for the trip is the Beautiful Struggle and this comes from the idea that the service we are going to do on this trip may be a struggle at times, but through the struggle something beautiful happens when God shows up in the midst of it. Over the past three training meetings we have studied the character of Saul and looked at his Beautiful Struggle when he encountered God on the road to Damascus in Acts 9. Below are the questions that your students have discussed in their small groups at each meeting.

Meeting #1 Questions (Acts 9:1-4)

1. In the spirit of the idea that the word “Meanwhile” is very important to our passage, describe how you came to be sitting in this room talking with people about going to Nicaragua. How might God have been working in the background to bring you to this moment? Essentially, why are you here in this room today?

2. What are you near on your life journey right now? What goals are you close to accomplishing? Where are you spiritually?

3. Where is God currently pricking your conscience?

4. What makes you nervous about “The Beautiful Struggle” on this trip? What makes you most excited?

Meeting #2 Questions (Acts 9:1-9)

1. How does the idea that God will be the one initiating with us change your perspective on this trip?

2. How might God disguise himself on this trip? How might God show up in unexpected ways?

3. Why do you think Saul “fell to the Ground” when confronted with Jesus? Why might God’s presence cause you to humble yourself on this trip?

4. What are some practical ways our team can serve each other before during and after our trip?

5. Be honest, what price are you currently willing to pay to encounter Jesus?

Meeting #3 Questions (Acts 9:8-20)

1. What might God need to take from you or you need to give up in order to get you to slow down and process your experience with him in Nicaragua?

2. Ananias helps Saul, “See again” and be “filled with the Holy Spirit.” What aspects of your life do you long to see with fresh eyes? In what parts of your life do you need fresh power from God?

3. Towards the end of the passage we learn that Paul’s problem was not just that he was blind, but that something like scales had actually built up on his eyes. What do you think it means that Paul’s encounter with God did not initially yield deeper insight or understanding, but actually yielded deeper struggle? How can you apply this lesson to your understanding of how God might work in your life as you encounter him in Nicaragua?

4. If you do actually see God on this trip, how might that change you and your understanding of your call in life (what God is asking you to do with your time on earth)?

5. What is one thing you want to be different about your life after this trip to Nicaragua?

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Luke Kincaid at 757-941-1572 or email him at lkincaid@wcchapel.org

All Teams! Missions Overnight this Weekend!

2010-06-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

All North Carolina, Washingtong, DC, and Nicaragua mission team members should be prepared for our Overnight this coming Friday, June 4th. The overnight will begin on Friday at 6:30pm. Check in for all team members will be in the Student Ministries Worship Room. The overnight will end on Saturday, June 5th at 2pm.

Please remember to bring your sleeping bag, pillow, and toiletries, as well as athletic clothing and tennis shoes. Also, each team has specific items due this weekend:

MS North Carolina: All forms due. We are also asking for your final payments at this meeting. (Balance is $300 if you already paid the $150 deposit.)

HS Washington DC: WCC Parental Consent Form due. (We will also collect your final payment if you have it. Balance is $300 if you already paid the $150 deposit.)

HS Nicaragua: All Forms are due (ONet consent form and WCC Parental Consent Form). We also MUST have a copy of your PASSPORT! Also, please bring any support money you have raised.

If you have any questions, please call the SM Office at 941-1571. We will see you all this weekend!

HS DC Training Meeting #1 - Info & Checklist

2010-05-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

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Washington, DC Team
May 12th Checklist

Pre-Trip Curriculum

Acts 9:1-4- The Beautiful Struggle

Discussion Questions

1. In the spirit of the idea that the word “Meanwhile” is very important to our passage, describe how you came to be sitting in this room talking with people about going to Nicaragua. How might God have been working in the background to bring you to this moment?
2. Who is your Gamaliel?
3. What are you near on your life’s journey? What goals are you close to fulfilling?
4. Where is God currently pricking your conscience?
5. It would be extremely difficult for me to find out that I was wrong about X. What is X for you? (Think outside the realm of religion.)
6. What makes you nervous about “The Beautiful Struggle” on this trip? What makes you most excited?

HS Nicaragua Training Meeting #2 - Info & Checklist

2010-05-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Parents, make sure you have subscribed to get our text updates and alerts. Enter your cell phone number into the cell phone icon below, then hit subscribe. You should receive a confirmation text.

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Nicaragua Mission Team
May 11th Checklist

- Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/

□ Subscribe to updates via text messaging:
o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411
o Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

- Support Letters
o Turn support money into Alexis as it comes in.
o Write thank you notes to the people who send you monetary support immediately.

- Passport
o Bring a copy of your passport by the overnight on June 4th

- Forms – MUST be turned in by the overnight on June 4th
o ORPHANetwork form
o Notarized WCC Parental Consent form

- Travel Plans – let your parents know!
o Seniors – your flight departs from Reagan Airport at 7:10am on Tuesday, 6/22. Meet at the Chapel at 2am on Tuesday, 6/22.
o Juniors & Sophomores – your flight departs from Reagan Airport at 3:10pm on Tuesday, 6/22. Meet at the Chapel at 8am on Tuesday, 6/22.
o Exact flight numbers and return flight details will be updated in our next post.

- Donations
o If you have donations, bring them to our final team meeting on June 15th. We will post a list of needs from Casa on the blog. Please bring only quality donations and store them at your house until our final meeting.

Team overnight begins on June 4th at 6:30pm and goes until June 5th at 2pm. Meet at the Chapel. Bring a sleeping bag, toiletries, and athletic clothes/shoes.
Final team meeting is June 15th from 6:30-8:30 pm in SM Worship Room

Pre-Trip Curriculum #1:
Acts 9:1-4- The Beautiful Struggle

Discussion Questions

1. In the spirit of the idea that the word “Meanwhile” is very important to our passage, describe how you came to be sitting in this room talking with people about going to Nicaragua. How might God have been working in the background to bring you to this moment?
2. Who is your Gamaliel?
3. What are you near on your life’s journey? What goals are you close to fulfilling?
4. Where is God currently pricking your conscience?
5. It would be extremely difficult for me to find out that I was wrong about X. What is X for you? (Think outside the realm of religion.)
6. What makes you nervous about “The Beautiful Struggle” on this trip? What makes you most excited?

Nica Pre-Trip Curriculum #2:
Acts 9:1-9- Struggle with Me

Discussion Questions

1. What are you near on your life’s journey? What goals are you close to fulfilling?
2. It would be extremely difficult for me to find out that I was wrong about X. What is X for you? (Think outside the realm of religion.)
3. Where is God currently pricking your conscience?
4. Do you feel like you every miss seeing Jesus at work in your life due to your own attitude? Explain.
5. How might a particular issue or character trait you struggle with get in the way of you experiencing Jesus in Nicaragua?
6. What makes you nervous about “The Struggle with Me” on this trip? What makes you most excited?

Needs from Nicaragua:

Below is a list of need from the Casa Bernabe Orphanage. If you are able to bring any of these to our final packing meeting, that would be a huge blessing.

Personal Hygiene
Shampoo
Delousing shampoo
Soap
Large Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Deodorant
Disposable razors
Loofahs
Combs and hairbrushes
Liquid hand soap
Nail clippers
Delousing combs

First Aid
Boxes of Band-Aids
Bandages
Rubbing alcohol (liters)
Thermometers

Medical prescriptions
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) pills
Panadol Cold and Flu
Cofal, Cepol (Cefalexin), Diclofenac gel (cream)
Diclofenac pills
Salbutamol
Saline Solution (liters)
Dimetapp, Bromhexine, Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Ketotifeno

Infrastructure
Smoke Detectors
Flashlights and bulbs
Batteries

Education
Pencils
Pens
Notebooks
Backpacks
Crayons
Scientific Calculators
Spanish-English dictionaries
Spanish dictionaries
Bibles
Sheets (for children and adolescents)
Pillows
Shoes for school
Musical Instruments (Yamaha Flutes/Recorders)
Musical Instruments (Yamaha Guitars)
Computers
Surge plugs and protectors
Printers
Ink cartridges

MS North Carolina Training Meeting #1 Information

2010-05-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Middle School North Carolina Mission Trip

Here is a brief list of the information you need from the first training meeting including all of the forms you need to turn in.

Text Updates:

Type your number and hit the subscribe button on the cell phone image below if you want to receive text updates and reminders from us.

Send your own text messages
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Mission Trip Organization Information:

ReCreation Experience

Website: http://www.recreationexperiences.org

Address: 53 Red Oak School Road

Weaverville, NC 28787

Future Training Dates:

June 4th-5th - Mission Team Overnight

Time: 6:30 pm Fri. until 2:00 pm Sat.

Where: SM Worship Room

June 9th - Final Team Meeting

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

Where: SM Worship Room

Forms to turn in:

Recreation Experiences Forms

Registration

Experience Activities Consent & Medical Treatment Content

Covenant of Behavior

http://www.recreationexperiences.org/pdf/IndividualParticipant.pdf

WCC Parental Consent Form

http://www.wcchapel.org/files/Parental%20Consent.pdf

Packing List:

Work Site

□ Shoes/Boots – Sandals cannot be worn at the work sites

□ Socks

□ Hat

□ Sunglasses

□ T-Shirts

□ Shorts – Not too short

□ Work Pants

□ Water Bottle

□ Work Gloves

□ Rain Jacket

□ Last Name A-J à Hammer and Nail Apron

□ Last Name J-Z à Paint Brush and Plastic Paint Bucket

□ Sunscreen

Housing Facility

□ Comfortable Clothing

□ Sleeping Bag

□ Pillow

□ Sandals (for shower)

□ Athletic shoes

□ Bible and Journal

□ Tooth brush

□ Tooth paste

□ Soap

□ Deodorant

□ Other Toiletries you need

□ Wash Cloth

□ Towel

□ Light Jacket if there is a cool night

□ Swimsuit

□ Flashlight

□ $ for one fast food meal on the way up and one on the way back

□ Concessions

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Luke Kincaid at 757-941-1572 or email him at lkincaid@wcchapel.org

HS Nicaragua Training Meeting #1 - Info & Checklist

2010-04-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Parents & Students,

Here are the updates for the High School Nicaragua Mission Team.

The biggest thing to remember is that your support letters are DUE on Sunday, May 2nd. Please refer to the below information with details regarding support letters and other deadlines.

Nicaragua Mission Team
April 20th Checklist

□ Blog: http://wccstudentministriesmissiontrips.blogspot.com/
o We will post all training information, as well as trip updates, here.

□ Subscribe to updates via text messaging:
o Parents: Text “nicaparent” to 41411
o Students: Text “nicastudent” to 41411

□ Support Letters
o Turn in your support letters (in addressed, stamped envelopes, w/ self-addressed, stamped envelopes enclosed) by Sun, May 2
o Support Letter Instructions are included in your folders

□ Passport
o If you don’t have a passport, begin the application process IMMEDIATELY to ensure that you receive it by June 22nd!
o Here are some helpful websites to assist you with the application process:
§ http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
§ http://www.usps.com/passport/
o If you already have a passport, check the date to make sure that it does not expire on or before July 2010

□ Forms: bring your completed forms to our second Nicaragua Team Meeting on May 11th

o ORPHANetwork Release Form
o WCC Parental Consent Form – this form must be notarized (Please check with Alexis if you need your form notarized or want to see if you have a current form on file for the 2010 school year. If you turned in a Parental Consent Form for this year’s ski trip or CBA Day, you do not need another one. Parental Consent Forms from last year’s mission trips are no longer current.)

Next Team Meeting: Tuesday, May 11th from 6:30-8:30pm

Support Letter Instructions

Due to the volume of students going on this trip and the continuing stress on our economy, it is necessary for all of us to work together in order to raise funds for our trip. Here are your action points for completing and sending out your prayer/support letters.

1. Using the attached documents, write your support letter. Ask your parents or a leader to check/edit your letter.
2. Make sure to include in your letter that support checks should be made payable to “WCC” and should have “your name” and “HS Nicaragua Trip” in the memo line.
3. In your letters, you should also make sure to invite everyone who supports you with prayers or financially to join us for Missions Night on Sunday, August 8th from 6:30-8pm in the Chapel’s Main Worship Room.
4. Once all the content is ready, print your final drafts. Address all letters, seal them, and stamp them. (It is usually a good idea to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to make it easier for your friends and family members to mail back their checks.)
5. Return your completed (addressed, stamped) letters to Student Ministries by Sunday, May 2nd. You must turn your support letters into us and we will put them in the mail for you. We do this in order to know how many support letters you are sending, as well as ensure that the letters get in the mail by a specific date.

For any questions regarding support letters, please email Alexis at akincaid@wcchapel.org

Support Letter Outline

Your Street Address
Williamsburg, VA ZIP
Your phone number
Your email address

Date

Dear (leave blank to type in their name),

Your first paragraph should introduce or reintroduce yourself to your potential supporters. Bring them up to date on where you are, where you’ve been, and what you’re up to. Tell a specific story from the past month that gives them a glimpse of what God is doing in your life.

Explain to them that you have an opportunity to participate in a mission trip with the Williamsburg Community Chapel Student Ministries, June 22-July 1, 2010. Describe briefly where you will go, with whom you will go, and that you have a financial need in order to participate in the trip. There are 81 students and 20 leaders going on the trip this year.

Describe the conditions or need in the area you will be going to. Try to be specific. You want to convey the need and help them to understand what it is that we will be doing and why we need to be doing it. Tell them why you are personally excited to go on the trip if this is your first time/why you are excited to go back if this is not your first time.

Invite them to participate in the mission trip through your service, by:
o Praying for the people that you will be serving
o Praying for you and the team that is going
o Partnering with you financially

Encourage them to pray and carefully consider their involvement with your
support team, then give them instructions for contributing should they be willing. (Make checks payable to “WCC” with “your name” and “HS Nicaragua Trip” in the memo line, have the checks sent to your home address—including a self-addressed envelope in your letter is a good idea.) Invite them to our SM Missions Night on Sunday August 8th from 6:30-8 pm in the Chapel’s Main Worship Room, where we will share about our trip.

Thank them for their involvement regardless of their contribution, and sign the letter personally by hand.

Thank you,
Type your name

Write a hand written personal note here to each potential supporter

Important Facts for the Letter

Our Trip to Nicaragua:

Working with ORPHANetwork
Our WCC Student Ministry team consists of 81 students and 20 leaders
$1150 (this is the price since you have already turned in your $300 dollar deposit) per person (covers air fare, food, in country travel, missions projects/materials, activities with children, donation to orphanage, EVERYTHING!)
While in Nicaragua we have three goals that can be easily summarized in three words: expose, engage and impact. First, we will be exposed first hand to third world poverty and the factors that create and sustain a country where many of its citizens live in desperate conditions. Second, we will engage this poverty and the people who live in it through building relationships that we hope will develop overtime into genuine friendship. Third, we will make a positive impact by serving the people we meet in such a way that we alleviate some aspect of their physical or spiritual poverty. Every activity we participate in will help our team achieve one of these three goals. Some examples are listed below:
Expose- Touring orphanage grounds, local villages, the city of Managua, Nueva Vida Refugee Camp, and La Chureca city dump.
Engage- Living on the same property as the children from the orphanage, long bus rides that provide much needed time to interact with the children, sharing meals the children, helping children with their homework and other everyday chores and spending time with the orphanage staff to learn about their work and call to ministry with orphaned and abandoned children.
Impact- Making financial contributions to the orphanage, doing work projects at the orphanage and throughout the surrounding villages, like digging trenches to install piping to bring running water to families, helping with projects at the Orphanage, throwing a birthday party for all of the children with a personal gift for each of them, taking the kids on educational field trips, leading a Bible study night complete with games, music and teaching, distributing food and clothing to the surrounding village, the city dump and the refugee camp and most importantly offering our faith, hope and love in a sacrificial manner as we attempt to shine Jesus’ light in a dark world.
Again, checks should be made payable to “WCC”, can be mailed directly to you, and are tax-deductible. Tell them to write “HS Nicaragua Trip” and “your name” on the memo line.
Please mark your calendars to join us for our Student Ministry Missions night on Sunday, August 8th from 6:30-8 pm in the Chapel’s Main Worship Room, where we will share about what we saw and learned on our trip.

Sample Letter #1 – First Time Student

April 9, 2010

Dear

Hey, I hope you are doing well! This past year of my life has been so eventful! From field hockey to swimming, to school and just beginning to drive I have definitely been staying busy. Something that has had even a greater impact on my life more than any of these things though would be my small group and church. I have belonged to a small group since the sixth grade, but this past year I truly committed to getting involved. I have been rewarded by being surrounded by a loving group of peers and a leader who I can not thank enough for giving to us as much as she does! Through this I have been leaded closer to Christ who is strengthening my faith every day.
As the school year is coming to an end with summer on the way, I have been offered an opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Nicaragua with the Williamsburg Community Chapel Student Ministry from June 22- July 1, 2010. I will be one of 81 students and 20 leaders going to serve the people and orphans in Nicaragua. While there we will engage in Nicaraguan life by living on the same property as the children from the orphanage, helping them with their chores and homework, and playing and spending time with them while sharing Jesus’ light and love. We hope to impact the area by doing things such as work projects at the orphanage and surrounding villages, like digging trenches to install piping to bring running water to families. Among many other things we will throw birthday parties for children, lead bible studies, and distribute food and clothing.
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere; 75% of its citizens live below the poverty line. They struggle to provide for their children and feed their families, which is why many of these children end up in orphanages. In this area there is inadequate health care and social security. Corruption has also lead to further weaken their already unstable economy. Natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes further devastate the country, as they do not have the resources to prevent or recover from them.
I send this letter in hope that you will partner with me in prayer for the people and orphans we will be serving in Nicaragua, and our whole mission team. If you would be willing to contribute financially to my trip, you can write a check made payable to “WCC” with my name and “HS Nicaragua Trip” on the memo line, and return in to me in the enclosed envelope. While any contribution will help, please know that your prayers are the most important thing I can ask of you! I appreciate your involvement and support!

Thanks,

Sample Letter #2 – Returning Student

Dear Friends and Family,

I am excited to be writing you this letter from warm and humid Williamsburg, Virginia. I have had an eventful year in 2009-2010 which has challenged me spiritually and intellectually. In the
fall I started my first job at a Chick-Fil-A in order to start purchasing my own things instead of begging my parents. This spring I have been training to become a future small group leader of sixth grade guys and it has been a very time consuming process for me.

The purpose of this letter is to update you on my latest plans and seek your assistance. I have committed to spend the beginning of my summer break (June 22-July1) serving orphans in Vera Cruz, Nicaragua. I will be headed to Nicaragua along with about 89 other high school students through the Student Ministry at the Williamsburg Community Chapel. The trip is an opportunity for high school students at the Chapel to serve orphans and the surrounding village and distribute food and clothing to people in need throughout Vera Cruz. We will throw birthday parties, take children out to eat, and go to the beach – among many other things. But most importantly, we will be sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and loving each and every one of the children.

Most Nicaraguans are not afforded the same opportunities as we are in America. Currently, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The country is still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, a civil war which has led to the centralization of political power, and an ailing economy attributed to falling coffee prices. The statistics speak for themselves: one in three children suffers from chronic malnutrition; another one out of every three children is illiterate; and an estimated 167,000 children in Nicaragua are forced into child labor. Clearly, these facts are devastating. Imagine amidst these challenges, the children at the orphanage in Vera Cruz must grow up without parents.

I would be honored if you would share this amazing opportunity with me. The most important contribution to my trip is prayer for me, the other students, and most importantly, the children at Vera Cruz. I am also hoping to raise the remaining $1,150 for the expenses of the trip – travel, room and board, donations, and activities for the children. If you feel moved to contribute to my trip I would be very grateful. If you or your family decide to support me, a check can be made out to the Williamsburg Community Chapel (WCC), and please write “HS Nicaragua Missions Trip” and my name in the memo line. You can mail the check back to me, and I will make sure that it gets to the church. Please remember, your prayers are also just as helpful as a check, if not more important.

Again, I feel blessed to have this opportunity to serve the children of Nicaragua, and would be thrilled if you would prayerfully consider supporting me.

Sincerely,

The Team is in DC

2010-03-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

Our entire WCC College Mission Team is on the ground in Washington DC. They will soon be en route back to Williamsburg. We expect them to arrive at the Chapel around 10pm Friday March 12th.

The team cannot thank all of you enough for your support, prayers and encouragement throughout their trip. They especially thank Claire Jacobs for her commitment to comment on each and every post. Your prayers and verses from God's Word encouraged the team to live out the Gospel and shine the light of Jesus in dark places.

Our director of College Ministry will follow up with a post in the coming days with some closing thoughts and thank yous concerning the trip. Stay close to the blog for that final update.

Missions is a community activity. The readers of this blog have served as wonderful partners for our College Team's trip.

Thank you

The Team has Landed

2010-03-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

The first group of our Nicaragua team has landed safely in Houston. They are currently going through customs.

The second group's plane just touched down in Miami.

God has been very good to our College Missions Team. Continue to pray for both group's safe travel to DC and their arrival in Williamsburg later tonight.

Wednesday and Thursday, Final Activities!!!

2010-03-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

Wednesday (March 10, 2010) we headed out to Nueva Vida, a hurricane refugee camp. We split up into five different groups and helped with food distribution. One of the groups was able to help out in one of the local bakeries, while others helped pass out and prepare lunch for the local children.

After leaving Nueva Vida we had a party at Verbo Church in Managua for prostitutes and their families. Women came from over four hours away to spend the afternoon with us and enjoy lunch and tons of games for their children. While most of our team was off playing with all of the children the mothers were able to go shopping through the donations that we brought for much needed supplies and clothing. We really enjoyed the chance to share Christ's love for them and get to know them and their stories.

Today (Thursday March 11, 2010) we spent the morning repainting the school at the orphanage and got to play with the kids during their recess and in between classes. After painting we had lunch and had lots of down time, which most of us spent playing with the kids and visiting families in Vera Cruz to say goodbye. We are getting ready to throw the kids at Casa Bernabe a goodbye party for our last night in Nicaragua and then enjoy one last porch time. God has blessed us with an amazing trip and many new friends that we will never forget. Thank you so much for all of your prayers this week and continue to keep us in your thoughts as we head out tomorrow morning for our early flights. Once we renter the states everyone will be able to call home and our student minister should be updating the blog so you all will know of our safe arrival!

We are all still in good health and excited to come back and share all of our stories from the trip!

Monday afternoon and Tuesday activities

2010-03-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

Life continues to be a blessing during our time in Nicaragua. Monday (March 8, 2010) afternoon we loaded four buses and took the Casa kids to Mount Mombacho, a volcano about an hour outside Managua. We were able to spend that time pouring into the kids and getting to know them better, while enjoying the beautiful weather and magnificent views of God's handiwork here in Nicaragua.

Tuesday (March 9, 2010) was a tough emotional day for many of us, but a great chance to clearly see God's compassion for Nicaragua. Yesterday was Compassion Day here for us, where we tried to connect with the lives of many Nicaraguans by living out real life situations. We were faced with the decision to eat or buy much needed supplies for our families, just like the people we have been getting to know during our time here. We visited La Chureca (the Managua city dump) yesterday and helped out at a school that has been planted there. We were book buddies with many of the preschoolers and then were able to help during a food distribution project for lunch. In the afternoon, we ventured to the Managua market where we purchased supplies to distribute to families during today's (Wednesday) activities.

This morning (March 10, 2010) we will be visiting Nueva Vida, a refugee camp about half an hour away from Managua, then throwing a party for prostitutes and their families at Verbo Church. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and ask that God's hand be in the work that we are doing here. Thank for covering us in your prayers, we have truly been able to see God in all our efforts this week.

Everyone in the team is well and thankfully we have not had any accidents or illnesses. Praise God!

Sunday afternoon and Monday morning activities

2010-03-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Praise God for another day in Nicaragua. We worshiped with many families and the Casa kids at Verbo yesterday, Sunday March 7, 2010. After that we returned to Casa and had lunch with the kids. Everyone took some time to rest after our meal, then we loaded up for afternoon activities. A few buses took some of the older Casa kids to play in a soccer tournament, while the others loaded up with the young ones and met up with other service teams at a park outside Managua. After games and activities everyone went out to eat for dinner. At this point we said good night to the Casa kids and we departed for Porch Time at Hotel Ticomo with VT, JMU, and UVa. A translator gave us all a Nicaragua history lesson and we finished the evening with a surprise dance party with a mariache (sp?) band.

Monday, March 8, 2010, we started our first work project after breakfast. We planted a field of citrus trees for the agriculture projects here at Casa. We are currently having some down time before lunch and an afternoon activity with the Casa kids. The plan is to go visit a local volcano and see some more of Nicaragua.

Please keep us in your prayers, that God's hand will continue to be in our time here. That God will bless the work that we did this morning, so that those fruits may serve to sustain Casa. Thank you for following us and keeping our team in your prayers.