Erin just called and the Kentucky team is due to arrive in Rockford around 4:30pm. There is still a lot of work to do once the team arrives home. Erin is hoping to have things wrapped up around 5pm.
Also, the team will be recognized during both services tomorrow morning. Your son or daughter should wear their team shirt. Another date to mark down is this coming Wednesday. There will be a Kentucky review Wednesday evening in the Jr High room. You won't want to miss the pictures and stories your kids will be sharing!
I don't have a ton of time for an update, but I know that parents and grandparents are interested in what is taking place here in KY. Our Kentucky trip is one of my favorite things we do in the ministry. Our students are strongly impacted and changed by this trip. They are challenged to think about people other than themselves. They give up many comforts of home. They see an area of the country that is so different from Rockford. Most importantly though, they get to do ministry. They are the leaders of the VBS- they are the teachers, facilitators, game runners, small group leaders, Bible verse teachers and puppeteers. I love these kids. On Saturday morning we started out the drive in some rain. As we drove south, the weather started to clear- and it got muggy! Honestly, these students have impressed me so much. On the drive down, the students in the van I was driving prayed together for the week... they took part of their van ride to pray...I shared with them that night that it really set the tone for the trip. Each morning we spend time in devotions. This year we are going through the book of Jonah. We spend about thirty minutes reading the Bible and praying. After that, we let the students share what God showed them in their time with Him. They have such great insight. They are definitely wise beyond their years. I love these kids... Yesterday morning (monday) the director at the campus we are staying at pulled me aside and said that there was a possibility we may not be able to serve at the Bulan church. They have had so much rain these past few months and a lot of the Bulan area is flooded. It rained a LOT on Sunday night. When I shared that with the students, they were willing and ready to serve wherever God had them. We prayed together as a team for the people affected by the flooding. We found out at lunch that the church itself was not affected and we were able to go. The students cheered so loud when they found out. Did I mention I love these kids? Our first day of VBS was awesome. Our eighth graders loved seeing many of the same faces as last year. Many of our students already have a "buddy." Right now our students are at their work projects. In about forty minutes we have showers, lunch and loading up the vans for another day of ministry. Our days are full, but God is good to us. He has provided for us, and our students are giving all the glory to God.
Please keep praying for us. The week is just getting going. So much ministry ahead of us. We miss you, Erin
