Week 9-Psalm 73:26

Psalm 73:26-"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Praise the Lord for another great week! We were so tired but the week was packed full of wonderful people and beautiful stories. It was really cool to hear that many of the youth ended up being placed at ministry sites where they were extremely uncomfortable and the Lord broke them down and they didn't want to leave their sites by the end of the week. We had some very mature youth that were such a blessing and encouraging to us as staff. The adult leaders were wonderful and spunky. They were truly a great group. Two of the adult leaders shared with me their stories after I had shared mine on Tuesday morning about losing Ryan. One of the adult leaders had actually been through the same exact thing at the same age. Her story was so encouraging and great to hear and see how far she had come since then and where she has gone and is going. I was comforted by her story and was reminded once again that I am not alone. God is good.

This week, Pastor Troy, the executive director of Halifax Urban Ministries (2 of our ministry sites are part of this organization) came and spoke to the youth on Wednesday night. His message about homelessness and youth without passion was extremely powerful. The youth were deeply moved and motivated to find their passion. He is a very passionate man and I really wish you all could meet him! Many of the youth came to me the next day said that they couldn't get what he said out of their heads. God was moving. Thursday night, the Holy Spirit moved with might and intensity. All of the youth had never been on a YW trip before, so they had no idea what was coming. There are no words to describe what I witnessed. Beautiful, simply beautiful.

This week we have 75 participants on site, our Area Director is here, and our Region Director and Director of Recruiting will be here Thursday. We will be overflowing! Please pray for yet another smooth, powerful, and Spirit-filled week.

Only 2 weeks until I come home. I can't believe it! I have truly enjoyed being here and getting to know the people of Daytona and the youth that have come to join us in our mission here. It will be really hard to leave but I am excited to see what the Lord has next. South Africa, maybe?

Week 8-Once upon a time

This week was yet another great week! There were a couple bumps in the road like our Site Director, Casey, getting sick for two days, a quick trip to the emergency room with a youth, and a little more rain than usual. It was amazing to see how the Lord provided our team with the strength and wisdom needed while Casey was sick.

The groups we had were great and a true blessing. We really enjoyed hanging out with them and watching the Holy spirit move in them. Many of them had some amazing stories to share, Yay God's, if you will. The people in the community have loved working with the youth and are extremely thankful for the work that they have been doing. This community has been blessed by the willing hearts and hands of the youth who have come through.

This weekend my team and I were blessed with 4 free tickets to the Disney theme parks. We had a great time and I finally got to see Cinderella's castle and be sit in on story time with Belle. Another dream checked off my list. I am truly blessed. I can't believe that my time here is almost. I don't want to leave!

I have applied for a Recruiting Associate job with YouthWorks!, which is pretty much my dream job. I am praying for God's will and I know that if this doesn't work out that God has something, somewhere for me.

Please pray for the groups this week as the Holy Spirit breaks them down and opened them up. As well as for our team, for health, energy, and wisdom.

Love you all so much!

In Christ,

Jessica

Week 7-Spot On

Spot On was a saying that one of the adult leaders said when something was cool, good, or correct. It spread throughout the groups and now is something our staff uses on a daily basis.

The week went pretty well given the fact that it was the 4th of July, some ministry sites were closed on the 5th of July, and we had a new service coordinator. The Lord truly blessed us with great groups and a wonderful new staff in this transition. The week started out with fireworks on the beach, which was pretty cool.

Thursday was a pretty powerful day. The crew that went to the STAR Family Center, the homeless shelter, had some great experiences. They helped revamp the outside child's play area, which when it's done the shelter will receive $50,000 from GE Capital, and they worked with a guy named Joe who was homeless. They got to hear his story, share the gospel with him, and pray with him. He had some artwork with him and some of the youth bought some of his drawings. Then they were telling me about it and the youth pastor of the church overhead and said that he would like to speak with Joe and see if he would like to paint a mural in the church narthex. Joe has since called the youth pastor and they are working on the details right now. Also, the crew went around the area and picked up trash and did a prayer walk. Before we left to pick up trash, some of the people standing outside the shelter starting talking to us. One man, George, shared with us his story and how the Lord has been good to him. We circled up and prayed for him and he prayed for us in the parking lot in front of the all the people standing in front of the shelter. Then, as we were saying goodbye, he pulled me aside and asked if he could pray for me. Hands down, the most passionate and powerful prayer I have ever heard. It brought me to tears. I will always remember George.

Thursday's are my favorite days because in the evenings we have the foot washing ceremony. I have a front row seat as the Holy Spirit moves in the youth and adults each week and it is truly amazing. This week two of the adult leaders were a married couple and the wife was washing her husband's feet as he began sobbing. Powerful stuff. In the same group, the youth washed each other's feet. Simply beautiful. There are no words...really. And to think that every Thursday night, there are hundreds of youth who are being deeply moved by the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord!

This week we have 71 participants on site and they come from Ohio, Mississippi, and Georgia. Hopefully, this week will be a little bit smoother as things are closer to normal. Please pray for the groups this, that they will be open to what God has for them.

Also, I am trying so hard not to plan the rest of my life....like what I'm going to do when I get back. Please pray for direction in my life and that I can just focus on my purpose here in Daytona.

Love and miss you all!

In Christ,

Jessica

Week 6-Grace

Last week is kind of a blur, and sorry for not getting my update out before now. Last week was really tough. We had a great group, but God did some breaking down within our team. There were a lot of issues that needed to addressed and God definitely addressed them. I'm not going to go into all the details, but my fellow Service Coordinator was let go on Friday. It was a sudden change that we quickly had to adapt to. We had a lot of work to do and didn't really get much time off. Our new staff member, Liz arrived on Saturday. She is truly wonderful and has been a huge blessing to our team and our site. I will tell you more next time I write.

Please pray for our team, especially our new team member.

God is good.

Miss you all!

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 5-Oh, How He loves us!

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. -1 Corinthians 2:13

Can I just say that God is amazing for the millionth time?! After a rough first week of groups on site, we were truly blessed with the second round of groups from North Carolina, Illinois, and Tennessee. We had 57 total participants and all 57 were wonderful to get to know! Many great things happened this week, which was a given when it comes to Jesus. Monday night I had a great conversation with an adult leader who I found was really hurting because she is going through a divorce. She told me her story as tears welled up in her eyes (and mine). Her daughter was along with her on the trip, as well. My heart broke for her and her family as I know the hurt and the deep wounds that come from divorce. The Lord used my family's story to encourage her and help her to know that she is not alone. Later in the week, I was able to talk to her daughter and we had a conversation about unconditional love, how we hate change when it comes to family, and how important it is to seek the Lord at all times. I plan on keeping in touch with them and was truly blessed by them this week. They were both so helpful, loving, and truly had servant hearts. I got to spend a lot of time with them and their crew as they helped sort bedding and paint at the church and the homeless shelter here in Daytona.

The youth really enjoyed the ministry sites that they went to during the week and seemed to connect well with the people that they met. Speaking of meeting people, I want to tell you about someone I met while I was with the crew at the homeless shelter. A guy was volunteering in the clothing storage room when we arrived and as the youth were getting instruction on what to do, he leaned over and showed me a picture of his 4 month old baby boy. Within minutes he was telling me about his life. He had just moved to Daytona from New Jersey to get away from gang life. After his son was born, he knew he needed to get out and he did not want his son to be anywhere near a gang. He was/is a Blood and has been since he was 14. Because of his involvement, he has been in and out of jail several times and never finished high school. He is 21 and was helping at the shelter so he would stay out of trouble. In 2008, his mother and grandmother died in a house fire. He told me, with tears in his eyes, that he didn't think life could continue after that. I asked him about God, and he said that God was his best friend, that it was only because of God that he is alive and that he is able to get away from gang life. He has hopes to get his high school diploma and eventually get a college degree. Hopefully, I will see him again next week. It was crazy how such an amazing conversation stumbled into my lap and it is only because of how the Lord prepared me that I was able to ask the questions that I did. I praise the Lord for Darnell, that's his name, and for the shelter that is able to provide support and services to those who have stories like his. I was truly humbled by this encounter.

I love going to the homeless shelter (STAR Family Center) and the soup kitchen (Bridge of Hope). I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I do! It's awesome to see how God provides for these places every day of every week. They help so many people and in doing so, share God's love with them.

If you are not familiar with YouthWorks! programming, on Thursday night the program staff gives a talk about when Jesus washes his disciple's feet and we facilitate a foot washing ceremony. It is quite intense and truly my favorite part of the week. We as staff have the privilege to wash the adult leaders feet and pray with them. Then, the adult leaders wash the feet of their youth. This is very moving, powerful, and emotional. God is present, of course, and it is amazing but hard to be broken each week not only before the Lord, but before a group of 57 youth and adults. A couple of the adult leaders asked if they could wash our feet. This was so humbling and brought all of us to tears. We were truly blessed by this group, but we found that they felt really blessed to have met us. Amazing. I know I say that alot, but that seems to be the only descriptor that seems to be at least some what close to what we experienced. Our team has continued to bond, and foot washing seems to bring us closer every time.

One more thing, a wonderful youth named Amy approached me one afternoon during free time and shared with me that she had never felt so connected with YW staff before this trip. Come to find out, she has been on 6 other YW trips! I was honored. That spoke volumes to me and again reminded me why I am here.

I love my job. Thank you Jesus!!

Prayer Requests: The groups (we have 70 participants coming) that are traveling this weekend and for their hearts to be open to what God what's them to see, hear, and do. Also, for our team and ministry sites.

Love in Christ,

Jessica

P.S. I got a little sunburnt today...laying by the pool...haha. :)

Week 4-First week of groups on site

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

This week was beyond words, but I am going to do my best to do put my experiences into words. This past week was our first week with groups at our site here in Daytona Beach. We were excited to see what God had in store and it was beyond what we could imagine. We had groups from Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Through out the week, the youth spread the love of the Lord throughout the community as they worked with servant hearts at various ministry sites. Everything went extremely well at each ministry site and our ministry contacts raved about the groups that served them. It was so amazing to watch the youth just jump into whatever the ministry contacts had for them to do so willingly and in the Florida heat. As staff, we have begun to connect on a deeper level with our ministry contacts and we have begun to get to know many people in the community like the man who checks us out at Sam's Club, the woman at the cheesecake shop, and the people in the congregation.

Slowly, but surely, the groups began to bond and open up. We asked the group from Atlanta to lead worship for Club on Wednesday night and their youth leader was led to give the message as well. God showed up in a big way that night as many of the youth were broken and felt as if the speaker was speaking right to them. Many of their fears and life challenges came out as they shared their hearts and tears with their brothers and sisters in Christ. I was able to connect with several youth this week and it was an extreme privilege to watch them begin to understand and grow in John 3:30.

We found through our experiences this week that our schedule is just a general time frame, that time is not always going to happen...on time, if that makes sense. We found that a smile amidst frustrations is key and knowing when to pick your battles is helpful. I also realized that I can be really focused on the rules and that kept me from really connecting with some of the youth. Going with the flow and remembering my true desire to share Christ's love with the youth that come through this summer are my goals for this coming week. As a team, we also realized that God will show up, no matter what YW rules are broken, despite the varied attitudes of the youth, and whether or not the schedule is followed. He will be there and with intensity every time. It's ridiculous how easily I forgot how reliable God is. No limits can be placed on our Savior, that is for sure.

Please pray for the groups traveling this weekend and for patience, kind spirits, and open hearts.

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 3-Savannah Earlybird

"Jesus must become greater, I must become less." -John 3:30

As we traveled to Savannah, GA to help the GA team with their first week of program, we could not have prepared ourselves for a more connecting and moving experience. We were rather reluctant to leave our new found home of Daytona Beach, but would not trade this past week for anything. We had 5 different church groups and they were all awesome, including the adult leaders. I got to spend a good amount of time with one of the crews and connected with many of the youth and the adult leaders. We worked at the Union Mission, a homeless shelter, weeding flower beds and doing other landscaping tasks. We met a guy named Howard who had quite the story. He we a drug dealer and had been shot, beaten, and everything else you could think of. His right side was paralyzed and he could not speak other than "hey" and "man." He had a great smile and a computer that talked and told his story for him. He is a huge advocate for staying out of gangs and away from drugs and taking a good path. He told the group that he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Jesus. It was an amzing testinmony that he tells anyone who will listen. The youth were shaken by his story and the comfort of his smile. He shares his story with the groups that come through the YW site in Savannah. At the end of his time with the groups, he has them circle up, hold hands, and sing "Amazing Grace." Talk about a moving experience. I saw Jesus in Howard, and it left me speechless.

As the week progressed, I saw youth go from only caring about themselves, to having a heart for the community of Savannah and their brothers and sisters in Christ. Sadly, we weren't able to stay for the foot washing ceremony. But, one of the youth that I connected with shared with me later that they had been moved in a way they never thought possible, their world was shaken, and they had never before felt the joy and rejuvenation that comes with living out John 3:30. And that is why I am here. :)

We are now back in Daytona Beach putting the finishing touches on our housing site and programming. We dearly missed our Daytona friends and are excited to be "home." We are pretty much ready for our groups that are arriving on Sunday afternoon, which means we have some time to go to the beach. :) It will be a great blessing to rest. Our trip to Sam's club today to buy 8 pallet carts full of food and supplies for this week was quite exhausting. I'm so excited to see the youth just jump right into the ministry here in Daytona. It's going to be a great week.

I hope all is well with all of you back home. I miss all of you so much.

Please pray for this next week as groups arrive and that they are open to God's will for them and that this is not just a week of their life, but a week that they live their life by. Also, please pray for the staff and perseverance through the week and the summer.

Thanks y'all!

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 2-Prep Week

Hello from HOT and RAINY Daytona Beach! I don't think I have ever witnessed so many 5 minute thunderstorms in my life! It's very bizarre....at least to me. Anyway, we arrived at out housing site on Saturday night and were welcomed by the pastor, youth pastor, and several members of the congregation. We got a tour of the facility (it's pretty big) and found out the kitchen that we were going to be using for the summer hadn't been used/cleaned for almost 2 years! Not going to lie, I was a bit thrown off by it. I was not expecting that and neither was my team. But, after talking with Pastor Jack and hanging out with the youth pastor, Zack, we felt better about things. We found out that the church had been going through quite a rough time and that Jack and Zack had only just started at the church a month or two ago. We met many of the congregation members (there's only about 50) on Sunday and were welcomed with smiles and high hopes. I know that having the youth here this summer will be very helpful and encouraging to this church. :)

As a service coordinator, my job is to set up serving opportunities for the youth in that community. This week I have met with amazing people who work with homeless families and provide meals to the homeless, amongst other things. I was blown away by the passion and hard work that they put into their work. The soup kitchen, "Bridge of Hope" feeds up to 300 people a day, and numbers are even higher towards the end of the month. There's a security guard there named Bob, big biker dude, and he gives and gets respect like nobody's business. The area that the soup kitchen and the homeless shelter is in is pretty sketchy, but those people, many being volunteers, still go every day to help those in need. The executive director, Troy, told me a story about a man named Ezra who volunteered every day in the kitchen as the pot scrubber. He wore a floppy hat and talked to the people when he took breaks. He died two years ago, and come to find out, he was crazy rich. How amazing is that! Troy said nobody knew that he had money, and you wouldn't have known unless he told you. "Bridge of Hope" was designated the #1 charity for Ezra's foundation. I was almost in tears! I hope that I can live my life that way.

There's a lot of great people that we have met here in Daytona, and I am so excited for the youth to meet them as well. We still have a lot of programming and kinks to work on, but things are coming along. This week was tough, not only because of all of the tasks that needed to be completed, but it was also my brother's birthday. Even after 4 years, grief still hits me like a brick. I want so badly for him to just be here, to be present on earth. Thankfully, God has given me courage, determination, and a new day. I'm hoping someday He may give me understanding, too.

Tomorrow, we leave for a week in Savannah, GA. We are are all very tired. We are little reluctant because we feel we still have so much to do, but we also are very excited to see the GA team and interact with the youth.

Please pray for safe travels and for open hearts. Thanks!

I miss y'all!

Love in Christ,

Jessica

Week 1-Staff Training

Hello everyone! Let me tell you, it has been quite the week! I flew in on Sunday night and by Monday at 3pm, I had met over 90 new people. Talk about intense! Not only have I met many new people, the whole week we have been learning about all the intricate and important tasks and details that is crucial to facilitating a successful a and beneficial YouthWorks summer. We have been trained in everything from kitchen safety, youth ministry, serving the church and community, our specific staff roles, to games, and carivaning. All the while, we have been bonding with our site teams. :) The wonderful people that will be joining me this summer in Daytona Beach are Casey, our site director, Josh, our program staff, and Ben, my fellow service coordinator. So far, we seem to enjoy each other's humor and have been getting along well. We are anxious to see how things will go once we get on site. I am also anxious to meet the people of Daytona Beach! We will leave Saturday morning for Daytona and will have a week of prep, then we have the opportunity to get a feel for a program week by traveling to the site in Savannah, GA. We have bonded with the Savannah site team alot this week and we are extremely excited to serve along side them and serve the people of Savannah. When we return we will have our first week of program. I am so excited! :)

I can't even explain the way that I feel right now. The more they talk about YW and it's values and it's service and everything it stands for, the more passionate I become about this ministry. I truly believe in this ministry and the way it functions. I am full of joy!

The Lord has been showing me many things this week. It's been pretty intense and very overwelming, but I have a peace about it all. Psalm 46:10 has spoken to me in this time and has reminded me that I am not in control. The wonderful thing about working with this organization is that they know we cannot pour into people if we are not poured into ourselves, so they make sure that we have quiet time to spend with the Lord. There has been nothing better than that 30 minutes of peace and calm every morning with the Creater amongst such intensity and chaos.

Please continue to pray for the youth and their traveling safety, the staff and their nerves, and the communities they will be serving this summer.

Thank you and miss you all bunches!

In Christ,

Jessica

P.S. For a model "evening activity" we traveled to the Civil Rights Institute here in Birmingham. It was absolutely amazing. My heart was "messed up", as one of the full time YW staff would say.

Only a couple more days until my YouthWorks summer begins!

Well, it's pretty much official (I won't get my actual diploma for another 6 weeks), I'm a college graduate! It's so weird to say that, but also very exciting. Again, thank you all for your support. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. God has truly blessed me with such wonderful people in my life.

Now, for the next leg of my journey. I leave for training for YouthWorks in Birmingham, AL this Sunday. Our training starts Monday afternoon and at the end of the week, my staff (so far 2 people, we are anxiously awaiting to hear who our 4th staff is) and I will be driving to our site, Daytona Beach Alliance Church, in Daytona Beach. We will have 3 weeks of prep before our first groups come through. So, our first official week of program starts the 13th of June. But, we still have plenty to do before then. I am starting to get a little nervous. I know that God is going to do great things, and I truly rest in that. I hope that I am able to write again sometime next week during training or soon after training. Please continue to pray for the community of Daytona Beach, the youth preparing for their trips, and the YouthWorks staff for the summer. Thank you for your love and support. :)

I wanted to give you a little more info on the ministry of YouthWorks and the little bit that I know about the community of Daytona Beach.

The following is also available on youthworks.com:

Our Work and Ministry
YouthWorks focuses on ministry. Although we use work projects as a way to see the love of Christ, it is not an end all. We do not call our trips “work camps” or spotlight a repaired house, instead the “works” in our name are about what God will do in our lives if we allow it. We desire to be Christ centered in everything that we do.
While it is important to be challenged in our ministry work, we believe the most important thing we can do is to live out the love of Christ with all whom we meet. Building true relationships is essential in showing Christ's love; the friendships you and your youth create with people in our communities are of the utmost importance. These relationships are more important to YouthWorks than any work we could accomplish.
We have all kinds of work ministry experiences set up for your trip that are designed to challenge teenagers. The opportunities vary from week to week and site to site, depending on the particular needs of the communities in which we serve. Everyone who participates in these work ministry projects will be divided into small teams. Teams may do various painting and rehabilitation projects, facilitate a Kids Club program or partner with other organizations working to meet community needs. More specific information regarding the unique opportunities at your mission site are available in the spring.
We firmly believe there is a need for people to have their homes painted and rehabilitated; a need for children to learn about the Bible through music, stories and games; and a need to serve existing community ministries. We know that paint on houses will eventually chip off, and that stories and games may be forgotten in time, but the relationships you develop with community members will create a vehicle for ministry to occur for a long time in the future. Come ready to experience the joy of being the hands and feet of Christ!

Daytona Beach, FL
The Daytona Beach area of Florida’s central East Coast stretches 23 miles along the Atlantic Ocean. Eight million visitors a year come to the area to stay in the beautiful resorts and participate in a variety of recreational activities. Many rich and famous individuals have vacation homes in the area. In addition, thousands of racing enthusiasts visit Daytona International Speedway each year. Ask the over 64,000 residents of this town, however, and they will point to several problem areas in the community. A citizen survey revealed major concerns like drug abuse, homelessness and high taxes. The U.S. Census reports that per capita income is $17,530 and nearly 24 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. An estimated 2,600 are homeless.

A blog...for my lovely peeps!

I'm graduating in 2 DAYS and will soon be leaving for a summer of serving the Lord in Daytona Beach facilitating mission trips for church youth groups through an organization (a great one at that) called YouthWorks. I have gone on 2 mission trips as a youth and one as a chaperone through this organization and they were life changing. Jesus awakened my heart in Wind River, WY, poured out His love in Juarez, Mexico, and challenged me in Las Vegas, NV. I have a passion to just love as Jesus loves on youth and communities, and that's exactly what I will be doing this summer! I wanted to start this blog because I know I will not have a ton of time to keep everyone caught up and share all the wonderful ways God will be working...'cause you know He will be! So, I will do my best to keep you all up to date on this little thing called a blog. Next time I write, I will be a college graduate! It's so crazy to think about. The last 4 years have been a long, tough road but with plenty of love, laugher, and hope along the way.

If you could just pray for the groups that are preparing for their trips this summer (YouthWorks has over 100 sites all over the U.S. and Canada), that their hearts will be open and willing to serve and live out John 3:30 (our theme this summer). "Jesus must become greater and I must become less."
Also pray for the staff (there are 4 staff at every site) that are preparing for the summer, that they will also be open and willing to serve and love like Jesus. :)

Thank you all for your love, laughter, and prayers.

In Christ,

Jessica